The removal of Circus Arts Conservatory co-founder Dolly Jacobs from her board positions has prompted widespread reaction within the circus world, raising questions about the circumstances surrounding her departure and leading members of the community to launch a petition calling for greater transparency.
For nearly three decades, Dolly Jacobs has been closely associated with Sarasota’s circus identity and with the organization that eventually became the Circus Arts Conservatory (CAC). That relationship changed this summer when Jacobs’ employment with the organization ended and she was removed from its board of directors.
The circumstances behind that decision have not been publicly explained in detail. What has become clear in the days since the news emerged, however, is the depth of feeling Jacobs continues to inspire within the circus community, and the intensity of the reaction to her departure.
From co-founder to departure
Jacobs and fellow circus artist Pedro Reis founded the National Circus School of Performing Arts in Sarasota in 1997. The organization later became Circus Sarasota and, in 2013, was renamed the Circus Arts Conservatory. Over the years, CAC expanded beyond professional performances to include education and community programming, including the historic Sailor Circus Academy.
Jacobs herself has a long history in the circus. The daughter of celebrated Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey clown Lou Jacobs, she trained with Sailor Circus before becoming a professional aerialist. Her career included performances with Ringling Bros. and the Big Apple Circus, international recognition and a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship.
A significant leadership transition at CAC had already taken place before the current controversy. In November 2024, Jennifer Mitchell became the organization’s president and CEO after previously serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer. At that time, Jacobs and Reis stepped away from day-to-day leadership. Observer reported that Jacobs was to remain with the organization as a vice president, while her ex-husband, Reis continued in an advisory capacity.
That arrangement did not last.
According to Sarasota Magazine, Jacobs announced through a statement prepared with her attorneys that CAC had ended her employment and removed her from its board. Although the action had reportedly occurred earlier in the summer, Jacobs did not publicly announce her departure until September 11. Sarasota Magazine first reported the development on September 15.
CAC confirmed the separation and publicly acknowledged Jacobs’ role in building the organization, crediting her artistry, vision and long-standing contribution to the institution. The organization also emphasized its intention to continue its mission and move forward under its current leadership.
Why Jacobs was removed remains unclear
One of the central questions surrounding the situation is why Jacobs’ relationship with the organization ended.
CAC President and CEO Jennifer Mitchell has not disclosed specific internal details. In a September 18 ArtsBeat report, also published by Sarasota Magazine, Mitchell described the changes in the context of CAC’s evolution from a founder-led organization into a larger institution requiring more formal organizational structures and procedures. She also indicated that some matters surrounding the separation are confidential.
According to the same report, Mitchell said there was not one specific incident that precipitated Jacobs’ removal. She also stressed that CAC continues to value the contributions of its founders and remains focused on its students, artists and programs.
Those explanations, however, have not stopped members of the circus community from asking what happened.
The circus community reacts
The announcement quickly moved beyond a local organizational story.
Social media erupted with messages from performers, circus families, alumni, supporters and people who have known Jacobs throughout her career. Many expressed disbelief that one of the organization’s founders could be removed from both her employment and board position. Others raised questions about governance, institutional history and the future relationship between CAC and Sarasota’s broader circus community.
The scale of support for Jacobs has been particularly notable.
In reporting originally produced by ArtsBeat Sarasota Magazine and other local outlets, eighth-generation circus performer Kay Rosaire described receiving reactions not only from Sarasota but from circus professionals around the United States and Europe. Rosaire and other longtime members of Sarasota’s circus community met at Showfolks of Sarasota on September 16 to discuss the situation and possible next steps, including seeking communication with CAC’s board.
The ArtsBeat report also documented strongly worded social-media reactions, including supporters discussing withholding future support from CAC and others calling for action on Jacobs’ behalf. At the same time, some commenters expressed support for Jacobs while also emphasizing their continued belief in CAC and its programs.
That distinction is important. The public discussion has often been emotional, but the underlying situation remains one in which significant information has not been made public. The reasons for the board’s decision, the internal process that led to it and the governance considerations involved remain largely unknown outside the organization.
A petition asks for transparency
The controversy has now led members and supporters of the circus community to organize a petition titled “Stand With Dolly: A Petition for Transparency.”
Despite its title, the petition explicitly states that its purpose is not to determine who is right or wrong in the dispute. Instead, its organizers say they want additional information released so that members of the community can understand what occurred and draw their own conclusions.
The petition asks CAC to make available documents relating to its governance, including the bylaws in effect at the beginning of 2024, subsequent amendments or replacements, information showing what changed, records connected with the approval of those changes, and the board action relating to Jacobs’ removal. It also asks for an explanation of why the changes and removal were considered necessary.
Signatories are specifically asked to acknowledge that supporting the petition does not mean they have concluded that wrongdoing occurred or that they have chosen one side of the dispute.
The petition can be viewed and signed here:
Stand With Dolly: A Petition for Transparency
An institution and a community closely intertwined
The reaction to Jacobs’ departure also illustrates something larger about the circus world—and about founder-led organizations more broadly.
History offers many examples of founders and visionaries eventually becoming separated from the very organizations they created. Sometimes those transitions are necessary, sometimes they are complicated, and sometimes the full circumstances are never visible to the public. But regardless of what happened internally at CAC, there is an important distinction between an individual’s current role within an institution and the historical credit owed to the person who helped bring that institution into existence.
A founder is often more than an executive title. The founder carries the original idea, vision, passion and, in many cases, much of the cultural DNA from which an organization grows. When that person is suddenly removed, there is a danger that the transition can feel like an erasure—not only of a position, but of decades of work, sacrifice and devotion that helped make the organization possible in the first place.
That is part of what appears to be driving the extraordinary response to Jacobs’ departure. For many people in the circus community, the issue is not simply whether CAC had the legal or organizational authority to make a leadership decision. It is also about ensuring that Dolly Jacobs’ contribution to the creation and development of the Circus Arts Conservatory remains visible, acknowledged and respected.
In this sense, the community petition carries significance beyond the immediate dispute. Its call for transparency also provides a public way for members of the circus community to affirm Jacobs’ place in the organization’s history and to restore a sense of recognition and dignity at a moment when many supporters feel that her legacy has been diminished.
Circus organizations are institutions, but they are also built on generations of personal relationships, family histories, mentorships and shared experiences. In Sarasota in particular, circus history extends far beyond any single organization. Jacobs is part of that history, while CAC has become an important contemporary institution serving young artists, professional performers and audiences.
For now, those histories—and differing understandings of what happened—are colliding in a very public way.
StageLync reached out to both Dolly Jacobs and the Circus Arts Conservatory for comment. At the time of publication, neither had responded to our request.
Image source: Dolly Jacobs social media
This post was last modified on September 21, 2026 9:22 pm