The shy little girl in the leopard print tutu and sequined hair bow at Saturday night’s Circus Sarasota performance wanted nothing to do with me when I tried to engage her in conversation; in fact, she hopped to the other side of her mother to get away. But when Bello Nock – he of the (not quite) “foot tall hair” – followed Ringmaster Joseph Domenic Bauer’s command to “Get down, Bello!” and the clown broke into giddy gyrations, my little neighbor popped right up and joined him in the jive.
Such is the lure of the circus for a child. And “Red, White and Bello,” Circus Sarasota’s winter show under the Big Top behind the University Center Mall, provides plenty of allure, for the uninitiated and the jaded alike. No sad animals, sophomoric clowns or second-rate showmen here; founders Pedro Reis and Dolly Jacobs are carrying on the circus legacy with style, class and an awful lot of bang for your buck (like 2 ½ hours worth).
Bello Nock STAFF PHOTO / NICK ADAMS
The thread that ties the show together is Nock, a seventh generation performer with a great sense of comic timing and the guts to pull off some stunts that are – excuse the pun – truly hair-raising. He starts things off with a delightful bit while encased in an enormous balloon; brings an audience member into the ring for a pantomime participation that goes wrong in every possible hilarious sense; and finishes it off with his customary antics on the “Wheel of Destiny,” aided by his son, Zebulon Freicke, and daughter, Annaliese, who herself made the Guinness Book of World Records opening night with four consecutive forward flips inside the rotating wheel.
The other artists on the bill are almost all quite engaging too. The hand balancing act of the Pelligrini Brothers – three hunky Italian brothers who shed immaculate white jackets to bare their superhero chests – stood out both for the degree of difficulty of their multi-layered joint balances and because these are no tiny, compact gymnasts, but long, lean, 6-footers.
For those equinely inclined, trainer Sylvia Zerbini’s control of her 10 cantering and weaving steeds in a ring smaller than some swimming pools was remarkable. Though she carried a crop, she never used it, controlling her stable simply by verbal command.
The flexibility of contortionist Shannon Monni, who performed inside a Plexiglass aerial bubble and the speed and accuracy of foot juggler Deborah Maloku and hand juggler Mario Berousek were captivating, and if Fenchman Marc Giely’s acrobatic mountain bike act and the canines of the Dominguez Poodle Review fell a little flat, it was only by comparison.
Two of the Pelligrini Brothers with Circus Sarasota founders Dolly Jacobs and Pedro Reis on opening night of "Red, White and Bello."/ Photo courtesy Pelligrini Brothers
And of course there was “Queen of the Air” Dolly. Aided by Rafael Palacios, Jacobs erformed a classy choreographed aerial routine that was a continuing testament to her ability to defy age. She showed not a bobble in her performance, nor a bubble of extra flesh in her skin-tight unitard. Her contemporaries – me among them – can only watch and gape.
Most impressive of all is the recognition of what Jacobs and Reis have done to sustain circus as a true art form, emphasizing both entertainment and skill. If, like my shy seat mate, you’ve never been to the circus – or, like me, your memories of going are nothing so enjoyable as this night was – you ought to reserve a seat.
“RED, WHITE AND BELLO,” Circus Sarasota. Reviewed under the Big Top behind University Town Center, 140 University Town Center Drive, on Feb. 13; additional performances through Feb. 28. Tickets $15-$55. 355-9805; www. CircusArts.org
