The Great Moscow Circus

My brother and I were lucky enough to get free tickets to see The Great Moscow circus. My parents got the tickets as a work perk. The Moscow Circus has been in operation in Australia since 1965 and it features over 45 cast members, liberty horses, macaw, buffalo, camels and llamas for a two hour show. This year is the 50^th anniversary of the circus and they will go for a three year tour around Australia.

Photography was not allowed during the performances so I didn’t take that many photos. There was one photo opportunity though when the clown invited the children from the audience to do a tug of war.

The performances were all good. The acrobats were effortlessly graceful. They must have strong core strength. I also thought about how I could never be a trapeze artist because I would be worried over whoever had to catch me. I figure that their arms might pop out of their sockets if they had to bear my weight.

The clowns were great as well. They kept the crowds entertained between set ups. Nino the clown had this one trick where he would balance a walking stick on his nose that had his vest and had propped on it as well and then he would let it fall and he’d be wearing his vest and hat again. I also liked the other clown and how when pretended to cry, fake tears would squirt out at a distance.

I was worried about animal welfare prior to going to the circus as there is some contention about working animals. I once went to a circus years ago that had animals that looked tired and underfed. Fortunately it was not the case at the Moscow Circus. While I am not a veterinarian, I thought the animals looked healthy and cherished. They were all well trained too and their performance was perfect. The horses, camels, buffalos and llamhas mostly ran around in a circle and did a few spins. The macaw flew from one end to another.

There was also death defying acts as well. There was also the ‘globe of death’ where six motorcyclists rode around in all at the same time. It was nerve wracking to watch. My favourite of the daring performances was when a large group of acrobats used a seesaw to launch each other up to do flips. The highlight of their act was to catapult of the acrobats so that he would land on a chair that was suspended on a pole.

Travelling circuses are rare so I was excited to see this circus. The big top looked magical at night. You can find tour dates and ticket prices here:  http://www.thegreatmoscowcircus.com.au/.