Christmas adds its own magic to any form of entertainment, from concerts to romcoms, and the circus is no exception. Zippos Christmas Show, nestled within Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland, covers its usual fun for all the family with a snowfall of all the expected Yuletide delights: Snowballs, dancers in Santa hats, giant polar bear costumes, feel-good Christmas songs like Jingle Bells and Santa Claus is Coming To Town, clowns dressed as elves and even a climatic appearance by an enormous inflatable Father Christmas.
To walk into any big top is a magical experience, a gateway to another world, but with king poles draped in frosty silver Christmas lights, and a ring backdrop of scenery marked Elf Workshop and Reindeer House, the tent becomes a grotto - you get your money's worth just by walking in!
But London's favourite circus delivers more than Christmas wrapping and the Hyde Park edition is more than a sideshow to the surrounding Winter Wonderland. Zippos recently became the UK's first tenting circus to be awarded the Big Top Label - the quality certificate of European circuses - and it packs more genuine circus action into a fast-moving 45 minute running time than most deliver in a full-length show.
Immediately following the ensemble opening spectacular, football juggler Rafael de Carlos sets the bar high. The climax of his act sees him drop a ball from the back of his neck, give it a backwards kick with his heel onto the top of his head and from there onto the top of a ball already spinning on one finger, so he has two balls spinning one on top of each other.
The charismatic La Loka puts the circus into a jazzy song and dance routine by flipping onto her hands and performing an upside down tap dance.
Speaking of flipping, the Garcia Sisters put on a stylish display of tumbling, with big squashy gymnastics balls as props. In the climax of their routine, they wow the audience by taking turns to perform a line of continuous forward flips and back flips while holding the balls above their heads and using them as springboards for each flip.
The routine begins with one of the sisters performing high in the air on a trapeze hoop before descending to the ground for the gym ball routine. It's an example not just of the versatility of circus stars but of how to seamlessly transition a show between aerial and ground routines.
Another example of a good transition is clown duo Mr N and Timoni coming on to 'clean up' the stage with a mop and bucket skit after the bubble blowing act of Joel Farias. Maybe one of them actually was mopping up some sticky liquid spillage at the back while the other came to the front and entertained the crowd with the head falling off his mop, allowing the removal of props while the show continued without a pause.
Vlad and Viktoria blend ground-based acrobalance with aerial straps (performed solo and as a duo) in an engrossing and highly skilled acrobatic ballet set to suitably solemn music.
In contrasting mood is the climatic skipping and tumbling act of the 11-strong Mongolian Warriors. Their tricks include a three-man-pyramid that jumps over the rope as one on one turn of the rope, with the top man performing a solo somersault above the rope on the next turn.
The sheer number of performers in the Warriors' troupe is important. A circus ring is a big space under a high roof and on many shows a succession of solo acts can appear dwarfed by it, making the bill as a whole look sparse and threadbare, even if the individual acts are good. Lighting effects often amplify the emptiness of the space, rather than reduce it.
A ring full of performers always looks better, giving the impression of a big production. The Mongolian Warriors fill the ring with life and colour and also considerably swell the number of people in the ring during the opening and closing ensemble numbers, adding to the party mood.
Elsewhere in the show, the four dancers in their sparkling Christmas dresses, provide a colourful (but not distracting) backdrop to the tumbling of the Garcia Sisters - and serve a purpose, rolling the gym balls back to the performers.
At other points, the clowns and ringmaster Chris Barltrop remain in view at the back of the stage during the acts, reacting to the action - and subtly directing the attention and reactions of the audience. The clowns also lead the giant polar bears around. It all adds to the appearance of a busy ring and a big company, and turns a string of acts into a cohesive show.
The result is not only thoroughly entertaining but a masterclass in how to produce a traditional circus.
Zippos Christmas Circus is performing three shows a day at 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00 until 1 January.
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