ELEPHANT FLEES CIRCUS IN ROME

 

from: ecanadanow.com'
Karen Enyeart ·
Jan 3rd, 2014
- Circus life isn’t all it’s been cracked up to be for an elephant named Mia. In early December, the pachyderm broke free from her restraints at the Amedeo Orfei Circus which had been offering performances in Rome for about a week, and took off on an adventure throughout the city. Some residents of the northern suburb where Mia escaped said they felt extreme panic when they heard that a wild animal was on the loose in their neighborhood, while others kept a lookout for the elephant simply out of curiosity.

Mia was able to enjoy a little more than two hours of freedom before Roman law enforcement officials received word of her location, just before she managed to enter a road connected to a Roman motorway. The owners of the circus were able to capture her without incident after she stopped at a roundabout and seemed confused as to which direction to take next. Mia is now back under the watchful eye of her handlers at the Amedeo Orfei Circus. Luckily for Mia as well as the owners of the circus, neither the elephant nor any bystanders were harmed during Mia’s little adventure which added some excitement to Italy’s holiday season.

ON The Web:
http://specials.msn.com/news/weirdest-news-of-2013-ss?imageindex=4

LOCAL MAN MAKES CIRCUS HISTORY

 

from: heritagefl.com
By Chris DeSouza, Assistant Editor
January 3, 2014
Matt Loory was working at the First Watch restaurant on Rt. 436 in Altamonte Springs, training to become a manager, when Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando, where he graduated with honors in 2012, called him and said that Ringling Bros. had a job opening for a cook, was he interested?

Longwood resident Loory was interested. "I grew up seeing Ringling Bros. every year in Orlando with my family and fell in love with the circus."

Just 23 years old, his future already looked bright right here in Central Florida, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Why not? "I took a leap of faith and joined the show," he said enthusiastically.

That was January 2013. Three months later, he "threw his hat into the ring" for the Pie Car manager position, and hit the "rails" running as the youngest manager in the circus' 144-year history.

Loory acquired his love of cooking while spending every major Jewish holiday in the kitchen with his mom helping her make matzo balls and peeling potatoes for latkes. His parents (Josh and Fern Loory), foodies themselves, gave him the opportunity to try foods from around the world. Little did he know how much this would prepare him for his future career.

As exciting as this opportunity was for him, it wasn't easy to leave the security of his hometown. He graduated from Lake Brantley High School and attended Congregation Beth Am, where he was involved in B'nai B'rith Youth Organization. Plus, he loved his mom's brisket, noodle-kugel and potatoes.

He knew he'd be gone from home for two years on tour, seeing the country in ways most of the world would never know, all on the largest privately-owned train in the world. Still, the lure of the circus combined with his passion for culinary drew him to "run away and join the circus."

Loory now enjoys managing a staff of five cooks and preparing cuisine from more than 25 countries-serving 1,500 meals each week to more than 300 performers and crew members of the "Greatest Show on Earth" while traveling city to city by train.

"This is one large community without boundaries-a city without a zip code," said Loory of his new home.

What is his favorite meal to prepare? This was a hard question for Loory to answer. After a few minutes consideration, he said it had to be the Asian-style meatloaf with ginger and sweet chili sauce, served with wasabi mashed potatoes.

The Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey show "Legends" will be in Orlando at the Amyway Center, Jan. 9-12. What is Loory planning to do while here? Believe it or not, he has a dentist appointment (his mom made it for him) and he has jury duty, which he hopes to be released from. But most of all, he hopes to have some of his mom's home-made brisket and potatoes.
http://www.heritagefl.com/story/2014/01/03/features/local-man-makes-circus-history/1976.html

RENOWNED CIRCUS TROY WOOS BAHRAIN CROWD

 

from: tradearabia.com
Manama, 1 days ago
A group of 28 artists from the renowned Troy International Circus will be entertaining the public in Bahrain throughout this month.

The event, at Adhari Park, is organised by Ghamdi Convention and Exhibition Centre and Mondial International Contracting.

It kicked off yesterday and will run until the end of this month, organisers said. The tickets have been priced at BD10 ($26), BD7 and BD5.

The circus includes clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other object manipulation and stunt artists.

"This is the second time we have organised such an event in Bahrain," said the organisers.

"We are expecting a huge turnout, as people love such events.

"There is no permanent circus in Bahrain and we are obliged that we are allowed to bring artists and animals from various countries to perform acts.

"These skilled and talented artists are from Tajikistan, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Egypt and Bahrain. Children as well as adults can enjoy these performances.

"These acts are prepared by our qualified trainers and skilled artists," they added.-TradeArabia News Service
http://www.tradearabia.com/news/MEDIA_249195.html

LONE STAR CIRCUS DAZZLES DALLAS CHILDREN'S THEATRE

from: dallasnews.com
Nancy Churnin The Dallas Morning News
Arts & Entertainment
03 January 2014
Lone Star Circus has always put on a fabulous show, but the latest installment, Charivari, seems more buoyant than ever.

Breathtaking exploits expand blissfully in the intimate space, with Lone Star-trained Morgan and Cody flipping on the double trapeze right over the heads of the audience. But it’s more than that — it’s the sense that the dream of a homegrown circus, created and directed by Fanny Kerwich, has taken firm root in Dallas soil.

Lone Star, a new recipient of a $10,000 TACA grant, is now part of the Dallas Children’s Theater season. And Kerwich, who nurtures the next generation of artists in her Lone Star Circus school, has struck a joyful balance between local and international stars. The charms of Dallas favorites Slappy and Monday (married clowns Tiffany Riley and Dick Monday), Liz Mikel and B.J. Cleveland anchor the talent, with Dallas-based Alex Acero adding a fresh spin of clowning and acrobatics.

U.S. national champion rhythmic gymnast Shelby Kisiel kicks off the action like a bird emerging from a golden cage to do remarkable flips and spins with a golden ball. Christian Atayde Stoinev seems all seriousness with formidable hand balancing until his adorable dog, Scooby, jumps in the act, clambering over Stoinev as he somersaults and does handstands.

The juggling Fusco Brothers — identical twins from Buenos Aires — pull off the rare feat of juggling nine rings at once along with two-man tricks that stunned the circus savvy at the Jan. 1 performance. Kids in the audience couldn’t get enough of the four-legged stars of the Pompeyo Family & Their Amazing Rescue Dogs act, with the biggest applause going to a little pup in a Superman suit that leapt off a tower into Jorge Pompeyo’s arms.

New U.S. citizens Karoly and Anita Zeman electrify with their BMX and roller skating spins, and Morgaine and Ryan of California dance dazzlingly in an aerial strap ballet. Dallas talent held its own, with Lone Star grad Jesse Patterson pouring passion into her hula hoop act, while Stephanie Stewart’s elegant rope twisting drew depth from Mikel crooning to her like a snake charmer coaxing a coiling snake.

Meanwhile the performers’ children sparkled in brief glimpses, twirling a silk here, riding a bicycle there, like a promise of circuses to come.

SUPER CIRCUS HEROES BEGINS NEXT FRIDAY AT O'CONNELL CENTER

 

Spectators can see animal acts at the “Super Circus Heroes,” which begins Friday in Gainesville.
from: gainesville.com
By Tyler Francischine
Correspondent
January 3, 2014
The O'Connell Center transforms into the Big Tent, complete with aerialists, acrobats and animals galore, when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey present their "Super Circus Heroes" show Friday through Jan. 12.

Ringmaster David Shipman said this show's theme is strength and power. Groups from 10 different countries, including Russia, China and Cuba, will perform great feats of strength, balance and concentration. One performer can land a quadruple back flip, while another balances himself midair on the tip of a sword placed at his bellybutton, he said.

"This is a show unlike any we've ever done before," Shipman said. "It's about superhuman abilities. Everyone has them. It's about finding the strength to pull them out of yourself."

Cathy Carden, the animal trainer and presenter for the show, said there will be plenty of tunes for the music lovers in the audience, as well.

"The music is awesome, and the dance numbers are so good," she said. "Our choreographer has worked with Lady Gaga and Janet Jackson."

This show takes on a smaller, one-ring format, which was created to reach venues without access to the railroad system.

The Ringling Bros. company is famous for transporting its largest performers, like elephants, on train cars. Still, this smaller format assures more face time between the performers and their audience.

An "All Access Pre-Show" held one hour before each show on the arena floor will offer audience members a chance to meet the performers.

"It's very intimate," Shipman said. "You see the sweat, you see the strain. You see that everything these performers do is real."

Carden, a seventh-generation animal trainer whose family has been in the circus business since the 1600s, said audiences will be treated to performances by 18 dogs, seven miniature horses, two Arabian horses, two Shetland ponies, two camels and three elephants, the last of which grew up alongside Carden at her parents' house.

Carden said her favorite moments training animals are those times when she sees the light bulb go on and they master their routines.

CHICAGO CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS FESTIVAL HEADED TO TOWN

 

from: suntimes.com
by: Hedy Weiss
January 3, 2014

The circus is coming to town in ways you might never have imagined. And along with the acrobatics, contortions, clowning and derring-do of both local and international artists, there will be a veritable big top of discussions, seminars, workshops, panels and parties.
It is all part of the 2014 Chicago Contemporary Circus Festival, running Jan. 6-12. The first event of its kind in this country, the Festival is presenting a wide array of performances ranging from grand-scale to intimate cabaret style, all produced either on the Athenaeum Theatre mainstage and in its black box spaces at 2936 N. Southport, or at the new Links Hall space at 3111 N. Western.
Co-produced and curated by Chicago-based circus artists Shayna Swanson and Matt Roben, the Festival also has joined forces with Circus Now, a national organization devoted to supporting “the evolution of the circus arts in the United States,” to present a four-hour seminar, Speaking Circus Chicago, to be held Jan. 7. Featuring circus artists, scholars and producers, and designed primarily for presenters and journalists, it also is open to the public. (For information about the free seminar visit http://circusnow.org/.)