Circus Royale brings thrills and laughter to the Onderberg
For the first time in over a decade, Onderbergers had the opportunity to marvel at a trapeze artist, laugh at a clown and be amazed by a magician, when Circus Royale visited the area last week.
MALALANE – Circus Royale visited Komatipoort and Malalane last week and, despite the heat, proved to be most entertaining.
The performers warmed up the crowd as, led by the clown and dressed as animals, they executed flips and jumps in a jump-rope “competition”.
Next up was the lovely Tseetse Boldbayar, who fearlessly swung from a trapeze high in the air.
She also performed with her husband, Javkhlan, who balanced high poles and other contraptions on his shoulders for Tseetse to swing from with jaw-dropping precision and skill. He also performed a slackline act where he juggled balls, rings and other objects while balancing on a thin rope.
Tseetse trained a few cats to balance, weave and jump through obstacles – a feat any cat owner or lover would admire greatly.
Pagma and her adorable dogs followed. Despite their panting due to the unfamiliar heat, the dogs jumped through and over a variety of objects, balanced on their hind legs and even pushed round objects.
She also trained doves in various tricks that amazed the crowd.
Doves were let loose from different sides of the tent at intervals and flew to perches on a see-saw, flipping ring and Pagma’s shoulders.
Zimbabwean trio Terrance, Donny and Given tumbled, flipped and balanced in a fast-paced act of amazing skill.
Rashid the Magic Man had jaws dropping with his incredible magic tricks, ranging from turning torn-up bits of newspaper into R100 notes to transforming a dove into a cat.
Ringmaster Jacques and his horse, Kentucky, were a hit as the equine perfectly bowed to the crowd. In the last act a few of the performers jumped and twirled on and off the horses while they galloped around the ring.
In-between acts, the clown, Saruul Paatsai, roped in fellow performers and even a few audience members for skits that had the crowd shaking with laughter.
Circus Royale was formed in March, after Paatsai and Javkhlan bought the Brian Boswell circus.
They kept a few of the original acts (performers from South Africa and Mongolia) and recruited others from Zimbabwe, for a total of 15 staff members. “We’re a small, rainbow national family,” manager Zelda Cloete said.
They rotate their acts and costumes every year to keep their act fresh.
PHOTO GALLERY: Circus Royale dazzles and entertains Onderbergers
The circus is based in KwaZulu-Natal but travels across the country year-round. Staff members live in caravans and apartments in a special truck. Cloete says one of their biggest challenges is getting suitable terrain to set up on in each town.
Circus Royale will perform in White River until Sunday.
For more information contact them on 076-536-5454 or look for them on Facebook.
