#Circus Bella

[jonfarreporter]

Circus Bella Hopes to Perform in Golden Gate Park, perhaps next season?

Life is a circus and the Circus Bella is life to two performers of the ensemble-cast that make the Westside area of the City their home. During June and July 2024 Circus Bella has been performing in and around the Bay Area. The two circus cast members Dwoira Galilea and Toni Cannon who happily live in the Sunset District would like to see the Circus Bella have shows in or around Golden Gate Park.

This summer has been a busy season for the “one-ring” circus ensemble.

“Since it’s founding in 2008 by David Hunt and Abigail Munn, Circus Bella has delighted audiences throughout the Bay Area.

Circus Bella’s ‘Circus in the Parks project’ has offered over 160 performances to more than 80,000 people in 37 locations. Unfortunately, that doesn’t include Golden Gate Park. Yet organizers hope that might change.

Established in the tradition of local family-friendly entertainment endeavors like the Pickle Family Circus of the 1990s and ‘80s. Executive Director, Abigail Munn, explained. “I have spent my entire life entrenched in the San Francisco Bay Area’s vibrant arts community.” Munn's father Thomas Munn was the lighting director for the San Francisco Opera for over 30 years. She literally grew up inside the SF Opera house!

Munn’s love of circus got an early start as she was a performer in the Bay Area’s Pickle Family Circus when she was just 9 years old.

Eager to continue that experience and tradition she and David Hunt put together Circus Bella.”My vision is to recreate and reimagine creative work that is entertaining, beautiful and relevant,” said Munn.

With that vision in mind, Cannon and Galilea consider the Sunset District & the Westside as an ideal spot to foster creativity, especially the unique entertainment experience that Circus Bella provides.

“I love living in the Sunset District, said Galilea, because it’s very close to the ‘Circus Center’ where we performers train.” Amid Circus Bella’s several locations, ‘Circus Center’ for training and practice is just across from Kezar Stadium-Pavilion on Frederick Street.

Describing living in The Sunset District as “a game-changer,” Cannon noted the advantages. “The Sunset has enhanced the quality of my life so much.” “There is so much nature on this side of town, added Cannon and being a short drive from the beach is everything.”

Galilea agreed as she said. “I love the aesthetic of the Sunset District, especially by Ocean Beach.” “I love that it’s a more residential area so it almost has an Urban Suburbia feeling to it,” said Galilea; I really feel at peace in this part of town.”

Both performers chose the Sunset District and the Westside as home because of the proximity. “The Sunset feels close to everything and is very easy to navigate on public transit which I have heavily relied on over the years,” said Galilea.

Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach is part of the appeal as to why Galilea and Cannon have stayed in the District.

“Being so close to nature is very calming for me when the rest of the city can feel hectic,” said Galilea.

“I love being so close to the trees, (in Golden Gate Park) and easy access to the ocean and beach.” “I can sleep with my windows wide open said Galilea, and the area is quiet.”

While other people may consider the usual fog of summer to be a down beat of living out in “the avenues,” Galilea sees it as a plus as she said. “I also LOVE the fog - an unpopular opinion perhaps- but I truly enjoy the moodier weather that we get out here.”

With more than a cast of 86 performers at various times over its 15 year history, Circus Bella is pleased that it’s cast members make the San Francisco Bay Area its home.

“Many of our employed performance artists are Bay Area residents,” said Munn. “We have an intentional focus to ensure that local artists receive competitive employment and a venue to pursue their creative careers.”

“A diverse and unique company is what we aim for noted Munn, representing talents from all corners of the world.” “Our performers come from different backgrounds, perspectives and special artistic gifts,” she added. “We feature aerialists, acrobats, family foot jugglers, clowns, and more – all performed to original music written by local music legend Rob Reich and performed by a live six-piece band,” Munn said.

Like Cannon, Galilea sees the Sunset District and its adjacent neighborhoods like the Richmond District and Parkside as ideal. “The Sunset is a neighborhood that has truly made me feel at home,” she said. “If I had to move I would choose to stay in the Sunset District neighborhood 100%!”

Galilea and Cannon can easily envision Circus Bella making the Sunset District a possible venue to perform in. The possibilities are inviting.

As Galilea noted. “I would LOVE for Circus Bella to perform in Golden Gate Park.”

“I think some good spots would be the grass area at 9th Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.” “Or, perhaps near the Conservatory of Flowers or maybe in the Botanical Gardens,” she said.

Circus Bella performances in and around the Bay Area continue for the rest of the summer. To learn more about the performance schedules for July and August 2024 visit the Circus Bella website.

[chez-cinnamon]

So I've noticed a pattern between two of my favourite found families...

This was mainly an excuse to draw my OCs lmao I miss these guys

[purfectprincessgirl]

Weeee, nothing like a fun art meme to start off the day, eh? lol Seeing some of my fellow mutuals filling out this "Draw a Character You Like" template, I couldn't resist giving it a go too~ ✨

NOTE: Pls refrain from any rude comments if you happen to dislike any character(s) here btw; these are just my own personal faves, so ya miiight wanna take that negativity somewhere else, thanks~✌😊

-"Current Favorite" = Ofc goes to bird daughter Octavia, 'cause aaaa poor girl deserves ALL the love rn 🥺💜

-"Comfort Character" = While not *as* prominent as some other ponies (even princess-wise), without Cadence (+her debut episode "A Canterlot Wedding"), I wouldn't have stuck with MLP for as long as I have soooo ye, a natural comfort fave Cadence has grown to be lol💗

-"By Design" = Tbh I'm not really *that* big into Rainbow High nowadays (idk a mix of general series burnout + the weird slime reboot didn't rly appeal to me-); but Bella in particular is always a fave of mine to see featured (esp doll-wise with how many Bellas I've collected atm lol) 💕

-"By Plot" = About time I *finally* made some TADC fanart, bruh lol (ever since I watched the initial pilot), and yee Pomni's just been a blast to watch throughout these recent eps ngl~ ❤️(esp in her growing empathetic side + gradually-sillier antics with her fellow circus members). Curious to see what else Gooseworx has in-store for this lil jester!👀🤞

-"Guilty Favorite" = Seems to be more commonplace nowadays to find SU a rather... "hit-or-miss" show (esp in the critical community-); but Jasper's always been an entertaining baddie imo (+the odd lil friendship she formed with Steven at the end was pretty amusing lol)

-"All Time Favorite" = Ofc... not a surprise at all to those who've known me long, DP fandom-wise lol. Idk, Sam's just always been a fun & spunky presence for me even years later, so she'll always have a special place in my heart imo~ 💚🦇

[deprived-apathii]

she's very amused by romance, which is why she's letting this slide for once LOL

(carnival! pomni and caine belongs to @sm-baby)

[tcartblog]

The 3rd part of Glamrocks and their kids i. Halloween dress. Even the Halloween is over, i still want to continue before november end.

Here's Monty and my oc, Bella dress as Pomni and Gummigoo from The amazing digital circus. I've been waiting for this to draw them as pomni and Gummigoo 😁.

[ringmaster-pixie]

why.

I thought we were friends =c

and Bella turned against me

because of you.

you made her mean

you’re mean, Pixie.

[belladrawsstuff]

My new and improved Circus Baby design(complete with a simple child snatching diagram featuring Elizabeth)

I had to give her more colours than just red, yellow, orange and white. She is brilliant(I feel like William Afton appreciating how amazingly he made circus baby)

[rayredmoon]

I did even moreeeee waaaaaa

(Bella OC by: @deprived-apathy )

[shadowlorddemon]

Two small nervous people with their tall(large), flirty girlfriends~

[123asima]

i like this couple

[hjertetssunnegalskap1]

So I noticed a strange little thing that probably only will be interesting for me. Still, I gotta share it, because I don’t know what else to do with it. In that scene in the magic trick shop in Good Omens s2 ep4, the shop owner mentions a man, William Ellsworth Robinson, who got killed doing the bullet trick in 1918. Robinson used the stage name Chung Ling Soo, pretended to be from China, and claimed to have been the pupil of Albert Taen Arr Hee, a known magician/ acrobat/ tradesman from China. I have been hyperfocusing on Albert Taen Arr Hee and his family for three years, mostly because I looked for a possible connection to my family tree, and then I ended up falling down a bottomless rabbit hole. 

You see, Albert Taen Arr Hee was part of one of the very first Circus troups from China that toured USA and Europe. Also, he had an adoptive sister, Achuen Grace Amoy Eaton, or, she was most likely sold as a child to his parents, Tuck Quy and Wang Noo. Tuck Quy led this group of Chinese jugglers and acrobats that toured the world. While Albert stayed on as a circus artist and later became a tradesman, Grace escaped the circus life, married and moved with her family to Canada. She was the mother to the well-known authors Edith Maude Eaton (“Sui Sin Far”) and Winnifred Eaton (Onoto Watanna). 

You can see how I could so easily fall down this rabbit hole, right? This family had so many intriguing stories to tell.

Oh, and Albert married Frances Poolman, the sister to Isabella Poolman, or Bella Freeman, who was a coffee shop owner, brothel madam and fence, who supposedly devoted her life and money to tracking down the Whitechapel murderer. Because she had been familiar with one of his victims. Bella was prosecuted a number of times for running a disorderly house. She ended up very rich, apparently.

Oh, and Albert founded the stores of China & Japan Goods TAEN-Arr-Hee, in Berlin and Dresden, around 1880, and his sons took over, and that’s a whole other story. 

Anyway. I just never expected to stumble over the mention of this magician Robinson, who more or less was connected to all of these other stories (and more). I shouldn’t be surprised, of course. Neil Gaiman knows how to sprinkle his stories with interesting anecdotes and historic facts like these.

So yeah. Fun times.

[starry-eyed-adam]

song: Bella Belle by The Electric Swing Circus

[deprived-apathii]

"well they're fucked."

[calamitydaze]

^__^

[trap-ronpa]

Twins outfit

[robin-afton]

"Bella you little cutest Ballerina You are such a love."