Photograph by Mike DeFilippo
Sasha Alexandre Nevidonski
The act is the only one of its kind in the world. Nevidonski’s performances, part equestrian and part aerial, resemble more art-in-motion than circus, with the bare-chested athlete swinging and soaring from his trotting saddlebred’s back as a lyrical ballad plays overhead. It’s taken the 39-year-old Kazakhstan native a lifetime of performing around the world—from Paris to New York—to envision and refine the act. Now in his fourth year with Circus Flora, performing “Medrano” June 4 through 21 in Grand Center, Nevidonski says of the feat, “It’s a dream come true.”
In His Words...
- I remember my mom bringing me to a circus when I was a child. The shows are really big in Russia. I always dreamed of doing something aerial.
- I did all-around gymnastics from the age of 5 to 15. My gymnastics background prepared me for the Moscow Circus School. I already knew how to use my body in that way.
- You never forget the first time. My circus debut was in South Africa, when I was 21. It was so overwhelming.
- Accidents happen, but we’re taught how to avoid and handle them. I injured my shoulder about a year and a half ago, but I was able to finish the act. Not even my wife could tell during the performance.
- While performing, you still have to be able to smile like it’s really easy. It takes so much concentration and focus.
- You have to work at it. I practice six days per week and go to the gym around three hours per day. It’s not just that practice makes perfect—perfect practice makes perfect.
- My horse’s name is Mammut, derived from “mammoth.” When he arrived, he was the biggest horse in the stable.
- The most difficult part is to make the horse feel comfortable, so that it’s a playground for him and not work.
- You’re always nervous... But you give this happiness to people, and you can feel it back.
- Usually when I tell people that I’m from Kazakhstan, they don’t believe me. They think I’m joking. They ask if I’m upset about Borat. Honestly, I thought it was hilarious.
