ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 20, 1996 TAG: 9602210004
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP)
SOURCE: IAN ZACK THE DAILY PROGRESS
LaVahn Hoh recalls exactly the first time he saw the giant feet of a clown, licked cotton candy and stared gape-mouthed at acrobats on the high wire.
``August 13, 1946,'' the bearded University of Virginia drama professor recalled with a grin. ``I was hooked. There was just something magical about it that swept me off my feet.''
Hoh also can recall the long, silvery circus train rolling through the fog of Appleton, Wis., mesmerizing him with its menagerie of animals and performers.
Half a century later, Hoh, 53, is one of the foremost experts on the history of the American circus and teaches the only college course on the subject in the country.
It's a course where presidents, kings and army generals take a back seat to larger-than-life characters such as impresario P.T. Barnum and circus clown Lou Jacob, the only American who lived to see his likeness on a U.S. postage stamp. ``People don't know a lot about the circus,'' said Hoh, who figures he has sat through hundreds of hours of performances over the years. ``It's in your town for one day, and then it's gone.''
``It's a serious art form,'' Hoh said. ``It deserves the same pedigree of drama, music, opera, movies.''
Hoh not only teaches students about the circus, he teaches Ringling Brothers clowns the history of their art at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus clown college in Sarasota, Fla. His wife of six years, M.F., jokes about Hoh's obsession with life under the big top. ``We spent our honeymoon on a circus train on the way to Milwaukee,'' she said with a smile. ``Any time there's a circus within flying distance, he's gone.''
Hoh, who also teaches technical theater, decorated his university office with dozens of circus posters and harlequin figurines and even several bull hooks, which trainers use to lead elephants and other circus animals.
Two rooms in his Charlottesville home are reserved for circus memorabilia. Hoh even named his cat Bailey, and his two dogs Barnum and Dolly Jacobs after the circus impresario and an aerialist.
Students step right up to his 13-year-old course.
``It's a great opportunity to learn about something that's integral to our culture that you might not otherwise get to learn about,'' said drama student Jenny Mann, 20, of Portsmouth.
``He really has a way of getting people interested in the subject when you otherwise might not think it was that important.''
A Ringling Brothers clown last week spoke to Hoh's students about life in the ``Greatest Show on Earth,'' as the circus bills itself. In the past, an acrobat, ringmaster and circus owner have addressed students.
Students on Thursday visited the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Richmond.
Hoh, who co-wrote ``Step Right Up'' in 1991 about the history of the circus, traces its roots to B.C. 2300 in Egypt, where the earliest mentions of acrobats, balance artists and even clowns are found.
The first American circus opened in Philadelphia in 1793. There are now 40 circuses in the United States, each employing its own mix of acrobats, daredevils, clowns, human oddities and animals in traveling shows under a big tent. The largest are Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey; Carson and Barnes; and Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. circuses.
Though circuses have come under attack recently from animal-rights activists, Hoh defended their use of elephants, tigers and other animals.
``The circus people treat the animals well,'' he said. ``They have to; it's their livelihood.
``There have been allegations of mistreatment. They're just not true.''
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Lan Vahn Hoh, center, teaches circus history at theby CNBUniversity of Virginia. Here, he is with clowns from the Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.