Ringling Brothers!
 

The extended family went to the circus on Wednesday night. It was *awesome*! I love getting to be a kid again. Thought you all might like to share the fun.

#1 - They allowed everyone to go on the floor and circulate around while performers did their thing. Interactive preshow...cool.

#2 - The show opened with a patriotic tableaux of babe on elephant.

#1 - Head clown and Ringmaster
#2 - The opening parade

#1 - Arabians
#2 - Tightrope walkers

#1 - Tiger taming!
#2 - Well trained tiger hops out of cage led by his trainer

#1 - Hot aerialist chick
#2 - Dude with weird hair is Belo...he was the main focus of the circus.

#1 - Everybody gets to be like Belo
#2 - ...even the elephants

#1 - Eastern excess!
#2 - Prelude to an awesome Chinese acrobatic presentation

very cool photos, especially that one of the tiger! The horses are sooo pretty! and the ringmaster's outfit is just over the [big] top.

Makes me want to go!

#1 - Acrobatic coolness
#2 - Really cool

#1 - No way did this look like a good idea to me, but they survived
#2 - The happy attendees, from near to far, Leslie, Jai, Ana, Colin, Clifton, Selene (Kaleigh was in the john, I was taking the pic).

Finally, Selene and Ana display the hats that allow the circus to sell cotton candy for $7.00 a bag...

Hope you enjoyed the circus!

the circus is much more rock concertish than it used to be...

Actually, more Broadway. Kenneth and Irvin Feld bought RBB&B almost 30 years ago, if memory serves, and they brought a very much more "production" sensibility to the classic circus format of the past.

There is much to be said both for the old tradition, and for the slicker version of today.

I was thinking it looked very influenced by the popularity of Cirque du Soleil.

I agree, that's the first thing I ever saw in the circus that literally had me on the edge of my seat. :eek:

I must say your photography is excellent!
As each post went up, I waited to comment, not wanting to interrupt what I was hoping would be a series. You didn't disappoint... thank you.:notworthy

I am really surprised to still see animals in your circus.
I'm 90% sure none tour with animals in the UK now - certainly not with big cats.

The trend here is definitely human only - the Chinese State Circus sells out wherever it goes.

RBBB makes a big deal out of the fact that they deal with their animals humanely. Their elephants in particular are billed as a conservation effort. I think one would be hard pressed to find animals that are cared for any better than the RBBB animals. After all, they're making money on them, and skimping on the maintenance is a bad idea.

It was the one thing where there was absolutely no protection in case of fall...no way to do it, as far as I could see. If one stumbles while atop one of those cages, one is going to be flung and squished.

I really had my doubts about how they'd come out. My camera is a very poor performer in low light (as evidenced by the lack of crystal sharp focus in some of the shots), but overall, I was really pleased with how they came out. I may try to do some of the video I shot as well and post it later on.

Aren't they mean to the elephants, or something?

For people like PETA, that believe animals should be left in their natural environment, yes. To rational people, no.

Everybody gets to look like Bart Simpson.

I've been waiting for the PETA response. The care of the early circus animals did spark a animal rescue/humane treatment movement, but I do believe they are highly regulated now.

*SOME* circuses are mean to animals - for example, elephants are group animals and to keep an elephant without company is, if not cruel, at least unkind.
Making them do two-leg poses and such puts strain on their joints which causes long term problems.

But then, NATURE is frequently cruel to animals. Is life as a circus animal any better or worse that life as a wild animal, with famines, predators, droughts, rivals, illness, etc?


Oh, and my mate was in a three ring circus once. Him and two other arseholes.
This circus may differ.

I feel sorry for people who cant feel even a tinge of guilt when they see a caged animal.

I feel sorry for people who think that way, and yet think that the tinge of guilt they feel is enough to absolve them of their self-imposed responsibilities.

I just read "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen on the flight here. (I'm in Tokyo). The book is placed in a train circus and shares background stories and histories of circuses. circi? Anyway, great pix & thanks for sharing them. The tiger photo was especially fun.

I do think it is cruel to show big cats in a circus ring.
No matter how well the animals are treated they have to suffer from the life of constant change and appearing in front of noisy crowds on a regular basis.

My cat is fully domesticated from centuries of being kept as a pet and I still feel rotten that my personal circumstances have meant he's been dragged from pillar to post this last year. I take comfort in the fact that we do have a genuine bond (again, due to the fact he's fully domesticated) and I think he knows he's safe with me.

I don't judge anyone else, and so I don't campaign against animals in circuses. But I absolve myself by not going to see any circuses with animals in them. Luckily this is the trend in the UK now.

I went to the zoo recently, about a month ago. I enjoyed it and took lots of pictures, but I also felt an underlying unease and struggled with a few conflicting feelings. I love being able to see animals up close but I also feel sorry for them because they live a 'caged' and limited life. Most of them do not know any better because they have lived their whole life in captivity, but I still feel uncomfortable with the notion that its our 'right' as a species to treat animals this way. I realized that I was contributing to this 'arrogance' by being there with my camera, but I also acknowledged the fatalism of the whole situation....as long as there are animals for humans to catch, there will be zoos to see them in. :shrug:

SG, I think Im going to emulate your approach and just not go anymore.

Yeah, I'm just a conflicted bitch.

Eat them, and put their stuffed hides in the zoo... problem solved. :yum:

I know for a fact that no council authority will issue any licence to allow a circus to open and perform in the UK if they have animal acts.
There was an interview from a circus owner in our local paper last year who actually has two versions ongoing 1,people only for the UK and 2 people and animal acts for Europe.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of performing animal acts I feel there's something missing in a circus that has no animals.
But hey times change and today the P C brigade's in charge so the magic for the kids is no longer there..

Watching people commit feats of strength and endurance with grace and comedic timing is often just as magical as watching the animals, if not more so. I know as a kid I was always most impressed with the acrobats and trapeze artists, but that's not to say I don't treasure the memory of riding an elephant.