158:, Jutland, on 9 February 1926, Norma Nielsen was the daughter of the cinema operator Laurits Nielsen and his wife Magda. From an early age, together with her siblings she performed circus acts in their back yard. When she was 14, she was noticed at the local ballet school by Emilie Altenburg who together with her daughter performed in a circus act advertised as the Florita Sisters. After discussing her intentions with Norma's parents, Altenburg took the child to Copenhagen where she was trained to become a trapeze artist under strict, almost slave-like conditions.
174:, Altenburg took Norma to Norway and then to Sweden where she performed in Circus Altenburg and Circus Scott. After the war, in 1946 together with Altenburg, Norma toured Denmark with Circus Belli. There she met André Fox, her husband-to-be, who encouraged her to break away from Altenburg. The couple moved on to France where Norma performed an aerial act suspended from the
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After her son
Gilbert became paralyzed in a scooter accident, she retired from the circus in 1974. She trained young performers until the mid-1980s. She now lives in Sarasota's circus community, and a "Ring of Fame" marker records her achievements.
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who performed throughout Europe before moving to the United States with her husband, the
Frenchman André W. Fox, in 1949. In 1952, she performed as a stand-in for
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She made her debut at Varieté Maxim in
Randers and received her stage name La Norma when aged 16 she performed at the
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396:, book written in Danish published in 2009 by Aase Thomassen with CD with page to page translation to English.
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La Norma : sorg, savn og succes : en trapezstjernes vej til international berømmelse
368:"Still Flying High: 79-Year-Old Trapeze Artist Tony Steele by Donna Kelly – The 863 Magazine"
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345:"Circus news from Denmark 2016: Two birthdays with a round figure"
146:, where a "Ring of Fame" marker records her circus achievements.
214:"TV-Portræt af Norma fra Randers: – I luften var jeg lykkelig"
293:. Lat34North: Historic Markers Across Florida. Archived from
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16:Danish aerialist and trapeze artist (born 1926)
269:"Recollections of a life lived in the circus"
180:Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
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138:. La Norma retired in 1974 and now lives in
400:Recollections of a life lived in the circus
389:Four-minute video from Circus Ring of Fame
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116:; born 9 February 1926), also known as
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212:Asvig Iversen, Pia (7 December 2021).
483:Danish emigrants to the United States
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370:. The 863 Magazine, Polk Media.
245:. Circuses and Sideshows. 2013.
441:( ed.). : Aase Thomassen.
394:La Norma - sorg, savn og succes
291:"La Norma, Circus Ring of Fame"
216:(in Danish). Din Avis Randers.
178:. This led to a contract with
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172:German occupation of Denmark
414:by World Acrobatics Society
320:(in Danish). Aase Thomassen
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498:American circus performers
184:The Greatest Show on Earth
170:in Copenhagen. During the
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493:Danish circus performers
437:Thomassen, Aase (2009).
503:Women stunt performers
316:Larsen, Katja (2014).
366:Kelly, Donna (2016).
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297:on 21 December 2021
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35:La Norma performing
402:- FOX 13 Tampa Bay
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347:. cirkus.dk. 2016
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349:. Retrieved
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351:22 December
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462:Categories
424:1951 photo
412:4min video
243:"La Norma"
194:References
150:Early life
51:1926-02-09
122:aerialist
105:Norma Fox
90:1942–1974
77:Aerialist
372:Archived
277:Archived
247:Archived
218:Archived
154:Born in
140:Sarasota
118:La Norma
23:La Norma
156:Randers
144:Florida
114:Nielsen
66:Denmark
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162:Career
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168:Scala
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