Related stories: Circus rolls into Northam.
Hundreds of people turned up to see the largest travelling big-top circus show in Northam last week.
The show ran from Wednesday to Sunday and included circus performers, animal acts, a clown and impressive trapeze routines.
Following the show, circus performer Romina Gonzallez told the Avon Valley and Wheatbelt Advocate how she came to be in a travelling circus.
Romina was born in Chile, South America and is a sixth-generation circus performer.
In 2007, her family accepted a contract to work with the Lennen Brothers circus in Australia.
She went on to travel all over Australia with her family. “I met my husband, who is Australian, and have been here ever since,” Romina said.
The mother-of-two said being on the road for 11 months at a time is tough with children, but the Hudson’s Circus environment makes it easier to handle.
“We all have children (the performers) – so it is a good environment for them,” she said.
The flying trapeze and hula hoop entertainer said she learnt how to perform at a young age.
“When we were kids, we learnt by playing around with friends,” she said. "You slowly become more professional.”
She said the flying trapeze group which includes her husband, trains for a two-hour session at least three times a week.
Romina said she liked the way performing to a crowd made her feel.
“It’s freeing,” she said.
“You want to give enjoyment to people and when you know they're enjoying it, it’s a nice feeling.”
The Avon Valley and Wheatbelt Advocate spoke to animal handler Rob Joyes about the illusive water buffalo that performed in the show.
Mr Joyes said the large animals had an incredibly gentle nature.
“He’s a big sook,” he said, patting a big water buffalo they named Baby.
“We've had these ones since they were about six-months old.
“It does take a long time to develop a strong bond and a strong relationship with them.”
The water buffalo seemed comfortable around Mr Joyes and very affectionate with humans.
The massive animal with large horns licked the trainers feet and indicated he wanted a pat, almost like a pet dog.
“They enjoy our company and are very intelligent,” Mr Royes said.
“Probably more intelligent than a domestic breed of cow.
“They're probably more closely related to their domestic counterparts, more so than a normal cow.
“It makes it easy to work with them and to develop a relationship.”
He said the water buffalos were from a leather and meat farm.
“If we haven’t given them a home and trained them up then they would probably have been in a restaurant somewhere,” Mr Royes said.
The Hudson’s Circus received excellent reviews from the community following the show.
The Avon Valley and Wheatbelt Advocate received a glowing review from reader Toni Korotschuk, following the Thursday night show.
“One word amazing!” she said. From the beautiful acrobats to the magical dancing animals. The show was breathtaking and heart stopping.
“I personally enjoyed the hula hoop lady with her hoop of fire and the ribbon acrobat dancers.
“The music was modern and upbeat which added to the shows style. I would go again and highly recommend it to others to attend.
“Ten out of ten and a great night for all.”