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==Acrobat==

''By Dominique Jando''

James Clowney (1972-2026) was a talented acrobat and comedy character whose professional career spanned twenty years in two circuses only, but two prestigious ones: New York's [[Big Apple Circus]] and Canada's [[Cirque du Soleil]]. A versatile and charismatic performer and a generous individual, he was held in high esteem by his colleagues and loved by his audiences&mdash;until his untimely death at age fifty-four in 2026.

===A Kid from Manhattan===

Born in New York January 9, 1972, James grew up in Manhattan surrounded by five sisters and one brother. On July 18, 1977, the Big Apple Circus gave its inaugural performance in a landfill near Battery Park, in Manhattan; the Big Apple Circus was then the performing arm of the New York School for Circus Arts, and the show featured a young and very talented African American acrobatic group, [[The Back Street Flyers]].

Age fourteen to sixteen, hailing from the now-defunct Charles Evans Hughes High School in the Chelsea District on Manhattan's West Side (of ''West Side Story'' fame), they had practiced tumbling at a YMCA, until their teacher brought them to the newly established New York School for Circus Arts. They were to become a staple of the Big Apple Circus’s early productions, and, in 1980, won a Silver Medal at Paris’s [[Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain]]. The Back Street Flyers became an inspiration for other African American kids in New York.

James joined the New York School for Circus Arts at age nine, in 1981. When the school morphed into the Big Apple Circus Arts in Education Program two years later and found a home at the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School (better known simply as Harbor School) on Governors Island, James moved with it, and graduated from Harbor School in 1986. He then went to West Side High School, took a break to work as an usher and on the ring crew at the Big Apple Circus, and returned to school to graduate in 1992.

During that time, James never stopped training. In 1988, he performed an acrobatic act with [[Carlos Guity]] (soon to join the Big Apple Circus) and four other students of the Arts in Education Program at the [[Festival Première Rampe]] in Monte Carlo&mdash;then the junior equivalent of the [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]]&mdash;where they won the ''Nice-Matin'' award presented by the local press.

===An International Circus Career===

James eventually joined the Big Apple Circus Company in 1993 for its production of ''Carnevale in Venice''. He appeared in the show as a tumbler and acrobat in various tableaus. Turned professional, he would participate in three more Big Apple Circus productions until 1997&mdash;notably in a hand-to-hand balancing act with [[Melinda Merlier]] and Carlos Guity, in a comedy tumbling act with [[Julian Stachowski]], Carlos Guity, [[Al Calienes]], and [[Elena Panova]], and in a Russian barre act with Julian Stachowski and Carlos Guity: A versatile performer indeed! 

Then, in 1998, James went to work at Cirque Du Soleil for the Canadian circus's restaging of its old production of ''Saltimbanco''. James was originally cast as an acrobat and character in the show, but his presence and comedic talent eventually earned him the central role of "The Ringmaster." He would tour the world with ''Saltimbanco'' for fifteen years before leaving the show in 2012.

Then, at age forty, James Clowney left the circus altogether and went to work for a time as a security professional for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. He settled in Las Vegas, where Cirque du Soleil employees and alumni are many, and eventually created his own business, ''Armchair Millionaire Academy''&mdash;the title of which corresponds well with his sense of humor. 

What happened next is not well documented. Having left show business, James somewhat disappeared from the circus world's radar&mdash;until his death from a heart attack on January 30, 2026, at age fifty-four, which came as a shock to all those who had been lucky to know and work with him. James Clowney was a warm human being, and a multi-talented artist who combined amazing strength, acrobatic nimbleness, and a great sense of humor. Said James: "Always believe that hard work pays off."

==Image Gallery==

<Gallery>

</Gallery>

[[Category:Artists and Acts|Clowney, James]] [[Category:Acrobats|Clowney, James]] [[Category:Hand-to-Hand Balancing|Clowney, James]]
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