Zoppe Family Circus, Part Two: Act One

The lights came up on an empty ring, spread with fresh sawdust.

Before the Circus–sawdust spread on a grass lawn.

The “spectacle”–when all the acts parade around the ring and tease the audience with their skills and talents.

Nino the Clown checks out the ring while all the circus performers play nearby.

Sandra Zoppe opened the show, in glittering finery. (Her outfit was too dark for my camera.)

Nino thanking his mother for her introduction to the show.

A volunteer from the audience helped Nino the Clown look for his hat, and then played “catch the hat.”

Nino the clown plays "catch the hat" (on your head) with a volunteer from the audience. — Nino the clown plays “catch the hat” (on your head) with a volunteer from the audience.

Tosca Zoppe is an equestrienne and aerial ballerina. Her husband, John Joseph Walter, helps her in the act as Papino, a traditional European white-faced clown.

Papino and Tosca Zoppe, the Equestrienne Ballerina

Tosca Zoppe Horse and Aerial Act — Tosca Zoppe’s Horse and Aerial Act, assisted by Papino

Tosca Zoppe, performing aerial feats on a climbing rope

I love a good dog act. I know how much work it is to train a dog act that also includes chickens. This act would be very short-lived in my home. (I had a picture of the chickens, but you couldn’t tell what they were.)

The acrobats come from Poland and France, and I haven’t been able to find their names yet.