Ch. 2 Blackface
In 2010, life happened. We encountered many hurdles, but The Show Must Go On is an ethos we live by in the circus. Trouble started immediately when me and my circus performers tried to get on a plane from Chicago to Houston. On December 31st, New Year’s Eve 2009, just after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had attempted to blow up a plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day by hiding explosives in his underwear. The incident earning him the moniker the Underwear Bomber and of course, triggered Homeland Security to raise suspicions at the same time we left for Houston.
Our Spring Circus brought together youth from Our Spring Circus brought together youth from 12 schools for a performance at the Madisonville Arts Center (MAC), located in the marginalized neighborhood of Madisonville. This resulted in a packed house, or a “straw house” in circus lingo, where the audience sits on the floor due to full seating.
If the door is locked, a different knock may, or may not get you in, but most importantly, you have to keep moving.
This is why, since beginning this venture in 2009, I’ve managed to host visitors and secured visas for artists from 48 nations to our circus in Ludlow, KY. This exceptional group includes a multitude of shining stars who have all performed, coached, or competed in events I have produced. Individually, they have hailed from: (
Antigua
Argentina
Austria
Australia
Bolivia
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of Congo
Denmark
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Egypt
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Hungary
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Kenya
Kiowa Nation
Malaysia
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Oglala Lakota Nation
Poland
United Kingdom
United States of America
South Africa
South Korea
South Sudan
Spain
Sudan
Suriname
Switzerland
Tanzania
Togo
Uruguay
Venezuela