Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 133, Number 19, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 8 May 2014 — Page 8

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Advance News • Thursday, May 8, 2014

Jugglin’ Jim talks about circus life

By Michelle Donaghey Advance Correspondent « | WAKARUSA While winds blew ferojaotisly strong during some of the Maple Syrup Festival, necessitating many vendors jo batten down their tents extra tight, circus tnember and stilt walker Jim Kent said it really wasn't bad at all for him comparatively. 1 "The high winds of Waky, well, they were nothing compared to some of my other gigs. I was out at Lake Tahoe in California at a street festival. The road was sloped up and along the sides were flat faced casinos that created a Vortex of wind from off the lake," he said going on to describe the precarious walking situation he encountered. "With gusts upwards of 35 to 40 mph channeling up mat road, 1 had to lean almost impossibly to counteract the forces and move forward! Sure, it was fun to watch for everyone else, but as the tallest Asian Uncle Sam you have ever seen, it was difficult! The beard and the flag flapped in the wind so freely and on top of all of this, the roads were flooded with drunken partiers from every direction! It was one of tne most difficult, but certainly one of the most fun gigs in my book," he noted smiling adding that he stands about nine foot tall in his traditional Dura stilts, which are the type that contractors or drywallers use that are safer than just traditional wooden stilts. "f picked up stilt walking in high school and haven't stopped. They are just a blast to perform on and are a really uplifting opportunity!" he added noting that it took him about 20 minutes to learn to walk in them. A member of the Kent Family Circus that performed several times during the Maple Syrup Festival, he said that stilt walking isn't the only thing that he has learned as a circus performer, travelling all over the country. "I have always been in the circus 'forever' Dr as long as I can remember. I started off bn a stage at a very young age holding a box lid for my father, Victor Kent, in his magic show. As time went on I learned more magic tricks and escapes with my younger brothers and sisters joining the show along the way," he said noting that he learned to juggle at a mere 10 years of age. "So my family bought a large amount of equipment and after a while of training, sometimes under duress, I started juggling on stage," he said adding that his inspiration to learn to juggle and balance such large things as a wheelbarrow came from the performer Jean Paul who was working in Northern California where he came from. He and his brothers and sister took on their own specialties as time went on. "Princess Cynthia- all the girls are called

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Jim, 24, who spends most of his time marketing and designing all the new routiries for the coming season, says that he has three dreams he would love to make come true. 1) "I would love to have a quartet with me at almost all times to randomly sing with me as I go about my daily life."2)The circus could use a large group of gymnasts for new acts and new training.'lt would be the show of a lifetime." 3) I would love to have a show of all live music. (Photo by Michelle Donaghey)

princess on stage- became a down and a box jumper (the girl who gets cut into four, levitate, and general magic assistant) while Indiana Miles in the bull whip artist. Titus, my developmentally disabled brother, performs magic. Victor Kent Jr. is the escape

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artist Mid tight rope artist. Princess Amelia Is the Aerial Silk Dancer, mind reader and hula hoop artist while Princess Olivia is the Animal worker and overall aerialist/ contortionist," he explained.

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Besides stilt walking on the street between acts, Jim explains that he is the trainer and designer of all die acts. "The funny thing about being the trainer in a modem society is that all I have learned about the circus acts and how to perform them has come from watching YouHtbe or looking at Pinterest photos!" he says smiling explaining that most of the time he can "reverse engineer what I see and change them around to teach it to the children in a manner that they can understand. It takes a large family to put on a great show and with the Kent family, Jim said that at any point during touring they can have "up to 12 performers with us. The ringleader of the snow is Victor Kent who is die glue that makes the circus work, he notes. "With his story telling circus barking ways, each act becomes personal to the audience. His wife, my mother, Mami Kent, is from Japan and is a juggler in the show as well." Not only do they have people, but also animals as well that go on the road with them. "We have three dogs that travel with us, Belle the Wonderdog, (miniature poodle white performance dog) Tatortot, who is a brown toy poodle which has a fluff that makes him look like a tater tot and lastly, Litde Girl, who is a house pet." Unlike other families however, they also have on the road with them, two bunnies, two snakes, one cockatoo, three doves and a tortoise. While some might think traveling with animals might be cruel to the animals, Jim noted that their vet told them it is an advantage to their longevity. 'The exposure to multiple climates seems to increase the lifespan of animals compared to other family pets of the same kind," he said. Having all of these people and pets makes for great shows as they are a "circus inspired variety show" that has had its' share of good and bad times and some really funny antics and some emergency room visits! "I could write whole books on the show, what it does and the stores that go wit it. We've had props fly across the stage due to the wind, we've had our dog, Belle, run out and check out the audience and run back. With kids and animals you never know what to expect! I have had my fair share of split seems and ripped clothing from my own act. I've fractured or broken a rib balancing a wheelbarrow on my fact. I was sitting and balancing the thing when it slipped off my chin and only my chest!" 1 "Every year, we have had broken tires, lost tread, .broken axles on our vehicles, you name it. Our convoy of vehicles include the RV-with a trailer behind it that doubles as a bunk house and a 15 passenger van that hauls all of the circus equipment in a large

trailer," he notes. Despite all that could happen and does happen on the road, the family keeps doing it because, as Jim says, "It's a bit addicting!" "We perform because we really don't know any other life. We travel together as a family across the country. We get to try new foods (a favorite of his is chicken gizzards!) and we get to meet incredible people! It's a life many people dream they could nave! The kids get to experience history rather than just read about it from books."