Tilting at Windmills

What: Ingenioso
Where: Circus Flora, Grand Center, St. Louis
When: through June 27, 2010

“It's not where you start”, runs a Dorothy Fields lyric from the 1973 musical Seesaw, “it's where you finish. It's not how you go, it's how you land.” Despite some stumbling first steps, the 24th installment of our own Circus Flora finishes triumphantly and lands firmly on its feet.

Credit one returning act and one new one for the solid conclusions of both halves of Ingenioso. The returning act—in the closing spot—is The Flying Pages (pictured), a remarkable family of trapeze artists. Anthony Page's triple somersault is, as usual, a highlight, but they're all impressive.

New this season is wire dancer Julien Posada, who closes the first half. His blindingly fast fancy footwork would be praiseworthy on the ground. On a rope five feet above the ground it's stunning. The low wire offers spectators both a clear view of Mr. Posada's elegant dancing and a reminder that a balancing act need not involve the threat of death to be compelling.

Also new (at least to me) were animal trainer Jenny Vidbel with an array of talented dogs, goats and even roosters (although the fowl weren't inclined to do much on opening night) and “Western arts virtuoso” Vince Bruce with his fancy roping, riding and lightning-fast bullwhips. The Elliaire Duet, an elegant and beautiful aerial adagio act, is technically new although the performers themselves have been members of the ever-popular St. Louis Arches for some years now.

Returning favorites included the daring Cossack horsemanship of the Riders of the Ring (still impressive, despite a re-take made necessary by what appeared to be a not-quite-secure saddle harness), Sasha Alexandre Nevidonski flying through the air with the greatest of ease in equestrian silk act, the romantic aerial duet of Andrew Adams and Erika Gilfeather, and the energetic acrobatics of the aforementioned St. Louis Arches, our own home-grown youth circus troupe.

That's the good news. The bad news is that, at least on opening night, Ingenioso got off to a somewhat rough start and tended to drag a bit during the fist half. Some of this resulted from glitches and errors in timing that will probably be history by the time you read this but some of it, I think, stems from an attempt to stuff a square theatrical peg into a round hole.

Ingenioso uses a variant of Cervantes' Don Quixote as a launching point for the circus acts and it's not always a good fit. The bits with Carlos Svenson and the always charming Giovanni Zoppe (a.k.a Nino) as the Don and Sancho Panza, respectively, didn't seem to go anywhere and the acts themselves—while generally quite entertaining—didn't have much to do with the story. The narrative bits designed to advance the Don Quixote story felt more like filler and, especially during the first act, seemed to prevent the show from ever building any momentum.

Still, a flawed Circus Flora show nevertheless offers good value for your entertainment dollar, especially if you have youngsters in your party. The six year old in ours was clearly enjoying himself. I expect the six year old in you will do the same.

Circus Flora presents Ingenioso through June 27th under the air-conditioned big top in the Powell Hall parking lot in Grand Center. For more information, you may call 314-289-4040 or visit circusflora.org.