About an hour before the first show of the evening, he transformed in the passenger seat of his pickup truck. Holding a small white mirror, he applied white foundation over his face, dabbed black powder into his eyebrows and rubbed hot pink powder on his cheeks and nose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pulled on his blue jumper and a striped long-sleeve shirt with a bright red pocket and checked the set once again before showtime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Circus performer Julio Ramazini puts on clown makeup before the First Thursday circus performance April 2 at the Rotary Dream Park in downtown Arlington. Ramazini is the co-owner of the Ramazini Circus and a ladder clown.<\/p>\n
Photo by Samarie Goffney<\/a><\/p>\n There was no spotlight to mark the beginning of the act, just the sun beating overhead and the wind whipping as oversized beanbags soared through the air back and forth between him and his partner, the steady exchange easing the crowd into the rhythm of the circus act. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCircus is a free spirit \u2014 so we do what we love,\u201d said Julio Ramazini, co-owner of the Ramazini Circus and ladder clown. \u00a0<\/p>\n As part of downtown Arlington\u2019s First Thursday, The Ramazinis\u2019 Circus Extravaganza brought a 15-minute three-man street show spectacle to Rotary Dream Park, featuring juggling, aerial stunts and spinning tops.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Ramazinis are a circus duo based in Dallas-Fort Worth. Owners Kelli and Julio Ramazini toured the U.S. for several years with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus before opening their production company in Texas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve really never had any other job than what we do; we\u2019re performers, and that\u2019s it,\u201d Kelli Ramazini said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m living my dream every day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The dream, however, takes consistent work, day in and day out.<\/p>\n \u201cCircus is a free spirit \u2014 so we do what we love.\u201d<\/p>\n – Julio Ramazini, co-owner of the Ramazini Circus<\/p>\n Kelli Ramazini said before she and Julio Ramazini had their child, they would practice for about three hours a day. Now they squeeze in two to three two-hour practice sessions per week.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re so busy with shows now that we pretty much practice between our shows while we\u2019re there,\u201d Kelli Ramazini said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Circus performers Julio Ramazini, left, and Kelli Ramazini perform a juggling stunt during a First Thursday circus performance April 2 at Rotary Dream Park in downtown Arlington. Julio Ramazini said the wind was a challenge and they tried their best not to drop anything.<\/p>\n Photo by Samarie Goffney<\/a><\/p>\n However, Julio Ramazini said performing keeps him young.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMentally, if I\u2019m being honest, I still think I\u2019m in circus school,\u201d\u00a0 Julio Ramazini said. \u201cI\u2019m in my 20s, but every morning when I wake up, I feel my 40s.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Audience engagement, he said, is essential to performances.\u00a0<\/p>\n Liam Fenwick, 7, practices juggling during the First Thursday circus performance April 2 at Rotary Dream Park in downtown Arlington. Fenwick said he enjoyed juggling and will practice more.\u00a0<\/p>\n Photo by Samarie Goffney<\/a><\/p>\n Embedded Instagram video post from The Shorthorn.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery single show is a tryout for a clown,\u201d Julio Ramazini said. \u201cWhen you get good feedback from the audience, you keep it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Julio Ramazini threw a solid red hat across the lawn to Kelli Ramazini. The crowd watched in anticipation as the hat soared in the air. The hat barely missed Kelli Ramazini\u2019s head. Julio Ramazini ran, grabbed the hat, and tried again.\u00a0<\/p>\n The rule of threes is applied to everything in clowning, Julio Ramazini said. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf it doesn\u2019t work in the third time, we need to move on,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you got it the first time, it\u2019s like a fire inside.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n Aerialist Natalia Valencia said seeing audience members with big reactions helps her pull through her performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before her act began, Valencia checked her reflection in the truck window, flattening down her hair and adjusting her suit. She stretched her arms and legs, plastered a smile on her face, and walked from behind the truck, ready to grab onto the aerial silk.\u00a0<\/p>\n The music started, and she was in the air, twirling in the fabric while cars drove past on the road behind her. Audience members leaned forward, eyes trained on her.\u00a0She wrapped herself in the fabric, then dropped, gasps erupting from the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aerialist Natalia Valencia twirls the fabric on an aerial stand during a First Thursday circus performance April 2 at Rotary Dream Park in downtown Arlington. There were three performance times for the event.<\/p>\n Photo by Samarie Goffney<\/a><\/p>\n Valencia has been doing aerial stunts for over 15 years, and said the nerves never wear off.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still afraid of heights,\u201d she said. \u201cYou see people like little ants down there, so I try not to look down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Circus performer Julio Ramazini takes his hat off during a First Thursday circus performance April 2 at Rotary Dream Park in downtown Arlington. Ramazini said every performance is a tryout for a clown.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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