Evening star., 1934-04-08
BY 4. MORTON SMITH.

to his lips and by single gesture
changes the entire picture.
Pretty girls dance gracefully on slender
strands of steel; funny clowns on stills turn
somersauts from teeterboards; slant-eyed
Oriental balances gingerly high on a swaying
bamboo pole-suddenly the blaring notes Of the
band are hushed for fraction of a second the
measured beats of waltz time follow. Where
there coorful performers in pink tights.
spangles and rhinestones a moment ago. now
great gray beasts with curling trunks lumber
through their turn.
The little whistle often escapes the ears OF
the spectator in the din under the big top, but
it is the mace of authority invested in the
equestrian director, and every acrobat, aerialiSt
and clown responds instantly to its commands.
The equestrian director is the absolute mon
arch of the arena-upon his shoulders rests the
responsibility for reeing off as many as $50
acts, employing hundreds of men. women and
animal performers. within two hours time. To
do so, he must have the perfect cooperation OF
the performers When the show lags, by
single blast of his whistle he may quicken It's
tempo.
The show must 60 on And the equestrian
director must be equal to the task of sur
mounting the many and varied difficulties that
beset the caravan to uphold the age-old tra-
dition of the show world. An aerial artist may
be hurt in a fall; lion tanner may be clawed
by his cats; horse may become unruly and
refuse to perform; some piece of equipment
may be broken in the midst of a show. But
these obstacles all in the days work of
the equestrian director. He makes quick de-
cisions and acts with equal rapidity.
CRED BRADNA. dean of the modern ring
masters, who has been the czar of the arena
for the Ringing Bros and Barnum & Bailey
Combined Circus since the two great amuse
ment organizations were merged back in 1919,
often faces just such crises.
One afternoon year ago in Madison Square
Garden he saw Hans jain, the German
equilibrist, slip and plunge head downward
from his perch on the top of a 40-foot bamboo
pole. He saw Hans brother on the platform
attempt to break his fall without avail, and
saw the daring performer carried out to die
in the dressing tent.
There might have been confusion, panic,
tragedy in that great mass of humanity sur
sounding the arena. But Fred Bradna was
there to carry
AS the aerialist plunged to his DEATH Bradna
kept his eyes on the score of other performers
doing equally dangerous acts high in the air
and on the ground. His whistle signaled for
them to 60 into their final turns a second
blast and the music changed. Half hundred
grimacing, shouting clowns rushed onto the
hippodrome track. The laughter of youngsters
broke the tension. The great crowd sat down.
line snow went on
On but one occasion in Brandas memory
has program been halted, even momentarily,
in case of such an emergency. That was the
one time the Wallendas, high-wire artists lost
their balance.
Their stunt is three-high human pyramid
Two male members of the troupe walk to the
middle of the cable with pole laid across
their shoulders. A third man balances a chair
on the pole and sits on its back. Then Helene
Wallenda, the intrepid top mounter, climbs to
his shoulders.
One night Helenes foot slipped. Her COM
panions maneuvered their long balancing poles
frantically to retain their equilibrium but
without success.
A SCORE of property men holding a net
" under the performers for safety as
the balancing poles showered down upon
them The male members of the aggregation
saved themselves by grasping the cable in their
hands, and as Helene plunged downward, she
was caught in viSe-ike grip between the legs
of Karl Wallenda.
Thus they hung for several seconds The
property men reaSsembed and stretched their
net, while the performers, one by one, dropped
safely into it. The awesomer scene held up
the proceedings. Every eye in the tent was
glued on the quartet fighting desperately to
save their lives 1t would have been impos-