Jacek juggles, Corvina on accordion. Octo Suave Claw looks on
In a lot behind the Portland neighborhood’s Tim Faulkner Gallery, a group of wildly dressed individuals gathers around their leader. “Okay,” she says, “Who has a new trick to show off this week?” She goes by the name Ember, and is the director of the , a Louisville-based troupe of fire-eaters, clowns, contortionists, jugglers, belly-dancers and sideshow performers.
Aurelie and Atlas
Founded in 2007 by Ember and the now retired Great Baldini, Blue Moon is a troupe of professional performers of classic circus-style tricks and oddities. They perform around Louisville, as well as travelling to other cities to give wild - and often times quite adult - shows. This isn’t the kind of circus that shows off for families; this is a gritty, alternative and evocative group of performers keeping some of the classics of sideshow performing alive.
“Ever since I was young I wanted to be a tiger trainer,” Ember says. Blue Moon may not have a tiger, but she keeps her hands full regardless. “We’re all over the place, so it’s sort of like herding cats,” she laughed.
Ember and the closest that Blue Moon gets to tiger training
“We have around forty-five members,” Ember says, “but we rely on a core group of around fifteen people.” They practice once a week in a casual fashion, showing off new tricks and keeping old ones limber and fresh, but their unstructured training fashion isn’t always the norm. “When we have a serious show coming it’s non-stop and very rigorous work,” Ember says.
Octo Suave Claw, Blue Moon's Ringleader and metalworker
Blue Moon recently performed a themed show called Zodiac, one of their big performances for the year. This week they’re cooling down, but still prepping for a charity barbeque this coming weekend. I wandered between performers, getting a feel for what they do and how long they’ve been doing it. Some have been active for years, and others are just getting started in exploring new found talents.
Shawna The Dead
“Wanna see me hammer a nail into my nose?” Shawna The Dead, the resident sideshow freak asks me. He produces a small hammer and pounds three large nails into his nose. “I’ve never tried three before,” he says, “it’s a new record!” He pulls them out one by one and tosses them back into a toolbox. “It doesn’t hurt too bad once you get used to it. Just feels weird,” he tells me. “But generally if I’m not bleeding I’m not doing my job.”
Ember
Several members of the group also work with fire dancing in various forms. Ember eats fire, as well as using a set of fingertip covers which end in a wick. She also uses a pair of objects called poi, which are two large wicks at the end of chains - these get swung around as the performer dances. There’s also contortionist Wednesday, who also uses a pair of fire fans that she twirled on her thumbs. She contorted and danced with them in her hands, twirling them on her thumbs as Ember watched on with wet towels to extinguish the flames.
Wednesday
Later on, a bed of nails made an appearance - this was another one of Shawna’s signature acts. He’s been known to have cinder blocks broken over him while lying on it, and today was an attempt to get Wednesday onto his back in a variety of acrobatic positions while he lay stomach-down. Several members of the group spotted her while she tried to balance delicately on him, everyone laughing and trying to figure out what would work best. After the stopped, someone asked me if I wanted a shot on the bed, and I had to try it out. Surprisingly, it hurt much less than I thought it would, but it was still a pretty intense experience. “Now try doing it without your shirt on.” Shawna said. I passed.
Even just going to a Blue Moon rehearsal was an event - this is a group of free spirited and intriguing performers who are serious about what they do. They explore the fringes of entertainment and performance, and test their physical limits to do so. Each one of them finds that they’re good at something, from working a room to hammering themselves with nails, and then perfects that art. It’s amazing, though not unexpected, that something so delightfully odd and unique exists right here in Louisville.
If you’re interested in seeing Blue Moon perform this Sunday, August 10th, they’ll be at Chill Bar on Bardstown Road from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. It’s free to get in, and plates are $5, funds from which go towards the . Performers will be doing their thing and mingling with the crowd, so it promises to be an impressive afternoon.
Photos courtesy of Laurel Fleury and Ron Bushaw.
