Not content to merely turn the world upside down, looking for new and different circus acts, former Utahn Tim Holst discovered an "upside-down" act for the 134th edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, coming to the Delta Center next Thursday.
"It's based on an act I saw in Switzerland," Holst said by phone from his home in Palmeto, Fla., not far from the circus' winter headquarters in Tampa. "We re-created the act and reworked the idea with some different performers in the same environment."
Officially, Holst is vice president of talent and production for Feld Entertainment Inc., which not only produces two separate, touring Ringling Bros. shows but also a new, scaled-down "hometown" edition, which is now making the rounds of markets with smaller arenas.
Holst spends most of his time flying around the world, scouting for new circus acts. He's accumulated millions of frequent-flyer miles and has passed through countless air terminals in some of the world's most remote and exotic countries.
With the 134th edition out on the road for its two-year run, Holst is now looking for new entertainers for the 135th edition, in Moscow, China and Inner Mongolia.
This latest show brings popular European mime David Larible back into the spotlight, along with new variations on some traditional circus standbys — high-wire acts, trapeze artists, "wheel-of-death" motorcyclists and others, which the Deseret Morning News previewed in March at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Certainly a unique routine is billed as the "Kai LeClerc Family Upside Down World." Think of it as a topsy-turvy "Lucy and Desi" — two performers going through various routines, completely upside-down, high above the arena floor . . . with David Larible joining the fun. Holst found the act in a small variety theater in central Europe.
"It's sort of like dinner theater," Holst said, "with an evening of entertainment in an intimate setting. What I enjoy about the upside-down act is when I sit next to people in the audience and they wonder how it's done. They get caught up in trying to figure out how the performers do that."
He noted that Feld Entertainment's new "Hometown" circus premiered in February. Unlike the larger, three-ring circus, this one travels across the country by truck, instead of train. "It's a one-ring circus, and very interactive," he said, adding that it's geared to making stops in smaller towns.
KEVIN VENARDOS, who joined the circus four years ago as a singing ringmaster, has settled into his career of spangled tuxedos and death-defying colleagues.
"The circus is like opera, in terms of its size and themes" he said by phone from the San Francisco Bay area. "The opera is always about life and death, and that's what the circus is all about."
He noted that during almost every performance, he and David Larible "are as thick as thieves. I have a microphone on and he doesn't have to worry about that responsiblity. He can say whatever he wants to out on the floor, and I try to get back at him in other ways."
Venardos noted that when he first came on board, Larible advised him that " 'never again will you play a role. This is where you play yourself,' and essentially that's what I do — in a theatrical setting. Ultimately, it's just me, although I have a spangly outfit and a microphone."
This year, Venardos has a sidekick — female vocalist Danette Sheppard. Like Venardos, she is also a native New Yorker. "She brings a new dynamic to the circus," he said.
Venardos' traveling companion is an adopted Jack Russell Terrior named Nestor. The canine created quite a stir a couple of years ago, jumping off the train while it was en route to a new destination. Nestor may not stop the show, but he stopped the train — while everyone looked for him.
But now, Nestor has settled into a routine. He spends the days in Venardos' dressing room. "He has a little wicker basket in the corner and people who stop in always say hello to him before they say hello to me," Venardos said.
Venardos feels blessed to see the country from an angle that few Americans will ever see — aboard the world's biggest, privately owned railroad. "We are an American institution. Tim Holst pulled me aside right after my audition and explained that the circus is a legitimate business. 'We're not about creating world peace; we're here to make people happy,' he said. I remember those words, and I hope that the memories people make at the circus will stay with them forever."
"ELEPHANT WALK" — The traditional circus elephant parade, heralding the arrival of the milelong Ringling Bros. train, is next Thursday at noon, with pachyderms parading from 100 S. 400 West to the Gateway Center, east on Rio Grande, then up 50 North to South Temple and down 300 West to the Delta Center, where they will get a high-pressure shower from a Salt Lake Fire Department team.
"PIE PARTY" — Circus clowns will be on hand (to keep things as disorganized as possible) for what is being billed as the World's Largest Pie Party, on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on the southeast corner of the Delta Center plaza.
The first 100 couples who volunteer to throw pies at each other will each get free opening-night passes. Two teams of Salt Lake City police will get the pie-throwing started at 6 p.m.
Ringmaster Venardos will also present a "big ticket" to both the Salt Lake City Boys and Girls Club and the Salt Lake City Police Mutual Aid Fund admitting 300 local youths to "The Greatest Show on Earth."
If you go. . .
What: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Where: Delta Center
When: Thursday, Sept. 30, through Oct. 3
How much: $9.75-$75
Tickets: 325-7328 or www.ticketmaster.com
Web site: www.ringling.com
Also: Interactive "Three Ring Adventure" one hour prior to curtain
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com