,

Heritage Honoree

Quad City Times – By Bill Wundram   
Dolly Jacobs likely was a toddler
the first time she saw Davenport. She might have played in the grass in a big circus lot in the 3000 block of Rockingham Road. She was a circus kid. Her dad, Lou Jacobs, was a legendary circus clown and the first living American to have his image on a U.S. postage stamp. Her mom was a fashion model turned flyer (aerialist) with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. By the time she was a teen, Dolly was riding elephants. Eventually, she learned the difficult Roman rings and flying. The little girl who once a regular performer in Davenport still performs high in the big top in Sarasota, Fla. And now, she is a world ambassador for the circus as an art form… MORE

,

Cambodian Circus School Visits Sailor Circus

By Nick Reichert – YourObserver
Phare, Cambodia’s premier circus school and performance troupe, stopped by the Sailor Circus Academy a few days before the Ringling International Arts Festival. And for over 20 years, Phare has been teaching wayward children the tools, tricks and craft of circus performance. One of Phare’s troupes is in Sarasota for this year’s Ringling International Arts Festival… MORE

,

RIAF Promotes Exchange With Sailor Circus

By Philip Lederer – SRQ Magazine
The Ringling International Arts Festival each year grants area audiences the opportunity to explore performances from around the globe, embrace new modes of expression and perhaps even gain a greater appreciation for the underlying sameness of the human experience. One group of visiting performers this year has taken that commitment to the next step, venturing out into the artistic community for some pre-festival exchange… MORE

,

Jacobs Honored with National Heritage Fellowship

By Jacob Ogles | SRQ Magazine – The National Heritage Fellowship award since 1982 has been given to folk musicians, potters, tailors, welders and more. But never had the award gone to a circus performer until Friday night. Dolly Jacobs, legendary aerialist and co-founder of The Circus Arts Conservatory, now bears the distinction of being the first circus artist to earn this recognition… MORE