The head of this circus said he saw no distinction between the ability of the bears and the ability of humans. (Source: RTV/CBS)ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (RTV/CBS)
– Five members of a circus group have gotten a lot of attention because what
they do is literally unhuman.
The "Mamba-Karamba"
features a nautical-themed, high-wire performance that includes five brown
bears trained to perform on tightropes.
Troupe leader
Alexander Ivanov said his bears were unique in their ability.
"I don't make a delineation
between bears and performers," Ivanov said. "There's just one team, as you see
at the performance. We have sailors, bear sailors wearing sailor shirts and
pants, and people acting as sailors, and we have an adventure of our own. We go
sailing on the sea. And there are lots of adventurous things happening in the
ring when we are performing."
Ivanov inherited
the idea of bear rope walkers and the troupe from his father Mikhail, a renowned
star during the era of the Soviet Union.
At rehearsals, the
bears and their human colleagues work on routines, polishing their performance
for the big night.
Tightrope walker
Yevgenia Nuyanzina said she enjoyed working with the bears. Some of them actually
learned to tightrope walk quickly.
"It depends on the
rehearsal process," Nuyanzina said. "Some people, in fact, learn quickly. And
it's the same with bears. We have some who learn quickly to walk on the
tightrope. It depends on the people, I think."
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