SUMMER CIRCUS SPECTACULAR 2012

June 19 – July 28, Tuesday – Friday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. (no performances on July 4) $10 for children age 12 and under; $15 for adults. Historic Asolo Theater Box Office: 941.360.7399 or online at www.ringling.org

Dwight Currie, Associate Director, Exhibitions & Programs

For six glorious weeks in June and July, the entire spectrum of the Ringling legacy is on full display when the curtain goes up on the annual Summer Circus Spectacular at the Historic Asolo Theater. Where else besides the Ringling can you see great masterworks of art, explore the grandeur of a gilded-age palazzo, revisit the golden age of the American circus, and thrill to the artistry of international circus performers presented live, onstage in an authentic 18th-century Italian palace theater? Presented each year in collaboration with our good friends at Circus Sarasota, the Summer Circus Spectacular provides delightful—and affordable—summer entertainment for “children of all ages.” Serving as Master of Ceremonies for 2012 will be the Emmy-Award winning, forty-year circus veteran, Steve Smith. In addition to performing and directing with the Ringling Bros and Barnum &

Bailey Circus and co-directing the 2008 production of the Big Apple Circus, Steve Smith served for ten years as the Dean of the Ringling Clown College, was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame in 1993, and has circled the globe as a performer, director, producer, and teacher. Steve’s good humor and quick wit will be matched by the Chaplinesque clowning of the irrepressible Renaldo, who has delighted audiences around the world with the Big Apple Circus, the Royal Hanneford Circus, the Garden Bros. Circus of Canada, Zippo’s Circus of England, and, of course, Circus Sarasota.

Once again—soaring high overhead—will be the magnificent Queen of the Air, Dolly Jacobs. Born to circus royalty (her father was the celebrated clown, Lou Jacobs) right here in Sarasota (a graduate of Sarasota High and the Sailor Circus), Dolly followed in her father’s footsteps and made her debut as an aerialist with the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus. She was later awarded a solo spot above the center ring of The Greatest Show On Earth. Dolly went on to join the Big Apple

Circus and received the prestigious Silver Clown award at the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo. In 1997, with husband Pedro Reis, Dolly cofounded Circus Sarasota, an organization devoted to teaching circus arts and celebrating Sarasota’s rich circus heritage through high-quality circus performances.

Back on earth and at center stage will be the magically mesmerizing and awardwinning contortionist, Princess Elayne. As one of the most sought after circus artists in the world, Elayne draws you into an enchanted, mysterious world where the impossible happens—she is best known for her ability to shoot an arrow with her feet. And speaking of feats of feet, the astonishing Poema family will dazzle and delight the audience with their risky acts of Risley—also known as “foot juggling.” At press time, our impresario Pedro Reis was securing the talents of yet another great circus act, but the identify of that exciting addition to the show will have to come in a later communication. In the meantime, plan now to join us for an hour of affordable family fun at the Ringling!

THU, OCT 11: 5:00

FRI, OCT 12: 8:00

SAT, OCT 13: 2:00

MERTZ THEATRE

Tickets: $50/$40/$30

Opening Night “RIAF Inspires” an intimate and elegent evening with the Mark Morris Dance Group

Wednesday, October 10. For more information call 941.360.7399

“Whether the effect is joyful, bombastic or as quiet as can be, the connective tissue is rhythm: the way a melody might hook its way into a foot and lengthen out through the opposite shoulder. Mark Morris finds ways to make bodies sing all the notes, not just the high ones.”

—The New York Times

Internationally hailed for its ingenuity, humor, and commitment to eclectic live music, the Mark Morris Dance Group is one of the world’s leading dance companies, performing across US and at major festivals around the globe. (75 minutes)

Ensemble Basiani Folk Ensemble of the Georgian Patriarchy

THU, OCT 11: 5:00

FRI, OCT 12: 8:00

SAT, OCT 13: 2:00

HISTORIC ASOLO THEATER

Tickets: $45/$35/$25

“… wild, primeval folk songs interspersed with the gentler harmonies of lyric songs … exquisitely rendered. A gripping performance.”

—The New York Times

From the Tbilisi Holy Trinity Cathedral choir in the Basiani region of Georgia come the polyphonic harmonies and complex rhythmic patterns of traditional folk music and chants that sound like the work of modern-day experimental composers. (60 minutes)

Pig Iron Theatre Co. with Toshiki Okada Minister of Mascots

THU, OCT 11: 8:00

FRI, OCT 12: 2:00

FRI, OCT 12: 8:00

SAT, OCT 13: 5:00

COOK THEATRE

Tickets: $45/$35

—The New York Times

The OBIE Award-winning Pig Iron Theatre Company and Chelfitsch’s Toshiki Okada collaborate on a new work of contemporary performance about re-reading Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, moving out of Tokyo, and a national scandal. A funny, elusive, unusual work of autobiography. (approximately 80 Minutes)

Shantala Shivalingappa

Shiva Ganga

THU, OCT 11: 8:00

FRI, OCT 12: 5:00

SAT, OCT 13: 5:00

HISTORIC ASOLO THEATER

Tickets: $45/$35/$25

“Not all standing ovations are created equal … There are times when an audience surges to its feet as one, radiating a grateful joy … Shantala Shivalingappa and her marvelous musicians received one on Sunday.”

—The New York Times

Born in India and reared in Paris, Shantala Shivalingappa dances in the classical Southern Indian tradition of third-century B.C. Kuchipudi, marrying a fierce precision with sensual flowing lines and deft intricate footwork. (60 minutes)

RIAF: The Last Night, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band

SAT, OCT 13: 6:30

“Twenty-five years from its New Orleans debut, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band continues to be a national treasure: steeped in both the past and the present, impossible to categorize, and mighty funky.”

—The New York Times www.RinglingArtsFestival.org

Join us in the Museum of Art Courtyard to raise a toast to RIAF 2012 and bid a fond adieu to our artists. Featuring the worldfamous New Orleans music machine, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and highoctane performances.

Film: Carmen and Geoffrey

THU, OCT 11: 2:00

HISTORIC ASOLO

THEATER

Tickets: $10

Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder, two living legends of American dance, are the subjects of this documentary by Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob. Filmed over several years in the US, Trinidad and Paris, the film features interviews and dance performances with Alvin Ailey, Herbert Ross, Lester Horton, Joe Layton, Duke Ellington and Josephine Baker. (80 minutes)

Film: Joseph

Brodsky: In the Prison of Latitudes

FRI, OCT 12: 2:00

HISTORIC ASOLO

THEATER

Tickets: $10

Directed by Jan Andrews, this film about Nobel Prizewinning poet and essayist Joseph Brodsky blends interviews, cityscapes and audio of Brodsky to create a poetic homage to one of the 20th century’s great literary talents. (60 minutes)

Music In The Skyspace

Adam Tendler / Prepared Piano

THU, OCT 11, SAT: 8:00PM

Tickets: $35

Gather for a soul-stirring sunset in the James Turrell Skyspace, at 7:00 pm then thrill to the evocative music of these fine musicians. Skyspace viewing 60 minutes.

Celebrated for his uncompromising recital programming, unapologetic literary voice, and bold original compositions, Adam Tendler has presented lecture-recitals of modern American music to underserved communities in all fifty states. For RIAF 2012 he performs John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes (performed from memory) to honor the composer’s centenary. (60 minutes)

Become A Sponsor

The generous businesses and individuals that support RIAF as sponsors help ensure that admissions to RIAF performances will be affordably priced for our entire community.

Sponsors enjoy many benefits, including:

• Priority seating for Festival productions

• Recognition in RIAF signage, E-blasts and program books

• Tickets to RIAF events

• Access to Sponsor Hospitality Suite

• Museum membership

For more information about how you or your company can become a sponsor of RIAF, please contact Development at 941.359.5821 or stacey.corley@ringling.fsu.edu.

Film: Labyrinth

Within SAT, OCT 13: 5:00

MERTZ THEATRE

Tickets: $10

A haunting take on jealousy, Labyrinth Within posits a man, a woman, and an elusive lover in a series of intense pas de deux. Danced to a score by David Lang, the work features New York City Ballet principal Wendy Whelan, Giovanni Bucchieri and Pontus Lidberg, who also directed the film. (30 minutes)

Phyllis Chen / Toy Piano

FRI, OCT 12: 8:00PM

Tickets: $35

Praised by the New York Times for her “delightful quirkiness matched with interpretive sensitivity,” pianist Phyllis Chen can hold her own playing the classical repertoire on a conventional instrument, but over the past decade, she has become one of the world’s leading proponents of the toy piano. (60 minutes)

Sponsors to Date (as of 4.19.2012)

Anonymous

Blalock Walters

Bright House

Cheryl and Steve Dupré

Gulf Coast Community Foundation

Huisking Foundation, Inc.

Macy’s

MGA Insurance

Nancy and Chuck Parrish

Charlotte and Charles Perret

Sarasota Magazine

SunTrust