March 1940: Before spring arrived in New York, The Times ran a photo spread of circus performers putting the final polish on their acts in their winter quarters in Sarasota, Fla. Here, the caption said, “an aerial troupe practices in a treetop setting very different from that of Madison Square Garden or the ‘big top.’ ” Photo: The New York Times
Nov. 18, 1988: The Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe performing stunts for the handicapped at the Big Apple Circus in Lincoln Center. The production, titled “The Big Apple Circus Meets the Monkey King,” featured “daredevil fliers and deft-handed jugglers,” a critic wrote. “Even the animals could qualify as new vaudevillians.” Photo: Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times
