Piturea night atthe circus. te bright lights of the big top feria wth Teaping rape artists and madcap clowns. 18a spectacle a fas been inning audiences for contri; hstovans say the tadilon 0085S ver batt as Anciont Rome! But what is fe ike under the big top? We've asked traveling circus performer Kity Wonder to give Us @ privileged pook through the curtains . D> Some people dream of running away to join the Greus, but not me: | as. or ito Just ike my Ma an Di. ve been performing as a circus atte since the te Fe ed to walk! The cizcus is not just out family trad, is tar passion. {grew up immersed in creas elu tnled by the stories of my outrageous i Grandmother! Life on the open ro breeze; infact t can be exhausting, it brings. After all, is a golden oppor f orld) Ard better stil it glves me the chance to share my traveling Ifo. with @ band of extraordinary performers. es i D> We are nota huge creus and alo the performers, also work behind the scenes to Keep things, running eo rnootny, For axample, you might find the stac of the fying trapeze scattering savdust onthe circus floor or the sto" than sewing sequins onto sparky stage costumes, Inde, fright, clourul costumes ae vital in a circus, although nine is very simple, {'m a mime artist so, following mime Ton, | dress fom head to te in olan black. But | do aint my foe with neavy white make-up, and colour 6M peaks and lips a bright cherry red. The Yook 1 tially tromplete when | put on my big cury wig and Ite top ha My character Is playful, somotimes clumsy, but eens rtremely mischievoust | never fall to cause & Dit gammmoton and have lots of fun doing it! There are also traditional clowns in the shov, as well as fying trapens wetets acrobats, tightrope walkers, fie-breathers and Spord-swalloers. We even havea human cannon ball J> Going trom town to town and from city to city so fast estan staying for ony a night ~It can be quite exnausting ‘sometimes, The hours leading up 0 2 show are Yory ‘htanse and action-packed and | often Tose track of ime era rarely remember who | am and. what frm doing! There's an epi ist of things to do: we have to setup the happen. ‘moment arrives, and applause, | get inthe world. ! can dreams come Quickly ead the text to get the gist. Read 5 ‘ist. Read questions and possible answers and find the key words. Read the text again and identify the part that contains the answer to each question Try to find words/ohrases synonymous to the key words inthe quest ana answers. This wil help you do the task big top tent, check the climbing apparatus and safety net, test the fights and sound | system, and, of course, rehearse cour routines: and stunts to Keep them fresh and. exciting for the publi D> The moments spent waiting in the ‘wings before going out to face the crowd are ainays nerve-wracking; Vd say its my least avourtte part of tho day! Ws a kind of ‘stage ‘right’, however, | don't get It as badly as some who've joined our show. | remember the, Great Sebastian, who suffered teribly from the shakes; rover a good idea when you're walking @ tightrope same fffeon metres high in the alt ui, Ive never ban hie to compltaly rolax before a performance. But then again, {woul be concerned if ever became too relaxed aS iffave to bo to gle my best each time, Then, when the ‘and I step out infront ofthe bright lights 1a feeling of excitemant like nothing else honestly say its when | feel mast alive. TB the show usually ends around tYpm, and by midnight, after every performance, the ‘entire company sits down to eat under the stars; it’s our chance to chat about the highs and lows ‘of the show as well as @ Way to wind ‘down after all the frenetic: activity. The performances are $0 physically and ‘emotionally demanding that ‘having this time to come back dovin to ‘earth - sometimes literally! ~ Is ‘absolutely essential. f ever, ‘have a particularly exhausting or trying day, | always ‘remind myself how lucky Jam to be fiving this way. For me, the cous will aay De more than just a job; people come to the circus to see magic and ‘to life and I'm so happy to ‘help make this