Dio

A member of a traveling circus. He performs aerial tricks with a whip.

Dio is based on a real Japanese circus performer called Dio Kobayashi who also used a whip. He participated in the production of the Kaleido Star as a special adviser in 2002; Junichi Sato wrote a letter to Dio asking him to participate in the show, Dio agreed, and production was approved, making the TV animation possible.