Since its first show in 1871, the spirit of artists performing in what
has become known as The Greatest Show On Earth® has fascinated
onlookers and established the foundation for success of Feld
Entertainment's Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The
all-live performances, full of comedy, grace, color, precision,
athleticism, suspense, music and the harmonious interaction of humans
and animals, bring people back time and time again. Ringling Bros. is
part of the American cultural heritage and the only show business
phenomenon to run in three consecutive centuries.
Ringling Bros. is a 130-year tradition that combines the classics -
extraordinary animal performances, captivating clown escapades and
daring high-wire acts - with contemporary surprises and thrills to make
the circus-going experience memorably unique. Families can depend upon
Ringling Bros. to return the same time every year with a new show,
which has made it become a family tradition generation after
generation. Ringling Bros. has two independent units - the Red and the
Blue - that rotate tours each year to ensure a fresh, new performance
for the audience. The combined shows house more than 250 animals, 300
performers and 300 staff and crew members. Ringling Bros. hosts 10
million visitors and travels to 90 cities in North America each year.
Performers
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has a history of
launching the careers of circus stars of the past, including Gunther
Gebel-Williams, and the present, such as twenty-four-year-old animal
trainer Sara Houcke on the Blue Unit. A descendant of seven generations
of European circus performers, Sara takes center ring in her shows,
amazing audiences with her unconventional and charming approach to
working with the animals and connecting with guests.
The Red Unit currently features ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson, who
is the youngest and first African-American ringmaster at Ringling Bros.
and was profiled by Barbara Walters as one of The 10 Most Fascinating
People of 1999. Another rising star is the comic daredevil Bello Nock
who was named "America's Best Clown" by TIME Magazine in 2001.
History
Feld Entertainment® has owned the circus since 1967 when
Irvin Feld
purchased the show from John Ringling North. Conventional wisdom in the
performing arts community recognizes Irvin Feld and his son, Kenneth,
for raising the production quality of the show and saving the circus,
which at the time was suffering from skyrocketing costs and dwindling
attendance. Thanks to the efforts of the Felds, Ringling Bros. is
unrivaled in size, quality, popularity, attendance and number of cities
visited. During the 33 years of Feld family ownership, Ringling Bros.
has experienced a number of significant milestones, including the
addition of the first living unicorn; the first quadruple somersault in
performance; the presentation of acrobats from China; the first female
Clown College graduate, Peggy Williams; the exhibition of Asian circus
skills from Mongolia; and King Tusk, an elephant that rivals the
legendary Jumbo in size.
The Vision of the Felds
Brothers Irvin and Israel Feld were successful pioneers in the
rock n'
roll concert tour business and familiar with new concert arenas
sprouting up across the country. Wanting to preserve the American
tradition of Ringling Bros., Irvin suggested that the show become an
exclusive indoor presentation, and he assumed responsibility for
booking and promoting the show in 1957.
A decade later, the Feld family fulfilled one of Irvin's long-time
dreams and purchased The Greatest Show On Earth. Within two years of
Feld family ownership, Irvin created a second unit of Ringling Bros.,
which was equal in size, scope and quality to the first. He also added
German animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams to the show, who quickly
gained worldwide recognition for his talents in working with animals.
In 1968, Irvin created Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown
College® to preserve the art of clowning. Over the next two years,
Irvin worked diligently to promote the circus through national
advertising campaigns, television specials and creative public
relations.
Irvin's only son, Kenneth, joined Ringling Bros. in 1970 and learned
the craft of circus production from his father. Kenneth was made a
co-producer in 1973 and assumed control of the entire company upon
Irvin's death in 1984.
Multicultural Tradition
Kenneth Feld has put his stamp on Ringling Bros. by modernizing its
creative and business practices and by constantly looking at ways to
connect with his audiences. Among them was introducing a national
Hispanic initiative in 2001. Ringling Bros. unites Hispanic cultures
with the ageless circus tradition by creating a special presentation
for its Spanish-speaking guests in 12 select markets across the
country, including Miami, New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas and
Chicago. Show adaptations include a Hispanic guest ringmaster, Spanish
introductions and songs throughout the production and a special
marketing campaign to build a multigenerational tradition within the
Hispanic community - the fastest growing population in the country.
Commitment to Education
Ringling Bros. has offered special performances to schoolchildren for a
number of years. However, in 2000, Ringling Bros. took this a step
further by launching an all-new initiative to educate schoolchildren
about the phenomenon of the circus. The curriculum-based performance
highlights the educational themes of animal care, teamwork and trust,
science and physics, and goal setting. The program is bolstered by
printed "readiness" materials created by educators and provided free to
teachers with the purchase of reduced-price tickets. The materials
feature pre- and post-show components developed for kindergarten
through 3rd grade and 4th through 8th grades. The readiness materials
include a list of activities to prepare children for the performance
and a 40-minute pre-show where the four educational themes are brought
to life. The post-show segment includes follow-up classroom activities
for children.
Other education initiatives include backstage blind touch tours,
presented to schools for the visually impaired, and backstage and
pre-show sign language tours for hearing impaired school groups.
Ringling Bros. has also partnered with Newspapers in Education (NIE) to
provide circus-themed curriculum materials and sponsor the distribution
of more than 2,000,000 newspapers into classrooms throughout the
country during the last decade.
Animal Care & Conservation
Because animals are an integral part of The Greatest Show On Earth,
Feld Entertainment is committed to the highest standards in the care of
all the animal performers. Many years of successfully working and
living with animals have given the company a solid foundation of
practical and scientific knowledge about exotic, domestic and
endangered species. The animal care staff consists of animal experts
who devote their lives to living with, working with and caring for
animals 365 days a year. All training and handling of the animals are
based on constant contact, daily routines and nurturing, which build a
rapport between the animals and the handlers based on trust and
affection.
Ringling Bros. has established itself as a recognized leader in
elephant conservation efforts by building the Center for Elephant
Conservation (CEC), a state-of-the-art facility for the breeding, study
and care of Asian elephants. Scientists and animal care experts from
around the world visit and participate in the center's programs.
This 200-acre facility in central Florida is home base for the Ringling
Bros. elephants, which constitute the largest and most diverse gene
pool of Asian elephants outside of Southeast Asia. In 1999, the tenth
elephant born under the center's care arrived. Osgood was born "blue,"
or oxygen-deprived, but thanks to the efforts of the animal care team,
"Ozzie" is alive and well today. The ability to educate the public and
find ways for elephants and humans to live and work together will help
ensure the survival of the species, now numbering fewer than 40,000.
Feld Entertainment also gives substantial annual funding to the Friends
of the National Zoo, Smithsonian Institution, World Wildlife Federation
and Wildlife Protection Trust International. As part of the
International Elephant Foundation, the Ringling Bros. Center for
Elephant Conservation is helping in efforts to provide emergency
veterinary care, supplies, equipment, elephant health care and
management training to Indonesian mahouts, or elephant trainers, in
Sumatra, Indonesia. This is one of the first projects funded through
the federal Asian Elephant Conservation Act, which was initiated by a
team of wildlife conservation organizations including the World
Wildlife Fund, the American Zoological and Aquarium Association, the
Smithsonian Institution and Ringling Bros.
With all the circus has to offer, Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey Circus is truly an annual family tradition.
