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Arts + Entertainment 11.28.24

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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT NOVEMBER 28, 2024

YOUROBSERVER.COM

B L O A W N IF for a circus couple

Dolly Jacobs and Pedro Reis perform together.

Circus Arts Conservatory founders Pedro Reis and Dolly Jacobs leave a lasting legacy as they step down. BY MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

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hen most people hear the word “conservatory,” they either think of delicate plants or classical music. Yet that’s the word Pedro Reis and Dolly Jacobs chose when they rebranded Circus Sarasota as the Circus Arts Conservatory in 2013. With a new name and the youth Sailor Circus Academy under their umbrella, Reis and Jacobs were announcing to the world that their performers were artists who could hold their own among actors, musicians, dancers and singers. If there was any doubt about that, they laid it to rest this past summer when the CAC traveled to Massachusetts to present “Summersaults in the Berkshires” in Lenox, Massachusetts. Once the playground of the rich, the Berkshire Mountains region is now an arts mecca. It is home to Tanglewood, the summer residence of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and the live theater company Shakespeare & Company. “Dolly and Pedro have elevated our community’s opinion of the circus from a form of entertainment to understanding and celebrating the circus as a true art form,” says Joseph Caulkins, artistic director of Key Chorale. “Through their leadership and passion they have shown us that the circus arts can be respected and live alongside other performing arts like dance, music and opera.” Although many people didn’t realize it at the time, the Berkshires residency was the capstone of a long collaboration between Reis and Jacobs, fellow circus performers who founded the predecessor organization to the CAC back in 1997. On Nov. 19, the husband-and-wife team announced they were stepping down from their leadership positions at the CAC and turning over the reins to Chief Operating Officer and Vice President Jennifer Mitchell. A 16-year veteran of the circus arts nonprofit, Mitchell assumes the role of president and CEO immediately.

Although Reis and Jacobs are relinquishing their top management titles, they will continue to provide guidance and support to the CAC. In a statement, Reis said he intends to pursue his dream of bringing a circus arts festival to Sarasota. Reis and Jacobs declined to be interviewed for this article because they are making preparations for their new life and because they want their successor to have the spotlight. Nevertheless, it is the end of an era. The partnership of Reis and Jacobs has contributed immeasurably to the elevation of circus arts both in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to entertaining audiences, the pair has used circus arts to enrich the lives of children with magnet school programs, summer camps and youth performances. A LIVING EXAMPLE OF THE POWER OF CIRCUS ARTS

If anyone exemplifies the influence of circus arts on a young life, it is Mitchell’s daughter, Emma Clarke, who is performing professionally at this year’s Wonderland circus at the Big Top near University Town Center. Wonderland, founded last year by Sarasota superstar aerialist Nik Wallenda and the CAC, has quickly become a holiday tradition. “It was out of our admiration and deep respect for Dolly and Pedro that we approached them to collaborate on the ‘Wonderland’ holiday shows. We feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to do so for these first two seasons of this new Sarasota holiday tradition,” Wallenda says.

Circus Arts Conservatory founders Pedro Reis and Dolly Jacobs are stepping down from their management roles.

Courtesy images

“Erendira (Wallenda’s wife) and I have forged similar paths to Pedro and Dolly. We are honored to carry on their proud legacy through the circus arts, in our community and beyond.” Given that Sarasota’s connection to the circus began in 1927 when John Ringling moved the winter home of

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his circus to Florida, the Observer asked circus expert Jennifer Lemmer Posey to weigh in on the legacy of Reis and Jacobs. Nicknamed the “Queen of Circus History,” Lemmer Posey serves as the Tibbals Curator of Circus at The Ringling, the museum that John Ringling endowed by leaving the state of Florida his mansion and art collection in his will. Commenting on the passing of the trapeze (Sorry, we couldn’t resist!), Lemmer Posey said, “Beginning with little, aside from a powerful vision and their own extraordinary talent and deep commitment to the circus community, Pedro and Dolly built an extraordinary organization that reminds the Sarasota community, and beyond, of all the reasons to fall in love with the circus arts.” She continued, “They are recognized as icons stewarding the tradiSEE CIRCUS, PAGE 2

Pedro Reis, Dolly Jacobs, Chuck Sidlow and Lijana, Erendira and Nik Wallenda


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