By Ken de la Bastide
PERU — The floor of the Peru Circus Center is filled with noise and activity while the youthful performers practice for the upcoming shows on unicycles, the trapeze and gymnastics equipment.
But suddenly the arena becomes silent and the attention of everyone shifts to the high wire, where female performers practice the three-high, seven-person pyramid.
“Step ... step ... step,” fills the arena as Brittainy Wallick directs the four girls at the base of the pyramid who are making their way across the 5/8-inch wide cable suspended 22 feet above the floor.
The nine members of the troupe have been practicing three nights a week since March in preparation for the run of the Peru Amateur Circus from July 11-18.
The experience of the girls in the act range from two to 10 years.
Wallick, 20, is the daughter of trainer Randy and has been walking the high wire for seven years. She has been performing in the circus for 14 years.
“My parents were professional high-wire walkers with the Shrine Circus,” Wallick said.
She has suffered injuries over the years, including a shoulder injury in 2005, and underwent knee surgery in 2007.
“It gets so hot up there that I wish someone would get me a snow cone,” Wallick said of performing under the lights.
Chelcie Carpenter, 18, has been a performer with the circus for 10 years and on the high wire for six years.
“It was the most amazing thing I ever saw in my life,” she said of the high wire act.
The performers admit to being nervous when performing but say they are able to block out the spectators.
“You’re so focused,” Carpenter said. “After a while, it doesn’t matter.”
Carly Christensen, 13, has been performing in the high-wire act for three years and shares the top position of the pyramid with Maddy Eddy, 13, a four-year veteran on the high wire.
“I try not to mess up,” Christensen said. “I don’t want them to hate me.”
Leanne Jamison, 16, is one of two performers that climb a wire from the side of the arena to the pedestal, passing over seated spectators in the process.
“It’s awful,” she said with a laugh. “People are looking at you and sometimes there are comments that make you wonder what you forgot.”
All the high wire performers start on the tight wire, which is only a few feet off the arena floor, and gradually move to the high wire.
“You have to learn how to walk with the balancing poles,” Samantha Crone, 18, said.
They all agreed that Family Night and the final performance of the season are the times when they become the most nervous before performing.
“We become closer than anyone else,” Crone said. “We rely on each other. Once circus starts, we become a family.”
Tessa Brunner, 15, stands on a chair that is balanced on a pole being held on the shoulders of two other performers.
“I tried the trapeze and didn’t like the swinging,” she said. “I like to have more control.”
Trainer Randy Wallick said the high wire act will be the finale this year for only the second year in the 50-year history of the circus.
“They have worked real hard,” he said.
Wallick said professional circus people are surprised that the all-girl act is able to perform the seven-person pyramid.
“It’s complex,” he said.
Wallick said stresses the importance of teamwork from the first day of practice.
He performed with the Peru Amateur Circus in 1972 on the high wire when it was suspended only 8 feet off the arena floor.
The act is performed above a safety net, and Wallick has three skilled men who hold safety harnesses for the performers climbing to a second or third level.
Wallick said he become nervous before the final performance because that is when the professionals are in Peru.
“I just want everything to go smooth and right,” he said.
The troupe is made up of: Jessa Smith, 19; Samantha Crone, 18; Carly Christensen, 13; Brittainy Wallick, 20; Leanne Jamison, 16; Chelcie Carpenter, 18; Tarrin Cooper, 18; Maddy Eddy, 13; and Tessa Brunner, 15.
