FROM DICK JOHNSON--

Cole Bros. Circus brings new big top to Azalea Festival

Kevin Wuzzardo on Mon, 04/04/2011

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- Elephants and tigers and zebras, oh my. The Cole Bros. Circus rolls into town in just a matter of days. The circus has been wowing audiences across the US since 1884. For years it has been a staple in Wilmington during the Azalea Festival. This morning, Ron West and Tickles the Clown stopped by to talk about the new big top and some old favorites you'll see under it this weekend. "We have the Thunderdome with the three motorcycles inside, we have a new cat act this year, we have the ballet, all new this year," West said. "We've got lots of stuff new, and lots of people have never come and visited a circus. The idea is to treat yourself." The first show gets underway thursday at 4:30 p.m. The last show is Sunday. You can get you tickets at the Azalea Festival office.

circus elephant Anne moved to Longleat

Anne retired from the Bobby Roberts Super Circus about 10 years ago 3 April 2011 BBCA

circus elephant who was secretly filmed being abused by her groom has been moved to a safari park. The 57-year-old Asian elephant, named Anne, was filmed being kicked and struck with a pitchfork by an employee of Bobby Roberts Super Circus. Animal Defenders International (ADI) who conducted the filming, supervised Anne's transfer to Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire on Sunday. The animal will be kept under a 24-hour watch by three keepers at Longleat. Tim Phillips, campaigns director for ADI, said: "Without doubt it is the worldwide outpouring of public horror that has forced the circus to hand over this elephant. "Everyone is overjoyed that Anne is safe and we shall look forward to her having a bright future in her final years. "Longleat is a place of safety for her while she is assessed on whether she should move somewhere where she will have more contact with other elephants." He said the elephant, which suffers from severe arthritis, was "stressed and traumatised" by her treatment but was otherwise unharmed. ADI filmed footage of the attack on Anne in a barn in Northamptonshire earlier in the year. Bobby Roberts Super Circus earlier said the groom no longer worked for the company and was believed to have returned to his native Romania. Last week, a demonstration was held outside the circus ahead of a performance in Knutsford, Cheshire. ADI said it was consulting lawyers to discuss the possibility of bringing a private prosecution against the circus.

Circus show is 'cruel'

Monday 4 Apr, 2011 A ROW has erupted under the big top of an Abu Dhabi circus amid claims the show, which sees a lion tamer jam his head into the jaws of a big cat, is cruel to animals. A number of spectators at the Mongolian Animals Circus walked out mid-performance last weekend and dozens of lobbyists have set up online protests against the travelling troupe after concerns were raised over the treatment of the cats, dogs, lions and tigers in the show. Katy Lifei is among those who have written to show promoters Sky Events calling for the animals to be taken off the bill, whilst urging the public to boycott the event. In an open letter to the firm she said: “You are promoting a practice that is not ethical or moral. “Animals belong in their natural habitat. They suffer immeasurably in circuses like the one you support. Their life is lived in cages - moved from one place to another, through hot and cold.” The Mongolian Animals Circus tours worldwide and a staple of its line-up is a boxing kangaroo made to don gloves, shorts and boots while it goes head-to-head in the ring with a handler. However, a spokesman for Sky Events said the kangaroo section has been shelved for the twice-daily Abu Dhabi sell-out show. The spokesman said: “It is not the only circus in the world that uses animals. We are fully booked every night. The big cat show is the same as any other in any other circus. The people who are complaining have not seen it. If they attended they would know it is not cruel.” But a number of people who did visit the circus at Zayed Sports City claim they witnessed lions being beaten with sticks when they deviated from the rehearsed show - allegations Sky Events denies. “It did not happen,” the spokesman said. “This is a family circus. There is no cruelty - it’s mainly dogs and cats.” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) backs a blanket ban on the use of animals in circuses whether they are wild or domesticated. “Animals aren’t actors, spectacles to imprison and gawk at, or circus clowns,” a spokesman said. “Yet thousands of these animals are forced to perform confusing tricks under the threat of physical punishment.” The circus will run in Abu Dhabi until April 30.

Circus Review;

A Big Apple Circus with worldwide flair

X Bud Roses Troupe is a team of contortionists from Mongolia.

(Bertrand Guay/Big Apple Circus) By Terry Byrne, Globe Correspondent

April 4, 2011 Dance On!’’ this year’s installment of the Big Apple Circus, combines a playful sense of rhythm with the company’s trademarked mix of talented circus acts. This year’s show, under the big tent at City Hall Plaza, celebrates the best of Big Apple while sprucing up the look and feel of the circus with an award-winning choreographer, costume designer, and set designer. Ann Hould-Ward’s costumes, particularly in the first act, are truly inspired, with every glittering outfit sporting patches that look as if they’d been snipped out of a Big Apple Circus poster. Although the circus is always filled with international acts, this year’s troupe seemed especially wide-ranging, including performers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Russia, and Mongolia. Among the many impressive acts in “Dance On!’’ are the 10 members of the Wuqiao acrobatic troupe, who do some wild tricks — including jumping rope — while riding monocycles only to return later with a lasso twirling routine that involves tumbling through the lassos while they spin. Girma Tshehai, a gymnast as well as a juggler from Ethiopia, performs a fascinating juggling act in which he bounces the balls on angled planes, creating hypnotic patterns, particularly when they glow in the dark. The Kenyan Boys create a high-energy balancing act involving climbing and balancing on a pole and on each other in pyramid formations, all choreographed with a sense of precision and a musical groove. This year’s animal act includes goats riding horses and a dozen miniature horses, as well as a cute collection of dogs, led by Jenny Vidbel. A contortionist act from Mongolia, X Bud Roses Troupe, made me squeamish with the performers’ ability to bend in ways that don’t seem possible, let alone natural, and longtime Big Apple performer Andrey Mantchev creates an impressive hand-balancing routine while suspended on a small platform raised about 10 feet off the ground. Part clown, part juggler Rob Torres, looking like a cross between early Jerry Lewis and Pee-wee Herman, captures applause in a box, tosses hats, juggles cups, and generally encourages an atmosphere of childlike goofiness in his interactions with the audience. Even more than ringmaster Kevin Venardos, clown Mark Gindick, doing some manic dance routines, helps with transitions between scenes and keeps the dance theme going. Musical director Rob Slowik leads the six-piece band through some wonderful percussive numbers. Of course, it wouldn’t be the Big Apple Circus without Grandma, and my 4-year-old companions, Seamus and Stephen Hurley, squealed with delight at all of her antics, especially her “Workout’’ routine in which she stumbled through different dance moves on a treadmill, and her low-wire routine in which she flew around the circus ring. Like most siblings, they had different ideas about their favorite act, with Stephen leaning toward Regina Dobrovitskaya’s gasp-inducing high-altitude swing routine, while Seamus couldn’t choose among so many great performances. Ultimately, Big Apple’s ability to induce smiles among audience members both young and old is the true mark of its success.

Circus children of the sun

Lucy Carne,

From: Herald Sun

April 04, 2011 Keiran Bourke from Camberwell stars in Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco show. Bourke was raised in Camberwell and grew up with acrobatics -- his dad ran a trampolining school in the back yard. He progressed to the Flying Fruit Fly Circus School in Albury-Wodonga before being accepted into the Quebec-based Cirque du Soleil. For Bourke, performing in Saltimbanco is a childhood dream come true. "Watching the audience reactions, watching them smile is the greatest feeling," he says. Adds Dennis, 24: "There is something very special about performing back in Australia with the show that made me want to join Cirque du Soleil. "I'd seen traditional circus before, but Saltimbanco was like nothing I had ever experienced. This was more exciting on such a high level and it was so very different." As a child in Mt Gravatt, Dennis was forever on his hands "tumbling around the house". But convincing his mother to pull him out of hockey so he could become an acrobat was a tricky manoeuvre. "When you tell your mum 'I want to join the circus', of course it's natural for her to say 'That is not the best idea'," he says. "She looked at it as though maybe I shouldn't invest too much hope in trying to get in, as so few people make it. But I'm here now and she is very proud now." read more at:http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/arts/circus-children-of-the-sun/story-fn7euh6j-1226033501081

Moscow State Circus comes to Liverpool’s Sefton Park

by Catherine Jones, Liverpool Echo

Apr 4 2011 THE Moscow State Circus arrives at Sefton Park this week with its latest and most spectacular show to date. Babushkin Sekret is inspired by the legend of ‘The 12 chairs’ and features a massive cast of Russia’s most talented circus artistes, many of which have never performed in Britain before. They include Yana Alievia on a revolving aerial chandelier; the Stalkions (three men and two girls walk, back flip and perform unbelievable pyramids 30ft in the air on the high wire); the Whirlwind Rubsovsm troupe, the juggling Sherbakovs on the reverse pyramid of St Petersburg; the Doktrovs, flying and spiralling in the apex of the auditorium; the vertical pole balancing of The Alikanov and the high flying bouncing bamboo bravados of The Perushkins. Plus clowns Valik and Valerik of course. The circus bases itself at Sefton Park from this Wednesday until April17. Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-entertainment/echo-entertainment/2011/04/04/moscow-state-circus-comes-to-liverpool-s-sefton-park-100252-28452597/#ixzz1IZPwp6AJ

FROM: DICK JOHNSON

"Who copied who?"

Circus clown is a one-man slapstick strike force

from: http://www.dailypress.com/

Call to ban elephant cruelty probe circus from Blackburn

Saturday 2nd April 2011

By Sam Chadderton » Reporter

COUNCIL bosses are being urged to ban a circus at the centre of an elephant abuse storm from coming to Blackburn this summer. Bobby Roberts Super Circus has hit the headlines after secret footage was released by animal rights campaigners showing 57-year-old elephant Anne being kicked and struck with a metal pitchfork. The circus visits Blackburn every year - and is due at Witton Park again in the summer. Council bosses said they would review whether to allow the show to go ahead should anyone from the attraction be found guilty of animal cruelty charges. But there have been calls to stop the circus coming to town whatever the outcome of an investigation by Northamptonshire police. Yesterday it was confirmed that Anne was being given to Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire to start a new life. This week Moira Roberts from the circus apologised for the mistreatment of Anne in a barn in Polebrook, Northamptonshire. The circus said the incidents ‘appeared to be isolated and at times when Bobby Roberts was away for short periods’. Bosses blamed a groom employed to care for the elephant — and said he had left the circus in the early hours of Saturday morning after the footage emerged. Police are investigating the claims. But Neil Martin, the general manager at Bleakholt animal sanctuary in Edenfield, said action needed to be taken to stop the show coming to Blackburn. read more at:

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/8949896.Call_to_ban_elephant_cruelty_probe_circus_from_Blackburn/?ref=rss

Shrine Circus comes to Williston

File photo

Children ride an elephant last year at the at the Shrine Circus at the Raymond Center. Saturday, April 2, 2011 From: http://www.willistonherald.comThe 60th Annual Shrine Circus will be in Williston Tuesday for two shows at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The show will take place at the Raymond Family Community Center. Ticket prices are the door at $7 for adults and $5 for children. Children's tickets may also be picked up at area businesses with a circus poster on display for next to nothing, according to Williston Shriner Bruce Krabseth. "Children's tickets are pretty much free," Krabseth said, when picked up from businesses with a poster in the window. The show should have clowns, elephants, tigers, bears and possibly camels instead of horses this year, said Krabseth. "They always seem to have different things, no year is exactly the same," Krabseth said. "We always hope there's more (attendees). Our sales have been really good this year so far."

The Greatest Logistics Show on Earth

How U.S. railroads set the stage for the traveling three-ring circus

by Cynthia Y. McCann

from: http://www.worldtrademag.com/

April 2, 2011

The Low-Down:

Did you ever feel like life was a three-ring circus? Maybe it is, and strangely enough, logistics has contributed in its own unique way. In 1825, the circus performance migrated from wooden buildings to canvas tents. From freakshows to sideshows, the next dramatic change in circus history occurred when the circus hit the road, or more precisely, the rails. An American, William C. Coup, transformed the ‘big top’ to the ‘travelin’ top’ while simultaneously expanding the single-ring circus to the famous three-ring circus that it is today. At the same time, it was the U.S. railroad system that transported the circus into a nationwide traveling show. Starting in 1869, the circus used U.S. railroads to travel from town to town with their enormous entourage. The Castello circus originally turned to the Union Pacific Railroad to move its extensive troupe of performers, horses, and other animals to cities near and far. It was Coup, though, who designed and configured a special railroad car to transport horses and other animals. Coup’s innovative design was perfect for carrying oversized cargo. He also made the rail cars wider and added crossover plates between the railcars to make loading easier. Coup’s design became known as the “piggyback” system, which developed into the modern system for rail-truck freight handling that’s used to this day. The circus season of 1872 marked the first time that a specially designed train was used exclusively to transport an entire circus. Today, railroads still play a starring role in the production, transporting two primary circuses, the Blue Tour and the Red Tour, throughout the U.S. According to Wikipedia, each train is a mile in length with about 60 cars—40 passenger cars and 20 freight cars. The Blue and Red Tours present a full three-ring production for two years each, visiting alternating major cities each year. Each train presents a different “edition” of the show, using a numbering scheme that dates back to circus origins in 1871—the first year of P.T. Barnum’s show. wtCheck it out: www.history-magazine.com/circuses.html

Joie Chitwood Thrill Show 1956 Chevrolet Commercial

Circus life comes to Temecula

Circus Vargas, "America’s Favorite Big Top Circus"

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

Ashley Cook Special to the Valley News

The peacock blue and gold tent sitting in the parking lot of the Promenade Temecula is a "Big One." Circus Vargas is still in town with its aerialists, acrobats, comedians and more. Through April 11, America’s Favorite Big Top Circus will be bringing area residents "an artistic journey, encompassing the cultures of the world," according to a recent news release.

Leo, Maximus, and Getti Garcia perform in “The Ultimate Globe” family motorcycle act at Circus Vargas. From here, Circus Vargas will head to Ontario Mills Mall, April 14 through 25; San Bernardino off Interstate 10 at Waterman Avenue, April 28 through May 2; and then Victorville at Mall of Victor Valley, May 5 through 9. "This show tours 10 months out of the year in California," Leo Garcia, a Circus Vargas acrobat, who performs with his wife, Getti, and 9-year-old boy, Maximus, in "The Ultimate Globe" family motorcycle act, said in a recent interview. "We have a huge following, which is why we can tour one state. The quality of the performers and overall appeal give us a really good turnout." The Garcias also have another son, who is almost a year and a half, named Xander. He performs with his father, mother, and brother in the motorcycle globe act too, and is the youngest to ever do so. Xander recently set a world record for this accomplishment. Leo said Getti was the only woman in the world who rides in the globe.

Jon Weiss, Circus Vargas host, balances a ladder on his chin.

"I started performing the globe when I was 15 years old," she said in an email interview. "I grew up in the circus the same way my husband did. I am a second generation circus performer, and grew up performing all sorts of acts. My brother-in-law taught me how to do the globe. I was an acrobat growing up in the circus. I also perform a hula hoops act." the rest of the story: http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/55372/

Run away and join the circus for work

No clowning around: Clowns earn $40,000 a year to start, and they're in short supply now.

By Kim HjelmgaardMarketWatch

Sunday, Apr. 03, 2011

LONDON It used to be enough when all else failed to simply run away and join the circus. And in today's mediocre hiring environment, it turns out the circus may still be a reliable source of job openings. "There's lots of employment opportunities in this field. It's an unusual field, admittedly, but we offer a very unusual training," said Marc Lalonde, the executive director of the National Circus School in Montreal, one of North America's top schools for the "circus arts." Lalonde said the National Circus School has an extremely high success rate in finding work for its graduates because there are more jobs available than the industry can find suitable applicants for. "In some years," he said, "nearly 100 percent of our students find work within the first few months of graduating." Still, the life of a circus artist isn't always easy. Pay will vary widely by discipline, and it can be a short-lived career.Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/04/03/2191933/run-away-and-join-the-circus-for.html#ixzz1IS5XPLD9

Ringling Bros. Animal Walk in Washington DC -- 3/22/11

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® is roaring into town with Barnum 200, a new jumbo-sized, un-miss-able event celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of legendary P.T. Barnum. From the moment that you arrive, The Greatest Show On Earth® comes to life in a way that can only be inspired by the greatest showman who ever lived. This funtastic and funbelieveable experience answers the FUNundrum!