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UniverSoul Performer Left Norfolk To Join The Circus

   By Lendora Washington
NJG Summer Intern
Howard University Senior

   It's been almost thirteen years since Ameera Diamond left Norfolk and ran away with the circus.
   “I'd lived in Norfolk since 1989,” said Diamond. “I moved to the area to attend Norfolk State University.”
Though currently a member of UniverSoul Circus' Rough Riders act that will be performing in Norfolk from June 10th to the 15th, Diamond was a schoolteacher living in the Ballentine residential area a little more than a decade ago.
   “I was a teacher's assistant at Green Hill Farms Academy for the K-4 class, dance teacher for girls from grades K-2 to K-5, and P.E instructor for boys from grades K-2 to K-5.”
    It was during the Green Hill Farms Academy's annual trip to the Ringling Brothers' Circus that Diamond entertained the idea of joining the circus. Diamond felt this was a chance to perform professionally, as she aspired to do.
   “One year, we were really close to the circus dance performers and I asked one what you had to do to become a circus dancer,” said Diamond. “They said there were auditions that same day.”
    Diamond told the co-owner of the school, Doris Land, that she wanted to audition.
   “We laughed,” said Land “ We all thought she was joking, at first.”
She was allowed to leave work early to audition for the show. She received a callback three weeks later and became a circus performer.
   “We were sad to see her go,” said Land “We knew that she would be an asset to anyplace she went. She is a very congenial person and was well liked by that faculty and the children. We would go see her perform, when it was near enough for us to go.”
    In 1999, two years after joining The Ringling Brothers Circus, Diamond started with UniverSoul Circus.
Diamond and two other young ladies filmed a little unpolished act that they had put together. They sent the videotape to the UniverSoul Circus. They were called in, however the other two young ladies had to drop out.   Diamond ended up going by herself.
“I had an opportunity to change shows,” said Diamond. “At that time the idea of an African American was relatively new. I wanted to be a part of history.”
Diamond's dance background, including her two years dancing under the Norfolk State Dance Company, prepared her for dancing aspect that the UniverSoul circus required, however other skills were learned hands on.
   “ A lot of it is on the job training,” said Diamond. “You have to just get in there and do it.”
    And that's exactly what she did. Since joining the UniverSoul Circus, Diamond has worked with a number of acts that incorporated a range of animals and acquired an equal range of skill.
   “Each year I've done a little something different,” said Diamond. “I worked with a group from Chile in a dog act. I've rode elephants. And in 2002, I was doing a tiger act.”
    Diamond welcomed the shift in concentration from just dancing to dance that incorporated animals and stunting.

Posted June 4, 2008

   “I look at the change as a sort of growth,” said Diamond. “We still dance, just now it may be on elephants. Now, I just have more dance partners.”
  However, Diamond insists that working with her new “partners” is a valuable and delightful experience but that it isn't all fun and performing.  

“It's more than simply performing,” said Diamond. “When you work with animals, it's a 24 hour a day job. There is a lot that I must do for the animals. You have to take care of the animals like they're your children for however long you have to take care of them.”
Diamond is an experienced care-taker, seeing as she must care for her two sons that travel with her and her husband, Carlos Savian Quientones.
“My husband works in the show,” said Diamond. “His name is Carlos. He is the tiger trainer this year with the stage name El Niche.”
    She and her husband must juggle schedules to care for the two boys, one 14 years old and the other 14 months old.
   “There's no set up daycare, but they do have a school for my oldest son, Tyrell,” said Diamond. “There is a young lady that's not currently working in the show, she cares Carlos Savian Jr., when we are both performing.”
    After being with the circus for so long, Diamond could not imagine living a stationary lifestyle until retirement.
“I don't know if I could stop traveling,” said Diamond. “I'm accustomed to traveling all over the country. Once I come out of the ring, I don't see myself out of the business. I like the atmosphere of the UniverSoul Circus.”
Most of her satisfaction comes from the smiles of the children watching her performance. She believes that the UniverSoul Circus provides an invaluable experience to urban children.
“We are catering to the urban community, necessarily African Americans, but anybody growing up in the city,” said Diamond. “We are giving kids an option, not that lawyer and doctors aren't great, but we're giving them something exciting that they could possibly become.”
    Diamond believes that the option of becoming a performer is important for all children, especially her own.
“ My eldest son, Tyrell, has performed in the circus,” said Diamond. “At age 4, he performed with the kiddy troop riding a unicycle. He also has skills as a juggler, likes to dance and plays basketball. He has a lot of different options.”
    Diamond has high hopes for every performance, including the one that will take place in Norfolk.
   “ What I wish specifically for Norfolk is that we as a community come out and support the UniverSoul Circus,” said Diamond. “We need to make it a tradition to show our children something different that they don't see everyday. It lets them know there are options outside of the seven cities and that they don't have to join the military to see the world.”

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