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Thousands convene at Covelli for Circus Xtreme
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
Emma Viglio seemed hard-pressed to figure out which was more pleasing and entertaining: a rather docile animal act or a young woman being shot from a cannon and catapulted at least 50 feet across the arena.
“I liked when they had the camels,” the 6-year-old New Springfield girl said excitedly. “I liked the cannon, too.”
Emma, who had her face painted to resemble a tiger, and her mother, Angela Viglio, were among the estimated 1,500 people who reveled in the mix of the traditional and extreme during the first of three shows the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Presents Circus Xtreme troupe presented Saturday morning at the Covelli Centre downtown.
The circus continues at 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. today at the Covelli Centre.
“We try to go every year when they have it,” Angela said, adding she also enjoyed the performers who danced with snakes.
The festivities include the usual traditions such as animal acts, dances and clown performances. But also thrown in the ring are more daring feats by the woman who was fired from the cannon, the BMX bicycle riders, the strongmen and those who performed dangerous tightrope acts, noted Holly Graham, event coordinator.
“It’s really, really amazing to watch,” she said. “It’s a mix of tradition that feels like a circus, but takes it to the extreme.”
Apparently, the vast majority of attendees felt
the same as they watched the young woman travel at 55 mph and land on an inflatable mat after having been fired from a large, elevated cannon; a series of acrobatic moves on tightropes to music, including one in which two performers used jump ropes on the wire; and six entertainers in glow-in-the-dark clothing perform synchronized, rhythmical lifts and bounces on bungie cords.
Also part of the festivities were strongmen doing a series of tosses and catches, bicyclists performing flips off ramps and contortionists assuming unusual body twists and positions.
The first show opened with a variety of acrobatics on camels.
The second half’s start was a bit more subdued, with several women – some dressed as mermaids – performing slow, choreographed twirls on rings and in gently orbiting globes, but things quickly resumed a fast pace. A young showman seemed to get the upper hand on gravity by engaging in several tricks, hangs and jumps on the outside of a rotating wheel that rose about 40 feet.
Similarly, about a dozen performers wowed the audience with a variety of jumps and flips on a large trampoline. At one point, seemingly with assembly-line precision, the men jumped from the trampoline to the top and middle layer of a three-tier platform.
More traditional elements followed, with a series of tiger moves, rolls and jumps on command, as well as tricks with seven poodles of various sizes. At one point, several of the small dogs jumped over one another as an instrumental version of the popular Bruno Mars song “Uptown Funk” played.
The lineup also featured clown acts, along with cheerleading stunts.
Audience members, children and adults, were filled with anticipation and the reality of Saturday’s 3 p.m. show.
Destin DiFrischia and her daughter, Lexilyn Tepsic, 3, of New Castle, Pa., and Jodi Conti, Destin’s mother-in-law and Trudi Conti, 4, of Enon Valley, enjoyed the pre-show entertainment by dancers and clowns and other circus cast members.
Lexilyn was primarily interested in getting some cotton candy.
Joe Anderson of Akron said coming to the circus was a birthday present from his wife, Jessica, and his children, Jacob, 6; Jenna, 7, and Joella, 11/2.
Anderson said his job as a football coach at Lake High School in Canton doesn’t leave a lot of time for family activities, and now that the season is over, the circus was a chance for the family to do something together.
The Scaduto family members of Hubbard, speaking during intermission of the Saturday afternoon performance, said they were amazed by the skill and daring of the performers.
Jerry Scaduto and his wife, Karen, who attended the performance with their daughter, Tanya Scaduto, and granddaughter, McKenzie Howard, said they thoroughly enjoyed the circus, although they missed seeing elephants, which were recently eliminated from the shows in response to public concerns for their welfare.
It’s probably not a dare, though, to assume that few left Saturday’s performances disappointed – especially since many likely were seeing several elements for the first time, Graham, the event coordinator, surmised.
“This is the first time the Circus Xtreme has been at the Covelli Centre,” she said.
CONTRIBUTOR; Vindicator staff writer William K. Alcorn contributed to this report.