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Work Life
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“We’re not the typical clown with the nose, the big shoes. We’re not the scary clowns. We swag out our clown.”
It’s not every day you see a five-year-old boy in a white tuxedo walking a tightrope twenty feet in the air.
Does an injury end a career in the circus? For Danny Rodriguez, a fifth-generation circus performer born to aerialist parents, nothing would stop him.
“We’re rolling out the red carpet for the youth circuses of tomorrow who are coming up today. The top hat is a symbol of that,” says ringmaster Tim Mack.
Look into Emma Clarke’s backyard in Sarasota, Florida, and you’ll probably find the 11-year-old performing professional-grade circus routines for a neighborhood crowd.
A lifelong circus performer, Lucky Malatsi started training as an acrobat at the age of four. Now he is the ringmaster for UniverSoul Circus.
Dylan Wynne: regular teenager by day, circus flier by night.
Husband and wife Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell started the troupe in 2006. Their house, tucked away among the trees, is half living space and half composing space.
Dominique Jando knows the circus inside and out. Born and raised in Paris, France, and now living in San Francisco, he has spent his entire adult life surrounded by the circus.
On July 1, the Folklife Festival will celebrate D.C. Circus Day, officially designated by the District of Columbia and Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Support the Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Cultural Vitality Program, educational outreach, and more.