Step right up to the best of modern circus shows

Forget those three rings of lethargic lions, tired trapeze and kooky cannonballs (of the human variety, natch). The circus has evolved into a more sophisticated art form, thanks in large part to the inspiration of Cirque du Soleil. While that Montreal-based company produces its distinct avant-garde shows all over the world, there are plenty of places to experience acts blending the new with the best of older circus traditions.

Photo courtesy of Laura Powell

Let’s start in Montreal, home of Cirque du Soleil. Although its headquarters is not open to the general public, there are plenty of opportunities to find the circus in the 514. Montreal Completement Cirque brings the circus to the streets of Montreal every July. Don’t be surprised to see tightrope walkers overhead or a flash mob of acrobats surround you while strolling along St-Denis Street during the special event. The originality of both public and ticketed performances is astounding. Popular shows in recent years have included props such as hair dryers, Cyr Wheels, ropesandmore typical accoutrements.

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If you miss the festival, experience the circus year-round at TOHU, in the city’s revitalizing Saint-Michel District. TOHU houses North America’s first circular indoor performance space dedicated to the circus arts. In addition to year-round performances, TOHU has some small galleries displaying circus art memorabilia.

South of the border, Chicago’s El Circo Cheapo Cabaret bills itself as a poor man’s Cirque du Soleil. Even so, it still has world-class acrobats, jugglers, puppeteers, clowns, and yes, some politically-incorrect sideshow freaks. The show, held on the first Saturday of everymonth, combines the new circus movement, the tradition of Big Top shows, and the schmaltz of vaudeville.

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More traditional circus arts are celebrated in Baraboo, Wisconsin and Sarasota, Florida—both historic winter home bases for the Ringling Bros. Circus. During the late 19th and early-20th century, the circus wintered in Baraboo. The Ringlings spent the season designing props and wardrobe, hiring performers, and planning the circus route for the year ahead. Baraboo’s Circus World, located near the Wisconsin Dells, houses the largest collection of circus wagons on earth, a hand-crafted miniature circus, and fascinating keepsakes of days gone by. During the summer, there are circus shows under a Big Top.

World’s largest model circus at the Ringling Museum of the American Circus | Flickr CC: Dan Lundberg

By the 1920s, the Ringling’s wised up and brought their winter base somewhere warmer—Sarasota, Florida. That’s why the Ringling Museum of the American Circus was established here in 1948. Today, the museum features props, wardrobe, memorabilia and the railroad car on which John and Mable Ringling traveled the country looking for feature acts and freak shows. The museum’s Tibbals Learning Center houses an intricate 44,000-piece miniature re-creation of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus early combined shows.

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For those who want to see circus in Sarasota, year-round performances are staged under the auspices of the Circus Arts Conservatory. Among the options are Sailor Circus, professionally-produced shows consisting of kids enrolled in the prestigious circus training program, and Circus Sarasota, which intersperses high drama and glamour with traditional circus acts.

Featured image courtesy of Monica Pedraja

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Tagged: Family time, Florida, Midwest