ST. LEON'S CIRCUS.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17259, 24 September 1921, Page 13

ST. LEON'S CIRCUS.

St. Leon's Circus, which has bscn winter- j in<r near Invercargill, is again "on the rojd," and will open for a short season in Christclnirch on Friday. The loci: ion will be Moorhou!>9 avenue, opposite tho railway station. Speaking of tho opening performance at Dunedin last week, tho "Otago Daily Times" said: —"Under the canopy of tho St Leon canvas amusement-lovers of all kinds, may difcover much to enjoy and admire. TJiey will s nd that the succession of remarkable feafct which, are enacted in tho familiar sawdust ring compel their attention and appreciation moat effectively, and cause the time to pas* with pleasant and unexpected rapidity. From start to finish there is never » wearisome moment, and the St. Leon people •undoufotedly present a most satisfying and meritorious performance, in, which the traditional atmosphere of the circus is fully maintained. At any rate it was thoroughly enjoyed by the large audience which comfortably filled the tent last night. The programme opened with an exhibition of gymnastics on a triple arrangement of horizontal bars by the Odessa Brothers, two athletio young men, who performed ft number of difficult and during feats with «. nice degree oi neatness and a clear-cut finish that was genuinely admired. Reuben was the next performer, end he proved to- be a small and well-tducalei pony witli "company" manners, who rounded o.T his'exhibition by indulging'in a (jame of football with two of the downs. Senorita Doloriea' gave a graceful and pleasing display on the.flying trapeze, and Ray St. Leon followed with a four-horse act, in which he showed wonderful skill as a reinstuan in directing his rapidly-moving steeds through a. maze of intricate evolutione. Tho Honey Trio, a band of juvenile acrobats, who, by the way, are representative of the sixth, generation of the St. Leons, provided a clever exhibition of comedy balancing and tumbling, and were enthusiastically applauded at the close of their attractive turn. Another good item with an',air.of novelty about it was provided by Professor Morris, who got a surprising amount of humour out of,' some wther unpromising material in the-shape of his performing sheep and pigs. The St. Leon acrobats presented l a performance oi hand-balancing and tumbling that was one of the. best things seen during the evcn:ng, and Miss Millie Gold* gave a picturesque end graceful exhibition on the tight wire. Throughout the evening clowns and dummies disported themselves in, the ring to the immense* delight of the small boy, and in this connexion- special mention should be made of the comedy offering of Gus St; Leon, who must be a veritable patriarch of clowns, for he ia said to be the great-grandfather, of the three juvenile acrobats who appeared earlier in the.. evening. Performing pomes', and Maudie, the mule, also filled in pleasant interludes, and the musio hy Reg. St. Leon's band added to the general air of animation. On the whole -the entertainment is one that justifies the management in its claim that it provides a good clean, performance.'.'