‘Do Portugal’ in Lubbock: A Look Into the World of Daring Performers
Many of us growing up wanted to runaway and join the circus but for a few lucky people they were born into it.
Welcome One and All!
In an interview with Do Portugal Circus performer, 23-year-old Aldo Portugal, states he's been with the circus his whole life and started working on his act at age 12. Aldo, who is a fifth generation performer, does many things in the circus such as clowning for audiences but aside from making people laugh he also fills them with shock, in a good way. That shock actually comes from his death-defying act of being 30 feet in the air as he is on the trapeze, single trapeze, and laughs in the face of gravity.
Practice Makes Perfect
There's lots of practice when it comes to death-defying acts and you need plenty of it when it comes to things such as strength, balance, and flipping among the other things that are needed. In his personal experience Aldo trained for three years before he actually performed for an audience and states that the shock the audiences has when performing is what hooked him in.
Millions of Miles a Minute
What goes through a daring death-defying performers mind when they are 30 feet in the air above an audience gasping in wonder. Well one phrase used is 'tighta**', as stated by Aldo, and that means tighten everything in your body such as legs, hands, arms, and even butt so that you have better control.
So when your mind is going a million miles a minute defying gravity it's good to have a go-to word for the experience. While the mindset in death-defying acts is way different from the other side of the tent, clowning, Aldo does state that he has two different mindsets between the two acts.
Words of Circus Wisdom
It is a dangerous job and there is always that 'what if I fall' but it's a risk that most circus performers are willing to take and know that it's not for everyone. Anyone can do join if they're willing to practice and if you are willing to work for it then you can runaway and join the circus even if you weren't born into it because they are just a big family. Aldo does state that clowning is harder, and scarier, than trapeze but you can find out if you have what it takes to be a comedic entertainer in the circus.
Do Portugal Circus will be in the Hub City until Sunday, June 25, so make sure you catch all the death-defying, funny, and overall high quality entertaining show before they leave. More information about Do Portugal Circus can be found on their official website.