World Languages
Have you ever wanted to be in the circus? If so, you should start practicing now! Many of the most well known circus performers began their careersin their early teens or even younger.Bird Millman was a famous tightropewalkerin the early 20th century. Her parents brought her into thecircus at only six years old to perform with trained ponies. Her familys acts soon included not onlyponies, but also trapezes and tightrope walking. One day when Bird was ten, her father was badly hurtin an accident. While Birds mother took her father to the hospital, Bird performed all by herself! Soonshe became wellknown for her tightrope acts, for which she danced and sang as she walked across thewire. Bird even performed some stunts on a rope tied between two New York City skyscrapers!Another famous performer, Ella Bradna, also grew up in a circus, where she learned ballet, tightropewalking, and bareback riding. Ellas older sister was the star rider of the circus, but when her sister felland broke both legs, elevenyearold Ella took her place in the act. She amazed audiences with herability to dance and do gymnastic tricks on horseback. Ellas life, while glamorous, was not easy. Sheperformed twice a day, but she also kept up with her schooling, practiced her act for hours, washeddishes, and even took a turn driving the circus wagon! Ella received an offer of marriage at age fourteen,but her father made her turn down the proposal. When Ella was 22, her horse threw her off during aperformance. Ella was flung out of the ring and landed on the man she would later marry.Bird and Ella both came from circus families, but the famous animal trainer Alfred Court did not. He wasborn into a wealthy and powerful French family. Alfreds parents sent him to a strict boarding school thatrequired him to study for hours every day, but Alfred still found time to become very skilled atgymnastics. At age fourteen, he ran away from the school and used his gymnastic skills to join a circus.The police found Alfred and took him back to school, but a year later he ran away again. This time hewas able to avoid capture. Alfred performed as an acrobat during his teenage yearsthen became a liontrainer. Instead of using the cruel training techniquesthat were popular at the time, Alfred made friendswith the animals he trained. Unlike many others who work with big cats, he was never seriously injuredduring almost thirty years of lion taming.Charles Stratton, better known as Tom Thumb, was one of the most popular circus attractionsin the late19th century. Charles first joined the circus at age five, when he was just twentyfive inches tall. Althoughhis act was supposed to show off his tiny size, Charles also told jokes, sang, and did impersonations.Thousands of people across America and Europe came to see Tom Thumb; he even met the Queen ofEngland and President Abraham Lincoln. Charlestoured with the circus for most of his life. When hedied in 1883, he was only 3 feet, 4 inches tall.Today, there are still children growing up in circus families, but it is less common for them to perform. Insome countries, child circus performances have been outlawed. However, adult performers usually starttheir training as children, even if they cant perform until theyre older. If you think you want to join acircus someday, the time to build your skills is now. Join a ballet class, take gymnastics, or find a circus school or camp to get you ready for life under the Big Top!
