Risking life and limb ... that's the way of the circus

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

The Moscow State Circus, continuing a tour of the Islands, includes daring motorcycle stunts and aerial acrobatics.

Moscow State Circus On Kaua'i: 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the War Memorial Convention Hall On O'ahu: 7 p.m. Thursday, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. March 26; 1, 4 and 7 p.m. March 27 and 28 at Blaisdell Arena On the Big Island: 1, 4 and 7 p.m. April 3 and 4 at Hilo Afook-Chinen Auditorium; 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. April 6 and 7 at the Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kona (Maui shows were last weekend) $20 general, $25 preferred seating, $30 VIP seating, free for children under 12 with coupon (one per paid adult; general admission only; coupons available at local merchants; coupon also redeemable for preferred seating upgrade) (877) 750-4400

It's all they know. It's what they do. It's their life.

They're circus people, descendants of the famed Karl Wallenda, the backbone and inspiration of The Flying Wallendas act that headlined the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the heyday of high-wire tension in the 1930s and '40s.

Rietta, 43, is a seventh-generation Wallenda; daughter Lyric, 19, is eighth generation. They are part of The Flying Wallendas legacy, a legendary circus act known for their aerial dynamics and awe-inspiring pyramid motifs way above the ground. Patriarch Karl Wallenda died doing what he loved — in a 1978 fall — and his kin are carrying on his tradition in Hawai'i as the Moscow State Circus continues to tour the state this week and into April.

"It's in the blood," Rietta said of the daily risk in the name of entertainment. "It's what you do when you're born into a circus family. To face death every day is part of the livelihood. If everyone could do this, what would be the purpose for what we do? It's a little bit of our norm."

Daughter Lyric, likewise, grew up practically in the ring. "I remember being 4 in an amusement park, working on a bar that was a foot off the ground," she said. "I remember making my debut on a single trapeze when I was 5 1/2, in Clarksburg, W.Va. I think I learned to walk on the wire before I learned to walk on the ground."

Rietta recalls assisting circus acts from early on. "I remember learning to walk on three-feet-high wire, becoming part of the act. It's what we later did with our own kids; in the circus, you can't help but learn to perform. Be in it.

"I made my professional debut as an aerialist at 13, but to be honest, I was always given the chance to make my own choice, not forced to work in the circus," said Rietta. "I chose to do it; it's what I do best. It's what I truly love and (can) make the most money doing."

The Flying Wallendas gained acclaim and admiration for its crowning achievement, a seven-person chair pyramid, with four men on a wire 35 feet in the air, two pairs bound by shoulder bars; a second level, with two more daredevils, supported a woman sitting, then standing, in a chair. All this risky business was conducted on a bicycle on a wire.

"You knock on wood before you go on, but you don't think of much else," said Rietta. The family since has mounted an eight-person three-level pyramid; a 10-person pyramid; and — gasp — still another with 13 people.

The visiting show, however, will not include the pyramid feat.

In the current show, Lyric hangs by her ankle, linked to her mom's hands.

"I also walk the wire," she said.

"Sometimes, we work with other relatives; I've done shows with my cousins," said Lyric, who's been with the Moscow Circus for 14 of her 19 years.

The family bases its act, and its school, in Sarasota, Fla., where the craft of high-wire walking and aerial trapeze is taught to anyone eager to learn the skills of the animal-free circus.

"At Sarasota, we learn from everyone — my mom, my grandma, my uncles, my aunts, my cousins," said Lyric. "Though I never went to 'circus school,' because I learned from my family while I was growing up, there are opportunities now for someone to learn."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.