PREPARE TO TRAVEL OUT OF THIS WORLD
By Rafa Carvajal & Michael W. Sasser | Photos provided by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Visitors are preparing to blast off on an intergalactic adventure for space-age family fun as the ultimate circus experience launches into the future with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Out Of This World from Jan. 6-15 at the AmericanAirlines Arena. Audiences will take the helm and join the Circus Space Fleet on a heroic quest of good versus evil that will let imaginations run wild with unexpected surprises and thrills at every turn.
In Out Of This World, audiences will be riveted by an interactive, action-packed storyline filled with space-age family fun and technology, which deepens their connection to the performers. Through the lens of a magic telescope capable of discovering the most spectacular circus stars in the galaxy, they will join the Circus Space Fleet on its mission to bring performers back to Earth, traveling to interstellar worlds of sand, water, fire and ice.
Of course, a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey performance wouldn’t be the same without animal stars joining its human stars. That’s where Alexander Lacey comes in. The English big cat trainer and presenter grew up learning big cat husbandry from his parents, who ran a zoo and then took their show on the road. At age 12, Alexander left the traveling circus to attend school in Lincolnshire, England. But every summer, he returned to help his parents with all of the animals. After graduation, he built his first big cat presentation of his own. He has taken his act to the largest circus competition in the world, the Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival, and proved the magnificence of his presentation against all varieties of circus acts. In his time competing at the Festival, his performances have won “Best of the Best” and the Silver Clown award, and his act continues to earn accolades to this day. Alexander continues with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in this all-new show, partnering with these majestic animals and presenting the bond he has with each individual animal.
Wire Magazine caught up with Alexander to discuss his work, his bond with these magnificent animals and the magic audiences will find Out Of This World.
Rafa Carvajal: Describe
your work to our readers.
Alexander Lacey: I
am a lion and tiger trainer, caregiver, and presenter for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Out Of This World. My family has been
caring for big cats for the last 50 years. The lions we care for are 11th
generation and the tigers are ninth generation. Through our hard work, we have
been fortunate to help breed up to 500 big cats. The cats we care for are from
many generations and diverse bloodlines, which is a good thing for the future
of these animals.
RC: Describe your
childhood and the role animals played in it.
AL: My parents are
like me in the sense that they love animals. When I was younger, they owned two
zoos in England. Growing up, my life revolved around their daily work at the
zoo. As a young child, I was fortunate enough to play with many animals, such
as bears, lion cubs and tigers. Around the time I was six years old, my parents
decided to join the circus to subsidize their zoo and train their animals to be
part of it. They discovered the animals got very excited when it was time to
train and learn new things. During this process, they got particularly good at
training big cats. When I was 11, I would come home from boarding school and
spend all my time looking after all the animals. When I turned 17, I was given
the opportunity to perform for the very first time with five tigers that my
father had trained.
RC: Did your parents
encourage you to follow in their professional footsteps? When did you decide to
work with animals in entertainment?
AL: My parents
discouraged me in the beginning from becoming a lion or tiger trainer. I wasn’t
allowed to actually go into the cage with the cats, or even begin the very
basic training until I’d done at least five years cleaning up and caring for
the animals. My parents right from the beginning told me that unless you’re
going to hang around for the next five years, and then for the rest of your
life to look after the big cats 24 hours a day, seven days a week, then it’s
not a job for you. You have to love it – it’s a way of life. What most people
don’t realize is that my performances with these animals only last 12 minutes
but I am caring for them around the clock. The animals always come first. Care
is the most important thing for these animals, training comes second. I love
what I do and as it turns out, loving the animals the way I do is what keeps me
safe. When I form a close relationship with the animals, I can automatically
tell whether they have a headache or if they are hungry or thirsty.
RC: At what point in
your childhood did you realize that obviously your family was different than
other families?
AL: I never really
thought that my family was different. I grew up around animals and the zoo my
entire life, so for me it was the norm. For any friends that I made outside of
the zoo or at boarding school, my life was a bit of a novelty for them but most
people got over it. Most of the fathers of my boarding school classmates were
fighter jet pilots and I thought that was totally cool and different. Everyone
I met throughout my childhood had an interesting story, just like me.
RC: Was it difficult
to be away from the world you knew to go to school in Lincolnshire?
AL: It was extremely
difficult being away in the beginning; it was very different from what I knew.
Traveling with the circus, I was only ever in a place for one or two weeks at a
time. Every time I arrived in a different city, it was a new adventure and new
faces. When I went to boarding school, I was in the same city for six years. I
found it a bit monotonous staying in one place for such a long time. The upside
was that I managed to make good and long-lasting friends; I still talk to many
people from boarding school.
RC: What do you like
best about your work?
AL: My favorite part
of my work is the training part. The best way to describe it is like a parent
that is extremely proud of their child for doing well academically or
athletically. For me, it is very rewarding to train my animals, learning what
they are good at and what they are capable of and watching them perform. I find
deep satisfaction in teaching them routines and having them perform what they
learn. In the beginning of a training cycle, the animals are like a blank
canvas. They have no idea what they are supposed to be doing, but I develop a
friendship and come into close contact with them to learn their individual
characteristics. Once I learn this, it’ll take me weeks, months, and even years
to get them ready to perform and highlight their best capabilities.
RC: Do you consider your work dangerous? Why or why not?
AL: I haven’t had any serious accidents or injuries (only some
scratches from the lion cubs) because I spend so much time with my animals. I
form these close bonds with them, which helps in letting me know if they’re in
a good mood, a bad mood, if they’re hungry, if they’re thirsty. Just like you and
me, they have their off-days and don’t want to go to work. I can tell if
they’re in the right frame of mind to work, so the secret is to avoid the bad
situations. If you can do that, there’s no reason to be afraid or worried about
attacks, because you’re never forcing the animals to do something they don’t
want to do.
RC: What is the most challenging part of working with big
cats?
AL: There is a lot of work involved with what we do. Our
biggest challenge is the varying weather conditions we experience from city to
city. Regardless of weather, I still must wake up at 7 a.m. and make sure that
the animals eat, are clean, exercise, etc. Our main priority is to make the
animals comfortable. When it’s cold, we use thing such as heated tents; when
it’s hot we have pools and air conditioning for them.
RC: If you had not gone into this field, what would you have
done?
AL: In boarding school, I considered becoming a veterinarian.
However, the idea of running away with the circus and being hands on with lions
and tigers everyday sounded much more exciting to me.
RC: What would you like to say to critics of animal acts?
AL: I love and care for every animal that comes my way. They
are part of my family, so their well-being and happiness is as valued as it
would be for any person or animal I love. For those who have concerns or
questions about the animals in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, I
encourage them to visit 90 minutes before every show, where fans are invited to
our Animal Open House and is free with admission. During this, fans can
experience and learn first-hand the great care and love we have for our animals,
they can also inform themselves on how we care, respect and truly value the
wonderful stars of our show.
RC: Tell our readers about Out
of this World.
AL: Ringling Bros.
and Barnum & Bailey Presents Out Of This World is completely
different compared to past shows. For one, the new show is on ice (except for
the animals of course). The acts flow between ice, floor and air, and many of
the performers have had to relearn their acts to perform on ice skates. Out of This World is based on good vs.
evil and transitions from different planets like fire, desert and ice. Audience
members can pick which side they are on or which planet. There is also lots of
new technology as well, such as projection technology, which helps the
transition from planet to planet.
RC: What would
surprise the audience to know about this show?
AL: All performers
are on ice with skates (except the animals of course, they get to perform on a
rubber floor). There are acrobats doing somersaults on each other’s shoulders
with their skates on – it is incredible. There is still a small menagerie of
animals for families to see at the show such as pigs, tigers, lions, llamas,
kangaroos, rescue dogs, donkeys, goats, alpacas and many more.
RC: Is there
anything else you would like to share with Wire
Magazine readers?
AL: Come along and
see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Out Of This World!
I’ve been with the circus for six years and this is the one show that is
completely different from what you’ve seen in the past and we are so excited
for the new direction the circus is headed. We’d also like to welcome you to
come and take the opportunity to meet the animals and trainers at our Animal
Open House, free with your ticket to The Greatest Show On Earth!
Tickets for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Out Of This World are affordably priced for the whole family starting at $16. All seats are reserved, and tickets are available at the AmericanAirlines Arena box office and all Ticketmaster retail outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com.
This was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 02.2017