The Circus Arts Conservatory Announces 2026–2027 Season

Quick Answer: The Circus Arts Conservatory's 2026–2027 season in Sarasota, FL, celebrates 100 years of circus in Sarasota with eight events including the new ice-and-circus show Air & Ice, Sailor Circus holiday and spring shows, Cirque des Voix, the Circus Arts Gala, Circus Sarasota, Cirque Vogue Fashion Show, and Illuminate.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THE CIRCUS ARTS CONSERVATORY ANNOUNCES 2026–2027 SEASON

Celebrating a Century Of Circus with a Season of Extraordinary Firsts.

Sarasota, FL — October 7, 2026 — Nearly a century after the circus made Sarasota its home, The Circus Arts Conservatory (CAC) is celebrating that legacy while shaping what comes next. The 2026–2027 season brings together the traditions audiences love with new productions, world-class circus artistry and athleticism, performances by the young artists of Sailor Circus, and special events throughout the year.

The season begins with something Sarasota has never seen before in the Sailor Circus Arena, AIR & ICE: A New Ice Skating and Circus Production, Sat, November 21– Sun, November 28, 2026. The Arena will be transformed into an ice rink for 10 shows as CAC brings together an all-star cast of Olympian and World Champion skaters alongside world-class circus artists.

“This is a completely new experience for our community,” says Jennifer Mitchell, CEO and President of the Circus Arts Conservatory. “Sarasota is known around the world for circus, but Air & Ice gives audiences a new reason to be amazed and demonstrates how the CAC pushes the boundaries of what circus artistry can be”.

SAILOR CIRCUS, The Greatest “Little” Show on Earth, returns for the holidays with Stars, Stripes & Snowflakes, Sat, December 26– Tues, December 29, 2026. America’s longest-running youth circus and a source of pride for all of Sarasota, Sailor Circus represented the city on a national stage this September when 26 of its students performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. Now the entire Sailor Circus Academy brings that celebration home, with performers ages 6–18 flying, tumbling, juggling, and clowning their way through a festive holiday show that regularly sells out. Trained by professional circus artists and carrying forward nearly a century of Sarasota circus history, these young performers are the future of the circus arts, and families of all ages can see them right here at home.

Fantasy takes flight Fri, January 29– Sun, January 31, 2027, when Cirque des Voix®: Fantastical Journeys comes to The Big Top at UTC for three days only. More than 100 voices from Key Chorale, the musicians of The Venice Symphony, and an all-star cast of Circus Arts Conservatory professional artists bring enchanted kingdoms, mythical creatures, and legendary quests to life, with circus feats set to music from The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Avatar: The Way of Water, and more. As chorus and orchestra fill the tent with sound, aerialists and acrobats answer in the air and in the ring, each art form lifting the other in a celebration of music and circus found nowhere else in the region.

Circus Arts Gala, Friday, February 5, 2027, is The Circus Arts Conservatory’s premier evening of philanthropy.

“Unlike anything else on Sarasota’s black-tie circuit, our marquee fundraising event will celebrate 100 years of circus in Sarasota,” explains Jennifer Mitchell. “As torchbearers of the legacy, we will honor our past while showcasing how the circus lives on here in Sarasota through our student programming, professional productions, education outreach and commitment to history.”

CIRCUS SARASOTA™ runs Fri, February 19– Sun, March 21, 2027, at The Big Top at UTC. The centerpiece of CAC’s season returns with an all-new production celebrating 100 years of circus in Sarasota, featuring award winners from the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo and America’s Got Talent alongside artists from leading circuses around the world, and performers Sarasota audiences already know and love. Each year, thousands of residents and visitors fill the Big Top for Circus Sarasota, and in this centennial year, the show is a reminder that circus is still very much at home in Sarasota.

The SAILOR CIRCUS SPRING SHOW brings the Academy’s season to a close Thurs, April 15– Sun, April 18, 2027, at the Sailor Circus Arena. After months of training, students ages 6–18 take to the arena floor to show everything they’ve learned, from aerial acts, bicycle for five, trampoline, trapeze, high wire, juggling, clowning and more with plenty of laughs along the way. It’s the moment students have been waiting for all year: a chance to perform their circus talents under the lights for a hometown crowd that has watched them grow.

After a sold-out debut, the CIRQUE VOGUE FASHION SHOW & LUNCHEON returns Thurs, May 6, 2027, with a theme that says it all: “Bling It On.” Fashion, circus artistry, and philanthropy share the runway in an afternoon of vivid color, handcrafted detail, and imaginative design, with a few surprises only a circus could pull off.

ILLUMINATE: AN ELECTRIFYING FUSION OF YOUTH ARTISTS, May 10, 2027, gives the next generation the spotlight. Illuminate brings together hundreds of young performers from local youth performing arts organizations for a high-energy celebration of Sarasota’s extraordinary arts community.

“The Circus Arts Conservatory provides an elite training environment,” says Mitchell, “As do these other performing arts organizations. This rare and ambitious interdisciplinary showcase is a unique opportunity for audiences to see tomorrow’s stars here first.”

A century after circus established its home in Sarasota, it is still here and thriving; training in the arena, performing under the Big Top and inspiring the next generation. The Circus Arts Conservatory welcomes Sarasota and visitors from around the world to join in a season 100 years in the making.

Tickets are now on sale at CircusArts.org

2026–2027 SEASON DATES AT A GLANCE

Sat, November 21– Sat, Nov 28, 2026 — Air & Ice: A New Ice Skating and Circus Show
Sat, December 26– Tues, Dec 29, 2026 — Sailor Circus Presents Stars, Stripes & Snowflakes
Fri, January 29– Sun, January 31, 2027 — Cirque des Voix®: Fantastical Journeys
Fri, February 5, 2027 — The Circus Arts Gala
Fri, February 19– Sun, March 21, 2027 — Circus Sarasota™
Thurs, April 15– Sun, April 18, 2027 — Sailor Circus Spring Show
Thurs, May 6, 2027 — Cirque Vogue Fashion Show & Luncheon
Mon, May 10, 2027 — Illuminate: An Electrifying Fusion of Youth Artists
Tickets and information: CircusArts.org
Box Office: 941-355-9805

For interviews, photos, video, or to arrange special media opportunities:
Press Contact: Marjorie Floyd
Marjorie@thinksmr.com
941-266-1376 (cell)
Photos available upon request

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.