“We can say about him that Vess is the Mozart of the circus world, because at the age of five he learned his first juggling skills, but already at the age of 11 he started performing in front of the audience with great success,” says Zane Volkinšteine, manager of Riga Circus communication projects. Living in America, Wes Peden won many different titles: junior champion in juggling, ten years in a row he was the best in various disciplines, juggling a certain number of rings or balls. Wes also held the title of the world’s most popular juggler.
“Today’s circus shows feel similar to a contemporary dance performance or an opera, which has musical accompaniment, costumes, scenography. Of course, there are tricks, but the show also has a story,” explains Z. Volkenstein. The latest Wes Peden show Rollercoaster is the realization of his dream. Since childhood, he has thought a lot about the “roller coaster” attraction. How is it possible to go through so many circles even with your feet in the air? It’s dangerous, but safe at the same time because seat belts keep everything under control. There is an analogy with the work of a juggler. No matter how world famous a juggler is, there is always the risk of failure. Even the most famous jugglers have balls and objects fall. Thinking about the effect of a seat belt in juggling, two years of experimentation resulted in a show and also various fuses, such as transparent tubes.
The show has its own drama. In many places, roller coasters are now giant abandoned structures in the middle of nowhere. When creating the show, Wes Peden was inspired by the book 50 legendary roller coasters that no longer exist (50 Legendary Roller Coasters That No Longer Exist), and his show is intended as a farewell ceremony to the lost attractions. The show features textual tributes to these attractions, as they also had interesting names in their time – Dragon Head, Spring etc. The center of the performance is juggling, complex original tricks and manipulation of objects, there is also an audio story (the clatter and sounds of attractions transformed into an electronic version) and scenography – huge inflatable attractions.
Spring in the Riga circus promises to be full of other surprises as well. From March 30 to April 1, the association will visit here Familiar Faces (Belgium) with an acrobatic show Surface on a surface covered with water. On the other hand, 20-22 in April, the circus arena will be showing associations CirkVOST (France) challenging show of clowning and acrobatics.
