The spectacle that is the circus: the big top, performances, clowns, men and women flying through the air with the greatest of ease, and — before concern over animal welfare — elephants performing tricks.
The circus has had a long and storied history of entertaining audiences, and much of that history started right here in Sarasota.
It all began with John Ringling, the last of the five Ringling Brothers. His investment in real estate has set the root for the circus and built Sarasota today.
"John recognized a couple of things," Jennifer Lemmer Posey, Tibbals curator of circus at The Ringling, told "Florida Matters Live & Local" during a recent episode. "Bringing the circus winter quarters to Sarasota was going to be an opportunity to add to the community, an early Florida tourist attraction."
Posey explained why Sarasota is called "Circus City" and now incorporates a museum as well as the Ringling College of Art and Design.
The Ringling family and the Ringling Circus were originally from Baraboo, Wisconsin. In 1919, they moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, after merging with the Barnum & Bailey Circus.
The Ringling Brothers came to Sarasota in 1927 from Bridgeport. Posey said that the investments by John Ringling — the last of five Ringling Brothers — in Florida real estate brought the circus down south.
She explained that during the cold winter months, the circus was in hiatus until spring. By winter quartering in Sarasota, the family could stay together and continue to perform.
"The tented circuses basically came off the road around November of each year and wouldn't go back until late March to April," Posey said.
The Ringling Brothers in Barnum & Bailey Circus ran for 146 years. The circus industry started in America, first as a one-ring enterprise. As it evolved, the circus now has three rings allowing multiple forms of entertainment to perform at once.
Posey said the rings are what separate the circus from other types of theater performances.
"The idea is that there is a ring that was marked out by wooden blocks," Posey said. "That ring originally starts so that equestrians can do somersaults on the back of horses, because there's enough centrifugal force."
The tents themselves were enormous. The early 20th century tents seated up to 13,000 people at once. Audience sitting at the far end might not be able to see what happened on the other side of the tent, given the tent size and its weak electric lights.
So how did five brothers manage to grow their modest venture into such a monumental enterprise?
"The circus was a great business, if you were lucky," Posey said. "There's a degree of luck and a degree of skill in making circus happen, and the Ringling Brothers — because the five brothers who worked together on the circus brought various skills to the work — really were able to be successful because they were savvy about dividing up responsibility for a lot of people who have a great deal of heart.
"It's still hard to make a go of circus, because you have to keep an eye on the people and the talent, keep the animals well, keep the logistics going, be out ahead of advertising, because in this era of the tented circus, they're moving every single day. So it's so much work and so much logistical intelligence. It's an amazing feat."
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus is coming to Benchmark International Arena in Tampa from Jan. 2-4. Purchase tickets here.
