Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Circus Red Tour Review
I really did enjoy it, but I just didn't think it was as good as the RBB&BC I saw a few years ago.
No lions, or leopards, only tigers but no-white tigers - and no hoops or flaming hoops for them to jump thru. No bare-back horse riders. No 14+ chinese girls all on one bicycle. No girl hanging from her hair spinning from the roof. No fire-eaters, and no knife throwers. I was a little let down and a slight bit disappointed. And the costumes & music had this strange urban hip-hop thing going not the traditional circus music and costumes. It just felt weird.
None of the following traditional Chinese Circus Acts were performed:
1. Contortionism - where contortionists gracefully bend themselves into beautiful but bewildering poses. Typically, involving two, three, four or more artists balancing upon one another.
2. Cycling Feats - on which numerous performers ride while creating striking and impossible designs, such as the most well-know bicycle act featuring a group of acrobats creating a moving tableau of a peacock spreading its feathers.
3. Diabolo - Diabolos are both a Chinese sport and a folk toy. A string runs between two sticks that are held in the hands, and the string supports a spinning spool. Once the speed of the spool is increased, it can be made to do all sorts of tricks, juggling diabolos; elaborately turning, tossing, passing and catching the flying objects.
4. Hand walking on Suspended Straps - Relying on their wrists and forearms for support, performers balance, pose and posture upside-down at dizzying heights on long woven strips.
5. Jar Juggling or actually any type of Juggling with flaming objects
6. Tower of Chairs - During this act, a performer will stack multiple chairs over 20 feet high, balance them on wine bottles, climb the tower and proceed to perform hand balancing and other gymnastic acts."
The only traditional Chinese circus acts they had were Pole Climbing - Performers on double-fixed poles jump from pole to pole, descend at breakneck speeds, and climb with startling speed and Hoop Diving - male gymnasts who dive through the tallest stack of spinning hoops.
Don't get me wrong - there were some really good acts. The mongolian acrobats (pole climbing and hoop diving), Bella the clown and his buddy walking around inside and on the outside of the big spinny thing (like the zipper at Ocean City, MD) high above the floor that was pretty awesome. And the double team shot out of the cannon.
However, the high-wire act was just NOT the Wallendas, no pyramids of death on the high-wire. But rather the act that was on the high-wire were two guys dressed in urban hip-hop outfits with umbrellas and they just weren't nearly as good or scary - IMHO. And the trapeze act wasn't as long or as awesome as I remember either.
The tiger trainer had the tigers walk around, sit up, hop around, etc. But without the jumping through flaming hoops, sticking his head in their mouth, it wasn't as cool either. I probably have PETA to blame for that.
It was still a three ring circus. There were still clowns, elephants, tigers, horses, and zebras, performing dogs, the guy shot out of the cannon, the trapeze artists, and a high-wire act. But something really felt like it was missing.
And the parade part, as a member of the audience if you paid enough for a ticket, a "Circus Celebrity" ticket, you could ride around in the clown cars during the parade, but that just seemed like a waste of time for the rest of us, (waiting for them all to get on and off and ride around) because it didn't add to the experience for the rest of the audience and just seemed like another way to rake in a few more bucks from the rich people that brought their kids to the circus.
My daughter didn't sit still for the 1st half of the show. I think she was actually a bit bored, since it was not riveting, and it was a bit slow. The 2nd half after the intermission she behaved really well, don't know if it was because all the best acts were left to the end, or because we threatened her with disciplinary action.
She'll never know what the circus used to be like though - so to her it was the "Greatest Show on Earth" but then again she's three.
to me - I just hope they change the show again and re-capture the magic it used to have...
but I did actually see a clown in a kilt, trained llamas, a trained performing highland cow, and a "Cebu" and now I know what "Larry & Bob" are singing about...
No lions, or leopards, only tigers but no-white tigers - and no hoops or flaming hoops for them to jump thru. No bare-back horse riders. No 14+ chinese girls all on one bicycle. No girl hanging from her hair spinning from the roof. No fire-eaters, and no knife throwers. I was a little let down and a slight bit disappointed. And the costumes & music had this strange urban hip-hop thing going not the traditional circus music and costumes. It just felt weird.
None of the following traditional Chinese Circus Acts were performed:
1. Contortionism - where contortionists gracefully bend themselves into beautiful but bewildering poses. Typically, involving two, three, four or more artists balancing upon one another.
2. Cycling Feats - on which numerous performers ride while creating striking and impossible designs, such as the most well-know bicycle act featuring a group of acrobats creating a moving tableau of a peacock spreading its feathers.
3. Diabolo - Diabolos are both a Chinese sport and a folk toy. A string runs between two sticks that are held in the hands, and the string supports a spinning spool. Once the speed of the spool is increased, it can be made to do all sorts of tricks, juggling diabolos; elaborately turning, tossing, passing and catching the flying objects.
4. Hand walking on Suspended Straps - Relying on their wrists and forearms for support, performers balance, pose and posture upside-down at dizzying heights on long woven strips.
5. Jar Juggling or actually any type of Juggling with flaming objects
6. Tower of Chairs - During this act, a performer will stack multiple chairs over 20 feet high, balance them on wine bottles, climb the tower and proceed to perform hand balancing and other gymnastic acts."
The only traditional Chinese circus acts they had were Pole Climbing - Performers on double-fixed poles jump from pole to pole, descend at breakneck speeds, and climb with startling speed and Hoop Diving - male gymnasts who dive through the tallest stack of spinning hoops.
Don't get me wrong - there were some really good acts. The mongolian acrobats (pole climbing and hoop diving), Bella the clown and his buddy walking around inside and on the outside of the big spinny thing (like the zipper at Ocean City, MD) high above the floor that was pretty awesome. And the double team shot out of the cannon.
However, the high-wire act was just NOT the Wallendas, no pyramids of death on the high-wire. But rather the act that was on the high-wire were two guys dressed in urban hip-hop outfits with umbrellas and they just weren't nearly as good or scary - IMHO. And the trapeze act wasn't as long or as awesome as I remember either.
The tiger trainer had the tigers walk around, sit up, hop around, etc. But without the jumping through flaming hoops, sticking his head in their mouth, it wasn't as cool either. I probably have PETA to blame for that.
It was still a three ring circus. There were still clowns, elephants, tigers, horses, and zebras, performing dogs, the guy shot out of the cannon, the trapeze artists, and a high-wire act. But something really felt like it was missing.
And the parade part, as a member of the audience if you paid enough for a ticket, a "Circus Celebrity" ticket, you could ride around in the clown cars during the parade, but that just seemed like a waste of time for the rest of us, (waiting for them all to get on and off and ride around) because it didn't add to the experience for the rest of the audience and just seemed like another way to rake in a few more bucks from the rich people that brought their kids to the circus.
My daughter didn't sit still for the 1st half of the show. I think she was actually a bit bored, since it was not riveting, and it was a bit slow. The 2nd half after the intermission she behaved really well, don't know if it was because all the best acts were left to the end, or because we threatened her with disciplinary action.
She'll never know what the circus used to be like though - so to her it was the "Greatest Show on Earth" but then again she's three.
to me - I just hope they change the show again and re-capture the magic it used to have...
but I did actually see a clown in a kilt, trained llamas, a trained performing highland cow, and a "Cebu" and now I know what "Larry & Bob" are singing about...