2/8/2005
Before a packed-to-capacity crowd, "Bela Tabak's Riders of the Thunderdome" accomplished the incredible: five motorcycles racing at 40-plus miles-per-hour within a 14'3" diameter cage of metal mesh during the 7:30 p.m. performance of "Splash" at the Riviera Hotel & Casino. Bela Tabak, the father and son team of Humberto Fonseca and Humberto Fonseca, Jr., as well as Gary Laurent and Rob Swarez, defied both gravity and death writing a new page in the history books with this record setting ride.
At the time of Splash's inception, the show's motorcycle-stunt routine consisted of two motortcycles inside an 18-foot diameter ball of metal mesh. With training, experience, technology and practice, they added a third bike in the late 1980's; and then, a couple years later split the globe for the first time ever. - While the riders circle the upper two-thirds of the chamber, the lower one-third of the structure drops. The space between the top and bottom sections creates the potential for their bikes literally to fly out of the steel
structure. - Today, the routine is performed nightly in Splash with four motorcycles racing about inside a 14-foot sphere of metal mesh. On Sunday night, however, Tabak and his team set a new record riding five bikes simultaneously within their already very tight quarters.
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Tabak has been globe riding since he was 12 years old; first on a bicycle and then, once he had become accustomed to the spinning sensation that comes along with riding within a sphere of metal mesh, on a motorcycle. He has been with Splash since the time of its debut at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in 1985; first as the teenage son of the globe act's lead rider and then on stage himself. For Tabak, seeing as his grandfather, Panaair McValley, originated the act in the early 1900's in Brazil, this is not just a job it is a matter of family tradition.
Brazilian native and also the son of a globe rider, Humberto Fonseca, began his career as a motorcycle daredevil at the age of 10. The undisputed globe guru of the group, it is Fonseca who conceptualized, designed and guided the building of the metal mesh sphere in which these daredevils will make their five-bike attempt. The seventh globe for Tabak's team, it is fashioned from four tons of old steel, machine-rolled and then hand-assembled by the riders themselves into a perfect sphere. The inner walls polished to a flawless finish.
Having joined Bela Tabak's Riders of the Thunderdome (and his father on stage) a mere two years ago, Humberto Fonseca, Jr., with his long dark locks is the youngest and newest member of the group. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, he began globe riding at the age of 10. Gary Laurent and Rob Swarez both started globe riding relatively late; then again unlike Tabak and the Fonsecas they are not bound to the "sport" by family tradition. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, at 6' Laurent is the tallest of the riders and was the last to log his first globe ride at the age of 26. Swarez, also a Brazilian from Rio Grande De Sul but the only blonde in the group, spent several years on motorcycles before his first try at spherical spinning when he was 16 years old. For all three of the relative newcomers to globe riding, it is all about the thrill.
And on Sunday night their ride was definitely a thrill.
As an intense soundtrack resonated throughout the room, a thick fog engulfed the stage. Through a warm glow radiating from behind a translucent screen, shadows of movement became apparent. As the screen rose, the preamble to the grand finale of Splash began.
Melding light with music, costuming and choreography the closing moments of Splash on July 2 began as usual with a powerful dance routine as created by celebrated choreographer Nick Navarro. Dressed in cobra costumes fashioned by internationally-renowned, New York fashion designer Stephen Yearick the Splash cast exploded into action setting the stage for the most fear-defying act of white-knuckle terror ever: "Bela Tabak's Riders of the Thunderdome."
The pulse of a primordial drum beat echoing throughout the room, the air thickened with anticipation as the revving of motorcycle engines became perceptible over the ever-intensifying music and dance. Entring the globe one-after-another, Tabak and his team performed that which was mere fantasy a little over a decade ago.
The Fonsecas and Swarez were the first to take off; swinging into the upper third of the globe with flawless precision. All of them aware that with the two other bikes still parked in the center of the sphere one slip could end in fatality. With three bikes racing against gravity in the globe above them, Tabak and Laurent began their spin as low as possible - this also means within the smallest circumference possible - in the bottom of the globe.
The entire audience sitting on the edge of their seats, the Fonsecas and Swarez opened up the gap and Tabak slowly rose into a space between the bikes racing about the upper hemisphere of the globe. Criss-crossing in chaotic rage, coming within inches of each other in every direction, bikes to the right, left, above and below they rode on; the room filled with wild applause.
A one-shot deal, Tabak and his team will not be doing a repeat performance of this ride anytime soon; however, their four-bike stunt can be seen nightly in Splash - riding the rims of their tires as they thunder about the globe flexing the stage floor below them. The entire room reverberating with their rage, as they race on with nothing more than nylon-mesh leathers between them and cold, hard steel.
Seven nights a week the Splash Theater at the Riviera Hotel & Casino comes alive with the entertainment extravaganza that is Splash. A variety show extraordinaire featuring world-class ice skating, high-energy dancing, a constant flux of top specialty acts, and the motorcycle mania of Bela Tabak's Riders of the Thunderdome, Splash is a must-see while in Las Vegas.
Through Sunday, September 3, Splash will feature adult topless performances twice nightly at 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. On Sundays, there will be one special 7:30 p.m. covered performance to allow those traveling with children during the Summer Holiday period to experience the not-to-be-missed, all-new production of Splash as a family. The 10:30 p.m. performance that evening will remain topless. No one under 18 years of age will be admitted to topless performances; however, children as young as five years of age are welcome on Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. all summer long.
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