This young animal trainer comes from a family where animal training is a tradition: his grandfather Tammo Tom Dieck, his father Tom, and his mother Gillian have a deep knowledge and love of animals, which they shared with him from his earliest years. He was only eleven years old when he first entered the cage.
In December 2003, he rehearsed his first big cat act under the watchful eyes of his parents; he was just twenty years old. He won a Bronze Clown in 2007 at the Monte-Carlo Circus Festival with this group of tigers and lions, and a Gold Ring Award in 2011 in Massy. He performed with the Arlette Gruss Circus (2005) and Reinhardt Probst Circus (2006).
En 2012, il fit ses débuts avec ce bel ensemble qu’il présente ici à Bayeux, un numéro préparé avec le grand dresseur Jim Clubb : cinq tigres, deux lions blancs, et deux ligrons, croisements d’un lion et d’une tigresse. On y voit un exercice très rare, le Big Drum, où le ligron Sahib marche à l’intérieur d’une grande roue verticale tandis que le tigre Sultan recule à l’extérieur de cette même roue. On imagine que cet exercice ne peut être obtenu avec d’autres méthodes que celles qui font appel à l’intelligence de l’animal en gagnant sa confiance.
This act won a Bronze Clown at the Monte-Carlo Festival in 2014. Tom Dieck is an elegant artist; it is a true choreography that he dances with his big cats, a creation intended above all to highlight their feline nature.
Textes : Christian Hamel – Photos : Jean-Michel Calot
