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News Article Search News              Submit News         Top 10 News Articles THIS CIRCUS IS BY THE KIDS, Meet the Poema Family of Youthful Acrobats  Posted 5/29/2007 9:24:48 AM  by Jim Cole News from Myrna Starke Leader viewed 2157 times Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - News Tarzan Zerbini Circus features talented kids in their program. Adrian Poema and his 3 children, (left to right) Catherine, 11, Adrian, 5. Marianna, 8 This Circus is By The Kids Myrna Stark Leader, Special to The Leader-Post Published: Monday, May 28, 2007 The circus is for kids, of course -- but when it comes to Tarzan Zerbini's production, that means the performers as well. At the shows on the weekend, which were a fundraiser for local Shriners, under the big top at Regina's Northgate Mall parking lot, there were elephants and horses, poodles and clowns and performers with flexibility and balance that left one wondering: "How do they do that?" But performance after performance, the acrobatic skills of the Poema family delighted the crowd, garnering much of the applause. Adrian Poema lies on his back with his feet in the air. Then, three of his children -- Catherine, 11, Marianna, 8, and Adrian, 5 -- take turns sitting and standing on dad's feet. From here, they somersault and flip and are spun around like a top. Mom is always in the ring, just in case. For their act's finale, the two youngest Poema children hang on to the ends of a large pole. Adrian Sr. -- employing the kind of dexterity that most can only wish to have with their hands -- spins the pole, round and round, with his feet. With each pass, the pole, with smiling brother and sister attached, goes faster and faster until they are literally a blur. Moments later, the Poema children are off the pole. The family takes their bows. The crowd screams and claps their approval. The Poema children look just as delighted, soaking up the admiration of another circus audience. It all looks so natural, like it was something they were born to do, which of course they have been. The Poema children are the eighth generation of circus performers on their mother's side and the seventh on their father's side. Their mother's performance history can be traced back to the 1600s in Ireland. Their dad is from Argentina. And, when he was little, it was his father flipping him around in the show ring. This year the family will log between 72,000 and 104,000 kilometres driving from show to show. Their permanent home is in Sarasota, Fla., but on the road they live in a trailer. The children are home-schooled and spend many hours practising their tricks. "We practice in the morning or sometimes at night, for two hours a day," the most-seasoned Poema child Catherine explains. "We try different things that we want to do and then, when we get better at it, we can try it in the ring. We practise with a safety line, so if you fall you don't hurt yourself," she said. Catherine makes flipping a double somersault from her father's feet look easy. "He won't do it with me unless I'm ready. He knows when I'm ready and when I'm not," she says with confidence. Adrian Sr. says when you begin early enough, the children aren't afraid. He already balances his almost one-year-old son on the palm of his hand. Adrian Sr. says performing is allowing him to show and teach his children about the world. This spring they are travelling across Canada with Tarzan Zerbini. Next year, he hopes they will be able to work in Europe. Fascinating as their life is, the Poema children weren't the only young people at centre stage. On Saturday night, 11-year-old Bailey Abrey was the honorary ring master. Bailey, who lives at Regina Beach, is one of the more than 5,000 Saskatchewan children who have received help from the WaWa Shriners. A month ago, she returned from the Shrine Hospital in Montreal to her home at Regina Beach. Abrey was born breach with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice. As a result, she needed to be in a body cast and her right knee cap started to float. What she ended up with is one leg longer than the other. She's had several surgeries to fix the situation, with not so much success until now. In Montreal, surgeons removed the growth plates in her longer leg so that her legs will even out in length as she continues to grow. With funding from events such as the circus, the WaWa Shriners paid for her and her dad's trip, accommodation and food. Bailey is one of 97 Saskatchewan patients being helped by the local Shriners today. "It means a lot to me, that there is hope in this world and that they can fix people like me," Bailey says. The circus on the weekend was truly for kids. It continues this week with shows in Yorkton, Swift Current and Moose Jaw. Email This Article   Copyright © 1999-2010 Circus Fans Association of America and Authors. For more information view our  Copyright Policy & Privacy Policy .