Seventh-generation Australian circus returns to Riverina with new extreme performance

For decades, a popular circus family has captivated audiences and has now returned to the Riverina with its all-new show.

The Great Moscow Circus’s The Extreme Show features some of Australia’s top BMX and scooter riders, the world’s best daredevil motorcycle cage riders, breathtaking aerial performances, and much more.

Tahlia Weber, a seventh-generation circus performer, has brought the production to Wagga for the first time.

“We don’t have a traditional clown this time; we have a Charlie Chaplin character, which is really different, and everyone loves it,” Tahlia said. “And he’s only about five foot.

“The first week (of shows) in Wagga was good. We pretty much had a full house the whole week.

“Everyone loved it, and at the end of the show, we like to say goodbye to some of the audience and get positive feedback. It gives us more motivation to keep going.”

The circus has been part and parcel of the 23-year-old’s entire life.

“It’s a fantastic lifestyle. We learned so much growing up in the circus, surrounded by diverse cultures and people from all over the world.

“We still had to attend school full-time, but we did it while travelling. We had a schoolroom and a travelling teacher, and we completed our coursework via distance education at a school in Brisbane.

“The show is constantly evolving, and so are the kids. I have three siblings, so there were always four of us at different school levels, which made things challenging for our teacher. At one point, we had about 15 kids in our travelling school, while at other times, it was just the four of us.”

While Tahlia and her sister have finished their schooling, their little brother is still studying. He gets one-on-one attention from his teacher and also has time for training.

“He performs in the Globe of Death and is the youngest rider in the world to ride with two bikes,” Tahlia said.

“He’s only 11 years old and already doing it in the show — he’s fearless. His schedule is packed with training, school, and even some downtime for fishing.”

Mongolian trainers trained Tahlia, as her parents wanted to keep their family life and training separate, as it can be quite intense.

“(Mongolian trainers) taught me trapeze and coached my sisters and me in a group act. My older sister, who performs silks in the show, was trained by another performer working with us at the time,” she said.

“We started proper training around the age of 12, training five days a week while balancing school. Since the Mongolian trainers were only with us for a limited time, we had to train frequently to ensure we were ready before they left.

“Now that we have our acts established, we typically train once or twice a week. If the weather is too hot, we skip training because the tent becomes unbearable, but in winter, we train more often since it also serves as exercise.”

Although the dancer and solo trapeze performer loved growing up in the circus, she felt the urge to try something different around the age of 18. However, when COVID hit, her family spent nearly two years living a normal life at their home on the Gold Coast.

“It was good to be around my friends more often because we’re usually travelling, but I could not wait to get back on the road and perform,” she said.

“You don’t truly appreciate something when it’s all you’ve ever known. But when it was suddenly taken away during COVID-19, and we had no idea what was happening, it put things into perspective. So when life finally returned to normal, and we could perform again, I appreciated it so much more.”

In addition to performing a variety of acts for the circus, Tahlia is also in charge of stage management and media management.

Despite the name, The Great Moscow Circus is not Russian-owned but has deep German roots.

Founded in Germany by Tahlia’s grandparents, who are now in their 80s, the circus moved to Australia in 1959.

“The circus means a lot to me because my grandparents have worked incredibly hard to make this the biggest show in Australia,” she said.

“When they were younger, they came from Germany and had nothing. They were poor in Germany, knocking on doors, begging for money, and now they’ve built a dynasty.

“Live entertainment is really important, and it’s not as common as it used to be, especially with circuses. There aren’t too many left in Australia.”

Tahlia is proud to continue her family’s legacy as a seventh-generation circus performer.

“It’s not forced upon us. If we wanted to leave and do something else, we could, but all of my siblings and I love the circus.

“I don’t think any of us will leave. When I was growing up, I was the one that was going to take over the show. But now I think my younger brother is going to do it.

“He’s already watching people, and he doesn’t speak to them, but he’ll come up to me and say things like: ‘Oh, that person had a hole in their tights’. He has got his eye out and is looking after things.”

The Great Moscow Circus will be in Wagga until 2 March at the Wagga Wagga Showground. Click here to find out more and to book your tickets.