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ENTERTAINERS

A Young Circus Juggler Looks Beyond Ring One

By Anna Tidwell

Justino Zoppe, age nine, the youngest performer in the history of the Hamid Traveling Circus, did his seven minute juggling act in ring one. Ring one is called the Rookie Ring. It's for performers who are on their way up.

Before a crowd of 30,000 on this particular night, Justino's solo performance clicked like that of a seasoned juggler. He tossed his colored rings high in the air, catching them behind his back and under his legs as he smiled confidently and danced around the ring without a single drop. The crowd was mesmerized with his finale trick -- holding three torches in a mouthpiece while juggling four in the air.

"I like the circus," he said later. "But, yes, I was very nervous," he said, holding out his hand in a mocked quiver.

Justino was fortunate enough to be born into the ninth generation of a family of circus performers. The Zoppe troupe traces its roots to Milan, Italy, but the family moved to America in 1936. He was born while his parents were on tour in Canada, and holds dual citizenships for both Canada and the United States.

His first performance in the center ring came at seven months old, when he did a head stand in the palm of his father's hand. Today, nine years later, it is still a part of his parent's center ring act.

Justino shows further versatility by working along with his parents in their Rhesus monkey act. Justino mimics both monkey and father in this hilarious routine.

He was asked, do you miss being like a regular kid? Going to school every day and riding a bike? He answered, "No. I feel sorry for townie kids. They have to stay in one place and do the same things over and over again."

While the family is on tour, Justino's classroom is the kitchen table in his parent's trailer. His mother tutors him four hours a day, five days a week. Justino said, "Unlike most kids, I get to see the places I read about in books."

The worst thing about being with a traveling circus, he said, is the short-term friendships. "I just made two good friends here with this booking, but after it's over I'll go one way and they'll go another."

They stop traveling only for two months during the winter, around the holidays, when they return to a home in Rochester, Indiana.

How difficult is your juggling? He thought, then smiled his charming smile. "Juggling isn't a trick or a stunt. All you have to do is practice over and over until you get it right. My father used to do a juggling act when I was little. I tried to imitate him using his balls. Of course they fell all over the place and I kept chasing after them. It was great fun.

"But one day, my dad saw me playing with the balls and he started to teach me. I was three years old. He started me with just one ball. I had to throw it up in the air with one hand and catch it with the same hand.

"After a while when I wasn't dropping it so much he showed me how to throw it up with one hand and catch it with the other. Then I went to two balls, tossing and catching. But it was all in fun. I just played at it until I got to three balls. I was about six when I finally began juggling seriously."

He juggled for his father every day, but practiced three years before he performed his juggling in public. "I knew I had to have an act," he said. "Just tossing balls into the air isn't an act. I practiced with different objects -- tennis rackets, clubs, hoops, plates and torches. Then I put them all together into an act."

He makes all his own props. For instance, the device for his mouthstick torch bit is three rods welded together. "Last year during the off season, my father taught me how to weld," he explained.

What's the most difficult part of your act? He answered, "I haven't performed it yet. I'm still in ring one. I don't have time to do everything I know. I have to watch the center ring and time my act to it. When they're finished, I'm finished. But I've been practicing juggling two balls, a tennis racket and a china dish. I'm just waiting for a chance to perform that in the center ring."

With his good looks, charm and talents, Justino might be successful in many fields of entertainment. So how about the movies, or television? For the first time, his father, David, stepped in to answer. "He can do whatever he wants. I'd never stop him from doing what he wants."

But Justino shook his head. "No. The circus is my whole life. Here I can keep developing my skills. Last year I learned to weld. Who knows, next year I might learn something else..."

The ringmaster blew his whistle, and Justino jumped to attention, poised and alert. His announcement was made and he ran into the spotlight to perform again!