Felicia Lannan, 27, from South Australia, shares her story with Take 5’s Mitchell Jordan:
My eyes lit up with excitement as I followed Mum into the big top.
A costume designer at the Flying Fruit Fly Circus in Albury-Wodonga, she had brought me along to work with her.
While she got busy, I started playing on the trapeze.
“Would you like to audition?” one of the staff asked me later.
Of course I said yes.
I couldn’t believe it when I was actually accepted: at just 11 years old, I was off to join the circus!
I spent the next few years learning skills with trapeze, tumbling and flips before my family moved interstate and I had to leave.
Felicia as a child.
(Image: Supplied)That didn’t spell the end of my time in the circus, though.
After school, I enrolled in the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne.
During this time, I met another student who had moved from Adelaide.
He wouldn’t tell me his name, so I wouldn’t tell him mine, either.
“You’re Trent,” I guessed.
“And you’re Gracie,” he laughed.
Later, I learnt his name was Tommy.
He was quiet, but once you got to know him, he had a really great sense of humour.
Sadly, we lost touch after graduating, but three years later we reunited when I was performing with my circus company, Wildhouse Circus, in his hometown.
He was quiet, but once you got to know him, he had a really great sense of humour.
(Image: Brig Bee Photography)“You were amazing!” he said.
Despite all the years apart, we picked up right where we’d left off and soon started dating.
Tommy was full of praise for my circus, which had no tent or animals and just consisted of a group of acrobats who would perform in any space.
We were lucky to travel the country with our show.
Seeing the delight on people’s faces made me feel so proud of what I was doing.
But one night, one of our acrobats hurt his shoulder and needed to rest.
“I could replace him,” Tommy offered.
The show must go on, and who better than Tommy to step in at such short notice?
Performing with Tommy was so natural.
(Image: Amie Lannan)That night, he really proved himself as a true performer.
Standing at the bottom of the human pyramid, he threw me and other acrobats into the air and caught us as we landed.
“How’d you like to join the show?” I asked.
And the rest is history!
For the past four years, we have been performing together around the world.
For the past four years, we have been performing together around the world.
(Image: Sam Matthewman)We both complement each other perfectly: when I get stressed out, Tommy knows exactly how to calm me down and remind me to be patient.
When we aren’t performing, we like to watch TV or hang out at the beach.
We’d both love to adopt a dog soon – who knows, maybe we’ll even incorporate it into our act, too!
Looking back, I can’t believe my childhood dream of joining the circus came true, and that following my passion also led to me finding true love.
Every show with Tommy is magical and I look forward to performing with him for many years to come.
