Circus Flora Announces INGENIOSO as 24 Season Production

Circus Flora annouces Ingenioso as 24th season production.

With Presenting Sponsor Edward Jones, St. Louis' One-Ring Circus Performs All-new Show in Grand Center June 3-27

Tickets Go on Sale March 15

In its 24th season, Circus Flora, St. Louis ' beloved one-ring, European-style circus, announces an all-new show, Ingenioso, inspired by the impossible dream of Don Quixote and presented by Edward Jones. The show premieres June 3 and runs through June 27, adding a full week of performances to the regular production schedule. The always affordable, family-friendly circus takes place under the air-conditioned, red-and-white, big top tent in Grand Center , St. Louis ' arts and entertainment hub, adjacent to Powell Symphony Hall (corner of Grand Boulevard and Samuel Shepard Drive ). Tickets go on sale March 15; group tickets are available now.

With a sizzling Spanish flair and a variety of classic circus acts including galloping conquistadors, hilarious farmyard animals, classic equestrian ballet, breathtaking aerial acts and an awe-inspiring rope dancer, the world-renowned Circus Flora ensemble brings this memorable tale of misadventure to life. The story of Don Quixote lends itself perfectly to the circus arts, where before our eyes, the ordinary becomes the extraordinary, and heroes emerge as gentle, triumphant clowns persuading others to see the glory of the world as they do.

The circus ring becomes the fields of LaMancha, as Ingenioso follows the noble, often haphazard quest of Don Quixote, the Knight of the Mournful Countenance, and his squire Sancho Panza to right the wrongs of the world - or at least the wrongs of the world within riding distance. Here, windmills transform before our eyes into giants, peasant girls to princesses; a barnyard scene becomes a twelve pony liberty act, and the swineherd, an elegant lady.

 

 

Ingenioso refers to the ingenious, quick-thinking of Don Quixote as he mistakes ordinary objects and people for the fantastic, and falls into misadventure after misadventure, always managing to emerge unscathed. His sidekick, Sancho Panza, however, suffers the physical assaults and vicissitudes of the escapades. Thus the beloved clown Nino (Giovanne Zoppe) plays the role of Sancho Panza as he tries to carry out the orders of his sometimes irrational master, Don Quixote, played by Carlos Svenson, animal and horse trainer.

 

 

With returning favorites and surprising new acts, the brand new 2010 production reunites world-renowned Circus Flora stars Cecil Mackinnon as Yo-Yo the Narrator, Carlos Svenson as Don Quixote, Giovanni Zoppe as Nino the Clown, the Flying Pages, the St. Louis Arches and the Circus Flora band. Highlights include the breathtaking trapeze artistry of the Flying Pages, Sasha Alexandre Nevidonski's equestrian ballet aerial silk act, the trick riding galloping conquistadors, a mesmerizing rope dancer in his Circus Flora debut and many more to be announced.

Show times are Tuesday through Thursday at 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m.; Sunday at 1 and 5:30 p.m.; and "Little Top Wednesday" at 10 a.m., a special one-hour show for smaller kids or the "kids at heart." Tickets for Ingenioso are $8 - $39 and go on sale March 15 through all MetroTix outlets including www.MetroTix.com and by phone at 314-534-1111. Tickets are also available at the Circus Flora Box Office in the Centene Center for the Arts & Education and by calling Circus Flora, 314-289-4040. Group discounts are available now for groups of 20 or more. Call Circus Flora at 314-289-4040 for group reservations and pricing. Visit www.circusflora.org for more information.

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