bigtrendy: bigtrendy: The point being there are plenty great clowns, magicians, acrobats, buskers, dancers, musicians, etc etc. with pagentry and theater but not animal cruelty.

That wasn’t the point you made unless it was buried in the video, which I didn’t watch. Yes there are smaller circus acts, some with and with out animals, and there are people who do acts you could see at a circus at other venues, such as the Ren Faire. Though the acts are only part of the experience, which I believe is what the author was lamenting. This includes Cirque du Soleil, which is what you pointed out as evidence that “‘the end of circuses’…laughably premature”.

It is true it is doing well, but it is also not nearly as accessible as the old circus was to the average person. And more the point, it isn’t the same experience as the circus is. More like going to a F1 Race when you wanted to go to a crash up derby. Both have cars and both have crashes, but it isn’t the same thing.