BY RYAN E. SMITH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Bigger is always better at the Big Top. Unless you're Renzo Ticolini.
This is one circus performer who doesn't need to share the spotlight with something as mammoth as a tiger or elephant. He'll take a cute little kitty cat every time.
So when the Zenobia Shrine Circus opens its annual stint in Toledo today at SeaGate Convention Centre, Ticolini will be there, and so will his highly trained house cats. They'll be leaping from pedestal to pedestal, jumping through hoops, even walking across wires.
"Everyone has cats," Ticolini said. "People like it because it's very hard to train the cats."
"Other than to run away," added circus producer Jody Jordan
People expecting to see big cats at the circus won't be disappointed either. What may surprise them is just how big real lions and tigers are when seen up close, according to their trainer Vincent Von Duke, who also owns puppies, an alligator, pythons, and other snakes — but no house cats.
"Some people have parakeets. I have other pets," he said.
Feeding all of them is no easy task.
"The beef is shipped in to me," Von Duke said. "The chicken comes from Super Wal-Mart every time. Super Wal-Mart loves us."
This week's event, produced by the Jordan World Circus and lasting through Sunday, will have elephants, horses, camels, and a plethora of human performers to accompany them.
One act will feature a giant steel sphere filled with three daredevil motorcyclists racing up, down, and all around. Another will involve something called the "wheel of death.
The real question is not what will amaze you but what won't. The aerial bungee team? The double-somersaulting BMX rider? The contortionists?
Joe Crawford, Zenobia Shrine Circus director, said the show tries to include acts that will cater to as wide a range of interests as possible, from animals to human skill.
"It's one of the things that we work hard to do," he said.
Which is how you end up with a trampoline routine and kitty cats in the same circus. Crawford likes the idea that there's at least one act that little kids can relate to, thanks to Ticolini's small, fluffy friends.
"You take the elephants and all of the big things ... that's a little extreme for a little guy," he said.
Proceeds from the circus support the Zenobia Shrine Center.
The 58th annual Zenobia Shrine Circus will present daily shows at 2 and 6:30 p.m. starting today and lasting through Sunday at SeaGate Convention Centre, 401 Jefferson Ave. Tickets range from $10 to $25 and are available at the SeaGate box office, 419-255-3300, or through Ticketmaster, 419-474-1333 or ticketmaster.com.
Originally published in The Blade on Thursday, March 19, 2009
Renzo Ticolini's house cats join the lions and tigers under the Big Top