FLYING WALLENDAS : TROUPE RISES TO THE OCCASION PERFORMERS SOAR IN DETROIT

FLYING WALLENDAS : TROUPE RISES TO THE OCCASION PERFORMERS SOAR IN DETROIT
Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) - Saturday, March 7, 1998
Author: Tom Spalding STAFF WRITER
A clown walked over to the man in the wheelchair, next to some aged bleachers with chipped green paint, and put his arm around his shoulder.

``You taught them well,'' said the clown, a man named Happy who wore a white jumpsuit, a big red nose and a face covered with makeup.

Mario Wallenda, 57, who was paralyzed when he fell from a tightrope 36 years ago, smiled.

He had reason to be proud.

His friends and relatives in the new Flying Wallendas had just completed the high-wire trick that permanently injured him - a seven-person pyramid 25 feet above the ground without a net.

``I was scared,'' said Wallenda, who took Polaroid snapshots of the performance.

At the Moslem Shrine Circus, 3,000 people watched in awe, then gave a standing ovation for the performers who had not performed that stunt publicly in Detroit since the Flying Wallendas ' pyramid collapsed here Jan. 30, 1962.

Two members of the troupe died in that accident.

The pyramid was created for a performance only three times after the crash - until Friday. The new Flying Wallendas are 13 Sarasotans who are descendants, friends or loved ones of the original performers.

Cal Purvin, 75, who witnessed the fatal accident, returned to the State Fair Coliseum to see the new Flying Wallendas perform.

``Look at 'em,'' the Michigan man said as they dazzled the crowd. ``If that's not nerves . . . .''

The Wallendas ' two performances Friday were promoted in newspaper ads, on television and on billboards throughout the Detroit area. The performance drew national media attention and a documentary film crew.

Other circus performers said they didn't feel upstaged.

``It's to be expected, particularly with the public with the Wallendas - and rightfully so,'' said Dolly Jacobs, of Sarasota, who performs in the circus with an acrobatic act that includes the rings.

She and her sister watched the Wallendas ' rehearse Thursday and she made a point to catch at least a part of Friday's performances.

``It was very impressive, all the people up there . . . we had tears in our eyes,'' she said.

Before the act began, the Wallendas - the women dressed in white outfits, the men in black tuxedos - gathered in a circle. A pastor led them in prayer. Flying Wallenda leader Tino Wallenda-Zoppe uttered, ``Everybody take courage.''

In the darkness, the 13 troupe members moved into the first performance ring and one by one climbed up to the elevated platform and waited for another act - tigers jumping through a fiery hoop - to finish.

After some more hoopla, the spotlight was turned on them. On the wire, members of the Flying Wallendas walked backward, stood on a bicycle or on their heads.

Then came the pyramid, a technically dangerous stunt - the showstopper. The Wallendas were a bit ``nervous'' and shaky during the rehearsal Thursday, but they worked out the kinks for Friday's premiere.

The seven performers - four walking the wire, two on their shoulders and one in a chair on top - moved 44 feet across the high wire.

Now, it's on to 36 more performances in Detroit through March 22, then to a show in St. Louis. Other performances are pending. The Wallendas plan to keep on performing long after the cameras go, pleasing the people they most like - the audience.

Purvin, who witnessed the '62 fall, said the first thing he thought of after Friday's performance was, ``Great job. They lived.''