Fire-breathing circus performer says fear motivates her as she breaks third record
A circus performer with a trio of impressive Guinness World Records titles says fear is her biggest motivator.
Sara Spadoni (Italy) put her skills to the test when she achieved the most fire hoops spun while in a split position, with 4, and the highest flame blown by a fire breather (female) with 5.4 metres, both on the 19 November 2023 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Earlier this year, on 7 June, she claimed her third record – the most spins while suspended from the hair in 30 seconds – with 68, a record she shares with Polina Karvovskaya (Belarus).
The 26-year-old joked that she broke her third record because she “hates even numbers”.
Sara, a professional circus performer with a background in gymnastics and musical theatre, says feeling fear is a way for her to make sure she stays safe.
She told us: “I try to stay as safe as possible, especially with this kind of art and skill - it’s very important to follow every single safety guideline.
Of course, fear never completely leaves my mind and body but I absolutely adore the adrenaline and that fear of what’s going to happen.
“It’s what I live for, I absolutely love it, so any dangerous skills please give them to me,” she laughed.
“It’s always good to leave a little bit of fear just to keep yourself safe, especially when you’re working with fire.
“I remind myself that it’s not an object, it’s an element, and it always has more power than me.
“It can destroy anything at any point, so it’s always good to respect it and keep an extra eye on it.”
Sara started fire breathing when she was just 15 years old and fell in love with it.
She’s extremely grateful that it’s become part of her full time job and brought her so many achievements over the years.
She added: “When I started fire breathing I was so scared of doing it that even if I knew the technique, I postponed the action of doing it for a few years until I eventually found the courage and found it was my favourite thing in the world.
Being the world record holder for that skill is something close to my heart and it reminds me that if I’m ever scared about doing something, I just have to do it and then I’ll figure it out.
Sara has previously toured the UK and Ireland with Circus Vegas and currently performs at Ferrari World Yas Island Abu Dhabi.
She said that as an Italian, working for world-famous brand Ferrari is extremely special to her.
“But my favourite place to perform in is the Big Top,” she confessed. “It is magical and every time that I enter a Big Top I feel at home.”
For each of her three record attempts, Sara says she adopted the same technique of writing down a step-by-step schedule and training for at least one hour a day.
She’s even confident that she could do better on the hair hanging record and plans to attempt it again.