In high school, I had the opportunity to learn and perform a circus act. For a civic theater production of Barnum, I was taught the Spanish Web. 3 other women and I trained with a woman who had defected from a Russian circus. She was incredible. Luba was in her fifties, she was tiny, and the physically strongest woman I have yet to meet.
Training was intense, 3-4 hours every evening. We would hop from one end of the mat to the other on one leg backwards, pull-ups, push-ups, ballet, and so much more. All that before we even touched the rope. We learned how to climb the rope, how to wrap our legs around the rope to look as though we just slither up to the loop 15 feet over the floor. I learned to spin with my wrist in the loop and my ankle in the loop. I learned how to go from an upside down position to an upright one gracefully, and I learned how to descend the rope slowly using only my arms. I felt strong, I was strong. I once counted the blisters on my hands and feet, at one time I had 13 separate blisters. I would develop blisters on top of blisters, my hands and feet would bleed each evening. I felt beautiful. I was so invested in this art that I dreamed of continuing.
In watching the program I see behind the scenes of what circus life is like, the hardships, the failures, the successes, and the joys of performing. That is why watching this program is exciting and heart breaking, I get a glimpse of “what may have been”. I could never, and would never, trade my experiences or make different decisions. I have a charmed life. My life is full of people, places, and experiences that changed my life….or could have.
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