Feld Entertainment has owned Ringling Bros. since 1967, when Irvin Feld purchased the show from John Ringling North. Irvin Feld and his son, Kenneth, are credited for raising the production quality of the show and raising the bar for the circus, through aggressive promotion and creative marketing, in addition to introducing multicultural, educational and preservation initiatives.
The current tour, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Party & Showhas for the first time in its 125-year history included a European leg including stops in Italy and Spain. The current tour debuted in West Palm Beach, Florida in December 2007 and has already visited 25 states in America with over 1.2m spectators.
The show travels with its own lighting rig on a rigorous non-stop schedule, with the main workhorse fixtures being Clay Paky Alpha Spot 1200 HPE luminaires, which have been on the show for nearly two years.
Dennis Flenniken, electrical operations manager for Feld Entertainment says, "We really enjoy working with the whole Clay Paky group as they go the extra mile to make sure their fixtures are perfect. The service is hands down the very best in the industry."
He continues, "I have been with Feld Entertainment for 28 years and worked with just about every kind of light there is. The Alpha HPE series is the best series of moving lights to come along in years! We like the Alpha series first of all because of the brightness, secondly for all of the extra features and effects that come standard on them."
Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area sales manager for the Americas says, "Feld Entertainment is an amazing company, delivering fun and wonder to audiences of all ages. We're proud to support such an exemplary organization."
(Jim Evans)
