The circus is in town just in time to nibble at your family's precious back-to-school budget. I attended with a large group that ranged in age from infant to adult. Everyone, including the solemn-faced teens, loved it.
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| The train theme employs a creative use of Segways. |
This year's theme told the story of the circus train. As the performers arrived, a lightshow showed a train image and displayed their names.
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| Barnum Bouncers |
The show included plenty of clowns, music and punny humor. Some portions seemed tailored to the little ones. The Barnum Bouncers hail from China and perform a high-bouncing act using huge trampolines and aerial rings. Their bright, fringed costumes reminded me of the Doodlebops from Nickelodeon.
But older kids and adults had their share of entertainment with the daredevil antics. One unforgettable highlight was the Torres Family who rode motorbikes inside the Globe of Steel.
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The performers did a great job of playing to all sides of the arena, but it was hard to get a clear view of the whole show. The middle/lower seats toward the center of the arena looked really good, but I'm not so sure about the super expensive Circus Celebrity seats ($100ish) because they are so close it seems as though it would be hard to see the show instead of focusing on one detail. The celebrities got to move to bleachers on the circus floor for part of the show.
One of the main viewing problems was the $12 cotton candy that comes with a thin felt top hat. Cotton candy must be popular because the audience became a shadowy sea of hats blocking the show.
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| The cheap seats have one perk. |
The Cheap Seats
The most inexpensive seats are way up in the top left section of this photo. I wondered how much of the circus those ticketholders could see. Toward the end of the circus, it looked like they had the best seats in the house to watch a motorcycle and tightrope walker ascend on a 45-degree wire. The performers disappeared into the scaffolding, but it looked as though they were playing to that section of the audience.
All-Access Preshow
All ticketholders are welcome to the preshow that takes place one hour before the show. Everyone can walk around the arena floor and see the performers up close. It is a good way to make the most of your ticket purchase.
There was a free temporary tattoo station and they were handing out red clown noses. There were a variety of mini shows and the elephant showed her painting skills.
Clowns and stiltwalkers posed for pictures with the kids. There were also a couple of displays of ringmaster jackets for kids to try. Most of them looked worthy of the circus, but there was a turquoise one that would have worked for a country singer as well.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has one more day at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The August 7 schedule includes three showtimes.
The circus will be at the Fort Worth Convention Center from August 10 through 14.
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