The Greatest Show on Earth

I am so embarrassed that I spent money to see the circus. I did it for my 4 year old. And, I will never ever attend another Ringling brother circus show. It was loud, it was chaotic. It was too much! And, please, leave these majestic animals where they belong, in the wild. On the way home we couldn’t stop complaining about the show. It was truly sad. The only thing we liked was the tightrope performance. Was it worth $ 150 that our family spent on tickets, parking, overpriced snacks? No way!!! We hate Ringing Brothers. Next time they come around, we will be outside protesting the animal abuse.

They aren’t kidding. And you don’t need to be a kid to enjoy or appreciate the excellence of this performance. This production stands on its own.
The athleticism. The beauty. The glitz, grace, and glow. The perfect music. The passion, precision and pace. The dancers. The tigers that jump. The tightrope walkers on their unicycles. The ten Asian elephants Trapeze artists whose strength was almost shocking. The fan dancers. The poodles that flip. Contortionists. Dancing horses. Trained Zebras. Human cannon balls. Clowns.
The seemless orchestration of it all was stunning. You know they have been at this a very long time. Scientific precision.
Understandably, this very special 2-​hour circus show is called «Bellobration,» named for its unique star: «Bello,» the lead daredevil, clown, acrobat, gymnast, dancer, main character and thematic glue. (There is a pic of him in my photos) He’s that smiley guy with the tall orange hair whose picture is plastered all over Ringling Bros.‘s advertising; the guy currently on billboards and buses city wide. (That hair is real, by the way.) He is one of the most agile and talented and electricfying performers I have ever seen. He does nearly everything there is to do in the show along with the performers. Imagine a circus performer trained in what seems to be all the circus arts and skills. Bello’s repertory includes a minimum of playing musical instruments, juggling, trampoline and trapeze work, and performing handstands atop a 60-​foot-​high sway pole.
He is too talented for one human being; he is not real.
He is real. I looked him up on the Internet when we got home because I could not believe one person could do all he does. His name is Demetrius Bello Nock. He is circus aristocracy; an eighth generation descendant of Swiss circus pioneers (Circus Nock) dating back to the 18^th Century. When not performing, he plays 12 musical instruments and speaks 5 languages. Six years ago Time Magazine called him the best clown in America. The New York Times has called him the «greatest athlete to perform in Madison Square Garden.» Both understatements. He’s more than a clown. He is a visual and physical magician.
Just to see Bello Nock and for no other reason, this circus is worth the scam $ 11.00 parking fee, Ticketmaster’s reasonable surcharges, $ 7.00 popcorn, and the base price of admission, which was $ 13.00 for the high-​up seats we had, which were great for viewing the large quantum of high wire, trapeze and other off-​the-​ground-​stuff.
If you can’t see him in person, here are a few links to read and view online about Bello:
If only Ringling Bros would force the venue to keep late people out. This was the only drawback of the otherwise marvelous night. For some reason there was a steady stream of obese nacho eaters who kept coming in late; getting up for more food; taking fat little kids to the bathroom a million times and always blocking the view.