SPECIAL CIRCUS PERFORMANCES

Big Apple Circus

www.bigapplecircus.org

Big Apple Circus has many services and even special performances for those with special needs.

The Big Top is wheelchair accessible with special seating areas for those with mobility issues. Contact the Box Office toll-free at 1-800-922-3772 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange for wheelchair accessible seating or if you have other special needs relative to mobility.

Service animals are welcome. Contact the box office for appropriate seating.

The Big Top is equipped with an FM assistive listening system. Call the Box Office to make advance arrangements. On the day you attend the Circus please inform the ticket taker that you have made a reservation for a headset. The ticket taker will ask you for a driver's license, credit card or other form of ID for security purposes and then you will have to sign the headset out. The ticket taker will hold onto your driver's license, credit card or ID until you return the headset after the show. 

An American Sign Language interpreter can be provided with advance request. A written text of the show, including dialogue, lyrics, and salient sounds is available upon request. TTY Telephone access is available at 212-957-1709 or you can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The circus also offers special sensory-friendly performances where lights are dimmed, length will be shortened, sounds lowered, and there will  be a comfortable quiet area for breaks.

Their 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. Wireless audio headsets, which utilize a state-of-the-art infrared transmission system, feature a play-by-play description of the action in the ring by Circus Founder and Co-Founder Paul Binder and Michael Christensen. American Sign Language interpreters are strategically positioned in spotlights to sign throughout the performances. Audience members also have their choice of a large-print or Braille descriptive program, distributed in advance, each of which describes the various acts in detail.

A "touch session" after the show offers a unique opportunity for pre-selected groups of visually impaired children to go into the ring to meet the artists and literally feel a clown nose, a juggler's clubs, or the silky coat of a performing dog.

Circus of the Senses is currently offered free-of-charge in Dulles, New York and Boston.