Circus thrills area kids

One of the featured acts that brought gasps from onlookers was The Flying Cortez Family.
STRUTHERS -- Smiling faces, big cheers and laughter from hundreds of elementary schoolchildren filled Struthers Fieldhouse as the 37th annual Circus Aut Mori returned to the area.
"The Circus with a Purpose," as many residents have come to call it, had a special morning performance Tuesday for the schoolchildren, who were dazzled as performers embarked on amazing stunts such as walking across a high wire and slipping through rings of fire.
Consisting of 18 acts, the circus featured ringmaster Danny McCallum, a graduate of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Clown College, and tiger trainer Kay Rosaire.
Terrific Tigers: Rosaire led a family of the Terrific Tigers that jumped through rings of fire in their cage.
"I've been a part of the circus all my life as part of the eighth generation involved in the circus life," said Rosaire, whose trained tigers have performed throughout the world.
The Flying Cortez Family, trapeze artists, floated through the air with the greatest of ease.
Alex Cortez, 24, one of the performers, comes from Florida and said he has been a part of the circus for most of his life. Alex performs with his wife, Christina, 23.
Johnny Peers and his playful pups presented a comedy act in which he stood on his hands and let the smaller pups walk between them. Then, he jumped rope, letting some of his pups jump with him.
Peers said that most of the dogs he trains come from dog pounds from New York to El Paso, Texas. Peers is a native of Sarasota, Fla.
Acrobatics and swirling hoops were highlighted in the act featuring Misha and Kristina Katchalov, a father-daughter duo from Russia.
The children also enjoyed the exuberant, comedy-based style of the Funny Fellows and Grotto Clowns.
Proceeds: Circus Aut Mori generates funds benefiting Forum Health Tod Children's Hospital and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.
Tod Children's Hospital will receive $8,000, and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation will receive $2,000 of the proceeds.
William Duffy, financial director and member of the local Aut Mori Grotto, said the proceeds symbolize a way of giving back to the tri-county area.
He said the Valley provides his group a place to have the circus each year, and the Grotto gives back a portion of the proceeds to help the less fortunate.
Leland Clegg, another longtime Grotto member and circus publicity director, said Struthers High School students work hard each year at the circus by cleaning up and changing parts of the scenery from act to act.