MANHATTAN — Commuter dodging won't be the only acrobatic feat performed at Grand Central this month — for the first time ever, the Greatest Show on Earth is bringing its high-flying, three-ring magic to the rail hub.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will present highlights from a new circus called "Dragons" inside Vanderbilt Hall Tuesday, Feb. 28 that will be free and open to the public. Because of space constraints, the show is being dubbed a 'one-ring' circus, instead of the traditional three.
Performances will begin bright and early at 7:30 a.m., with Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson presiding over the festivities.
The Shaolin Warriors will perform physics-defying feats of strength and Kung Fu, twisting metal rods with their bare hands and breaking 6-foot-long wooden poles with the force of their own strength, organizers said.
They will even lift one another seven feet into the air, their bodies balanced on the tips of spears.
Clowns, a big-top standard, will bring their blend of parody and slapstick to Vanderbilt Hall, and funnymen wannabes will have a chance to vie for the role of a lifetime. Beginning at 11 a.m., the circus will host clown auditions for all those 18 years and older who have "an overactive funny bone and a heart the size of Texas!" a registration website for the auditions said.
"Previous professional clowning experience is not required," the website clarified. Those who are selected will join the Ringling Bros. troupe of clowns.
The circus has maintained an habitual springtime presence in the city for several years, with past performances in Manhattan precipitated by a parade of pachyderms through the Queens Midtown Tunnel straight through to Madison Square Garden.
The circus is bypassing the Garden this year, but the ‘one-ring’ show in Grand Central will kick off a series of larger circus performances of the new "Dragons" show around the Tri-State area.
For more information, visit the Ringling Bros. website.
