Florida’s cultural side is somewhat veiled to the masses, many of whom erroneously associate it as a state strewn with noisy families, brash resorts and Disneyworld. Recognizing Florida as encompassing a unique beauty, emanating sophistication and charm, John Ringling and his wife chose to build their winter home in the stunning surroundings of Sarasota Bay before constructing the Museum of Art in 1931. In doing so, the Ringling’s also created an air of culture, intellectualism and artistic inspiration to eternally hang over Sarasota’s streets.

Today Ringling’s legacy has been cultivated onto an international scale within the world of arts, and the artistically elite now flock to the west coast of Florida to catch a breath of the inspirational artistic air that suspends over the towns here. Given its uncanny knack for providing artistic inspiration – a privilege revealed by the many world-class ballet, opera, theatre and musical shows displayed here – Sarasota is arguably the only place in the world that deserves to host the Ringling International Arts Festival.

This year the arts festival is starting on October 13 when it will commence a five-day showdown premiering music, dance and theatre, presented in the galleries and gardens of the 66-acre plot John and Mable Ringling crafted.  Working in collaboration with the Baryshnikov Arts Centre of New York, with some of the biggest names in dance, theatre and music performing, this year’s festival promises to be breathtaking.    

Eleven stage productions and 54 performances are due to concert in Sarasota this October, including premieres by the Forman Brothers and Philip Glass. A new play written by the Pulitzer Award winning dramatist , guarantees to get pulses racing, especially as it will embrace the festival’s biggest star – Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Possessing the grace of a swan yet the strength of a bull, the Russian ballet sensation Mikhail Baryshnikov will be performing at the Ringling International Arts Festival 2010. Mikhail Baryshnikov has become a household name, even amongst the none balletomanes of modern civilization. It stands to reason that such a superlative dancer only performs in the most revered of events and is yet further attestation of the inherent cultural dynasty Ringling left on this western stretch of Floridian coastline.   

John Ringling may be well remembered for an electrifying circus showman but his greatest feat of all was bringing art and culture to Sarasota and with stars such as Mikhail Baryshnikov putting in a luminary performance at the Ringling International Arts Festival 2010 we can rest assures that John Ringling would grant a nod of artistic approval.

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