Yesterday, I had the chance to attend Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Built to Amaze. I am almost 27 years old and have never been to a circus before so this was a wonderful treat. Of course I wasn’t sure what to expect exactly other than things you see on commercials. I’d have to say I was in for a great time. I had heard so much about the pre-show and how amazing it was to meet the performers up close and personal and even see the animals so close. So, of course I was disappointed to find out that the show I attended did not have a pre-show. I understand it was a 10:30 AM showing, but there were a LOT of people there at 9:30 so it would have been really nice to experience this. Instead, we took our seats and awaited showtime.

The theme ‘Built to Amaze’ centers around the making of a circus. (You saw this theme in many of the acts and props between paint, construction equipment and even tools.) At 10:30 the show started and it was definitely the beginning of an amazing time!  There was a catchy song that played a few times throughout the performance that unfortunately wasn’t quite catchy enough to remember the words, but just enough to add to the fun. I think ALL of the performers and most of the animals made an appearance in the beginning of the show and the entire floor was full of dancing, singing, and props to be used in the show.

After the entry performance, the show was on its way. There was so much to see between the clowns, acrobats, tight rope walkers, elephants, tigers, and even basketball playing uni-cyclists  What I found to be amazing is how well things flowed. I always wondered how it would go from one act to the next without completely stopping the show to set up. After watching, I was amazed! As one act was being performed on part of the floor, another was being set up in the shadows. Big spotlights drew attention away from the set up and to the main act. Once the act was over, they shone bright on the next part of the stage. This continued for the entire show and down time between acts was almost non existent! (Perfect for those of us with young kids!)

To keep this post from being severely long (because I could really just go on and on about the great performance!) I am going to quickly tell my top 3 acts with pictures and video!

Number 3-  Basketball Playing Uni-cyclists- yep, this really did happen! They had hoops and balls, two teams! They did slam dunks and even tried to set each others butts on fire along the way! This is one act I would love to see again!

Number 2- Dancing Elephants (or at least that is what I call them!) Nothing like seeing thousand pound animals doing moves to songs. They spun in circles and even danced to Psy- Opa Gangnam Style! Yeah I know, this one has to have a video.. pictures wouldn’t do it justice!

Number 1- Performing dogs! Of course I am a big dog lover and these babies just stole the show! i have never in my life seen dogs trained to accomplish the acts they performed! They were jumping each other, walking around on 2 legs like humans, it was simply amazing how well they behaved and how smart they truly are!

 

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Built to Amaze was exactly that. Built to Amaze! They will be in Richmond, VA for 2 more days with shows at 11AM, 3PM, and 7PM.If you don’t have tickets yet, you will want to get them! (You can purchase tickets here) If you have never attended a show, you are definitely missing out!

 

Disclosure-I am a Feld Family Ambassador, and in exchange for my time and efforts in attending shows and reporting my opinion within this blog, as well as keeping you advised of the latest discount offers, Feld Entertainment has provided me with complimentary tickets to Feld shows and opportunities to attend private Feld pre-Show events.