Paul Binder

Paul Binder is the founder of the Big Apple Circus. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he graduated from Dartmouth College and earned an M.B.A. at Columbia University. Binder worked at WGBH-TV in Boston (stage-managing for Julia Child’s The French Chef) and as a talent coordinator for Merv Griffin, before heading West and learning juggling with the San Francisco Mime Troupe—where Binder met Michael Christensen. Together, Binder and Christensen traveled through Europe and earned their living by juggling on street corners. Their act landed them on the legendary stage of the Casino de Paris, on French television and, eventually, in the ring of Annie Fratellini’s Nouveau Cirque de Paris. Binder returned to New York with a dream—to create an American circus with the same dedication to theatrical excellence and artistic intimacy that he and Christensen had experienced in Europe. He found the people who would share his dream and implement his vision and, in 1977, the Big Apple Circus was born. Founder, Founding Artistic Director of the Big Apple Circus, and a gifted performer, Paul Binder was recently honored by ABC-TV World News with Charles Gibson as "Person of the Week". In July of 2009 Mr. Binder "stepped out of the ring" but continues to work with the Big Apple Circus as a senior advisor. He is currently in demand as a guest speaker, having spoken and led seminars at Dartmouth College, Harvard University, University of Virginia and Barnard College. Paul has received Honorary Doctorate Degrees in Fine Arts from his alma mater, Dartmouth, Pratt Institute, and Rhode Island College, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Long Island University. In 2001 he was given the honor of "NYC Living Landmark," by the New York Landmarks Conservancy. He is the proud father of Katherine, Max, Adam and Anais.

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Off to Sarasota and The Ringling Museum

Jan 302015

What: Paul Binder interviewed for the “Collecting Recollections” series
Where: the Historic Asolo Theater of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
When: Tuesday, February 10th at 10:30am

Within the week I’ll be on my way to sunnier-and-warmer-than-New-York-in-the-middle-of-winter Sarasota, FL.

As you hopefully already know, on February 10th I will be interviewed at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art as part of the “Collecting Recollections” series. This is truly an honor for me because all of the interviews are recorded and kept for posterity as part of the Ringling Museum’s extraordinary circus archive.

Ringling Museum - Courtyard of Art Museum

Courtyard at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
photo courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory

For those of you who don’t know, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is officially a part of Florida State University. At his death, John Ringling left his estate and art collection, along with a sizable endowment, to the State of Florida. After many years of neglect and disrepair, the Museum of Art underwent a grand expansion and renovation between 2002 and 2007. The art museum contains paintings and works by many masters including Rubens, Duchamp, Bernini, and Gainsborough. In addition to the art museum, the estate includes the Cà d’Zan mansion, Mable Ringling’s rose garden, the Ringling Art Library, the Asolo Theater, and the Ringling Museum of the American Circus, who is presenting the event on February 10th.

Cà d’Zan Mansion
photo courtesy of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

Bello Nock performing at
the Big Apple Circus

Also being interviewed in the next couple of months for the “Collecting Recollections” series are Ward Hall, the so-called King of the Sideshow, and Victoria Christiani Rossi, a member of the long-time prestigious Christiani circus family. Bello Nock has been there too. I feel like I’m in great company.

Tickets to the event are only $5, and the public is welcome (and encouraged) to attend the interview in the beautiful Historic Asolo Theater. You can buy tickets online at http://www.ringling.org/events/collecting-recollections-paul-binder. If you can, please buy a ticket to the event in advance and let me know that you are coming so that I can be on the lookout for you. And if you want to buy a copy of my book “Never Quote the Weather to a Sea Lion,” I’ll be there with extra copies and a pen at the reception afterwards.

New Year’s Eve 2014-15

Jan 022015

Shelley and I rang in the new year under the Big Top at the Big Apple Circus’s annual New Year’s Eve Celebration. On New Year’s Eve, the circus starts later than usual so that the performance ends fifteen minutes before midnight. And as the clock counts down, champagne cups are filled (the little ones get apple juice) and the entire audience counts down with it.

… 3 … 2 … 1 …

Happy New Year!!!

The band plays “Auld Lang Syne” and then continues playing for another hour, and the audience is invited into the ring to meet the performers.

It’s a wonderful celebration year after year: of the new year, of the Big Apple Circus nearing the end of its run at Lincoln Center (Jan. 11 is the last day), and of the circus arts.

And this year’s show is itself a celebration. Metamorphosis has received some truly great reviews, and the performers and creative team deserve all the accolades they’ve been getting. I’ve seen the show many times, both before and after it’s official opening, and I hope you have a chance to see it for yourself. It’s surely the best show in years.

NYE

Collecting Recollections

Dec 242014

Historic Asolo Theater, photo courtesy of The Ringling

I’m honored to be coming to Sarasota. I’ll take in a performance of Circus Sarasota. Then on Tuesday, February 10, I will be interviewed onstage at the beautiful, Historic Asolo Theater at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art as part of the Collecting Recollections series.

Collecting Recollections is a series of informal interview sessions featuring “fascinating people with fascinating stories to tell.” Isn’t that nice? Someone thinks I’m fascinating.

Chick Austin as the magician The Great Osram in 1944,
photo courtesy of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

Joking aside, I’m very pleased to share stories about my life, the circus, and Sarasota. And I’m especially thrilled to be able to do so in the Asolo Theater, which has quite a history of its own. Built in 1798 in Asolo, Italy, and then reconstructed in 1857, the court theater attracted many touring European actors. Sadly, the theater was dismantled in 1930 and effectively placed into storage for two decades until A. Everett “Chick” Austin, the Ringling Museum’s first director, purchased the theater’s interior. The new site of the Asolo Theater opened its doors at the Ringling Museum for the first time in 1958 and was later restored again for a second opening in 2006. Although Sarasota Symphony, Opera, Ballet and the Asolo Rep have found other homes, the Asolo Theater continues to serve Austin’s vision:

“The museum is the place to integrate the arts and bring them alive.”

Tickets for the event are already available online. The event is open to the public and is free with an admission ticket to the museum. Otherwise, the entry cost is only $5. I’ll have extra copies of my book Never Quote the Weather to a Sea Lion (and Other Uncommon Tales from the Founder of the Big Apple Circus) with me, and I’d be happy to talk to people after the show and sign copies of the book. Of course, I’m always happy to sign a copy of the book if you purchase a copy through my website.

Lotos Got Talent

Dec 022014

I have deep gratitude for being an honorary member of the Lotos Club, New York City’s wonderful private club dedicated to literature and the arts. As you all know, I’m a great believer in the deep value of arts and culture, and as you also know, I love to sing, although mostly in the shower.

Last Monday night was the sixth annual “Lotos Got Talent” event at the Lotos Club where club members get to perform for fellow members and their guests. This year’s performance featured eight singing acts, a trombone medley, a comedic sketch, a classical piano performance, and a few readings of humorous poetry and quotations.

The audience came to enjoy the evening. It was a full house, and they were clapping along right from the beginning.

This was my first time performing at the event, and I was very pleased to do it. Gloria Shafer, the creator and producer of the event, had urged me to participate a few months ago.

Vivian Blaine, the original Miss Adelaide in the Broadway, London, and film productions of Guys and Dolls

I performed two songs, both written by legendary composer and lyricist Frank Loesser. The first was “Adelaide’s Lament.” Now, Adelaide is a character, a showgirl, in the great 1950’s musical Guys and Dolls. I was encouraged to do the song by Gail Van Voorhis, our wonderful Lotos Club leader of the Theatre Round Table.

There were a few moments during the rehearsal process where I wasn’t sure people were going to laugh and go along with me singing as Adelaide. But (whew!) the audience at the performance was definitely encouraging and I had a ball doing it.

My second song was my personal homage to the great Danny Kaye. The song was “The Ugly Duckling” from the musical film Hans Christian Andersen. If you saw it, you might remember:

There once was an ugly duckling
With feathers all stubby and brown
And the other birds in so many words said …
“Get out of town.”

Danny Kaye telling the story of “The Ugly Duckling” in the film Hans Christian Andersen

But of course the other birds didn’t just tell him to get out of town––they quacked at him. And I wasn’t just going to quack all by myself throughout the song. So, I asked for audience participation. And participate they did. You gotta picture this: a room filled with fully grown men and women, dressed to the nines, all quacking along. It was great fun!

As Mark Twain, an early member of the Lotos Club, said, “He who laughs, lasts.”

The wonderful cast of “Lotos Got Talent.” From left to right … Back row: Dennis Buck, Paul F. Jock, Donald O. Quest, Meg Brogan, D. Bruce Rabbino, Martha Cohen Stine, and Paul Binder. Front row: Olivia Casriel, Jill J. Witten, Gloria Shafer, Jane Hart, Anne Russell, and Carol Robinson.

Big Apple Circus Family Benefit for our Community Programs

Nov 252014

This past weekend was the annual Big Apple Circus Family Benefit. It’s a terrific event where supporters of our not-for-profit circus get to see the year’s show and interact with the performers. Before the performance of Metamorphosis kids were invited to join Clown Care Unit members in the reception tent where they get to learn juggling, wire walking (very low), plate spinning, balancing, and other circus skills. During intermission there was an auction for kids (or their parents) to become a guest ringmaster for a future performance. And if that wasn’t enough, after the show there was dessert in the ring!

The auction and event were staged to help raise funds for our five award-winning community programs:

Clown Care, the signature community outreach program of the Big Apple Circus, brings the joy of classical circus to hospitalized children at 16 leading pediatric facilities across the United States.

Circus of the Senses is a unique performance that enables children and adults with vision or hearing impairments and other disabilities to experience the magic and joy of the circus.

The mission of Circus After School is to provide a unique opportunity for at-risk youth to develop life-enhancing skills such as teamwork, commitment, and responsible risk-taking through a structured program of learning and performing the circus arts.

Vaudeville Caravan brings the uplifting power of the circus to delight the residents of nursing care facilities.

The mission of Circus for All! is to give every child and every family the opportunity to see a live performance of the Big Apple Circus. We distribute up to fifty thousand free tickets every year.

Family Benefit - Dr. Ima Conused and Susan Ayala at New York-Presbyterian, photo by Susan Watts

Clown Care: Dr. Ima Confused (Julie Pasqual) entertains Susan Ayala and her mother at New York-Presbyterian, photo by Susan Watts

Family Benefit - Rob Torres teaching Franklin Kocheran how to twirl a plate, photo by Amel Chen

Circus of the Senses: Rob Torres (who appeared in last year’s show) teaches Franklin Kocheran how to twirl a plate, photo by Amel Chen

All of us at the Big Apple Circus are extremely thankful for the support of our contributors, and we enjoy spending the day interacting with them.

Judging from applause, one of the favorite acts at this year’s family benefit––and one that certainly fits the theme of metamorphosis––was the Smirnov Duo’s quick change act. Quick change routines are more than just a little circus magic. They’re a lot of circus magic. They require many, many, many rehearsals to get the exact timing perfect. Olga and Vladimir have been working on their timing for over twenty years, working together on quick change along with their other circus skills. The costume designs are splendid, and the ingenuity that went behind the quick change act in Metamorphosis wins over the crowd. When you come see the show, don’t blink or you may miss Olga magically changing her costume 9 times in less than 3 minutes right in front of us without us having a clue of how it all happens. I know how … it’s magic!

The Smirnov Duo in “Metamorphosis,” photo by Bertrand Guay

Israel and Jordan Highlights

Nov 112014

The trip to Israel and Jordan was a wonderful one.

There are pictures of the Holy Land many places online, so I don’t want to put up a thousand more images of places of worship, monuments, ruins, and expanses of desert. But I do want to show some of the best photos from my trip so that you know where I went.

We began our trip in Israel. We stayed in Jerusalem but toured to many other places.

This is the winding path leading up to Masada, site of an ancient city and fortress. You can take the path up or you can travel like we did by cable car.

These are some of the ruins of Masada. And a lot of tourists.

The same day that we went to Masada, we visited the expansive Dead Sea. This is a photo of the Dead Sea taken from Masada.

And at the Dead Sea you can find the lowest bar in the world, which is 418 meters (that’s a lot!) below sea level.

This photo was taken from the Mount of Olives looking towards Jerusalem. You can see the New City in the background. The gold dome is the Dome of the Rock, a holy mosque for Muslims. It stands on the Temple Mount, the site of the second Temple of the ancient Israelis, the holiest site for Jews.

This is part of the wall of Jerusalem. It’s one of the gates to the Old City.

This is the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed by some Christian denominations to be the location of Christ’s crucifixion and burial.

This olive tree is located in the Garden of Gethsemane. The small plaque commemorates the visit of Pope Paul VI.

This is the Western Wall, also referred to as the Wailing Wall. It’s all that’s left of the second Jewish Temple.

I put my hand on the holiest of Jewish monuments.

This text is from the YMCA where Shelley’s conference was held. It’s written in three languages, promoting coexistence for which it was founded.

This is the Arab quarter of the market in the Old City.

On our last night in Jerusalem, we visited the Tower of David for the light show.

And then it was onto Jordan. These are some of the Roman ruins still standing in Jeshra.

Including an ancient Roman theatre.

This is a view of a reservoir in the Jordan River Valley.

On the floor of the Eastern Orthodox Church of St. George is this ancient mosaic map of the Holy Land.

There is a monument on Mt. Nebo memorializing Moses’s burial place. There is also a map looking towards Israel, which indicates all of the cities that you can see in the distance.

At least you could on a clear day.

This is a rock carving the desert at Wadi Rum that commemorates the alliance between Lawrence of Arabia and the Jordanian tribes.

Petra was the capital city of the Nabataeans with buildings that are carved out of the sides of the mountains, including well-appointed caves which were their residences. In order to get into the city, you have to travel one mile through this canyon which is as narrow as 12 feet in some locations.

Once you get through the canyon, though, you come upon the Treasury. It may look like a building, and it is. But it’s carved directly into the rock. This was a sophisticated culture.

This is a burial site at Petra. You can tell because of the staircase leading the souls to heaven.

After the Roman army conquered Petra, they carved a Roman theatre into the rock.

We finished off our trip by spending an evening and night with Bedouins in a desert camp.

These rock carvings were left behind by ancient peoples.

And these two ancient people got to go on a camel ride through the desert.

Great New York Times Review of Big Apple Circus

Nov 072014

Photo by Piotr Redlinski for the New York Times

I’m thrilled that the Big Apple Circus‘s new show “Metamorphosis” received an amazing review in the New York Times. The review (“Contortions, Clowning and Confetti”) had wonderful things to say about both the production and the company.

“You could say this impressive production starts modestly, only to spread its wings and soar.”

“This company, now in its 37th year, doesn’t only have awe-inspiring acrobatic skills; it has a lot of heart, too.”

Thank you, Andy Webster, for your gracious words.

If you haven’t read the review yet, you can read it on the Times website by clicking on the link here. And don’t forget to visit the Big Apple Circus soon while it’s still at Lincoln Center.

Photo by Piotr Redlinski for the New York Times

Camels in Israel, Jordan, and New York City

Nov 052014

We’ve had dromedary camels at the Big Apple Circus before. They’re amazing looking animals. They’re called the “ship of the desert,” and the truth is they’re very unusual looking. They have thick wooly fur, long eyelashes, and humps of fat. Yes, fat. And they can store four days worth of water. They’re also funny looking. Someone once said, “A camel looks like a horse put together by a committee.”

Well amongst a ring full of other exotic animals, Jenny Vidbel has a pair of camels featured in this year’s Big Apple Circus show, Metamorphosis. Standing over six feet tall and weighing about a thousand pounds each, the pair is quite impressive.

Performance of the Big Apple Circus’s “Metamorphosis” at Lincoln Center, photo by maskirovka77

On our second day in Israel on our way down to the Dead Sea, which is more than four hundred feet below sea level, we stopped at the sea level marker where Shelley climbed onto the back of a camel for a photo opportunity. In fact, this was the very first picture that I took on our trip:

So when I got to Jordan, I thought I might try riding a camel. Why not?

We didn’t actually encounter too many camels in Israel. With all of the tourists around us everywhere we went, there simply wasn’t room. But there was room at Wadi Rum (pronounced “room”) in the Jordanian Desert. Okay, I’m playing with words here. But it was true. We finally had the opportunity to try out camel riding when we visited Wadi Rum in southern Jordan and stayed one night at a Bedouin desert camp. Wadi Rum is actually where Lawrence of Arabia approached Arabian chieftains about joining the fight against the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt.

Now, riding a camel is not exactly like riding a horse. It took a bit of time, discomfort, and hump negotiation, but by the end of our first ride I finally started to get the hang of it. Yeah, hanging on of it.

Trying to hold onto the camel in the process of standing up or kneeling down, though, that’s another story …

Go see the Big Apple Circus. Jenny’s camels are exquisite.

The Very First Circus of the Senses

Oct 072014

While writing the blog about my most recent stint with Circus of the Senses, I was reminded of the very first Circus of the Senses in 1988. I was one of three commentators at that very first event alongside two men whom I greatly respected and admired: Marty Glickman and Dave Jennings.

Marty had been one of my boyhood heroes. If his name sounds familiar but it’s difficult to place … Marty was a professional athlete as a young man, born and raised in the Bronx. At the 1936 Olympics he was scheduled to run in the 4 x 100m relay for the United States. However, the day before the race, he was swapped out. Why? Well, Hitler’s Berlin in 1936 was not the most encouraging place for a young Jewish man to succeed. Later in life, Marty went on to be a radio announcer/commentator for several New York sports teams. He was the first television announcer for the NBA and one of the first announcers for the (then) New Jersey Nets. He also worked with the New York Knicks and the New York Giants for over twenty years, as well as on some New York Rangers broadcasting. If any of you can remember back that far, Marty was the man who came up with the slogan “New York Football Giants.”

The other commentator was Dave Jennings. Dave was a football punter who played for the “New York Football Giants” and the New York Jets. After his career with the NFL as a punter, he worked as a radio commentator for both the Giants and Jets games from the booth and in the locker room, covering player interviews both pre and post game.

The commentators at the first Circus of the Senses. This picture is from a plaque that reads: THANK YOU FOR MAKING "CIRCUS OF THE SENSES" A TRULY MEMORABLE EVENT FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT WCBS NEWS 88 NOVEMBER 18, 1988

The commentators at the first Circus of the Senses. This picture is from a plaque that reads:
PAUL BINDER
THANK YOU FOR MAKING
“CIRCUS OF THE SENSES”
A TRULY MEMORABLE EVENT
FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT WCBS NEWS 88
NOVEMBER 18, 1988

The photograph above is the only one I know about from the first Circus of the Senses. In the back row from right to left are Marty, me, Dave, and Mr. Gordoon (Jeff Gordon). The three boys in front were visually impaired and are listening to our commentary through their personal hearing devices.

All of this to say that my fellow announcers knew their stuff. In fact, Marty was such a great radio announcer, that comedians often joked that he could describe things that weren’t happening. Marty could fix any improper call with a “lateral”: “He’s tackled on the five yard line. Wait, wait … it’s a lateral, and it’s a touchdown!”

Now, can you imagine how excited I was for the very first Circus of the Senses as I stood between Marty and Dave? Me, a Brooklynite, sandwiched between two iconic New York sports celebrities. I was thrilled.

My longtime performance partner Michael Christensen joined me as commentator during the third year of Circus of the Senses, and since that time, the two of us have done many events together.

Circus of the Senses, Dulles 2014

Oct 032014

This past week, I was delighted to be able to participate in the latest Big Apple Circus presentation of Circus of the Senses in Dulles, Virginia. Circus of the Senses is always a positive experience, and it truly demonstrates the power and joy that the circus can provide its audiences.

Jenny Vidbel’s animals were a favorite during the Touch Session for the sight-impaired kids after the show

During Circus of the Senses, the Big Apple Circus performs a slightly abridged version of its full productions. But in order to assist the children with various disabilities, the program offers accommodations to the audience members. There are sign language interpreters for the hearing impaired. And for the visually impaired, there are typically two commentators situated in the back row of the big top who describe the circus acts in vivid detail into microphones whose audio is transmitted to personal listening devices. That’s where I came in.

(I have a whole other story to tell you about my first two narration partners for Circus of the Senses… but that’s to come next time.*)

Here are the trampoline acrobats, the Aniskin Troupe, performing a different act, flying trapeze, from the Big Apple Circus “Metamorphosis”

I was commentator to the wonderful descriptions of Bill Boots. Bill is a clown in the Washington and Baltimore Clown Care Units, serving both the Children’s National Medical Center and Johns Hopkins. Of course, he wasn’t in his clown costume for Circus of the Senses. He is a great describer of the acts and a generally big-hearted fellow. To say the least, he makes it easy for me to comment on the acts. He describes so well that I only need a few words to add some humor and liveliness to the description experience. Take for example …

During the trampoline act, Bill described in detail the various flips and tricks that the acrobats were performing. He needed absolutely nothing from me. Remember, the purpose of the commentary is to enable visually impaired audience members to experience the circus acts. Descriptions are important for this audience because their image of the act must be created entirely by words, along with the musical accompaniment of course. But that doesn’t mean that a simple play-by-play of the action as it’s taking place will be sufficient enough to communicate the entire circus-going experience. So, as Bill was creating the visual picture, I was able to add colorful commentary. For the trampoline act, I chimed in a very soft “boing” alongside Bill’s description of the act every time the acrobats would hit the trampoline and fly back up into the air. Bill actually started giggling during his description. Humor and lightheartedness in the commentary helps create a better sense of the circus experience. It’s great fun working with Bill. He was so good that I got to enjoy watching the acts while being a silly version of my usual self.

And I received positive feedback after the performance as well. One of the funders from a foundation came up to me and asked, “Are you the one doing the ‘boing’? That was fantastic.” And that’s what the Circus of the Senses is about—creating a positive performance experience.

The circus is for everyone.

Well, the Big Apple Circus is finishing up in Dulles, VA this weekend, and then the big top is making its trek to its home at Lincoln Center.

*Footnote: My performance partner Michael Christensen joined me in the third year.

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