Big Apple Circus Metamorphosis Review

by Micaela Williamson

We were thrilled to attend the Big Apple Circus's newest show, Metamorphosis, at Dulles Town Center.  The show featured some amazing acts that left us on the edge of our seats.  We like to support the Big Apple Circus because it is a non-profit organization rooted in many community based programs such as visits to children's hospitals, running an after school program, and distributing free tickets to schools and non-profits serving low-income families.  

One of the stars of the show is Francesco the clown, who is not a "scary clown." He performs musical and magic tricks and picks volunteers from the audience for many of his acts.  

Other spectacular acts include:

• The Anastasini Family with their slick skills with diabolo (“Chinese yoyos”), Risley (foot juggling — each other!), and an aerial space act that made me hold my breath the whole time!
  
• Ring master, John Kennedy Kane, entertaining and leading the show
• Keeping up with the insanely quick change with Vladimir and Olga Smirnov  as they change from one outrageously spectacular costume to another in just the blink of an eye.
• The Aniskin Troupe transporting the audience to new heights, showcasing some of the best twists and turns of the century on their trampoline and flying trapeze!
  
•  Tatevik Seyranyan and Odbayasakh Dorjoo  who swivel and bend with amazing flexibility in a contortion in a cube act and Tatevik defies the laws of gravity in a breath taking balancing Rolla Bolla act too! 
  

Finally, one reason many people, myself included,  avoid the circus is because of the use of exotic animals.  The Big Apple Circus does not use exotic animals, but rather farm animals such as dogs, goats, and ponies.  The particular show we attended mentioned that the animals came from a farm in upstate New York.  The animals are not forced to perform, receive positive reinforcement, and do not do anything crazy tricks. We liked that the Big Apple Circus is completely transparent in their animal care policies.  Read more about their animal care here or email them if you have a specific question. 

 The performance time is around 2 hours, including a 15 minute intermission.  Refreshments such as candy, popcorn, hot dogs, pretzels and drinks are for sale. At our particular performance, bathroom facilities were port-a-potties. The big top is extremely comfortable and is air-conditioned/heated depending on the season. We greatly enjoyed Metamorphosis and recommend it for people of all ages. 
Learn more at: http://bigapplecircus.org


Photo credits: The Big Apple Circus Pressroom


We received complimentary tickets for doing a review of this show. All opinions are our own.