Three weeks before opening night, director Amy Tinkham is at center ring working intently with a woman who will be lifted by her hair and twirl overhead seconds before motorcycles zip underneath her.
That's supposed to happen just as an acrobat launches himself from an oversized swing high into a waiting net.
The hair woman -- 34-year-old Andrea Raffo, the wife of the tiger tamer -- has to be hoisted by a rope attached to her flowing locks at just the right instant so she doesn't get splattered by the speeding motorcycles. 
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All About Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus • Animal Rights • Florida