Circus Sarasota

Circus Sarasota is an education and entertaining experience that was founded ten years ago as a not-for-profit performing arts educational organization.  Today, Circus Sarasota offers presentations and activities that are designed to elevate the circus to a fine art.

Circus Sarasota shows are 90-minute performances of skill, risk, art, and entertainment.  Circus Sarasota performances are regularly presented four weekday evenings per week, as well as during two show times on Saturdays and Sundays.  Tickets for the Circus range in price from $10.00 for gallery seating to $40.00 for reserved seating. 

The founders of Circus Sarasota are Pedro Reis and Dolly Jacobs.  Reis, a native of South Africa, has toured throughout the United States and Europe, and has won several circus competitions.  Jacobs is an experienced and much-lauded circus veteran.  Jacobs has been invited twice to participate in the International Circus Festival of Monaco, and has won the Lady of the Circus award twice; she is an inductee into the Circus Ring of Fame and the Ringling Circus Museum Hall of Fame.

Circus Sarasota aims to fulfill its mission of using the circus environment as an educational tool by offering to the public numerous learning opportunities that are also entertaining and engaging. 

The Circus Arts School Program is an educational program for children in kindergarten through grade 5 that uses the unique visual elements of the circus to lay a learning foundation, with activities such as calculating the gravitational force of a swinging trapeze artist.  The Program is written by educational specialists, and covers language skills, mathematics, science, and social studies.

Circus Sarasota also periodically offers special education programs, individualized to meet the needs of at-risk students in the city of Sarasota and in Manatee County.  The programs are intended to offer an alternative educational tool, and to help students learn the importance of discipline, leadership, self-esteem, and teamwork. 

Circus Sarasota´s Circus Arts Education is a series of interactive programs that is designed to teach the public about circus history, both in Sarasota, which has been called the "Circus Capital of the world," and throughout the United States.  Participants can learn circus skills such as balloon twisting, face painting, juggling, and magic, as well as meet clowns and experience other aspects of the circus. 

Circus Sarasota is currently at work on developing what will become the Circus Sarasota School of Performing Arts.  This future professional circus school will offer an educational program aimed to educate and encourage students and to keep alive the art of the circus.  It will include courses for children as well as adults, and advanced development opportunities. 

The European-style Big-Top tent in which Circus Sarasota performs is 55 feet tall and 139 feet in diameter.  The Tent can accommodate 2,000 people.  The Big-Top, as well as a stage or circus ring, and foyer, hospitality, and stable tents, are available for rental; information on rates and availability can be obtained by calling Circus Sarasota at (941) 355-9335.