What's it like being Romani? How did you practice trapeze and fire breathing?
First, some background. The Romani are a diasporic people with roots in what is now northern India. There are tons of sub-groups of Romani people, with all kinds of dialects of the Romanes language. A lot of us are settled nowadays — being nomadic was never a choice as much as a reality of being chased from place to place. And because we’re such a varied and far-flung ethnicity who have repeatedly faced genocide and continue to face pogroms and discrimination, I wouldn’t dare to speak for anyone but myself. With that said, it’s being fiercely protective of cultural traditions and human rights.
Circus arts are one way I connect to my culture. I learned to eat and breathe fire from a family friend, and continue to perform, teach, practice, and learn from other fire eaters and breathers. I first picked up trapeze in a similar way. These days, many major and mid-cities have thriving circus communities, including circus classes.
