55.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Bello is Back under the Big Top
The Big Apple Circus visits Eisenhower Park
It’s time for some clowning around with that irrepressible funnyman Bello Nock. One of the world’s most well-known circus entertainers, Bello will be the center of attention when the Big Apple Circus begins its three week run at Eisenhower Park on Friday. The latest installment of New York’s homegrown circus welcomes back its beloved jester after a nine year absence, in its new show, aptly titled “Bello is Back!” Bello and company will enthrall audiences through Sunday, July 4.
The playfully elegant Bello, with his trademark gravity-defying hair, tuxedo, white gloves, and spats, returns to the one–ring intimacy of the Big Apple Circus after eight years headlining the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
“The Big Apple Circus gave me my start as a clown and I am thrilled to be back,” Bello said. “It’s great circus, one that is both intimate and astonishing. The performers have a great time and the audience has a great time.”
With thrilling feats of derring–do and a stylish sense of whimsy, Bello – named “America's Best Clown” – continues to astound and delight audiences. Bello defines himself as 50 percent clown and 50 percent daredevil, describing his antics as a “mixture of Harpo Marx and Evel Knievel.” “I call myself a comic daredevil,” he says. “I'm like nothing you’ve ever seen before. I can thrill and make you laugh at the same time.”
Bello, who as ringmaster Kevin Venardos points out, is a seventh generation circus performer, certainly knows his way around a circus ring. His chart-topping hair, balanced on end above his impish grin, and jaw-dropping stunts have won him great acclaim. When Time Magazine crowned Bello “America’s Best Clown” in 2001, Bello responded, “I believe the reason I could… receive an honor like that is because I set a new trend, I blazed a new trail. I don’t think I’m the funniest person out there. I don’t even think I’m the funniest clown.”
The intimacy of the Big Apple’s single ring means that the action is in your face: the acts whiz by and the clowns – anchored by Bello and the Big Apple’s other star, Grandma the Clown aka Barry Lubin (an International Clown Hall of Fame inductee) – interact with audience members, often bringing them on stage. The live band brings an immediacy to the show. No seat under the Big Top is more than 50 feet from the ring, so even the smallest kids don’t miss a thing.
While the focus on this year’s extravaganza is on Bello, there are many showstopping acts to keep everyone entertained from start to finish. As Bello notes, “I’m a major part of the show, but not the only part. The cast includes top acts from around the world.”
The cast of performers, who bring thrills and delight from eleven countries around the globe, include:
* The Curatola Brothers, from Italy, who perform hand-to-hand acrobatics in a duo act full of fun and fancy.
* Luciano Anastasini and his Pound Puppies, a Big Apple Circus favorite, who return with a jumping mélange of human and canine acrobatics.
*The Aniskin Troupe, from Russia, amaze with their bravura athletic trampoline act, then soar into the Big Top stratosphere with their spectacular flying trapeze act.
* The graceful Regina Dobrovitskaya, also from Russia, performs a shimmering spectacle on aerial silk ribbons.
* Equestrians Christine Zerbini and Sultan Kumisbayev, represent the U.S. and Kazakhstan, with a thrilling riding act – standing atop galloping chargers, Roman-style.
* Picaso Jr., of Spain, returns with his sizzling style and extraordinary juggling act – puffing into the air up to five ping-pong balls simultaneously, and catching them – with his mouth.
* The Long Twins, representing China, astonish with their unbelievable comedy contortion act.
And, rounding out the cast, Bello’s 14 year old daughter Annaliese Nock makes her circus debut on the trapeze, carrying on the family tradition.
This production is the first involving the the Big Apple Circus’ new artistic team. Artistic director Guilluame Dufresnoy and his new creative team took over helm from founder Paul Binder. The continuity and spirit of Binder's circus remain, with spokesman Phil Thurston describing the new production as, “a recognizably Big Apple Circus type of show.”
The Big Apple Circus presents “Bello is Back!”
Friday, June 11 through Sunday, July 4 at Eisenhower Park, East Meadow. Tickets start at $15; available at (888) 541-3750 or www.bigapplecircus.org. Tickets may also be purchased at Long Island Children’s Museum, Museum Row, Garden City.
Enter the park via Stewart Ave./Merrick Ave. or Hempstead Tpke./East Meadow Ave.; the Big Top is located in Parking Field 6A, with free parking at Parking Field 6. For additional information. call the Ticket Info Line at (800) 922-3772.
