BIG APPLE COMMING TO QUEENS

Big Apple Circus Returns To Queens

 

The Acrobuffos make their Big Apple Circus debut at Cunningham Park this month.
from: queenstribune.com
By Barbara Arnstein
May 10, 2013
Something wonderful happens whenever the Acrobuffos perform. When the daffy clowns interact with adults in the audience, the grown-ups relax and play like children, dueling with pool noodles. When they used their clowning skills for special performances in Afghanistan, they successfully communicated lifesaving messages to children about the dangers of land mines and malaria.
Husband and wife team Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone have performed together in 20 countries and are performing for the first time with the Big Apple Circus, returning in May to Cunningham Park, and also for the first time in the United States as the Acrobuffos. Their Big Apple shows include classic slapstick and costumes featuring masks covering half their faces, which they wear to portray the characters “Madame” and “Monsieur.”
“Acrobuffos” is an abbreviation of acrobatic buffoons. They exhibit all the agility of expert acrobats, as well as dancing and juggling talent. Bloom attended the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, and Gelsone went to the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater, but both learned a lot about grabbing the attention of audiences while performing for passing pedestrians.

“We developed the humor skills to stop people on the way to lunch, and make them forget about eating,” said Gelsone.
Offstage, they enjoy traveling together in their circus trailer as much as they love performing. When they married in China six years ago, the bride wore a dress made of white balloons. They have brought laughter to small towns and cities, parks and parades, festivals and fairs, and at a stadium in China, they entertained an audience of three thousand.
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