OPINION: What it’s like to be a circus performer

Maddie Prater
eSomethin staff

After months of preparation, Birds Eye View Circus has their infamous “Krampus” performance on December 5 and 6.

I’ve been “a Birdy” for just over four years now, and I’m proud to say that it’s taken over my life in the best way possible. “Krampus” is my all-time favorite performance that we put on.

“Krampus” is a Christmas story about a devilish goat-man who seeks punishment on children who are naughty. It’s meant as a warning to kids reading (or watching in this case), to be good, or they might just get eaten.

In this performance, we tell the story not with our words, but with our bodies and the apparatus.

I showcased the lira, a suspended hoop, and the silks fabrics. These are my all-time favorite dance partners; I love feeling the water-like silk trickle down like a waterfall depending on my movements.

Circus has given me an opportunity to express the things I can’t put into words.

Sometimes it’s hard, physically and emotionally. There are times when your heart and duty as a performer aren’t connected, and it can be hard to set your life aside and focus completely. I’ve found myself entering the studio with a heavy heart and longing to be elsewhere, and then struggling to come down from the trapeze I let my emotions rest on.

Most people in Perrysburg don’t know that we even have a circus around here – that there’s an opportunity to witness something spectacular or be a part of it. And that’s what makes it special. It’s the one thing that feels like it’s meant for me.

It’s a somewhat secretive portion of my life that I tend to not mention to most people, which is ironic to the fact that there are sometimes hundreds of spectators watching. There’s been points where the studio was all I had, and walking through those elderly walnut doors will always be the best decision I’ve ever made.

There’s discipline and pressure in the circus; it’s hard on your body, and the feeling of letting your team down leaves a burn that stings more than any trapeze could.

On the contrary, the community and team I’ve met through Birds-eye is something like the land of misfit toys. We all fit like the candy-cane stripes on a circus tent.

The trapeze bar has held my hand when no one else did, and it’s a privilege to be a part of something so much greater than me. I hope when people see me perform, that they see my dedication and love for the circus.

It’s something that people from all places and backgrounds enjoy witnessing, and I’m grateful to be able to provide a performance that feeds the child in an audience of all ages, young or old.

There are so many things that go into a circus. Arealists, Stilters, jugglers, acrobats. We’re all Birdies flying for the same purpose: to perform not only for our audience, but for each other. Krampus is a perfect example of the variety and promise that we hold as a circus. Packing a surplus of jaw-dropping acts and talents in just 2 and a half hours.

Overall, the performance went excellent. From start to finish, you could feel the exhilaration of both the performers, on stage or off, and the audience.

We lost a couple performers in the acts due to injury, and still managed to put on an outstanding show, albeit without them. Circus is about pulling through hardships. The show must go on.

So, if I had to answer the question “what is it like to be a circus performer,” my answer would be this: It’s wonderful, it’s hard, it’s heartbreaking, and it’s without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me.

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