Circus brings its 'beautiful show'

You won't find dancing bears, snarling lions or parading elephants, but the Big Apple Circus promises thrills and laughs on its Middle East debut.

The Big Apple Circus features eight acts and 16 performers. The troupe members rehearse ahead of their 12-day run at the Summer in Abu Dhabi festival at Adnec.

ABU DHABI // You won't find dancing bears, snarling lions or parading elephants, but the Big Apple Circus promises thrills and laughs when it makes its Middle East debut at the National Exhibition Centre on Thursday. The troupe, formed in the late 1970s in New York City, features eight acts and 16 performers, albeit no animals. It will be in town for a 12-day run as part of the Summer in Abu Dhabi festival.

Its performances already have taken it around the world and even put it on stage as the opening act for the pop singer Britney Spears' tour in 2008. "People should expect a real circus," Guillaume Dufresnoy, 50, its artistic director, said of those coming to the Abu Dhabi shows. "The performers do really extraordinary things in a way that is very accessible. It's well presented, and I always hope that it conveys a sense of potential into everybody that watches it."

The audience should expect to be awed and delighted, he added. "We have a variety of performers that are in the main traditional circus discipline," he said. "We have aerialists, a flying trapeze performer and we also have what we call 'The Wheel of Death' - which is a very large rotating device with two acrobats on it. We also have a juggler, whose act is themed around being a gentleman in a cigar club, who juggles hats and cigar boxes. Other acts include an acrobat who does handstands on a sliding table and a roller ball balancing act which is performed on a swinging platform.

"Of course, we also have a clown in the line-up, and to give the show a real American touch, we have an artist who plays with whips and lassos." Jeffrey Gordon, 56, performing with the troupe as Gordoon the Clown, said: "These are seasoned performers at work here, and you can trust that they are going to make a beautiful show. The circus is here to inspire awe and wonder and delight and laughter."