When third-generation circus performer Richard Olate won America’s Got Talent in 2012, he wasn’t very optimistic about it going anywhere. Six years later, the family is touring with their show, and Richard’s son, Nicholas, says turning the act into a family unit is a growing endeavour for him, considering that his dad is getting ready for retirement.
“I’m performing the majority of the show now,” says Nicholas. “I’m taking up the family business here shortly.” (That family business includes music, a stand-up comedy routine, and, of course, canine acrobatics.)
“The opening of the show is the acrobatic dog opening,” he says. “The dogs do handstands, and jump rope, and ride scooters, and run around on their hind legs… It’s very acrobatic.”
Nicholas says the family tries to get rescue dogs for the show, which is how Richard got into this business in the first place; he started out working with rescue dogs on the streets of his hometown, Santiago, Chile.
“I’ve always been an animal lover,” says Nicholas. “For me, performance-wise, I just like being able to entertain. The stresses of life always get to you, and stuff like that; you never know if someone’s having a bad day or something, so if you can perform and have them forget whatever day they had, or some sort of stress, for at least an hour and a half. That’s a very rewarding thing in itself—just being able to travel around and be with all the dogs and see the world is a real blessing.”
Nicholas says that on the off chance the family picks out a rescue dog—typically, they pick a poodle mix because they’re a hypo-allergenic breed and built well for doing tricks—who doesn’t take to the stage training well, the dog will go to his grandpa’s farm, a large acreage where dogs can run around and be free.
“Every time we need a new dog, we try to rescue, if at all possible. We go to shelters and look for energetic dogs that could potentially work for the tricks that we need,” he says, adding that the dogs need a home just as much as the Olates need the dogs. “Every time we do need a new dog, that’s what we like to turn to.”
The show also includes a short film about rescuing animals with details about his father’s poverty-stricken past.
“It’s basically a rescue story, but it’s kind of a little cute twist on it, so instead of the human rescuing the dog it’s vice-versa—the dog thinks it’s rescuing the human,” says Nicholas.
Nicholas says the message of rescuing dogs, and how that ties into his father’s story, is also talked about in the show.
“I tell the people how he started rescuing when he was about 12 years old,” says Nicholas. “We definitely feel that’s something that’s very important because, I mean, they’re living beings as well.”
Nicholas says they get people coming up to them after the show who don’t necessarily like dogs but who enjoyed the show just the same.
“It’s really rewarding for us,” he says, “to be able to put on something that’s entertaining not necessarily just for people that like dogs.”
The Olate Dogs
2 pm Sunday, April 8
Various prices, Farquhar Auditorium, University of Victoria
uvic.ca/auditorium