BELLO MANIA Returns to New Vic, 4/4-20

Bello Nock, the gravity-defying dude with the foot-high hair, returns to 42nd Street! "America's Best Clown" (TIME Magazine) will tower above the audience on a 44-foot sway pole in just one of his many daredevil stunts during the new incarnation of his 2013 Drama Desk-nominated Bello Mania at The New Victory Theater in Times Square from April 4 - 20, 2014.

The only circus in Manhattan this April, Bello Mania includes all-new aerial acts, audience participation and cowboy chaos featuring Bronx-born buckaroo AJ Silver, along with crowd favorites like tricky trampoline antics, high wire hijinks and, of course, the world's smallest bike!

Lauded for his physical and comedic agility as a "comic daredevil," Bello redefines what it means to be a modern-day clown. "I have never been one to follow the norm. I don't expect up-and-coming performers to do the crazy sort of stunts I do, but my hope is to inspire new generations to find what makes them unique and push the boundaries of what they can offer to this wonderful art form called the circus," says Bello.

An honorary New Yorker, Bello's unique connection to the city is drawn from his long history as a circus performer as well as his appearances in nail-biting stunts at popular New York City landmarks. Bello has hung by his toes under a helicopter flying over the Statue of Liberty, walked a high wire from the New York City Ballet to Avery Fisher Hall, repelled off of Madison Square Garden and even ridden an elephant through the Midtown Tunnel.

Born in Sarasota, Florida, Demetrius Alexandro Claudio Amadeus Bello Nock is one of the most honored modern day circus celebrities. He is featured in the 2013 edition of the Guinness World Book of Records for the first ever high wire walk over a cruise ship at sea; and in 2011, he received the circus world's highest honor, the Gold Clown (presented by Princess Stephanie of Monaco), at the Monte Carlo International Circus Festival. Bello was the Ringling Museum's 2012 "Circus Celebrity of the Year," and in 2009 was the youngest person ever inducted into the Circus Ring of Fame. He's won the Silver Clown in Monte Carlo, the Gold Lion in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Prix Special twice-one in Grenoble, France, and again at the Daidogei World Cup Festival in Japan. Bello has also won the Walt Disney Award for Creative Entertainment. Bello spent several years with Big Apple Circus and stayed with the company for three seasons, leaving after his final tour, Bello and Friends. He wooed millions as a star of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, becoming the only person in the company's history to have a production named after him; Bellobration toured the U.S. from 2007-2008.

In Bello Mania, Bello is joined on stage by host Matthew Morgan and performers Andrew Pratt, AJ Silver and his daughter Annaleise. His wife Jennifer is the Writer and Director while David Miller is Set Designer, Guido Naus is Musical Director, Eric Winterling and Kay Torralva are Costume Designers and Steve Curtis is Safety and Technical Director.

On April 17 at 7pm, The New Victory will host a special autism-friendly performance of Bello Mania, which will be modified to accommodate and support the sensory, social and emotional needs of individuals on the autism spectrum. For more information on the autism-friendly performance of Bello Mania please click here.

In collaboration with The New Victory Theater, Autism Friendly Spaces, Inc. provided consultative services for Bello Mania. For more information, visit www.autismfriendlyspaces.org.