China's National Acrobats will stretch their legs in Louisville

Written by Ken Neuhauser

Oct. 24, 2011

Sun Lili takes a live-on-the-edge, daredevil approach to acrobatics — if a routine or stunt doesn’t have dangerous or difficult parts wrapped in grace, power and beauty, it’s simply not acrobatics, she says.And that’s what gives the National Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China their entertainment value, said Sun, the touring show’s artistic director, through an interpreter. She added that her troupe’s 16 female and 22 male tumbling, umbrella-juggling, hand-standing, plate-spinning, gravity-defying dynamos from Beijing “specialize in what other people cannot do.”The National Acrobats are the first National Performing Arts Troupe established by the government of the People’s Republic of China, in 1950. The troupe is visiting 62 cities on its inaugural U.S. tour, with a stop in Louisville for a performance Wednesday at the Brown Theatre.“It is a very exciting tour for us to visit the U.S.A. We are going to many cities large and small and are pleased to give a diverse audience across America the opportunity to see acrobatics performed at the highest level,” said Sun.

She explained that the acrobatic tradition in China is more than 3,000 years old and was a popular amusement for both palace banquets and celebrations for the common people.The tradition has been handed down from generation to generation, with today’s performances more technical in their presentation, with lighting, music and colorful costumes made from modern fabrics but fashioned in the design of traditional Chinese dress and style.Acrobatics remain an integral part of Chinese identity, reflecting the character of Chinese people. It is important, stressed Sun, to show audiences that China is a developing, modern country and that the performers have a strong sense of humor and happiness that they “wish to share with the world.”Sun, a former acrobatic sensation, said that most of the performers began their acrobatic training at the age of 10 at the Beijing International Art School, where she is vice provost.read more:http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111025/SCENE05/310250021/China-s-National-Acrobats-will-stretch-their-legs-Louisville?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cp

Circus coming to Volusia, Flagler despite federal complaint

By JULIE MURPHY, Staff Writer

October 24, 2011

Posted in: East Volusia -Flagler

Cole Brothers Circus is coming to Palm Coast and Daytona Beach as it faces a federal complaint over the handling and care of elephants and other animals once used in its shows.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which inspects circus animals, filed a complaint in July against Cole Brothers Circus, its president, Clyde Beatty Circus and an animal exhibitor in the shows. From 2006 to 2010, they failed to provide adequate care and shelter for elephants and employed a handler who lacked adequate training in handling tigers, among other violations, the complaint says.
Circus officials say the handlers and animals mentioned in the complaint no longer perform in the circus, and the animals were not under the control of Cole Brothers Circus.
"We are confident we will be cleared of these charges," said Cole Brothers' vice president Renee Storey by phone recently. "The allegations have nothing to do with us." read more:http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/east-volusia/2011/10/24/circus-coming-to-volusia-flagler-despite-federal-complaint.html

Circus rolls into West Palm Beach

featuring a human cannonball, exotic animals and a finger-stand artist

By Jodie Wagner Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, Oct. 24, 2011

WEST PALM BEACH — Lana the finger-stand artist highlights an eclectic list of performers scheduled to appear at the Cole Bros. Circus beginning Thursday.
The event runs through Sunday at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, 1111 N. Congress Ave. Showtimes are 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
"We have everybody's favorites, " Cole Bros. Senior Marketing Director Dan Baltulonis said of the circus, which arrives in West Palm Beach after nine shows in Panama City Beach and four in Palm Coast. "Lana doing the finger stand is a newer, wonderful performance that people tend to like."
Also scheduled to appear this weekend are the human cannonball José Bermudez, the Ponce Family Flying Trapeze, hand balancer Eric Anthony and a menagerie of animals.
"We have elephants," Baltulonis said. "We have camels, horses and ponies. We have a poodle act, we have tigers, and of course we have clowns."
Before each show, children can take elephant, camel and pony rides and also have their faces painted.
Tickets are available online at www.tickets.com or by calling (888) 332-5200. Prices range from $14 to $25.
The Cole Bros. Circus will move to the Royal Palm Polo Grounds in Boca Raton Nov. 3-6.

Tent-up creativity jest right for Big Apple Circus

Bertrand Guay/Big Apple Circus

The Big Apple Circus stays sharp by spiking big-top traditions with novel additions -- such as this porcupine.

By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

From: THE NEW YORK POST, THEATER REVIEW

October 25, 2011
There are two big circus trends nowadays. You can hit people over the head with a loud, garish, pseudo-poetic extravaganza such as Cirque du Soleil’s recent “Zarkana” at Radio City Music Hall. Or you can go small and alternative, with irreverent young performers, often in street clothes -- like the 7 Fingers company’s “Traces,” currently at the Union Square Theatre.
Between the two is local favorite Big Apple Circus, back at Damrosch Park for a 34th season with “Dream Big.”
The atmosphere here is old-fashioned and intimate. Because everything happens in or above a small single ring, there’s no need for binoculars to watch the acrobats, contortionists, aerialists, magicians and clowns. This is circus the way it’s meant to be: a fun experience for kids young and old.But Big Apple changes with the times, too.
“Dream Big” may be its most eye-popping production yet, thanks to director/choreographer Renaud Doucet and set/costume designer André Barbe, both of whom have extensive experience in opera.
The concept this time around is that an “imagination machine” allows people to dream up the show’s act. Mainly this is an excuse to have everybody cavort in colorful, downright nutty outfits. Many look straight out of a Tim Burton movie: Russian juggler Dmitry Chernov has an Edward Scissorhands vibe, and China’s Shandong Acrobats look like extras from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
Even the animal routines have a twist. Horses prancing around are fairly common, but when was the last time you saw an African porcupine, a Vietnamese potbellied pig and a capybara do tricks? The last gets the show’s biggest laugh, which involves the Taio Cruz hit “Dynamite.”
That’s quite a feat right there, considering the stiff competition. A welcome addition to the troupe is Dutch jester Muriel Brugman, a dizzy blonde who teases audience members and plays a hilariously dopey assistant to magician Scott Nelson.
And of course there’s Grandma the clown (Barry Lubin), for 25 years the iconic face of the Big Apple Circus.
The bad news is that “Dream Big” is Grandma’s farewell show. The good news is that once again she proves that you can’t go wrong with classics. Spitting water on unsuspecting victims, indulging in pratfalls and mugging: You don’t need to tart up this stuff -- it just doesn’t get old.Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/tent_up_creativity_jest_right_for_quxegyt5NOYKwxMN3cqQaL#ixzz1bmnY7qqE

A Ronald McDonald is partially submerged in floodwaters at Don Muang district in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. The threat that floodwaters will inundate the Thai capital could ease by the beginning of next month as record-high levels in the river carrying torrents of water downstream from the country's north begin to decline, authorities said Sunday.

Sakchai Lalit - AP

State Fair takes its final bow – for this year

Rain cuts attendance, but spending picks up as 2011 edition ends

By JOHN MONK - jmonk@thestate.com By JOHN MONK The State
Racing pigs, Celtic dancers, fine art and elephant ears — all that and more ended Sunday night as the 142nd S.C. State Fair in Columbia took its final bow for the year.
But there were no pickpockets.
“That’s part of the carnival image of the past,” said Fair general manager Gary Goodman, who proudly described earlier Sunday how a sophisticated security system that includes metal detectors, 17 high-tech surveillance cameras with zoom capacity and some 50-60 police officers keeps crime at bay.
“We have more deputies here at nighttime probably than they have in the rest of Richland County,” said Goodman, 63, overseeing his 27th fair. Guards turned away folks who wore gang colors, including several motorcycle gang members who were asked not to wear their jackets in the fair, he said.
Attendance at the 12-day event was about 442,350 — about 10 percent off last year’s record of 492,000, Goodman said. But per capita spending was down less than 6 percent, meaning individuals were spending more per person than last year. In all the fair appeared poised to rake in a minimum of $22 million — some $1.8 million a day — this year.
More people might have come, but four rain days — including a brief but dangerous windstorm — threw attendance off.
An Oct. 13 storm prompted fair officials to activate an emergency evacuation plan for the first time, Goodman said. People were ushered into permanent buildings before heavy winds hit, knocking concession stands around and blowing signs off hinges.
“In our business, weather is something you have to roll with,” said Goodman, mindful of the August high winds at the Indiana State Fair that killed five and injured 45.
One thing that surprised Goodman this year was the number of unclaimed lost cell phones — 100 at last count Sunday afternoon. But none were smartphones like the iPhone, he said. “Their owners don’t lose them, or if they do, they are waiting on them to be found,” he said.Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2011/10/24/2020989/state-fair-takes-its-final-bow.html#ixzz1biLIbKdO

Crowds fill fair but spend far less

TAKAAKI IWABU - tiwabu@newsobserver.com

Macon Crowder, 18, and his friend, Mercedez Sanderson, 15, stroll a midway as they carry winnings Sunday at the State Fair. Total attendance through Saturday was 903,674. That's second only to last year's 1,091,887.
BY PAUL A. SPECHT / The News and Observer

RALEIGH -- While more than 1 million people crossed through the gates of the N.C. State Fair this year, it wasn't enough to beat last year's record crowd, state officials estimate.
But N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler isn't complaining.
"I couldn't ask for more in an economy like this," he said Sunday.
The total attendance for the fair was 1,009,173, fair officials announced today. That's second only to last year's 1,091,887 - despite high unemployment and a $1 increase in ticket prices.
While high attendance is good news for the state, it doesn't always signal what people are spending inside the gates.
And this year, vendors say they're seeing smaller profits, while fairgoers say they're keeping more money in their pockets.
Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/10/24/1590395/crowds-fill-fair-but-spend-far.html#ixzz1biUxtasJ

Evansville's Hadi Shrine Circus moving to a new tent

JAMES MCAULEY / Courier & Press

The Hadi Shrine Circus, shown here during a November2010 show, will come to Ford Center and leave behind the obstructed-view seats of Roberts Stadium.It's been a while, but moving to a new facility is nothing new to the annual Hadi Shrine Circus, which is scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend in the new Ford Center.

By Richard Gootee Evansville Courier & Press

Posted October 23, 2011
"We've had a history in Evansville with different venues," said Shriner Brian Ball. "This is 78th circus and we started with our very first circus on Riverside Drive, then we moved to the coliseum a few years later and then we moved to Roberts Stadium when it opened in 1957. Now we're just following suit and moving right into the Ford Center."

This year's eight-show run starts with a 3 p.m. opening performance on Thanksgiving Day and includes three shows on Friday and Saturday. The circus closes with a Sunday matinee performance at 3 p.m. Ball said there was no hesitation to become one of the first events during the Ford Center's opening month and that he hopes all spectators have an enhanced viewing experience compared to past years.
"There is really not going to be a bad seat in the house. In the past, there have been obstructions just because of the way Roberts Stadium was set."

THE FORD CENTER, JANUARY, 2011
Just like at Roberts Stadium, there is enough space to serve as an animal staging area, Ball said.
"We might need a couple extra external places to keep mechanical equipment and vehicles and things like that, but otherwise I think it will work out well."
It will also be the only event in the Ford Center planned this year without the sheet of ice used for Evansville Icemen home hockey games. Normally when the building is being used for other events, the ice lies protected underneath a layer of insulation.
Ball said the Shriners have already toured the Ford Center and are excited about their first show in the new place.
"Right now, we're not seeing anything that we can't do that we have done in the past. It's going to be a great circus this year. We're going to continue to bring some of the best acts that we can find — nationally and internationally — to the Evansville area for everybody to see at this year's circus."

VIDEO: Thrills at the S.C. State Fair

BY Tim Dominick - tdominick@thestate.com

Friday, Oct. 21, 2011

Elephant Encounter offers learning, fun

By Kelly Dame

Midland Daily News

Posted: Thursday, August 11, 2011
Cora and Shannon the elephants will be helping to teach Midland County Fair goers all about elephants at the “Elephant Encounter” show.
“The educational part is the highlight of the show,” said Bill Morris, a third-generation elephant trainer. The lessons include the differences in African and Asian pachyderms — Shannon is a 26-year-old African elephant, and Cora is a 50-year-old Asian elephant.
Morris said the chance to learn something about the animals is something parents frequently comment to him about, saying it’s easier for their kids to learn in person than from a book.

Elephant Encounter offers learning, fun
The show is also fun for both the audience and the animals.
“You can tell it in her eyes that she really likes the appreciation from the crowd,” he said of Cora.
Morris has spent his life around elephants, including Cora, learning about their personalities and bonding with them. His father owned 19 elephants, and his grandfather owned seven.
“That’s why we can do a show like we do,” Morris said. “We have a rapport with them.” Photographs at the show’s website, www.elephantencounter.com, shows photos of a 2-year-old Shannon, another of Morris teaching her how to smile elephant-style, and pictures of Cora as she worked on the set of “Smokey and the Bandit 2,” a movie released in 1980. There also are videos of the elephants at home in Florida.
Owning and working with the elephants is a lifetime commitment, since they can live to be 80 years old or more, Morris said.
There will be three shows daily during the fair.
• According to the Guinness Book of Records, the biggest elephant ever recorded was a male African elephant from Angola that weighted 24,000 pounds. It is mounted at the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
• Although elephants do have good memories, they forget once in a while. Possessing a good memory helps elephants survive in the wild. It enables them to find food and water during times of drought and avoid danger when necessary.
• Technically, elephants are incapable of running. However they can walk very fast, and have been clocked at 18 to 20 mph.
• An elephant’s trunk is made of many different types of tissue, but contains no bone. The number of muscles within the trunk is estimated to be as high as 100,000.
• Elephants are not afraid of mice. If an elephant were to encounter a mouse, it would likely ignore it. If an elephant was bored, it might try to crush a mouse with it’s foot!
Elephant Encounter offers learning, fun

NC State Fair enters its final hours
Huge crowds and jammed traffic packed the state fair grounds Saturday
ABC 11 VIDEO

Worth a buck? The World's Smallest Woman

from The Raleigh News Observer

Submitted by brookecain on 10/22/2011

The World's Smallest Woman is not only real and alive (and really small), she's also kind of charming and a little sad.

I went in to check it out right after Jasmine, 20, from Selma exited. I got the lowdown from her before heading inside myself.Was it a live woman?"She's not just alive, she's lively!" Jasmine said. "She may be tiny sitting in that little box, but she's just as real as me and you." (Forgive my skepticism, I had just been here.)Was she little?Jasmine: "I could pick her up like she was my little niece. I've never seen anyone that small."What's she like?"She's humble and nice," Jasmine said. "She'll tell you all about her life, anything you ask."You mean, you talk to her?

Suddenly, I wasn't sure I wanted to go in. Finally, something at the fair that scared me. I was used to gawking at giant horses, five-legged sheep, a ridiculous spider girl, and fake, mummified chupa cabras. Would I feel like a jerk facing a live person with feelings? (Answer: yes)

But I went in.

Sure enough, sitting inside a small wooden box was a little tiny woman.

She was wearing a simple dress and a kerchief on her head, sitting on a tiny chair with her hands folded her lap. She looked down at her hands and didn't seem particularly happy. When I said hello to her, she smiled. I asked her name and she said Gloria Rhoden and told me she was from Jamaica. I asked her if she liked sitting there talking to people all day and she answered simply, "Oh, it's a pleasure."I thanked her and left.

But I couldn't stop thinking about her.

Mostly, I worried about kids and mean teenagers making fun of her to her face or being rude to her.

I'll be honest -- the whole thing has depressed me all week. Then earlier today I Googled her and found this article from a few years ago in the Roanoke Times. In it, Rhoden insists she's happy, and I'm going to choose to believe her, just so I can sleep at night.So is it worth the $1 admission? Jasmine says yes: "I think it was very worth it!"I say yes too. Go see her and talk to her, drop a buck or two in her tip jar. Just be nice to her.Read more: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/statefair/worth-a-buck-the-worlds-smallest-woman#ixzz1bdzto0qf

NORTH CAROLINA STATE FAIR

Ride the RC-48 roller coaster

Oct. 23, 2011

Ride the RC-48, a 54 foot tall roller coaster, with Paul Bassett and his 14-year-old son Justin at the State Fair. TRAVIS LONG - tlong@newsobserver.com

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/videos/?genre_ids=00002727#ixzz1bdxxXL7E

SUNDAY FUNNIES

Circus is coming to Houma

Elizabeth Ayala performs part of her trapeze act. The Ayalas are part of 14 acts performing in the Lewis and Clark Circus, which returns for performances at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 and 25 at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, 346 Civic Center Blvd.

Keyon K. Jeff, Correspondent

from: houmatoday.com

October 21, 2011
The circus brings family fun for any audience. But the family fun also extends to the performers.
For many circuses, it is not unusual to have two or three generations performing under the same big top.
"The best thing about being in the circus is having my family with me all day," said animal trainer Maria Ayala, who along with her husband and four children perform with the Lewis and Clark Circus. "I don't have to not see them. A lot of parents have to leave their kids all day home alone. They're always here."
The Ayalas are part of 14 high-energy acts performing in the Lewis and Clark Circus, which returns for performances at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 and 25 at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, 346 Civic Center Blvd.
Ayala, 42, is a fourth-generation circus performer who did the flying trapeze and other acts before training animals. Her husband, Jose, is a sixth-generation performer from Mexico.
He and middle son, Andy, 14, are the clowns in the show and performs a trampoline act along with youngest son, Brandon, 10.
Their eldest son, Jose Jr., 22, is an acrobat who performs the Rola Bola, an act involving balancing higher and higher on a board on top of cylinders.
Their daughter, Elizabeth, 20, is a trapeze artist who does an act where she hangs by her hair.
Despite the constant travel and living and working together, the Ayalas — who reside in Chatman, — try to maintain as normal a family life as possible.

read more at: http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20111021/ENTERTAINMENT/111029924

FROM MIKE NAUGHTON

FREDY GAFNER

Uploaded by VIDEOSJUMBO on Jul 20, 2010
ONE OF THE BEST TRAINER OF POLOR BEAR,,

BATMAN LIVE ARENA TOUR

Int'l circus festival kicks off in N. China

English.news.cn

2011-10-23

SHIJIAZHUANG, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 acrobats from 17 countries and regions have participated in a major international circus festival that kicked off on Saturday evening in north China's Hebei Province.
Acrobatic artists from Russia, the United States, Canada, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Australia, France and other countries will present 30 performances during the 13th China Wuqiao International Circus Festival (CWICF).
Acrobatic Swan Lake, which is dubbed as "the most beautiful acrobatics and the most dangerous ballet", was staged at the opening ceremony in Shijiazhuang, capital city of Hebei.
The major activities of the nine-day festival include an international circus competition, forums on world circus and circus art exchanges.
The judging committee for the competition is made up of 10 foreign experts and two Chinese scholars. The prize for the top award, Gold Lion, will be 50,000 yuan (7,835 U.S. dollars).
Known as "oriental acrobatic arena," the event was originated in 1987 and is held every other year.
Taking friendship, exchange, prosperity and development as its theme, this year's festival is co-organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Hebei provincial government.
The repertoires will feature different cultural backgrounds and national styles, contain various acrobatic skills and highlight the characteristics of modern circus art, said Bian Faji, chairman of the judging committee.
The CWICF, named after the birthplace of acrobatics -- Wuqiao County of Hebei, is considered one of the three most famed acrobatic competitions in the world along with the Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival in Monaco and the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain (the World Festival of the Circus of Tomorrow) in France.