Under the Big Top, the bonds grow strong

Crystal Koronas and Gaston in a recent publicity shot. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - By Circus Hollywood standards, Crystal Koronas was a late bloomer.

She wasn’t working “in the ring” till she was 9.

“My sister was in the air at 4,” she said as she relaxed outside her trailer prior to her Sunday performance at the Rochester Fair.

Crystal Koronas fluffs up her favorite dancing French poodle, Gaston. (Harrison Thorp photo)

Her sister, Nicole, is still a top aerialist with the circus, but Crystal said she likes “keeping her feet on the ground.” 

 If you go to the Circus Hollywood shows you might see her working with the dancing French poodles, the horses or with the acrobatic hula hoop troupe.

In the past, she’s been the girl who stands inside a huge ball cage as motorcycles drive circles around her.

She also sometimes calls the pig races which are put on by Circus Hollywood.

“I’ve done a lot of different things,” she laughs, “but I really like working with the dogs a lot.”

One of her favorites is Gaston, a male teacup French poodle who obviously adores his mistress. When she brought Gaston out from a trailer for a photo shoot in The Lebanon Voice the other poodles yelped in frenzied jealousy as they were left out of the picture.

Crystal said she gets a lot of her dogs, some of whom had been abused, from shelters or distressed situations and enjoys giving them a good home.

As she pampers and pretties up Gaston, you can feel the emotional bond between the two.

Crystal is from a circus family. Her dad, Serge Koronas, runs the circus. Her sister and two brothers all live the circus life, a life that Crystal says she has no plans of leaving.

“I thought about it; I went through high school and thought about college, but this is what I love, this is what I want to do,” she said.

For now, she said, she just wants to concentrate on working with her dog acts and is looking forward to going home to Bradenton, Fla., where the family lives on a ranch during the off-season.

After the Rochester Fair, it’s on to the Richmond (Va.) Fair before they’re done till February.

“We take a few months off, but then in January we have to start making repairs and get ready for the next year,” she said.

Asked if the way Hollywood portrays the circus life as a raucous spectacle has any credence, Crystal, an attractive, single 24-year-old, wrinkles her nose and smiles almost wistfully.

 “Well,” she said with a grin, “Things happen - a lot - everyone’s different. But it’s really no different than the ‘real world,’ as we like to call it.

“There’s good, there’s bad, there’s partiers, but a lot of us don’t drink or smoke at all. We’re very focused. Besides, in this business, you have to take care of your body.”

And Crystal is, indeed, focused. She said right now she’s working on developing her acts with the dogs and horses during the off-season.

For this week, though, she’s focused till Sunday on giving the best performances she can, dressing her dancing poodles up in their little tutus and putting on a good show. She said the Rochester crowds are a pleasure to perform for.

“The crowds have been unbelievable,” she said. “They’re loud, they scream and they’re very appreciative of the show.

“That’s what we really look forward to. People here love the show, and we love performing for them.”