THIS SATURDAY!
 

Shrine Circus opens today at Spokane Valley Mall

 

 

Colin Mulvany photo
Circus worker Daniel Green laces up the big tent Monday in the parking lot of the Spokane Valley Mall. The Shrine Circus, in its 59th year in Spokane, opens today.
from:  spokesman.com
by: Lisa Leinberger,The Spokesman-Review
April 18, 2013
It’s been a Spokane tradition for 59 years. There are elephants, horses, trapeze artists and clowns, all for the entertainment of children of all ages.

This week the El Katif Shriners are bringing the Zerbini Family Circus to the Spokane Valley Mall for an old-fashioned show under the big top.

The Zerbini Family Circus is celebrating its 250th year. Founded in 1763, the circus has toured the world through 10 generations of performers.

“We’re older than baseball,” said Joseph Bauer, an eighth-generation circus performer who is the show’s ringmaster. His brother-in-law, Tarzan Zerbini, is the show’s producer.

The big top went up this week. Bauer said the circus has eight employees who travel with them to construct the tent, and they hire extra help in each city.

It takes about two days to erect the tent and set up the seating, lighting, sound system and ring.

Bauer, who has also been known to perform in the Wheel of Destiny, said the tent was made by Ferrari.

“It’s the finest tent you can get,” he said.
read more:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/apr/18/shrine-circus-opens-today-at-spokane-valley-mall/

K-M SCHOOL

THE CIRCUS COMES TO SCHOOL

 

The RAMPAGE
S and S Consolidated High School,Sadler, TX
By Afnan Abdelquader
Friday, April 12, 2013
Thanks to the Elementary School PTO, the Kelly Miller circus was in town April 4, 2013. This is the second year that the circus came to the S&S high school. People of all ages attended the circus and they all seemed to love it. The circus was in town for only one day; let’s see what students had to say about this one special day.
Allyson Bell: “I was really upset that there was not tigers, but the elephants were very cool and the kids really enjoyed it.”
 Chrissy Roten: “The elephants were my favorite; even though I am going to graduate this year I will definitely come back next year to see it.”
 Travis Buckner: “It’s a small circus but there was a lot going on, great circus.”
 Chelsey Bird: “I loved it, it was very unique.”
 Matti Bolin: “I thought the dogs at the circus did a great job, and they were really cute.”
Kasey Hamilton: “My favorite part was when a guy spun flames around. The circus was really cool, and I will definitely go next year.”
The Kelly Miller circus will be coming to the S&S high school again next year. If you did not take advantage of it this year make sure you do not miss out on it next year.

MORE PICTURES
HAMID CIRCUS 2013


from: Hamid Circus Inc..
Mercedes Pages, I see you!

Ella & Shane Hansen, I love you Daddy! — with Alecia Hansen and Shane Hansen.

 

Haley Hamid & David Connor ! — with Shirley Hamid and James Hamid Jr.

IISA
SHOWMAN'S MUSEUM
GIBSONTON, FL

 

David Doc Rivera, curator, Gibsonton Showman's Museum--
Why is the Showmen's museum important?...Because all we save now, in this generation, is all we'll ever be able to preserve for those future generations who will come behind us someday and wonder what made this unique and colorful lifestyle so intoxicating to so many of us over the decades. Don't let it just disappear. I always tell everyone.."it's YOUR museum...be proud of it...it's a real and tangible accomplishment and there is absolutely NOTHING like it in the world.
Think about donating any items you may have or making the museum a part of your will and you will be credited and remembered by those who come behind us long after we're all gone on to that big midway in the sky.

Expats grapple with Chinese circus arts, wrestling

 

Emma Phillips in the streets of Wuqiao, the small town where she studies acrobats.
from: peopledaily.com.cn
(Shanghai Daily)
April 17, 2013
Generally, when someone says they want to run away and join the circus, people take it with a pinch of salt. But when 23-year-old Emma Phillips told her parents she wanted to perform in a circus, she was absolutely serious.
So serious, in fact, that New Zealand-born Phillips flew halfway across the world to study at the Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School in a rural town famous for acrobatic schools in Hebei Province.
She arrived there four months ago with only a basic grasp of Chinese and, until the recent arrival of a Finnish man and woman, she was the only foreigner in the area with around 280,000 residents.
"No one speaks English here, so I was pretty much dropped in it," she says. "It's good to learn the hard way. It's starting to be less like me being a three-year-old foreigner. I'm starting to be able to join conversations and talk about random things," Phillips tells Shanghai Daily in a recent Skype interview.
Her 30-year-old coach, Liu Lin, also found communication challenging at the start. "It was a disaster when she started four months ago, we couldn't communicate with each other," she says in a telephone interview with Shanghai Daily. "Now we have developed ways to communicate without language, so it's going well and will get better in the next eight months before she graduates."
In addition to language barriers, the training has been tough. As well as being the only foreigner, she is the only adult - the other 180 students are aged between four and 14.
The students all live at the school, and are from the area.
read more:
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90782/8210489.html

JAFFA SHRINE CIRCUS
ALTOONA, PA

 

ALTOONA, BLAIR COUNTY - For the 74th year in a row, the Jaffa Shriners in Altoona are hosting the Circus.
"Throughout Altoona I am pretty sure they know the circus comes to town in April" said Shriner John Campbell.
The Ringleader of the  Royal Hanneford Circus is Billy Martin. Martin's interest in the circus began when he was in second grade.
"I became enthralled with it; I drug my parents to every circus I could go to" he said.
Right out of High Shool, he began touring. His love of the circus lead him to meet the love of his life.
"Ring master falls in love with the trapeze girl so it's sort of clich, I guess" he said.
His better half and a slew of acts will perform 15 shows this week in Altoona.
"Every show is like opening night" he said.
Until closing night, April 21, when the circus hits the road again and the Shriners begin gearing up for the 75th Annual Event.
"It takes a week to prepare and then it's all over in a week, but it's the joy of doing it for everyone in the surrounding area" said Shriner Vern Carey.
"You just can't believe the joy and the happiness you hear from them children" added Campbell.

ALTOONA MIRROR---

City man who ran away as teen returns with circus

The Amazing Sadrak, a contortionist, performs in the first show of the Royal Hanneford Circus on Monday at the Jaffa Shrine Center.
from;  The Altoona Mirror
By Kelly Cernetich
April 16, 2013
Thirty years ago, an Altoona man ran away to join the circus.
On Monday, he was back as the elephant trainer working with the massive animals in the Jaffa Shrine Circus in town all week.
Chip Arthurs was 15 when he left town for his big top dreams.
"I lied a little" to join underage, he said, but he only kept his cover for a short time until his family was informed of his whereabouts. Family life wasn't great, he said, but the prospect of working with animals "was exciting for me."

"For what it's worth," he said, "it's a success story."

Arthurs started off with tigers, eventually working with elephants. All of the 28 he owns are Asian elephants, despite performing to Toto's "Africa" as the circus' penultimate act. Most are in their early 40s or 50s.

Elephants can live 70 to 80 years, Arthurs said, so although he won't be acquiring any more elephants for performances, for both legal reasons and due to increased costs, they have many more years of entertainment left in them.

"But I don't know if I do," Arthurs laughed.

He said working with animals is very similar to the process he went through bonding with his fellow performers, learning that a relationship is strengthened with time and work.

Monday's show was the first time Arthurs performed in Altoona, despite joining the circus in 1983. He'd only returned for a few hours here and there to see family, he said, before this week.

As for his children, two sons ages 16 and 20, Arthurs said they, like many performers' children, could make it their lives' work if they wanted, but he's having them focus on school now.

It can be their dream or not, he said, but "it was my dream."
READ MORE:
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/570694/City-man-who-ran-away-as-teen-returns-with-circus.html?nav=742
 

 

Circus elephant walk to Hampton canceled
By Nicole Paitse
from:  Daily Press.com
April 16, 2013
The annual elephant march into Hampton has been canceled, circus promoters said.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, which hosts shows in Norfolk and Hampton every year, generally organizes a public elephant march to the Hampton Coliseum in advance of the shows.

This year, "logistical reasons" were cited for the walk's cancellation.
"There are not any plans to do away with (the walks) altogether," said Peter DuMont, a spokesman for the circus. "No decision has been made about walks in the future."
Last week, a 39-year-old Ringling Bros. elephant was shot in what was described as a "drive-by shooting" in Mississippi, according to Reuters.  The shooting happened while the elephant was in an outdoor enclosure, news reports say.

The injured elephant is expected to recover.

DuMont did not link the cancellation of Hampton's elephant march to the Mississippi shooting.

The circus will perform nine shows in Hampton starting Wednesday, April 17. You can find the entire schedule at hrticket.com.

History of the Circus Sideshow / Freakshow

Published on Dec 11, 2011

parade of lovable weirdos.

Welcome to the Main Event
from:  wearecentralpa.com
By: Leah Kirstein
April 16, 2013


The Amazing Sadrak, a contortionist, performs in the first show of the Royal Hanneford Circus on Monday at the Jaffa Shrine Center.
from;  The Altoona Mirror
By Kelly Cernetich
April 16, 2013
Thirty years ago, an Altoona man ran away to join the circus.
On Monday, he was back as the elephant trainer working with the massive animals in the Jaffa Shrine Circus in town all week.
Chip Arthurs was 15 when he left town for his big top dreams.
"I lied a little" to join underage, he said, but he only kept his cover for a short time until his family was informed of his whereabouts. Family life wasn't great, he said, but the prospect of working with animals "was exciting for me."
 "For what it's worth," he said, "it's a success story."
 Arthurs started off with tigers, eventually working with elephants. All of the 28 he owns are Asian elephants, despite performing to Toto's "Africa" as the circus' penultimate act. Most are in their early 40s or 50s.

 

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
Castle’s Performing Bears entertain the crowd at the Royal Hanneford Circus on Monday at the Jaffa Shrine Center.
Elephants can live 70 to 80 years, Arthurs said, so although he won't be acquiring any more elephants for performances, for both legal reasons and due to increased costs, they have many more years of entertainment left in them.
 "But I don't know if I do," Arthurs laughed.
 He said working with animals is very similar to the process he went through bonding with his fellow performers, learning that a relationship is strengthened with time and work.
 Monday's show was the first time Arthurs performed in Altoona, despite joining the circus in 1983. He'd only returned for a few hours here and there to see family, he said, before this week.
 As for his children, two sons ages 16 and 20, Arthurs said they, like many performers' children, could make it their lives' work if they wanted, but he's having them focus on school now.
It can be their dream or not, he said, but "it was my dream."
READ MORE:
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/570694/City-man-who-ran-away-as-teen-returns-with-circus.html?nav=742
 

 

Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre is a circus show that's gone to the dogs ... and cats

 

 

Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre is a circus show that's gone to the dogs ... and cats (video)

The Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre features 15 cats and 10 dogs, all of whom Gregory Popovich, a fourth-generation Russian circus performer, rescued from animal shelters. (Contributed photo)

from: al.com

By Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

April 15, 2013

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- A section of the bio reads, "Now, it was just a matter of finding the right cats." The statement reads like it could be a describing a pivotal moment in a musician's career and the need to hook up with sympathetic collaborators.

But in this case, the word "cats" refers to actual cats.

The Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre features 15 felines and 10 dogs, all of whom Gregory Popovich, a fourth-generation Russian circus performer, rescued from animal shelters. "A message of my show is that animals are people too," Popovich says, "and I try to bring attention to homeless pets."

On a recent afternoon, Popovich was aboard the Comedy Pet Theatre's custom-made 40-foot trailer when he's called for this interview. The show will roll into Huntsville, playing Merrimack Hall, located at 3320 Triana Blvd., April 16-17. Showtime for both evenings is 7:30 p.m., and tickets ($18-$25) can be purchased via merrimackhall.com, the Merrimack Hall Box Office or by calling 256-534-6455.

Based in Las Vegas, Popovich customized each of his pets' onstage tricks to match their natural skills and tendencies. He began working with them using a minimal amount of music and lights, repeating each trick and gradually increasing the intensity of sounds and lights, and once the animals were accustomed to this spectacle, it was time to transition from the living room to the stage.

"I don't believe that I 'train' the animals to do a certain trick or stunt, instead, I teach the animals to perform onstage by allowing them to show off their individual personalities and talents," Popovich says.

Comedy Pet Theatre cats and dogs walk tight ropes, balance on metallic balls, jump through hoops, jump rope, propel themselves on scooters and even play football.

The show also features (human) European-style clowns and balancing acts. Popovich's wife Izolda, and daughter Anastasia, are both performers in the show.

All told, Popovich has performed in over 25 countries, including France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Israel, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. "Next season we might go to Japan, and we're working on that right now," he says.

Popovich has also been a guest on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and began juggling at age six. One of the highlights of his current Comedy Pet Theatre show is when Popovich juggles numerous bowling pins from the top of a free-standing, eight-foot ladder. In 1990, he was invited to join the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, becoming the first Russian performer ever to appear in "The Greatest Show on Earth."

"When we performed at Madison Square Garden, we played to 20,000 people," Popovich remembers. "It was a great experience."

Quick-change "Family life" of Katkov's family

Andrey Katkov

Published on Apr 13, 2013

Recording was made in DaCapo variete in January 2013.

Circus gives children a way out of poverty

 

Published on Apr 15, 2013

from: AFP

For under-priviledged children in Senegal the circus is offering a better future -- one collective has teamed with a Paris troupe to perform in Dakar before embarking on a tour of West Africa ahead of a trip to France at the end of the year.

New heights for circus talent


HANGING ON: Tom Beauchamp performs on the corde lisse as part of Fuse Circus, the company he founded in Wellington in 2005.
from:  stuff.co.nz
TOM CARDY
16/04/2013
For more than eight years since founding Wellington's Fuse Circus, Tom Beauchamp has been entertaining audiences and developing his craft.
Beauchamp, 40, describes himself as a "jack of all trades", equally at home performing on high from a rope, known as "corde lisse", or on the ground displaying his clowning skills. He has a bachelor degree in sculpture and a masters in theatre directing, but has never had any formal training in the circus arts.
This "jack of all trades" attitude has also put Beauchamp in the position of organising New Zealand's first circus competition, The Golden Carnie Awards, in Wellington on Saturday, at which 20 acts from around New Zealand will vie for four categories, including a grand prize.
Unlike some industry award shows, The Golden Carnie Awards have been tailored to also appeal to the public, providing them with a chance to view 20 Kiwi circus acts in one evening.
Practitioners describe what they do as "new" or "contemporary" circus'. That is, animal-free performances influenced by European and theatre traditions, rather than the traditional American-style circus shows. The best known and most successful is Canada's Cirque du Soleil.
 read more:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/8555067/New-heights-for-circus-talent
 

Wild animals in circuses to be banned
Travelling circuses are to be banned from using wild animals in two years time, under plans being announced by the Government.
from:  telegraph.co.uk
By Claire Carter
16 Apr 2013
Draft legislation is due to be published today, outlawing the use of wild animals in circuses from 2015, after a number of reports of mistreatment of animals involved in circuses.
The RSPCA has welcomed the move and said it was vital that quick action was taken to end the suffering of animals working in the circus. A spokeswoman said: “What is important for us is that there is a clear deadline date for the ban and a proper retirement plan is put in place for the animals.
“There are huge welfare concerns involved with hauling circus animals like zebras, lions and tigers across the country for our entertainment.”
It is believed there are around 35 wild animals – which includes camels, zebras and snakes currently being used in circuses.
Lord de Mauley, an Environment Minister, will set out proposals for the draft bill today.
A ban was expected last year after the Government promised to outlaw the use of wild animals following reports of the mistreatment of an elephant called Anne by her owner, where an undercover film revealed her being hit with a pitchfork and kicked in the face and body by a groom. At the time circus owner Bobby Roberts was found guilty of three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to the animal, and for failing to prevent an employee from repeatedly beating her.
However ministers were criticised for delaying the announcement of plans for the ban and a timetable for when it would be implemented.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: We announced in March 2012 that it was our intention to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses and we are now working towards bringing in a Bill to achieve this."
 

Cartoon Poodles 2011

Published on Jun 14, 2010

WWW.CARTOONPOODLES.COM

The Abuhadba Family presents the Cartoon Poodles. More than a dozen colorful and playful poodles, fly in the air, dance with glamorous night gowns, and they even do a conga line. In a high-energy routine, Abuhadba's Cartoon Poodles demonstrate as much pleasure during their time in the spotlight as audiences have in watching them perform.

CHANG

“Chang the Chinese Giant”
late 1800s:


“Zhan Shichai (詹世釵) (1840s -1893), was a Chinese giant who toured the world as “Chang the Chinese Giant” in the 19th century”
 from:  retronaut.com
“San left China in 1865 to travel to London where he appeared on stage, later travelling around Europe, and to the US and Australia. Kin Foo, Zhan’s Chinese wife who accompanied him from China, died in 1871, and he later married Catherine Santley, a Liverpudlian. They had two sons, Edwin and Ernest..

“In 1878, Zhan retired from the stage and settled in Bournemouth, where he opened a Chinese teahouse and ‘Oriental Bazaar’.”
- Wikipedia
Sources: Wikimedia; National Portrait Gallery, Canberra; British Library; The Ashleigh Hotel; The Tallest Man