The Cavaretta-St. Jules Family Papers (1866-2019) document the careers of aerialist Terry Cavaretta and her husband, juggler Rejean St. Jules, including their respective family troupes, the Flying Cavarettas and the Robertsons. The materials include photographs, press clippings, contracts and correspondence, show programs and posters, scrapbooks, circus ephemera, awards, and publications featuring articles about the performers. The collection also contains audiovisual materials and circus performance-related books and magazines.
The Cavaretta-St. Jules Family Papers (1866-2019) document the careers of aerialist Terry Cavaretta and her husband, juggler Rejean St. Jules, including their respective family troupes, the Flying Cavarettas and the Robertsons. The materials include photographs, press clippings, contracts and correspondence, show programs and posters, scrapbooks, circus ephemera, awards, and publications featuring articles about the performers. The collection also contains audiovisual materials and circus performance-related books and magazines. Many Las Vegas, Nevada casinos and production shows are featured in the collection as Terry Cavaretta and Rejean St. Jules both had lengthy careers as performers on the Strip. Other geographical areas represented include Quebec, Canada, and various international locations such as Australia and Europe.
Collection is open for research.
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Materials are arranged by subject.
Aerialist Terry Cavaretta St. Jules was born Darlene Teresa Anne Cavaretta on March 6, 1953 in Buffalo, New York, to Vince and Anne Cavaretta. Terry was the youngest of six siblings, five of whom would later perform as the Flying Cavarettas trapeze act: Candace (Kandy), Jimmy, Maureen (Moe), Marlene (Molli), and Terry. The Cavaretta family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1956, and Terry began training on the flying trapeze with instructor Faye Moses in 1958. After performing for trapeze artist Fay Alexander, Terry and sister Kandy were invited to perform as professionals with the Flying Alexanders group.
In 1966, the Flying Cavarettas were formed by Vince Cavaretta at the suggestion of promoter Al Dobritch, who thought a teenage trapeze act would draw crowds. The Flying Cavarettas made their debut in Toledo, Ohio on March 6, 1966, and continued to perform on the touring circuit. They continued to refine their act, and Terry became known for her ability to perform a triple somersault. Al Dobritch recommended the act to Jay Sarno, and the Flying Cavarettas made their Las Vegas debut at Circus Circus on the hotel’s opening day, October 18, 1968, where they would perform until 1991, for a total of 23 years.
The group had various membership changes throughout the decades, with siblings leaving to join other groups, and rejoining the Flying Cavarettas. In 1973, Terry and her late husband, Ron Lemus, formed a flying trapeze group called the Flying Terrels after Jimmy Cavaretta left the group to perform with the Flying Medallions. Upon Lemus’s death in 1976 in a plane crash, Jimmy Cavaretta joined Terry in the Flying Terrels. The group would soon revert to using the Flying Cavarettas name. They would continue performing at the Circus Circus and internationally, until dissolving the Flying Cavarettas act in 1991. Terry and Jimmy continued to perform a double trapeze act together at the Tropicana for another four years.
Terry Cavaretta met juggler Rejean St. Jules at a circus festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1982. The two were married in 1983 and had a son, Sebastian, in 2001. Terry opened the Terry Cavaretta Trapeze Experience in 2012, and was inducted into the International Circus Hall of Fame in 2014. As of 2026, Terry Cavaretta St. Jules resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sources:
Cavaretta St. Jules, Terry. “The Terry Cavaretta St. Jules Story.” Cavaretta-St. Jules Family Papers, 1866-2019. MS-01238. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jando, Dominique. “Terry Cavaretta.” Circopedia. Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.circopedia.org/Terry_Cavaretta
Professional juggler Rejean St. Jules was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on July 6, 1959. His parents, Maurice and Francoise St. Jules, were circus performers that performed under the stage name The Robertsons. Maurice, also known as Lou Robertson, was a hand-balancer, and Francoise was a tap dancer. Rejean was trained by his father in the art of hand-balancing as a child, and he joined the family group as Reggie Robertson.
St. Jules met French juggler Sampion Zurani at an engagement with the Garden Brothers Circus and began training with him regularly. In 1972, he made his professional juggling debut, still performing under the name Reggie Robertson. St. Jules continued to perform a hand-balancing act with his family, but separated from the Robertsons in 1978 to start a solo juggling career.
St. Jules met Terry Cavaretta while the two were performing at a circus festival in Montreal in 1982. When Cavaretta returned to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1983 to continue appearing at the Circus Circus, St. Jules went with her and they were married in 1983. Around the same time, Rejean changed his stage name from Reggie Robertson to his birth name. St. Jules soon secured a role in the Folies Bergère at the Tropicana Hotel and would go on to appear in various Las Vegas productions over the next thirty years.
In addition to performing regularly in Las Vegas, Rejean St. Jules built up a following in Europe and would often perform his juggling acts internationally throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2001, Cavaretta and St. Jules had a son, Sebastian, who would later learn the craft of juggling from his father. As of 2026, Rejean St. Jules resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Source:
Jando, Dominique. “Rejean St. Jules.” Circopedia. Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.circopedia.org/R%C3%A9jean_St._Jules
Cavaretta-St. Jules Family Papers, 1866-2019. MS-01238. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Donated by Terry Cavaretta St. Jules and Rejean St. Jules in 2026; accession number 2026-050.
In 2026, Landon Paljusaj accessioned and processed the collection, including rehousing, arranging, and describing the materials, and writing the finding aid in ArchivesSpace.
Administrative Information
Acquired by Su Kim Chung, curator, as part of UNLV Special Collections and Archives holdings on entertainment and specialty acts in Las Vegas, Nevada. All material that formed the original gift has been retained.