He is the last to leave the tent. His heartbeat returns to normal when the last spectator leaves. He has checked them several times, even during the show, he behaves around him. The concern is great. The lives of 600 spectators and all the artists depend on it. Once a prestigious circus artist, today Kujtim Zuna is a master mechanic. He is the one who prepares the tools for the artists and is responsible for the security of the tent. He completed school as a mechanic, but speed numbers were his passion. It was creative and fast. Do you mean that number, where the “magician” splits the body of a beauty in the middle? We would have liked to tell you the secret, but we are not spoiling the magic…

“It is a job that requires long practice, hours of rehearsals in front of the mirror, interpretation, speed, attention, patience…” says Kujtimi, ready to improvise a number instantly. The change of systems changed a lot for the art and also for the circus. In the new conditions, Kujtimi felt himself closer to his old craft, but without giving up the circus. After 10 years on the stage, he decided to go out behind the scenes, to deal with the preparation of tools. “To be able to build safe tools, you need to know the circus itself, to know the techniques, where the artist should put his hands, to keep the balance, how he can do the vertical better. Often artists just come with a sketch and you have to sit down and think about how to make it happen.” Knowing the circus helped him a lot in his work, but as he says, safety must be maximum, so you also have to take some backup measures. “After checking the exterior, I move on to the interior, safety belts, cranes… It’s been so many years on the job and thank God I haven’t had any accidents,” he says.

“You should never trust screws. I always double them with nylon thread, so that if the screws come loose, the artist does not risk falling”, says Kujtimi, while from time to time our conversation is interrupted by artists, acrobats, musicians who pass by. “He is a master and a good friend,” says one of the eyes.

He does not spare work and in the old office, under a grape arbor, you can always find him doing something. Welding a circle, fixing a bicycle, assembling a trapeze… It’s been many years since he worked alone in that office, where the conditions are not optimal, just like in the whole circus. But despite everything, he continues to work with passion.
“This work requires love and discipline. It makes you sad when you see young people wasting their time, who don’t keep their bodies in shape, who don’t train”.
Memory has undoubtedly seen better days, when the circus was full, there were about 60 artists and tours were held all over Albania. It was the time of Telat Agolli, Arben Shaka, then the directors Arjan Miluka, who is now in Belgium, and Pavli Sallata, who produced wonderful shows. “The shows were exciting, especially outside of Tirana, where the public had never seen a circus. It happened to us that when we went to a store, we were afraid to be served because we would give them fake money. The audience was amazed by our performances”.
Today, he is 63 years old and very soon he will retire, but he attaches the supporting structures of the tent as if he were a young man. “At the moment I have the opportunity to cope”, he says, but he is aware that two years go by quickly. His concern is that he has no one to inherit his craft. A new worker will have to come so that he can learn it. You can’t get away without knowing that the artists’ lives are in safe hands.

“Some new person must come to learn the craft, see how it works, learn how to weld, because the lives of the artists depend on it. At least he must do the apprenticeship for one year. Both the animal trainer and the shoemaker retire very soon. Someone has to replace them. We know things with our eyes closed, but a young person does not, so they should also come as soon as possible and understand the importance of work.
While he inherited his love for the circus from his son, now an acrobat, who took his first steps on that stage, when he was very small, when his father did speed numbers and he clapped his hands with joy. While today he is the one who applauds him and his heart beats hard when he sees him performing in the tools he made… This is the magic of heritage.