Nerveless Nocks member relishes travel, performing with family: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

For the many teenagers who think of the circus as an abandoned childhood concept, Angelina Nock, 14, proves this to be far from the truth.

A performer with Cirque Equinox, which performed in November at the Broward County Fair, Nock has devoted herself to this art all her life.

She is certainly not the average teenager, and her larger-than-life experiences reflect this.

South Africa, Bangkok, Thailand, Canada, Mexico, Alaska -- this is just the beginning of the long list of places she has already seen.

"My favorite part is traveling," said Nock, and it is easy to see why. In the United States alone, her current tour will travel to Dallas, Las Vegas and Georgia, before returning to her hometown of Sarasota -- fittingly, the circus capital of the world.

Homesickness is not an issue because her extraordinary lifestyle has made the road her home, and the stage her haven.

Her potential is limitless and, at such a young age, she and her family of circus performers and acrobats are world-renowned. "If there's a circus there, they know us," said her father, Michelangelo Nock.

Nock is a ninth generation circus performer and it has become her duty to hold the torch and continue the legacy of Nerveless Nocks.

Proud of her craft, she embraces this responsibility with open arms.

Not only is there a long line of circus performers in Nock's ancestry, but many family members are in today's shows as well. She performs alongside her father, mother Carolina, brother Cyrus and cousins Chiarra, Fabio and Juliano Anastasini with Cirque Equinox.

Having family on the road makes the life of this performer easier.

"There's family in Ringling, there's family in Mexico, there's family all over the place," she said. This network ensures she is never alone on her circus escapades.

Nock's dreams go far beyond inheriting the family business of performing. Unlike the average aspirations of becoming a doctor or lawyer, Nock hopes to go professional with her summer hobby of waterskiing.

In an upcoming waterski-based show the entire family will participate in, Nock is, in her father's words, "the girl on top of the pyramid."

With such an active life of performing, it seems almost impossible to fit in the necessities. But education is still a prevalent force in Nock's life.

"I have DVDs that film an actual classroom, and I'm pretty much in it," she said. In addition to her virtual classroom during the average school year, Nock will be tutored this summer.

Not only can Nock twirl 24 hula hoops simultaneously, she can juggle the demands of teen life. With Nock, a performer, a star and a true teen role model, it is evident that her success is only beginning.