Big Apple Circus — Local services in New York

If I could give zero stars I would! I did not expect to see animals at this circus. Upon further research, they are saying that the dogs were rescued from various shelters. I do not think forcing a dog to perform in a circus for the rest of its life is a rescue situation at all. At first it was cute, then you could tell that some of these dogs were fearful, one of them even flinched when the performer tried to pick him up because he was not doing what he was told. Trained to jump through hoops is one thing, making an animal jump from a 30 plus foot ladder is CRUEL!!! There were a few instances where the "ring master" pulled on the dogs tail to get her into position while running on a large circle, each time pulling the dogs tail to turn her around. The other ring master would toss the small poodles to the floor and pick them up by their "costumes" to put them back in place. It was not gentle handling at all. I was very surprised to see this act continue for almost 15-20 minutes. I could barely stay to watch one of the dogs climb the ladder and hesitate at the top several times before jumping 30plus feet to a canopy. This is not entertainment, it's cruelty masked as entertainment for people that do not know better, or care for animals the way that I do. Furthermore, spitting water at each other is not a circus act, even in pre covid times that would have been considered disgusting and unsanitary. Wish I could get my money back, truly...

I never went to the circus as a child, and I feel like that sounds like it's supposed to be a normal childhood right of passage, but I never had that experience. At least not until now. Oh my gosh, did this exceed my expectations. I expected your typical clown tomfoolery but instead of clowns, we got Subway rats and I thought that was hilarious. The big Apple circus is very catered to being a New York City circus, and it really highlights the hilarity and beauty of New York City. In a way, I felt a bit like a tourist watching the show, because it gave me the same feeling I felt in cities I've never been to before, and I am visiting for the first time.

That said, there is something so magical about New York City and this show just adds to that magic.

We had some cotton candy and popcorn that came with being an elite event (thank you Yelp) to keep us sugared up and entertained! A true circus experience all around, and my best friend who came with me had a great time too.

I will note, the only thing that concern me was how the dogs are treated at the show, and when I looked it up, it said that they are very ethical with their dogs who are a part of the show. I did not see any signs of mistreatment of these dogs so that is good, but that's something I always look out for and things like this and hopefully that stays true for the Big Apple circus.

10/10 would...

Nice experience for little ones. Venue is small so most seats have a great view. However, children under 12 won't get to see much if there's an adult sitting in front of them, which is a huge design flaw when about 40% of attendees are children. The show is about 50% acrobatics and 50% light entertainment in between these acts, which the kids still appreciate but growing up at a time when the circus had a greater variety of acts, left something to be desired. Overall, this event should be between the $20-$80 range max. I would've hated paying over $100 per ticket for this, especially as a large family, regardless if it's in NYC. This is not Cirque du Soleil. Imagine paying +$500 for a family of 4 to see some dogs jump, a few acrobats, and men spit water into each other's mouths. As much as I wanted to love this, it's a no for me. Maybe in another city the expectations are lower, but if you want to charge NY prices, you need to...