Big Apple Circus

NEW YORK - The 22nd production of the Big Apple Circus, Bello & Friends, captures the essence and spirit of the clown: a special being who is fanciful, forgetful and full of joy; joking, jubilant and just plain silly.

Big Apple Circus, an annual New York holiday tradition, is performing Bello and Friends at Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center through Jan. 9, 2000.

Experience the instant connection between audience and artist as your family sits less than 50 feet away from the ring.

This all-new show stars the international award-winning clown, Bello Nock, and his friends - an exciting cast of circus acts from around the world, including medal-winning teeterboard and hand balancers, jugglers, acrobats, trapeze artists and, of course ... clowns.

The Big Apple Circus presents the finest in premium family entertainment, a combination of Broadway-style theater and world-class circus artistry. For more than two decades the Circus has been delighting audiences in a single ring under an authentic Big Top tent. A small core company of performers return each year with new acts and are joined by guest artists selected from the top ranks of international circus stars. These artists come from all around the world - 23 countries in all - including France, Russia, Hungary, Switzerland, China and Mongolia.

The Big Apple Circus is a not-for-profit performing arts organization "committed to kids and their families, not for profit." It offers the following outreach programs:

Clown-Care Unit brings laughter to the bedsides of acutely and chronically ill children.

Circus for All distributes more than 50,000 free and discounted tickets to economically of physically challenged children.

Beyond the Ring teaches circus arts to thousands of inner-city schoolchildren age 8 to 18.

The circus will travel to Atlanta (Feb. 23-March 5); Branchburg, N.J. (March 11-26); Boston (April 1-May 7); Queens, N.Y. (May 12-21); Brookville, N.Y. (May 26-June 4); Chicago (June 10-25); Charlestown, R.I. (July 3-9); Hanover, N.H. (July 12-17) and Shelburne, Vt. (July 20-24) in its national tour through July 2000.

Tickets range from $15 to $60 weeknights and $28 to $60 on weekends. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets.