- January 21, 2026
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Back in the day, before kids became internet influencers raking in millions of dollars, running away to join the circus was nearly every child’s dream — and every mom and dad’s nightmare. Even today, parents beg their artistically inclined offspring to major in business “just in case.”
But sometimes you can join the circus, fall head over heels in love and get a happy ending. Yeah, it never hurts to have a business degree to keep your feet on the ground.
Just ask Allison Blei, who founded Mr. Swindle’s Traveling Peculiarium with her husband, Ivan España, a fifth-generation member of a celebrated Mexican-American circus family.
The Flying Españas were inducted into the Circus Ring of Fame on St. Armands Circle in 2018. Over the years, they have performed for Disney, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Circus Sarasota and their own entrepreneurial circus ventures.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Blei first experienced the circus when her mother took her to a show when she was about 6 years old. The thrill of watching aerialists fly through the air led Blei to pursue gymnastics training as a youth.
When it came time for college, Blei followed her mom’s advice and got a business degree from Florida State University in Tallahassee. She settled into a finance job, but the circus still beckoned. When she joined the High-Flying Pages aerialist troupe, she promised her mom that it “would only be for a year or two.”
Fate had other plans for Blei, however. She was about to break what she describes as one of the rules of circus — “Don’t fall in love with another performer.” But rules are meant to be broken, right?
Blei was electrified when she met her future husband in 2007 at a benefit show where circus artists donated their time. “When Ivan showed interest in me, I tried to stay away, but I couldn’t. Ivan is very charming,” she reminisced during a video interview.
Just six months after meeting, Blei and España decided to move in together.
Along with her husband, and her stepson Sian, Ivan’s frequent collaborator on motorcycle acts, the Wheel of Destiny and other death-defying contraptions, Blei has traveled the world.
“Ivan did the motorcycles in the Sphere. We did a Canadian tour, we performed at the Sydney Opera House. We spent a year in South Korea,” she says.
Along the way, the couple had two kids and got married, in that order. Eventually, they settled near Englewood and formed Salto Entertainment, the producer of Mr. Swindle’s.
Since there is no shortage of circus in Sarasota, which John Ringling made the winter home of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in 1927 and where Pedro Reis and Dolly Jacobs formed the Circus Arts Conservatory in 1997, Blei and España decided to build a brand for themselves with what Blei describes as a “naughty” circus.
Perhaps the story is apocryphal, but Blei says the idea for Mr. Swindle’s Traveling Peculiarium came during a night of drinking Crown Royal Whiskey with her husband. “We still serve it at the show,” she adds.
Blei and España decided to go back in a tent (they had been performing on stages) and to make their circus smaller than Cirquesa, a previous venture of Ivan and Sian España’s that was sold and is currently based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
But here was their real takeaway from an evening of drinking, according to Blei: “We realized people don’t always remember what they saw or what they heard, but they will remember how they felt. It’s very important that they get a good experience.”
The result of the alcohol-fueled brainstorming was the adults-only circus long on humor and sexual innuendo, Mr. Swindle’s, which debuted in 2018.
We don’t want give away any spoilers for the circus, which is presided over by a mysterious man in a top hat called Mr. Swindle, whose identity will remain a secret. But how about a few teasers?
One of the most popular acts in Mr. Swindle’s is the husband-and-wife team Jonathan Taylor and Anne Goldmann of Daredevil Chicken Club, who get laughs and raise eyebrows with their banana act.
Any phallic associations elicited by the tropical fruit are intentional. “If we’re not offending someone, we’re not doing our job,” Blei says.
Another crowd pleaser is contortionist Elayne Kramer, who performs with the monicker “Serpentina.” Father-and-son Ivan and Sian España perform on the cylinders. Blei’s act is called “Ms. Sin.”
The emcee of the show is comedian Frank Ferrante, whose stage persona is “Dr.Elixir.” Ferrante is a longtime Groucho Marx impersonator, Blei says. “He’s the top of the top,” she adds.
Like traveling medicine shows of the 19th century, Mr. Swindle peddles “perplexing potions, bitter brews and mischievous medicines” in Dr. Elixir’s Drink-Ory Garden. As in olden days, these potent concoctions contain alcohol.
Proceeds from the sales in the Drink-Ory go back into the communities where Mr. Swindle performs, Blei says, noting that Mr. Swindle recently donated $35,000 to the Kiwanis Club of Punta Gorda.
Some of the money is distributed through the nonprofit Circus and Performing Arts Foundation. “We turn a naughty habit into good deed,” Blei says.
Asked for the names of some cocktails served in the Drink-Ory, Blei replies, “We’ve got one called ‘Cactus Juice’ and another called ‘The Moaner.’ We like to switch up the names.”
Mr. Swindle’s used to travel as far north as Boston, but this year the adults-only circus is staying in Florida, performing in Englewood, Sarasota, Punta Gorda, Boca Raton, Jupiter, The Villages and Port St. Lucie.
Like the legendary Wallenda family of high-wire artists, the Españas are no strangers to tragedy. Sian España’s mother and Ivan’s first wife, Bulgarian acrobat Dessi Kehayova, died in a circus accident in 2004 while performing for Ringling Bros. in St. Paul, Minnesota.
But the España circus tradition continues. Sian’s sister, Zore, performs with Cirque du Soleil. Ivan and Allison’s two children, Kiano and Estan, are still too young to perform in an adults-only circus.
With delays in obtaining visas for foreign performers becoming more commonplace in the past year, Salto Entertainment is relying on U.S. talent to perform in Mr. Swindle’s.
With the España family’s long history in the business and a robust circus community in Sarasota sustained by the Circus Arts Conservatory, that’s not a problem. Mr. Swindle’s also brings in performers based in California and Las Vegas, Blei says.
Is it possible for local audiences to become bored with circus? Perhaps, allows Blei, but she thinks Mr. Swindle’s has a unique niche. It draws couples who want to get the spark back in their relationship and those looking to start a fire.
But Blei doesn’t want to leave an interviewer with the wrong impression. Mr. Swindle’s isn’t just about sex, alcohol and thrills. “We have people laughing so hard that they’re crying,” Blei says. “Life can be hectic and it can be sad, but we all need a break from our troubles. That’s what we provide.”
