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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THE CIRCUS ARTS CONSERVATORY TRANSFORMS THE CIRCUS ARTS CONSERVATORY ARENA INTO AN ICE RINK FOR AIR & ICE

Combining World-Class Figure Skating and Circus Arts November 21–28, 2026

SARASOTA, FL (October 20, 2026) — Nearly a century after the circus made Sarasota its home, The Circus Arts Conservatory (CAC) is celebrating that legacy while reimagining what circus can be. For eight days, November 21–28, 2026, the Circus Arts Conservatory Arena will be transformed into an ice rink for 10 performances, welcoming an all-star cast of Olympic and World Champion skaters alongside internationally acclaimed circus artists. This new production promises a thrilling blend of athleticism, artistry, high-flying aerial acts and world-class ice skating, offering Sarasota audiences an experience unlike anything CAC has presented before.

“AIR & ICE represents the spirit of innovation that has always been at the heart of the Circus Arts Conservatory,” says Jennifer Mitchell, CEO and President of The Circus Arts Conservatory. “We are bringing together extraordinary artists from two worlds that share a passion for excellence, precision, risk-taking and breathtaking performance. Transforming the Sailor Circus Arena into an ice rink and creating a production of this caliber is an exciting milestone for our organization, and something entirely distinct for our community. I’m grateful to our Associate Producers, Robin Johnstone and Andy Buchanan, to our CAC Production Associate and Artist Liaison, Olga Coronas, and to the entire CAC team for building a show unlike any other.”

An All-Star Cast Takes Center Stage
“AIR & ICE brings together celebrated skating champions and exceptional circus performers from around the world.” Leading the skating ensemble is Kurt Browning, a three-time Olympian, four-time Canadian and World Champion and a pioneering figure in the sport. Browning made history by landing the first quadruple jump in competition, an achievement recognized by Guinness World Records. Renowned for his technical brilliance, showmanship and natural connection with audiences, Browning brings decades of world-class performance experience to the production.

Joining him is Alissa Czisny, a two-time U.S. National Champion and Grand Prix Final champion known for her elegant style and some of the finest spins in the sport. Czisny continues to perform internationally and will skate in every performance of AIR & ICE.

The international skating cast also features Larkyn Austman, a member of Canada’s 2018 Olympic and World Championship teams; Jeremy Ten, a two-time member of Canada’s World Championship team and 2015 Canadian silver medalist; and Andy Buchanan, a Canadian professional whose credits include Holiday on Ice, Cirque du Soleil’s Crystal and Axel, and ITV’s Dancing on Ice. They are joined by Łukasz Kędzierski, a multiple-time Polish Champion whose professional career has taken him to audiences across the globe; Nelson Sanchez Leemet, a seasoned international performer whose experience includes a decade as a principal skater with Disney on Ice; and Philip Warren, an internationally accomplished skater and Ultimate Figure Skater World Champion. Victoria Tugolukova and Anastasiia Dubyk round out the cast of skaters, performing in a variety of acts including pairs skating and a musical number, and taking to the air as skaters in the show’s aerial acts.

Audiences should also keep an eye on the youngest member of the cast, a 9-year-old phenom whose jumps and polished skating are sure to steal the show.

Above the ice, the circus artists add aerial acts, acrobatics and juggling to the show. Among them is Emma Grace, a Sarasota native and Sailor Circus Academy graduate who has flown with the Flying Caballeros, the celebrated flying trapeze troupe, at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam. Grace has performed across the United States and was one of the youngest circus artists featured at the 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. With AIR & ICE, she returns home to the arena where her career began.

Audiences will also see Garrett Allen, whose specialty acts include acrobatic chair stacking, aerial rope and disco ball performance; Tersit Asefa Dersu, the Ethiopian-born bounce juggler known as “The Fastest Female Bounce Juggler in the World”; and Raphael Nepomuceno, a Brazilian acrobat and dancer whose credits include Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai. Nepomuceno also joins Victoria and Andy in a trio act that combines aerial straps, acrobatics and ice skating.

Adding a distinctly local connection, performers from the Sailor Circus Academy will showcase their talents, including trampoline artists trained under Olympic and Cirque du Soleil veteran Ryan Weston, and aerial silks performer Ava Weller.

AIR & ICE runs November 21 to 28 at the Circus Arts Conservatory Arena, with tickets starting at $30 at CircusArts.org

Performance Information
AIR & ICE: A New Ice Skating and Circus Production
Presented by The Circus Arts Conservatory
Dates: November 21–28, 2026
Location: Circus Arts Conservatory Arena, Sarasota, Florida
Performances: 10 shows
Tickets and additional performance information are available at circusarts.org.

About The Circus Arts Conservatory
The Circus Arts Conservatory (CAC) defies gravity, sparks imagination, and shapes the future through world-class performances, outstanding youth training, and transformative education. Founded in 1997 as a not-for-profit organization, CAC is home to Sailor Circus Academy, the nation’s longest-running youth circus since 1949. CAC produces professional shows independently and in collaboration with other arts organizations, offers circus camps and recreational classes for nearly all ages, and provides community outreach. CAC was the first in the nation to offer an accredited circus arts program for public school students in the arena, and its artist educators use circus arts to teach math, science, language arts, and performing arts in schools. For more information, visit CircusArts.org or call 941-355-9335.

For more information visit CircusArts.org.

The troupe traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Photo: Students of the Sailor Circus Academy stand outside the Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building during their trip to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Sept. 5-7.

In the early to mid-20th century, before Elvis, TV, national touring shows and travel to Disney theme parks, there was one day that was eagerly awaited in cities across the country. It was the day the circus came to town.

Sarasota’s nonprofit Circus Arts Conservatory brought that kind of excitement to the Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building on The National Mall in Washington, D.C., from Sept. 5-7. As part of its residency at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the CAC’s professional artists and students ages 8-18 in its youth education arm, the Sailor Circus Academy, performed in the rotunda of the historic building.

Founded in 1846 by an act of Congress with a bequest from the estate of British scientist James Smithson, the Smithsonian is the largest museum complex in the world. In addition to 11 museums located along the National Mall, it includes six others and the National Zoo nearby and two in New York City.

Free and open to the public, the Smithsonian’s museums attracted 14.9 million visitors in 2025.

Built in 1881, the red brick Arts + Industries Building where the Sarasota troupe performed is the Smithsonian’s second-oldest building. Both it and the flagship Smithsonian Castle, which originally opened in 1855, reopened this year after several years of renovations ahead of America’s semiquincentennial.

This year also marked the reopening of the Smithsonian Carousel after a three-year restoration process. It provided a colorful backdrop for a group photo of the Sarasota team, as well as for selfies.

This isn’t the first time the CAC and the Sailor Circus have participated in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. In 2017, an entourage from Sarasota set up a big top on The Mall and performed underneath it. As exciting as it was, that trip lacked the fanfare surrounding the many celebrations taking place this year under the umbrella of “Our Shared Future: 250.”

Reached for a telephone interview on Sept. 11, CAC President and CEO Jennifer Mitchell said, “I’m still riding the high.” Mitchell explained that the trip involved “more than bringing a circus to the nation’s capital. It was an exceptional engagement showcasing Sarasota’s circus heritage.”

Some of the people who came to see Sarasota’s student and professional performers remembered the group from the 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival appearance, Mitchell said. “They were so happy to have the circus back,” she said. “There was an overwhelming feeling of connectivity. The audience was impressed to see young people involved in such creative and physical activity.”

According to Betty Aquino, program curator of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Sarasota circus residency attracted more than 30,000 visitors to the Arts + Industries Building, where the CAC installed a free-standing aerial truss to support its performers.

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One of those performers was 17-year-old Ava Weller, who trains with the Sailor Circus Academy through a curriculum offered at Sarasota High School, where she is a senior. Through its magnet programs at Sarasota High and Booker Middle School, the Sailor Circus Academy is currently training 150 students in circus arts.

Weller got interested in aerial silks when she was stuck at home during the COVID-19 quarantine and had lots of time to scroll through Instagram and TikTok videos.

When she returned to school, Weller began training with the Sailor Circus, learning the Spanish Web, a classic circus act performed with a rope that features special loops for the performers’ hands, feet or neck, and with the aerial silks.

Four years ago, when she joined Sailor Circus, Weller says she had absolutely no experience in gymnastics, ballet, sports or any other physical activity. “I joined because of the videos,” Weller says. “I didn’t know how much physical strength was required.”

In a given week, Weller says she spends two to three hours each school day involved in circus arts training. On weekends, she does a “lot of stretching to keep my muscles loose.”

Traveling to the Smithsonian to perform was a “lot of fun because I was with my friends. When we weren’t performing, we manned booths and talked to people about the circus. The building was really pretty and there seemed to be so much joy during our time there,” Weller said in a telephone interview.

Weller says she feels joy each time she performs on the aerial silks and Spanish Web and is strongly considering pursuing a professional career in circus arts.

In addition to 26 students from the Sailor Circus, the Sarasota entourage included professional performers from Circus Sarasota, which holds shows during the height of season in February and March under a big top in Nathan Benderson Park and during summer in The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater.

Leading the charge was Chris Allison as host and clown, aerialist Emma Grace, contortionist Urnaa Angarag, Los Polemicos Musical Clowns and others.

Given the Smithsonian’s scientific heritage, it was fitting that the Sailor Circus brought a version of its Marvelous, Miraculous, Circus Machine with it to Washington, D.C.

The Rube Goldberg-type contraption demonstrates cause and effect and brings into focus the math, science, engineering, art and team problem-solving skills necessary to mount a circus. The Marvelous, Miraculous, Circus Machine has provided an interactive experience for thousands of elementary school students in Sarasota and Manatee counties. It was also a big hit with the youthful visitors to the Smithsonian, says CAC Outreach and Education Manager Karen Bell.

Historically, the circus arrived in town by train. But the group from Sarasota traveled to Washington in a caravan that included two trucks for equipment. The negotiations between the Smithsonian and the CAC about the scope and logistics of the residency began nearly 18 months before the latest appearance on The Mall, Mitchell said.

Bell, a graduate of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College (formerly located in Venice) and a former Ringling Bros. clown, was glad that this year’s performances and attractions at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival took place primarily indoors.

Student performers win high marks

To call attention to their performances in the Arts + Industries Building, the CAC had stilt walkers, clowns and acrobats parading on The Mall, a marketing technique once referred to as “ballyhoo.” But most of the action was thankfully indoors.

Even though Sarasota has been weathering temperatures of at least 90 degrees for much of the summer, Bell said the mercury hit at least 95 degrees Fahrenheit over the Labor Day Weekend in Washington. “The humidity was even worse than Florida,” she said.

When Bell was attending clown college in the mid-1980s, just 12 of the 58 students in her class were women. It was also a male-dominated world when she was part of Ringling Bros. Red Unit, which traveled by train. Today, Bell says there are more female clowns than ever, especially among the ranks of those who perform at children’s birthday parties and other private events.

Bell said she was attracted to clowning from an early age because of the opportunities to interact with the audience. “Unlike traditional theater, the circus has no fourth wall. You know, the invisible one that separates the performers from the audience. The audience becomes your partner,” she says.

Bell says people have shorter attention spans due to the internet and the acceleration of life through technology. “People expect things to happen quicker. So you have to do something to catch their eye right away. Toddlers respond to color and lights. Older kids can see the mastery involved,” she says.

Asked what she liked best about the residency at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Bell says, “Our students blew me away with their attitude and professionalism. Our kids were helping to teach juggling and working the audience. Talking to the public isn’t the easiest thing, but they aced it.”

Source: https://www.yourobserver.com/news/2026/sep/16/sarasota-sailor-circus-nations-capital/

Three-day free event at Arts and Industries Building features performers and staff from Florida-based Circus Arts Conservatory

Watch Video: https://www.cleveland19.com/2026/09/05/smithsonian-program-shows-behind-the-scenes-work-running-circus/

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage is presenting three days of free programming over Labor Day weekend showing the work involved in running a circus.

The program, called “Artistry, Education, and Labor of Circus Arts,” is held at the Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall. It is presented by the Smithsonian and the Circus Arts Conservatory, based in Sarasota, Florida.

More than 55 people came from the Conservatory for the event, according to CEO and President Jennifer Mitchell.

“It’s a privilege and an honor to showcase circus here in our Nation’s Capital,” Mitchell said.

The event includes performances such as juggling, aerial acts, and displays of flexibility. Backstage areas are left open and in view of the audience so guests can see the staff working.

“The circus is not merely just performance. There are so many parts that make up the circus, and we’re here to celebrate every single aspect of that,” said Betty Aquino of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Visitors can learn more about the work behind each part of the circus, including hand-crafted costumes and an interactive physics lesson explaining the science behind performances.

“We’re showcasing the behind the scenes of the performance, the people who actually present and produce the circus arts, who use it as a craft for their lifetime career. And you get to have a different purview than just being an observer here,” Mitchell said.

Aquino said circus is one of America’s oldest and most celebrated forms of entertainment, steeped in rich history and culture.

“There are traditions and rituals when it comes to performance, there are traditional traditions and rituals in the way our stagehands behave with one another. So all of that makes up folklife,” Aquino said.

The program is taking place at the Smithsonian Institution’s Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall from September 5 – 7. Events are free and open to the public.

Copyright 2026 Gray DC. All rights reserved.

https://www.cleveland19.com/2026/09/05/smithsonian-program-shows-behind-the-scenes-work-running-circus/

More than two dozen students of the Circus Arts Conservatory’s Sailor Circus Academy are preparing to travel to Washington, D.C., to perform in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival over Labor Day weekend.

The 26-student contingent, ages 8-18, will perform Sept. 5-7 in the rotunda of the Smithsonian Institute’s Arts and Industries Building. They will present “The Circus Arts Conservatory: Artistry, Education, and Labor of Circus Arts” as part of this year’s Festival program, “Culture Of, By, and For the People,” marking 250 years of American history.

“Circus is a living American cultural tradition encompassing artistry, education, craftsmanship, community and the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next and the Circus Arts Conservatory brings all of that plus the wonder and thrills of performance,” said Sabrina Lynn Motley, Festival Director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, in a press release.

The cast includes Chris Allison as host and clown, aerialist Emma Grace, juggler Noel Aguilar, ladder artist Ermiyas Muluken, contortionist Urnaa Angarag and Los Polemicos Musical Clowns, with additional artists to be announced. These artists represent the pinnacle of the American circus industry and hold accolades such as the Generation NeXt Award at the “Circus Ring of Fame”, Golden Clown Award at the “International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo”, Bronze Crown Award at the “Princess Circus Festival of Russia” and featured segments on ‘Got Talent’ TV shows across the globe.

Sailor Circus Academy students will also perform three times daily in their own dedicated shows across the weekend, bringing a range of acts developed in Sarasota.

Founded in 1949 and known as “The Greatest Little Show on Earth,” Sailor Circus Academy is the longest-running educational youth circus in the United States. Its students receive circus arts education year-round in aerial, acrobatic, and ground disciplines while attending school full time, culminating in two major productions each season (the Sailor Circus Holiday Spectacular and the Sailor Circus Spring Show) alongside community engagements throughout the year.

Source: https://www.yourobserver.com/news/2026/aug/26/sailor-circus-academy-smithsonian-shows/