Circus hair act was at Covelli

Staff/wire report

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

A spokesman for the parent company of the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus says the prognosis of eight acrobats who fell during an aerial performance hasn’t been determined yet, but they’re hopeful they will return to the show.

Stephen Payne says the women suffered a number of broken bones and other injuries consistent with a 30-foot fall during Sunday’s accident in Rhode Island.

Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said Monday that a clamp for the rigging that held the women to the rafters snapped. Payne says it’s premature to attribute the accident to a particular clamp, and an investigation is ongoing.

In the new act, created by Andre Medeiros, eight women give a choreographed performance while hanging by their hair.

In an interview with The Vindicator before the circus’s April 25-28 appearance at Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Medeiros said the safety of the performers comes first. “They can never change their hair,” he said. “They also have to take a lot of vitamins to help their hair. ... It’s a totally different care of your hair.”

Medeiros could not anticipate, of course, that it would be the rigging — and not the hair — that would fail.

Eric Ryan, director of Covelli Centre, said his experience with Ringling Bros. is that it has one of the highest standards for safety in the industry. “They have always taken safety precautions necessary to ensure the safety of the performers, staff and customers,” he said.

Ryan said the arena is prepared for freak accidents or any emergency. “We always have an emergency medical technician crew on site for every event,” he said. “An EMT and ambulance is present if our doors are open. Our employees are trained for such emergencies.”