The Morning Midway: Showbiz David Casts His Votes for Sarasota 2021 Circus Ring of Fame Inductees

Down the Covington Chute came something different: Not the announced, but those nominated for the 2021 honors.

Voting will take place beginning August 17 and end September 15, 2020. Four final inductees will be announced in early October of 2020.

These categories are a bit confusing.  Not certain if all the "Advance Professionals" are being honored, or if they compete with the performers for one of the four finalists.  So I am drawing my picks from both groups.

THE NOMINEES: PERFORMERS

    Nik Wallenda - King of the High Wire
    Charlie Rivel - Famous European clown Artist whose iconic image was honored and adopted by the Monte Carlo Circus Festival
    S.H. Princess Stéphanie of Monaco - Head of the Monte Carlo Circus Festival
    Galaxy Girl Tina Winn- Aerial and thrill superstar
    Kanat Riders - Equestrian artist troupe
    Richter Family - Multiple generation European animal presenters and acrobats
    Marco Canestrelli and family- Trampoline artists and Guinness World Record holder
    Marco and Philip Peters - Skywheel and animal superstars
    Willie Edelston- Trapeze artist and multiple decade educator/trainer for the Sailor Circus in Sarasota, Florida

ADVANCE PROFESSIONALS.

 

    Under the group category, an honor to all the behind-the- scenes creative marketing and tour planning professionals who conduct the business of the show
    Bernard Paul- Co-creator and producer of famed Circus Roncalli in Germany
    Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe- Under the group category, world renowned acrobatic troupe from China with heritage dating back to the Han dynasty
    Bouglione Family of France - Multi-generation European circus owners who manage the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, France
    George Carden- Multiple decade American circus producer headquartered in Springfield, Missouri

SHOWBIZ DAVID'S FOUR PICKS

PRINCESS STEPHANIE

Nobody has done more to bring class, glamour, and high annual respect to the greatest circus artists in the world.  Princess Stephanie's annual International Circus Festival at Monte Carlo gives well-earned acclaim and honor to those who toil in a  beleaguered form of entertainment struggling merely to stay alive.  Just to be there, which I never have (hate flying, especially in the rain) must be a rare thrill.

SHANGHAI ACROBATIC TROUPE

They and other troupes throughout China have my profound respect for their ever-inventive routines, pulsed with do-or-die gusto. These troupes light up American circus rings, having dazzled those of Ringling, Big Apple, and UniverSoul in past years.  Luckily, I saw one of the Shanghai troupes on their own soil -- at the ERA Intersection of Time in Shanghai, 2010

 CHARLIE RIVEL

I am including him merely on the basis of the high praise he earned from John Ringling North, when interviewed by an American magazine in 1956, asking North to the name his favorite circus performers. North, who had been unable to sign Rivel, described him "a highly gifted trapeze acrobat who shaded his daring in laughter.  The greatest clown turn I ever saw."

THE RICHTER FAMILY

My fourth pick is drawn from a search through the land of You Tube for evidence. Although old videos of the Cancestrellis on trampoline greatly impressed me, hands down, how could I not give this one to the Richters for something-I-have-never-seen-before, an astonishing display of liberty horses in massed formations, two groups in different colors.  The patterns changing.  The uniformity stellar. You've got to see it to believe it.  And this is only one of their many acts.  Big Top Bravos!