NEW YORK (AP) – Plenty of performers have had explosive entrances. Some rise like meteors, soaring to new heights. Others find their moment in the spotlight fleeting.
Few have done all of this at once and quite so literally as Gemma Kirby, the 25-year-old human cannonball at Circus Xtreme. She hurtles out of a cannon at up to 66 mph and lands up to 104 feet away in an air bag.
“It’s a very intense sensation. Very few human beings get to feel that sensation, except for fighter jet pilots or an astronaut,” she said by phone recently. “It’s really remarkable to feel it completely untethered to any type of vehicle.”
Kirby will be celebrating a special milestone on Saturday: She’s expected to notch her 500th total flight in Philadelphia – a heart-thumping moment on Valentine’s Day.
“I can never do this act half-awake or not prepared or warmed up,” she said. “Every single time is a risk. Every single time is a bit of a mystery.”