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Circus Voices Podcast–see u down the road Series: Episode 1–Elliana Grace Hentoff-Killian

Circus Voices, a new podcast brought to you by CircusTalk is pleased to present a podcast series called  see u down the road  with creators and co-producers Book Kennison and Zoë Kennison. 

In each episode, a circus artist tells the story of a big, transformational moment in their life – and the aftermath. Heart-wrenching, funny, and real,see u down the road  is an unprecedented piece of work in circus media.

In Episode 1, aerialist and acrobat Elliana Hentoff-Killian tells the inside story of her time as a human cannonball on Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.

Show Notes:
  • When Elliana refers to “the voice inside my head,” she means Nadia Tarasova, a member of her cannon team, who was responsible for hitting the launch button. When Elliana was in the barrel of the canon, she wore a wireless headset, which allowed her to communicate with Nadia pre-launch. 
  • A “high fall” is part of the training process for human cannonballs. The artist stands on a ledge, leans forward and falls off, then completes a half-turn to land on their back in the air-bag. 
  • “Vom door” refers to a vomitorium, a passage often situated under the stands in the type of arenas Ringling Bros. played. 
  • Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey traveled by train. At the time, it was the longest privately-owned train in the country.
  • “Winter Quarters” is the name traditional American circuses use for their off-season headquarters. For Ringling, the name was synonymous with their creation period, which in the final years took place in Tampa, Florida. 
  • Elliana has a long-running solo show, which can be seen at Circus Harmony in St. Louis, Missouri. Circus Harmony is a social circus program with a permanent, one-ring circus within City Museum in St. Louis. Circus Harmony has multiple shows a day, which are free with admission to the museum. 
  • Read the show transcript here.


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Also available on BreakerPocket Casts , Overcast and RadioPublic

Book Kennison
Circus Artist -United States
Book Kennison is a circus artist based in Chicago. His main discipline is juggling; his other pursuits include writing, music composition, and photography.

Editor's Note: At StageLync, an international platform for the performing arts, we celebrate the diversity of our writers' backgrounds. We recognize and support their choice to use either American or British English in their articles, respecting their individual preferences and origins. This policy allows us to embrace a wide range of linguistic expressions, enriching our content and reflecting the global nature of our community.

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Book Kennison

Book Kennison is a circus artist based in Chicago. His main discipline is juggling; his other pursuits include writing, music composition, and photography.