Circus Flora
Encyclopedia
Circus Flora http://www.circusflora.org/ is a One-Ring circus
based in St. Louis, MO, USA. It has become a touring show yet it performs annually in St. Louis, usually at the beginning of the month of June. It combines the venue of a one-ring circus with the performance trappings of theater. Performances include skilled aerialists http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aerialist, equestrian artists Equestrianism
, acrobats
, and trained animals of all sorts. Each performance is accompanied by a live band. Live musicians allow the mood to be tailored to the live events happening in the ring—down to every crash of the cymbal or beat of the snare drum.
Circus Flora is styled after old Eastern-European circuses. For many years, Circus Flora has featured many and various members of the renowned Flying Wallendas family.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
has described the 2007 performance as, "an entertaining mixture of thoroughly professional performances and 'Let's put on a show in the old barn.'" http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/stage/story/D88CCFEB0C3DCA6E862572F6005ED1F9?OpenDocument
Circus Flora's 2007 show has been reviewed by the student newspaper of the University of Missouri-St. Louis http://media.www.thecurrentonline.com/media/storage/paper304/news/2007/06/11/ArtsAndEntertainment/Circus.Flora.Suspensful.Unforgetable-2913888.shtml.
, an annual celebration of the performing and visual arts in Charleston, South Carolina
. Based upon its favorable reception, it was then founded as a permanent organization by Ivor David Balding, Sheila and Sam Jewell and Alexandre Sacha Pavlata http://www.cirquepassion.com/Alexandre%20Sacha%20Pavlata%20Bio.htm. Its intended mission is to both entertain and to educate.
Circus Flora made St. Louis, Missouri
its home in 1987 with assistance from Vince Schoemehl, the mayor of St. Louis at that time, and Richard Gaddes, then president of Grand Center http://www.grandcenter.org/, St. Louis's creative and cultural district. Since then, the Circus Arts Foundation of Missouri (CAFM) has been the parent non-profit organization under which Circus Flora operates.
For 15 years, Flora the elephant was a beloved star of the Circus. In 2000, she retired from stage life, and is now a resident of the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn http://www.elephants.com/tange_zula/african_press_release.htm.
St. Louis, MO;
The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
;
The Spoleto Festival USA
;
Houston, TX;
New York, NY;
Scottsdale, AZ;
Cooperstown, NY;
Norfolk, VA;
Nantucket Island;
and many other locales.
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
based in St. Louis, MO, USA. It has become a touring show yet it performs annually in St. Louis, usually at the beginning of the month of June. It combines the venue of a one-ring circus with the performance trappings of theater. Performances include skilled aerialists http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aerialist, equestrian artists Equestrianism
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
, acrobats
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
, and trained animals of all sorts. Each performance is accompanied by a live band. Live musicians allow the mood to be tailored to the live events happening in the ring—down to every crash of the cymbal or beat of the snare drum.
Circus Flora is styled after old Eastern-European circuses. For many years, Circus Flora has featured many and various members of the renowned Flying Wallendas family.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
has described the 2007 performance as, "an entertaining mixture of thoroughly professional performances and 'Let's put on a show in the old barn.'" http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/stage/story/D88CCFEB0C3DCA6E862572F6005ED1F9?OpenDocument
Circus Flora's 2007 show has been reviewed by the student newspaper of the University of Missouri-St. Louis http://media.www.thecurrentonline.com/media/storage/paper304/news/2007/06/11/ArtsAndEntertainment/Circus.Flora.Suspensful.Unforgetable-2913888.shtml.
Early days
Circus Flora was first performed as a commissioned work for the 1986 Spoleto Festival USASpoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
, an annual celebration of the performing and visual arts in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. Based upon its favorable reception, it was then founded as a permanent organization by Ivor David Balding, Sheila and Sam Jewell and Alexandre Sacha Pavlata http://www.cirquepassion.com/Alexandre%20Sacha%20Pavlata%20Bio.htm. Its intended mission is to both entertain and to educate.
Circus Flora made St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
its home in 1987 with assistance from Vince Schoemehl, the mayor of St. Louis at that time, and Richard Gaddes, then president of Grand Center http://www.grandcenter.org/, St. Louis's creative and cultural district. Since then, the Circus Arts Foundation of Missouri (CAFM) has been the parent non-profit organization under which Circus Flora operates.
Namesake
Flora, the Elephant, is the namesake of Circus Flora. The circus was named after Flora, the orphaned baby African elephant Balding had rescued two years earlier when ivory poachers in Africa killed her mother.For 15 years, Flora the elephant was a beloved star of the Circus. In 2000, she retired from stage life, and is now a resident of the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn http://www.elephants.com/tange_zula/african_press_release.htm.
Geographic extent of Performances
Circus Flora has performed in the following cities:St. Louis, MO;
The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
;
The Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
;
Houston, TX;
New York, NY;
Scottsdale, AZ;
Cooperstown, NY;
Norfolk, VA;
Nantucket Island;
and many other locales.