There's a fairly famous clown, Bello Nock, who comes from a 7-generation circus family -- he is arguably one of the funniest and most entertaining clowns ever (he's currently with Ringling Bros, and I highly recommend catching one of his shows). He's also more than just a clown -- he incorporates various acrobatics and sometimes animals into his work too.
We first saw Bello when he was with the Big Apple Circus, at a matinee. We were talking with one of the roustabouts, and he told us that Bello was a really great guy. He went on to say that just as soon as the matinee was over, and the tent had cleared out, Bello would bring his trampoline back out, and he would have all the "circus brats" (the kids who travel with their families) on it, training them. The roustabout also told us that every brat could already ride a unicycle and juggle. It was a cool story to hear.
I figured that was part of the duties of being a 7th-generation performer. Ringling Brothers is a much bigger operation than the Big Apple Circus, but I can imagine he still does the same thing every day.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-12-08 02:29 pm (UTC)We first saw Bello when he was with the Big Apple Circus, at a matinee. We were talking with one of the roustabouts, and he told us that Bello was a really great guy. He went on to say that just as soon as the matinee was over, and the tent had cleared out, Bello would bring his trampoline back out, and he would have all the "circus brats" (the kids who travel with their families) on it, training them. The roustabout also told us that every brat could already ride a unicycle and juggle. It was a cool story to hear.
I figured that was part of the duties of being a 7th-generation performer. Ringling Brothers is a much bigger operation than the Big Apple Circus, but I can imagine he still does the same thing every day.