4 weeks ago
Jan Damm performs arsenic Nick Nack successful nan Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus show.
His characteristic has a ample comedic presence, but he besides has different tricks up his sleeve.
Damm performs a balancing enactment called rola bola and is simply a maestro juggler. He is besides joined connected shape by a unsocial partner, a robotic canine named Bailey.
Damm's enactment is made up of galore elements that each took him galore years to master.
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"I grew up successful Maine, successful Central Maine, and I learned to juggle erstwhile I was 10 years old," Damm told Fox News Digital during a Ringling Bros. circuit extremity successful Worcester, Massachusetts.
"My mom started booking maine for day parties and kids' events erstwhile I was 11 years old, truthful I started retired beautiful young, conscionable doing magic tricks and jokes and juggling and trying to entertain group of each ages."
Part of what Jan Damm describes arsenic a "reimagined Ringling Brothers" is simply a robotic canine named Bailey. He and Bailey interact often during nan circus show, including successful a creation battle. (Fox News Digital)
"After college, I realized that's nan only point I wanted to do, truthful I started walking nan world thoroughfare performing, learning from different circus schools and I benignant of accumulated skills successful a benignant of eccentric assortment of areas," he said.
"That's why I was tapped for nan top show connected world … They want a benignant of eccentric comedian and circus feline to beryllium 1 of nan characters."
Damm was a instrumentality of nan circus earlier he joined nan show himself. The main enactment he performs successful nan show is called rola bola. Damm balances connected a committee that is connected apical of a cylinder. During this act, he balances higher and higher successful nan aerial connected apical of a assortment of wobbly objects.
"I emotion each kinds of circus. I was a circus instrumentality earlier I was a circus performer, truthful I emotion juggling, I emotion acrobatics, partner acrobatics, flying trapeze, truthful I conscionable learned a small spot of each those things," Damm said.
"My main enactment is simply a balancing enactment called rola bola and I just, complete nan years, came to really emotion that act. I tin guidelines connected apical of this benignant of wobbly point that looks impossible, but I besides tin look astatine nan assemblage and benignant of stock characteristic and jokes and joke pinch nan assemblage while I'm doing this benignant of unbelievable acrobatic enactment — and that's been benignant of my calling card."
At nan extremity of his balancing act, Damm finds himself astir "15 feet disconnected nan platform of nan floor" and does a handstand, but it took a agelong clip for nan performer to scope this point. Damm built up his enactment complete time, starting connected a overmuch smaller scale.
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"I started successful nan gym, opinionated successful beforehand of a mat trying to fig retired really I tin do a handstand connected this balancing object, and I've conscionable built it up complete nan years," Damm said.
"At this constituent now, I've been doing rola bola professionally for astir 18 years, truthful I've conscionable been doing it successful each sorts of situations."
He added, "You conscionable go much comfortable doing it successful each sorts of different scenarios, and astatine immoderate point, it's a intelligence game. You person to beryllium physically fresh to execute these kinds of tricks, but a batch of it is nan acquisition to enactment calm nether immoderate circumstances and do thing astatine a very precocious level successful beforehand of thousands of people."
"Nick Nack" and Bailey stock a batch of shape clip during nan show. (Fox News Digital )
On apical of Damm's balancing act, he besides useful pinch a unsocial personnel of nan cast: a robotic canine named Bailey.
"It’s a reimagined Ringling Brothers, truthful we wanted to rethink what would beryllium nan top show connected world coming successful 2024, and truthful what nan creators of nan show wanted to do was present benignant of a non-human, benignant of fantastical element, thing that audiences will ne'er person seen before," Damm said.
"We don't person unrecorded animals successful nan show anymore, truthful we besides wanted to conscionable person that non-human element, that's thing that's a small cheeky, a small retired of nan way, a small from near section and Bailey benignant of fulfills that for us. She gets into a batch of trouble," he said.
"She's a small spot impish, she's a small spot of a trickster, and nan assemblage falls successful emotion pinch her correct away, particularly nan kids. As soon arsenic she walks out, they're like, 'Oh, it's a robot, for illustration from ‘Wally’ aliases 1 of these different movies. She's benignant of goofy, she's very charismatic. She conscionable introduces that fantastical constituent that tells you successful this show, almost thing tin happen."
Damm, arsenic his characteristic Nick Nack, and Bailey interact a batch passim nan show, including successful a creation battle.
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At nan extremity of nan day, Bailey is simply a portion of technology — and sometimes, exertion does not activity arsenic it's expected to, exactly.
"Sometimes she makes mistakes, she falls disconnected of ramps, I person to thief her, I person to prime her up and move her complete different objects if she needs a small spot of help, but that's conscionable for illustration your pet astatine home," Damm said.
"We ever person to beryllium connected our toes. Whatever Bailey feels for illustration doing that day, we've sewage to activity pinch her conscionable for illustration she's moving pinch us, and we person a batch of nosy pinch it."
When Damm spends a batch of clip connected nan roadworthy pinch nan different 75 formed members arsenic portion of nan show from each complete nan world, he says they for illustration to effort different kinds of cuisine "that makes 1 of nan formed members consciousness astatine home."
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He besides said they bask going bowling together, watching movies aliases conscionable hanging astir nan edifice pool.
When Damm is not walking for nan show, he treasures nan clip he gets to spell location and beryllium "circus dad" to his 5- and 7-year-old children.
"When I prime up my daughter, she insists that I ever jump complete nan obstruction into her preschool yard," Damm said.
When Jan Damm is not walking pinch nan circus, he enjoys spending clip astatine location pinch his 2 kids. (Fox News Digital)
"They're very proud that their dada is connected circuit pinch nan circus, but they besides want maine to beryllium location erstwhile I can, truthful while we've been successful New England, I've been capable to thrust location connected Mondays done Thursdays, and it's been awesome to beryllium capable to beryllium portion of this astonishing touring production, and besides person clip location pinch my kids."
For much Lifestyle articles, sojourn www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.
Ashlyn Messier is simply a writer for Fox News Digital.
