Anita Zeman performs with Cirque Italia Gold Unit specializing in rollerskating and quick change with a background in aerial acrobatics. She also performs with her husband and daughter in a BMX routine. Anita grew up in the circus and was gracious enough to tell us what touring with her family in 2020 is like!

Photos of Zeman family performances with Cirque Italia provided by Twin Spire Photography.

An interview with a circus mom who travels with Cirque Italia Gold Unit:

How long has the circus been a part of your life?

Anita: I was born in it, I am a 5th generation circus performer on my father’s side and my mother was a teacher. My husband who also performs in Cirque Italia is a 2nd generation and went to school in Hungary. Together we do a BMX act and rollerskating and we do a quick-change act too. My daughter wanted to find something to do too so she is a part of the BMX routine. My son is the strong shy type and he’s 17 but my daughter who is 7 really just wants to perform. When she grows up she wants to be a circus performormer and a vet. I performed in Vegas before this and we had a short run on America’s Got Talent, this is now my fourth year with Cirque Italia.

What is the community like when working in a traveling circus?

Anita: We basically are a traveling village. All the performers have trailers and evey once in a while our neighbors will change but we have our own generator for the tent and another for the trailers. There is a cook trailer and we have our own kitchens in our trailers as well. Some of us have pets and all of the moms have a pretty close bond. We might argue from time-to-time like anyone but everyone really does get along. It is like a family.

Have you found that the safety requirements from state-to-state are different?

Anita: They can be different yes but we try to keep everything more than what is necessary. We all have families that are traveling with us so safety is always the most important thing for all of us. When we walk in the tent you’ll see that we have team members sanitizing all of the seats between shows and then we close off seats between guests that are not available for sale. We are at limited capacity. There are sanitizing stations at both concessions and the merchandise tables with social distancing markers on the floor. It is a crazy time and we are all learning to adapt.

Do you find it easier to feel safe and trust your performance team because of the circus dynamic?

Anita: Yes, like I say we all live here together and we are responsible to each other and our guests. Safety comes first and I think we are all trained to adapt. Growing up and going to school in different countries I always had to learn new languages and now as a mom I homeschool my son and daughter which has its own challenges while on the road from keeping everyone on schedule to dealing with spotty Wifi at times but we are survivors. I have always loved history. In the past, when we travel I have tried to take my children to different historic places and what I find most interesting about circus history is its ability to survive and adapt. You’ll hear about the circus in Germany in the 40s and how when the men were called to go to war the women worked to keep the circus alive and it’s really incredible.

You mention the circus’ ability to survive but in recent years we have seen the fall of Ringling Bros. and very recently Cirque du Soleil. Does it feel like you are carrying the torch a little more now?

Anita: Definitely, I like to believe we are survivors. I was always taught by my dad to get back up if I fall and I try to teach my children the same. It’s so easy to give up at times but I try to teach them to not let outside forces dictate their story or will to keep getting back up. With limited capacity we are at times performing more shows than ever to accomodate those who want to come see it. For instance, we only planned to have 7 shows here from Thursday through Sunday but due to demand we were able to perform 1 show Thursday, 2 on Friday, 4 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday so… 11! And I say bring it on, I love to perform, it is nice to have downtime after a single show but I really feel we have a purpose to give people something fun to take their minds off the constant stress in their lives.

At what point during the show do you feel like you can exhale and know the stress is over?

Anita: When we all go out on stage at the finale, until then it is just go, go, go! We always have to be ready to perform in case anything goes wrong and to keep up with the packed schedule because we fit a lot of things into the time we have you. For me personally, I’m relieved once we get through the rollerskating because there is water everywhere on the stage and we are skating and twirling so I can exhale if I didn’t slip and fall!

A huge thank you to the team at Cirque Italia and to Anita Zeman for sharing her story! If you want to attend Cirque Italia’s show there are 4 final performances today but tickets are running out, to check availibility click here.