Portraits of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performers and staff
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Portrait of motorcycle rider and trapeze flier Adrielle Stankowich Alves, a fifth generation circus performer who currently is a trapeze flier and is learning to ride motorcycles in the Globe of Steel. "I was born in the circus. My family has a circus in Brazil. I've been doing the trapeze for 14 years and I love [it]. My daddy did it, [as well as] my mom, my brothers and sisters. It's in our blood. And the globe, it's another passion. The people think that it's crazy and hard. Yeah, it's hard, but it's good because this make me feel calm [and] relaxed. I feel good. And I can’t see my life without the circus.”
After 146 years, the "Greatest Show on Earth" will close its curtain in the end of May.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus started in 1919 when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The circus' parent company, Feld Entertainment, made the decision to end the show after waning ticket sales and long court battles over the treatment of animals, particularly the elephants, made the costly entertainment event unsustainable.
![Portrait of motorcycle rider and trapeze flier Adrielle Stankowich Alves, a fifth generation circus performer who currently is a trapeze flier and is learning to ride motorcycles in the Globe of Steel. "I was born in the circus. My family has a circus in Brazil. I've been doing the trapeze for 14 years and I love [it]. My daddy did it, [as well as] my mom, my brothers and sisters. It's in our blood. And the globe, it's another passion. The people think that it's crazy and hard. Yeah, it's hard, but it's good because this make me feel calm [and] relaxed. I feel good. And I can’t see my life without the circus.”<br />
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After 146 years, the "Greatest Show on Earth" will close its curtain in the end of May. <br />
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus started in 1919 when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The circus' parent company, Feld Entertainment, made the decision to end the show after waning ticket sales and long court battles over the treatment of animals, particularly the elephants, made the costly entertainment event unsustainable.](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I0000miieYW7c8TU/fit=1000x750/g=G0000BI8ps.2vTPA/150827-Sinclair-RinglingPortraits-015.jpg)
