In 2020, my seven-year-old son and I watched aerial performers fly through the air inside the Circus Vegas big top—from our car.
The sides of the tent had been opened so that families could watch while observing the lockdown restrictions. Instead of applause, the performers were met by the sound of car horns.
The noise was incredible. It felt as though people were letting out months of frustration and excitement at the same time. Finally, we were out of our houses. We could make some noise, enjoy ourselves and feel part of something again.
More importantly, the show was brilliant.
Like many families during lockdown, my son and I had been spending nearly all our time at home. He had no school, no chance to play with his friends and very little happening beyond the same four walls. Then I spotted a notice online that Circus Vegas was coming to town with a brilliantly inventive response to the restrictions: families could drive up and watch an open-sided performance from their cars.
I bought tickets and took him along. Honestly, it was one of the best days we had during lockdown.
That wasn’t simply because it gave us somewhere to go. There was music, laughter, excitement and an impressive level of skill, particularly from the aerial performers flying and twisting above the ring. For a few hours, everything happening outside the tent disappeared. We were completely caught up in the show.
The showgirls were a big part of that. They brought the same combination of choreography, timing and stage presence. They helped set the pace of the show and gave the production a sense of continuity and spectacle. Their work looked effortless, which of course it wasn’t.
I can still remember the look on my son’s face as he watched it all—and the sound of those car horns filling the tent in place of clapping.
I had brought my camera and photographed the performance from inside the car. At a time when there was very little for me to photograph, the colour, movement and energy of the circus were hard to resist. I later shared some of the photographs on Instagram.
A few days afterwards, I received a message from Olivia, the ringmaster:
“Hey, these are really good. Do you mind if we use these?”
Of course, I said yes.
That short message began a relationship with Circus Vegas that has continued ever since. Olivia invited me back to photograph the show several more times and welcomed us behind the scenes. From the beginning, she made both me and my son feel at home.
What started with that first lockdown show gradually became an annual tradition.
Every year when Circus Vegas returns, so do we. The excitement hasn’t worn off. The acts may change, but the skill and energy of the performers remain constant. It is a brilliant show, put together by people who clearly care about what they do.
Over the years, my connection with the circus has also grown beyond photographing the live performance. I have got to know many of the performers, and we now arrange an evening portrait session each time the circus comes to town.
Once the audience has gone home, we return to the ring. We set up a backdrop and studio lights, put on some music and spend the evening taking photographs.
I particularly enjoy working in the ring after hours. A short time earlier, it was filled with music, movement and applause, but later, the same space becomes our studio.
Circus performers bring something different to a portrait session. As performers and dancers, they have an instinctive understanding of movement, shape and expression. They know how to communicate with an audience, and that same energy comes through in front of the camera.
This is particularly noticeable when photographing the showgirls. Their training gives them a precise awareness of posture, line and balance. Small adjustments to a hand, a shoulder or the angle of the body can completely change a photograph, and they understand that instinctively.
The sessions are collaborative, creative and occasionally unpredictable, which is a large part of the appeal. More importantly, the performers are genuinely some of the nicest people I have met. The photographs we create are only possible because of their enthusiasm, generosity and trust.
A couple of weeks ago, I returned for our latest session with the Ringmaster Olivia, her beautiful baby Luca, and Katie-May, Louise and Maria—the current Circus Vegas showgirls. This time, my son came not just to watch the show but as my assistant, setting up stands and lights and backgrounds.
He is now thirteen. Olivia let him take control of the lighting deck and music control that bring the ring to life, and he loved being involved. Watching him get stuck into the job made me think back to the seven-year-old boy, beaming as he first experienced the circus from inside our car.
We started at around 7.30 that evening. A typical portrait session might last two hours, but this one kept going. Everyone was in full flow, the photographs were working and none of us was paying much attention to the time.
Eventually, my wife phoned to remind us that we were supposed to come home.
It was almost midnight.
We had been so absorbed in what we were doing that the best part of four and a half hours had passed without any of us noticing.
I look forward to Circus Vegas returning every year. What started with that first lockdown show has grown into a friendship, a family tradition and one of the highlights of my year as a photographer.
In 2020, my son sat beside me in the car as we watched the performers through the open side of the big top. This year, he stood beside me in the ring, helping to control the lights and music.
Somewhere between those two evenings, Circus Vegas became part of our family story.
Here are some of the photographs we created during our latest night together.
