AERIAL PERFORMER ESTABLISHES CAREER, HOME UNDER BIG TOP.Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer The thousands who head to the circus today and Thursday at the Saugus Speedway might be fooled into thinking a particular aerial artist is void of fear as she performs tricks, perched 50 feet in midair. The truth is Gladis Anastasini, 38, shares the audience's spine-tingling reaction as she dangles headfirst head·first also head·fore·most adv. 1. With the head leading; headlong: went headfirst down the stairs. 2. Impetuously; brashly. , hanging with one foot on a short horizontal bar horizontal bar Event in men's gymnastics competition in which a steel bar fixed about 8 ft (2.4 m) above the floor is used for swinging exercises. Competitors generally wear hand protectors and perform routines that last 15–30 seconds. . And no net. It's dangerous, the seventh-generation circus performer admits - but the awestruck awe·struck also awe·strick·en adj. Full of awe. awestruck Adjective overcome or filled with awe Adj. 1. audience keeps her going. ``You hear a `Wow.' They make you feel good. They make you feel extraordinary,'' said Anastasini, born into the circus - in a trailer on big-top grounds in Mexico, where her mother performed high-wire acts. In January, Anastasini's sister pleaded for her help. She was pregnant and asked her sister to fill in for her and work the Circus Vargas stunt with her husband, Giovanni. Anastasini had just given birth to her own child six months before, but had trapeze flying circus Flying Circus may mean:
Her first barrier was the 15 pregnancy pounds she had to lose in four months, she said. The next involved overcoming her fright of performing acrobatics acrobatics Art of jumping, tumbling, and balancing. The art is of ancient origin; acrobats performed leaps, somersaults, and vaults at Egyptian and Greek events. Acrobatic feats were featured in the commedia dell'arte theatre in Europe and in jingxi (“Peking while circling the ring via a rocket ship rocket ship n. A spacecraft powered and propelled by rockets. turning 13 revolutions per minute, she said. The stunt requires fighting gravity Fighting Gravity is a music group based out of Richmond, Virginia. Originally a ska band called Boy O Boy, Fighting Gravity has incorporated a variety of music into their style, including reggae, rock, and pop. , she said. ``I started to practice and I started shaking with no net below,'' the petite 103-pound woman said before Tuesday's show at the Saugus Speedway in Canyon Country. ``In the beginning, I did not feel strong. It's a difficult trick. You have to be very smooth. You have to be in very good shape to do this,'' she said. ``You feel like saying `no, give me a hand, no.' You feel like you're going to fall. It's very scary. You have to have a madness to do this. Right now, I'm starting to feel a little bit comfortable.'' Anastasini also saw her husband recently break various bones after he took a fall off a wheel suspended in the air during a performance in Chicago. The fall left him with kidney problems and hospitalized for a month. He is currently undergoing therapy and plans to return to the circus, she said. But Anastasini maintains accidents can happen on any job. ``This is my job. You can have accidents in the car - anywhere,'' she said. She thrives off of the family atmosphere and unpredictable conditions in the circus. Plus, she gets to travel the four corners of the world 10 months out of the year, living in a travel trailer A travel trailer or caravan is a trailer towed behind a road vehicle (or even a horse) to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable, sheltered and protected than a tent (although there are fold-down tent trailers [1]) . most of the time. ``For me, every day is exciting. It's never the same,'' she said. ``The normal life for me is the circus. For me, to go into town is different.'' The acts and people are constantly changing, she said. This year's act in Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, includes 13 white tigers White tigers are individual specimens of the ordinary orange tiger (Panthera tigris), with a genetic condition that causes paler colouration of the normally orange fur (they still have black stripes). , Baby Ben the pachyderm, jugglers, a musical clown act, Big and Little - a 2,800-pound Belgium horse performing acts with a miniature horse Miniature Horses are found all over the world and come in various colors and coat patterns. The designation of miniature horse is determined by the height of the animal, which, depending on the particular registry involved, is usually less than 34-38 inches (82-91 cm) as measured - and a low-wire act. Performances are at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. tonight and Thursday. General admission is $8.50 for adults and $4 for children. For more information, call (805) 284-1624. CAPTION(S): 4 Photos Photo: (1--color in SAC edition only) Giovanni Anastasini and his sister-in-law, Gladis Anastasini, practice a ``Chinese juggling'' routine for a Circus Vargas performance. (2--color in SAC only) Workers clean out trash cans at the circus at Saugus Speedway. (3--ran in SAC only) A Circus Vargas worker rolls out trash cans to prepare for circusgoers. The circus will perform at Saugus Speedway tonight and Thursday. (4--ran in SAC only) McKinley Kane and her brother, Tanner, visit a goat at Circus Vargas animal pens Tuesday. The kids came with their mom to buy tickets. Terri Thuente/Daily News |
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