RINGLING: Yes, as in the Ringling Bros of circus fame. In this case: John Ringling and his wife, Mable who – after amassing a considerable fortune from not only the circus, but also from ventures in oil, railroads, real estate, and much more – built a palatial Venetian-style mansion on a lush tropical estate in Sarasota, Florida, then added a grand Italianate Museum of Art filled with a collection of Old Master paintings. Upon John’s death in 1936, he left it all to the state of Florida, and it is on this 66-acre, water-front paradise – now replete with 300,000 square feet of Museum exhibition space and three fully-equipped theaters – that Festival-goers will experience the new RIAF.
INTERNATIONAL: Geographically, we’re talking about performing artists from nearly a dozen countries and four continents. More importantly, however, is the rich diversity of ideas, forms, and genres that will come together on the gulf shores of Sarasota Bay. Here, the sonnets Shakespeare will converse with the choreography of Shemy, the abstract expressions of Louise Fishman will be considered in the light of Veronese, and an Australian chanteuse named Meow Meow will vie with the fiery Spanish flamenco of Compania María Pagès. Add to that world premieres in theater, music, and dance, and you have veritable Babel of international artistic expression.
ARTS: Always a tough one to define. Personally, any deeply considered and beautifully realized articulation of the human experience that prompts from the soul an imaginative response qualifies as art. At RIAF it is our hope that music, theater, dance, art, will prompt a collective response from Festival-goers to expand the circle we call “us” by embracing new concepts of expression we may have once considered too foreign to appreciate or understand.
FESTIVAL: Comes from the same root as “feast” – which means you better come hungry for a multi-course celebration of sounds, sights, ideas, passions, and curiosities. Perhaps your main dish will be theater, with an appetizer of dance and a dessert of fine art. Maybe you’ll indulge in a diet of nothing but music. But to fully experience a feast, you must dip into every dish, savor every morsel, chew it all over with friends, and then leave the table not sated – but always hungry for more.
