Luciano Anastasini
By: Jenn Steinhardt and Sienna Mae Heath
At age twelve, Luciano Anastasini was a young boy and performer in the Amazing Anastasini family circus amid the charming backdrop of Plaza Castilla in Madrid, Spain.. Aside from his routines, he found a passion for dogs. Pepe, a spaniel-like mixed breed, was the first dog Luciano rescued. Seeing that the dog was in need of care, Luciano would first feed the dog, then take off ticks and fleas. He used the money he received from his chores to buy shampoo. “When the [performers] came out from the circus,” Luciano says, “they would give me tips” on caring for his dogs. His mother and grandmother told him that the first thing he should do with a new animal is to determine what he likes to do naturally and to encourage such natural talent. Luciano was also taught from a very young age that keeping performers, including animals, happy on and off the stage is an essential ingredient to success.
“I [have] always enjoyed the company of dogs,” he says today. In those days, he recounts, “If there were any pounds, they really didn’t care. They just wanted them in and out. Nowadays…they keep the dogs, try to find them a home, or move them to another animal shelter.” Looking back he says, “That was my priority in those days – to care for the dogs.” When the dogs stayed with him, they became close companions. Little Luciano continued rescuing dogs in order to “try to give them a better life” well into Luciano’s adulthood.
Luciano Anastasini has grown to be a Jack-of-all-trades in the circus and is currently a dog presenter. He joins the Big Apple Circus for a second season in Bello is Back!. Luciano incorporates his rescued dogs into an endearing comedy act, during which Luciano and his wife, Gladys, present their furry friends. This year, however, for the first time ever, Luciano’s “pound puppies” will be working with performers other than Luciano himself. From his family, to his dogs, to the circus and back again, Luciano has presented not only fantastic acts, but also a deep love and compassion for everything he does and those around him.
Luciano comes from a long line of Italian circus performers. His family has started their own circus, The Amazing Anastasini, and perform three to four months a year. When the family is not on tour, they rent out their bright yellow and pink tent for corporate events like the Big Apple Circus’s spring gala in June 2009 at Battery Park. While the family circus consists mainly of the Anastasinis, other families help (in and out of the ring) with performances and raising the Big Top. Luciano’s wife was a renowned aerialist, and his two sons are in the circus business now as well: Adriano (13) and Brando (9). Adriano works with dogs like his father. While Luciano was not with another circus, he and his kids did Roman riding on two ponies. Adriano and Brando have also done some comedy-trampoline acts with their grandfather.
“I was born into the business – eighth generation. I remember when I was a toddler, they would put me in openings and finales, held in my mom or dad’s arms,” Luciano says as he reminisces about his start in the circus. When he was still a young boy, his first performance was in his father’s footsteps. This first act was referred to as the washing machine act. A white-faced clown left some laundry with a couple of clowns and told them not to do anything until he got back. The clowns disregard what he says and end up shrinking the laundry. When the white-faced clown returns he’s very upset and throws one of the clowns in the washing machine. Next thing the audience sees is little Luciano popping out of the machine dressed like the clown that was just thrown in. Since then, Luciano has done acrobatics, juggling, high wire walking and more. It wasn’t until the early 1980s when Luciano started following his mother’s footsteps with animal presenting and brought his love for dogs into the circus ring. After receiving a friendly suggestion from a lady in the audience who regularly attended his shows, he realized that the audience expects to see dogs rewarded, even in the ring. He began to offer his dogs treats after they completed tricks in the ring. Audience response was very positive, and now it has become an endearing part of his routine.
While Luciano loves performing with his dogs, this year the dogs will be performing with company members Regina Dobrovitskaya and Andrey Mantchev. There will be more interaction with the performers this year. Luciano’s talented dogs-in-training are Toby, Nemo, Rowdy, Mino, Rocky, Freckles, Ben and Jerry. . “Andrey’s doing handstands. Regina’s dancing. Toby’s going to go through Andrey’s arms and Regina’s legs, and then [Toby] will do a figure eight.” He describes the full act as “thinking games” for the dogs because the work isn’t very difficult but they do have to think about it. “It’s more of a game of fetch the ball, bring it back – thinking games,” he says. Luciano’s excitement rises when he says, “They’re getting along so good…[The dogs] like Andrey and Regina.”
When coming up with an act he tries to understand what the dogs like. “The dog that rolled me in the carpet this year, he used to push a little car. Basically for him it’s the same thing. When he rolls me in the carpet, he’s still pushing the little car.” He claims, again, how important it is to understand what the animal wants and needs and not just “work, work, work.” Luciano separates his act from others with the type of control he has over his dogs. Many acts are military styled, where the dogs stay perfectly seated while the dog(s) do a specific trick. For Luciano, his is “controlled chaos.” The dogs know to stay on the podium when it’s not their turn but they rarely just sit still. He prides himself on having enough control, but he can still have fun with his dogs. And the dogs are having fun too. Luciano says the dogs are very anxious to go out and perform. They put on their pretty performance collars, then “they hear the music of the show, and they know it’s time to go. So they start barking to get inside the choo-choo train.”
Luciano explains how the audience, the dogs, and he himself appreciate the act.
The audience can relate to his dog act by realizing, “Oh, my dog can do that!” They see the shenanigans the dogs are getting into and that they’re having a good time, then relate it to their own mischief-makers at home. People of all ages recognize that the dogs are having fun and enjoy their performance because it’s more natural. “It’s a game for [the dogs],” says Luciano. When he knows what the dogs like to do he turns it into an act, instead of forcing them to do tricks they don’t like.
Luciano explains, “My enjoyment is different. One is performing with them and having a good time out there. [Another] is taking care and keeping them with me in their old age when they’re retired. [And another] is [taking them to] some parks where we can walk with them so we have time out as regular pets. We work together, we take care of each other, they take my stress off because I’m taking care of something that’s alive and that needs my attention. As they need me, I need them.”
The dog presenter also enjoys, “the smiles of the kids and the parents. I enjoy my dogs when they do funny things ‘cause every show it different. Sometimes I crack up because they did something new, naturally. I wish they could do it again because they [can be] so funny. That’s what I like, natural impulse.”
When the dogs are out of the ring, they also enjoy being normal dogs by running around the nearby, wide-open spaces. “There are a lot of places where we enjoy the freedom of it. Here in New York, [that place is] Central Park…. That’s what the dogs love most about traveling…the new smells,” Luciano claims. “Most people try to get a dog act like them, to be human. You have to be a dog too. You have to go smell every tree, every corner.”
Although the dog presenter treats his pets as they naturally are (as dogs), he respects them like any other human. When one of the dogs is having an off day he respects and accepts it. He says he and his dogs will “get through it and say it’s okay, don’t worry about it.” According to Luciano, people have more to think about and have different ways of dealing with off days. For his dogs, he knows that if there’s something really wrong he has to take them to a vet or let them have their space.
From the beginning of human life, dogs and mankind have shared a strong, symbiotic bond. Since Luciano first took in Pepe on the street, he has continued to bestow the same care and respect to the dogs in his circus act. The kindhearted relationship between man and dog give Luciano’s act an exceptional universality. The youngest of circus-goers enjoy the cavorting of the cute little “pound puppies” while their parents and grandparents relate to the “organized chaos” and appreciate the naturalness of the act itself. Luciano not only takes an honest interest in the life and career of his dogs, but also brings joy into the hearts of his dogs and every family that walks into the Big Apple Circus Big Top. The Big Apple Circus is more than pleased to have Luciano and his Pound Puppies for a second season.
