Ballet of the Elephants

In 1942, a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music by Igor Stravinsky was not out of the ordinary; they had worked together many times. But one project these two lent their talents to-"Circus Polka"-was for a very unusual group of dancers: fifty elephants in tutus and fifty human ballerinas. As part of John Ringling North's Greatest Show on Earth, these performers toured 425 times in 104 cities across the country. Full-color art. Author's note. Photos of the original performance.