IT’S handy to have a couple of strongmen on hand when you’ve run away with the circus. When they’re not pumping iron or balancing people on one hand, they can be relied upon to get you out of a tricky situation.

This is something Salvadore Salansang, clown at Le Grande Cirque, discovered when rehearsing his daredevil balloon act.

“Once I climb inside it, I’ve got to shut the hole and if you don’t do it quick enough the whole thing closes down to the size it was before you blew it up – if that happens you’re stuck in it,” the 41-year-old explains.

“It’s so strong that it’s not like you can stand up and walk away. You’re almost in a little cocoon and you can’t move.”

Fortunately for Sal, when this happened backstage in the early days of the act, there were strongmen on hand to rip the rubber apart.

It’s not a performance he can practise alone because if the balloon pops and there is nobody to help, he could suffocate.

“When I do it, it’s towards the end of the show and there’s been a lot going on stage so if any sequins have fallen off the girls’ costumes they could pop it,” he says. “I’m inside of it so if it does pop it’s really loud.”

Originally planning to become an architect, Sal’s first job in entertainment was as Shamu the whale at Sea World in Texas.

“I learned every part in the park and so they had this guy who could do five shows in the park,” he says.

“From there I went to Vegas and was performing David Cassidy at the MGM,” he adds, bursting into a rendition of I think I love You.

Then he was approached to join Le Grand Cirque.

“It’s a totally different character from what I was used to do but I like it,” he says, “It’s really exciting to watch everyone’s reactions and to get to travel the world.”