CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Friday, July 17, 2009

....Circus Scene: Kaye Gets Big Lineup For Circus....1997....

By Bill Hal
Publication: Amusement Business
Date: Monday, December 29 1997



Producing what the Hadi Temple annually bills as 'America's Largest and Greatest Shrine Circus,' Paul V. Kaye again presented a powerhouse lineup for the Nov. 27-30 staging at Roberts Municipal Stadium Arena in Evansville, Ind
Pre-show for the Hadi extravaganza, a yearly assignment for Kaye -- whose CircUSAmerica works out of Hollywood, Calif. -- offered skits by Hadi Funsters (Shrine Clowns), a calliope concert and 'ballistic balloon barrage.
Hadi's Mounted Guard and Chanters participated in the playing of the National Anthem, followed by a psychedelic light show during the 'Circus Rock' overture by trumpet player/maestro Clement Toca's band. The latter had Toca's wife, Elizabeth, at the keyboard and the couple's son, Emile, as percussionist
The opening spectacle, 'CircUSAmerica on Parade,' presented the entire artist company, Hadi Temple units and a concluding Hippodrome Track 'long mount' by 14 elephants of The Hawthorn Corp. headed by John F. Cuneo
Following was an aerial display of eight women soloists -- Kim, Tina and Tracy, with lyre acts; Alecia and Gladys, cloud swing; and Anava, Beck and Wendy, Roman rings; Kay Rosaire's cage display mixing eight lions and tigers; Peganin Duo, aerial cradle adagio, with atmospheric black lights, bubble and fog machines and ultra-violet streamers; Hadi Clowns; Peers' Muttville Comix, Kohlrieser's Dogs and Kneisley's Komedy K-Nines in three rings of dogdom; Jeffrey Plunkett's Junk-Yard Jalopy, comedy car; Murillo Duo, perch, Diablos, juggling and Wendy Bell, balancing, in a three-ring spread; and Miss Christina, inclined cable slide-for-life
Also, three rings of animal features, Allen/Wilson Sea Lions, Steeple's Gypsy Bears and Stevens' African Baboons; Princess Tavana, loop-walking trapezist framed by a 12-woman aerial ballet; and the Boger Family's Performing Buffaloes in three rings
Program's post-intermission features were The Flying Redpath Trapeze Family, spotlighting 10-year-old April;Hadi Clowns; 14 Hawthorn elephants across all rings, with an entire herd 'T-Mount' finale along the Hippodrome Track; Castro Bros., high wire; and Derrick Rosaire Sr. (father of the aforementioned big cat trainer Kay Rosaire) and Tony the Wonder Horse, comedy
Also, Anastasini Duo (Giovanni and wife Irene), aerial rocket spectacular; Jordan's Family Globe of Death motorcyclists; and 'Salute To The Stars And Stripes,' patriotic finale complemented by fireworks and a giant American flag drop
Sir Tommy Baker was Kaye's ringmaster/announcer for the Hadi format


Celebrating the start of its third decade with a production called '20 Years,' Big Apple Circus is playing its annual hometown stand at New York City's Lincoln Center through Jan. 11, 1998. The one-ring big top format opened there Oct. 23 following its traditional preview engagement at the Reston, Va., Town Center near Washington Sept. 25-Oct. 13
Rather than taking place at Reston, as in prior years, show rehearsals and staging concepts for the 1997-98 tour occurred at Big Apple's new Slifka Family Creative Center in Walden, N.Y
Billed as 'The craziest, funniest and happiest birthday party ever seen in (name your city),' Big Apple features an international cast which includes Switzerland's Nadja Glasser with Patagonian sea lions; Kuznetsov Trio, Russian barre acrobats; U.S.A.-based acts, Woodcock Family Elephants (Anna May, Ned and Amy) and acrobatic comic Bello Nock; and aerial ring artist Elena Serafimovich, from the Republic of Belarus
Also two turns of Mexican origin, the Flying Jimenez, featuring triple somersaulting leaper Raul Jimenez and high-speed juggler Arturo Alegria; Danish-born equestrienne Katja Schumann Binder, the wife of Big Apple Founder/Producer Paul Binder, and the couple's daughter, Katherine; and Swiss tight wire artist David Dimitri
Also American clown Barry (Grandma) Lubin and Big Apple acrobats Melinda Merlier of Hungary; Julian Stachowski of Poland, Carlos Guity of the U.S. and Regina Dobrovitskaya of Russia
'Doc,' who weighed in at 217 pounds when born May 8, is among newcomers at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation, a $5 million, 200-acre breeding facility in Polk County, Fla., between Tampa and Orlando
The son of an Asian cow, Alana, Doc was named for Ringling staff veterinarian Dr. Richard Houck, D.V.M., who helped design the Florida compound, which is not open to the general public.

Imported from Europe, a big cage tiger act presented by Richard Chipperfield, from Great Britain's renowned Chipperfield Circus family, will be among 'first time in America' features with Ringling's new 1998-99 blue unit edition
Richard's brother, Graham Thomas Chipperfield, has worked a cage full of African lions and elephant acts as a Ringling blue headliner over recent years
Five girls and two boys, ranging in age from 12 to 18, presented the first high-wire seven person pyramid in Peru (Ind.) Amateur Circus history during the city's annual Circus City Festival and Parade, July 12-19 (AB, Sept. 1, 1997)
Working 25-feet high were Mike Foster, 18, Brad Smith, Katie Cohee and Carrie Godoy, all 17, on the bottom tier; Jessica Williams, 17, and Maggie Jackson, 12, on the second level; and Starr Miser, 15, as top mounter. Williams, Jackson and Miser wore safety mechanics for the stunt, shown during performances of 'The Greatest Amateur Circus in the World,' which marked its 38th season last summer
A high wire seven-person pyramid is now featured by the Guerrero Troupe with Ringling-Barnum's red unit edition (AB, May 5, 1997
A high wire 'skywalk' by Tino Wallenda Zoppe and big top performances by Circus Flora highlighted a week-long salute to the circus in September by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington
The skywalk cable stretched from the Kennedy Center's roof terrace to the top of Circus Flora's new one-ring tent. Joining the Wallenda Zoppe Family high wire and aerial acts in the Flora program were aerialist Sacha Pavlata, the Arturo Gaona flying trapeze troupe, acrobatic comic Giovanni Zoppe and the St. Louis Arches' young tumbling team
Setting the record straight from our Circus Scene (AB, Nov. 10, 1997), it's the Franzen (not Frenzen) Bros. Circus, while Joseph Domenickus (not Demeninkus) Bauer is emcee/space wheel aerialist in the Tropicana Casino's Atlantic City thriller.
(c) BPI Communications Inc., 1997

0 comments: