Sweltering rays of heat greeted me as I took the first step out of my car toward the radiant red and yellow tent that awaited me. Automatically upon arrival, my entire body was cooled down by Power Breezer fans – and the buttery sweet aroma of popcorn. It filled my senses as I tried to decide whether to order soul wings or a funnel cake to compliment my snow cone.
As I gathered my snacks, it finally hits me. I am attending my first ever black circus on the 25th anniversary of its existence. As a young black girl from Oklahoma, the only circus that often came to town was Barnum & Bailey’s Circus, which I attended nearly a decade ago. As legendary as it was, it, much like many circuses, lacked diversity. Therefore, I was ready to see a show unlike any other, and was greatly appeased upon first glance at the great amount of diversity, trust, and family atmosphere in and outside of the ring.
The first thing that caught my eye was an African American clown sporting rainbow dreadlocks doing the “shoot dance,” and “milly rocking” to make the crowd go wild. In addition, two other clowns with equally colorful and for once, non-appropriated afros joined their brother to make a total of three African American clowns continuously cantering through each aisle. They did a remarkable job at ensuring the UniverSoul Circus was one of the most interactive performances out there.
Kicking off the show were clusters of tribal dancers and musicians cascading through explosions of color as over 10 foot-tall towering figures grooved and waved to the beat of African drums and melodies. It was so refreshing from the jump, to witness African culture being incorporated into mainstream family fun.
Other cultures highlighted involved South Africa, West Africa, Cuba, Colombia, India, East Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, and China. Performers came together from all over the world working together as one family to celebrate the circus 25th anniversary. Their pride for their country became clearly evident through each uniform, song choice, and dance number.
Other attributes to pop out under the big top was the great level of trust the circus members had in one another, especially in the family acts while displaying acrobatic stunts. During those moments that made our hearts soft-pedal as the heights escalated, it is crazy to see how cautiously calm the performers faces appeared.
I had never witnessed acts with such rhythm and soul before, combined with tremendous amounts of team work. My friend and I made an effort to point out performers contributing to multiple aspects of the overall circus. The female acrobat was in charge of face painting children before the show; one of the ticket masters performed during the magic show; and many of the muscular men changed into all black uniforms to help move each set.
The sense of community during the entire show stood out from any entertainment space I have ever experienced. It was beautiful to watch children’s eyes light up as they saw professionals who looked just like them dance to songs they could relate to as they flew across the air committing death-defying trick after trick.
This is truly a performance for everyone with a message of unity. The ringmaster closed the show making the entire audience repeat after him, saying, “I am unique, and so are you. I will love those that are different than me. We are all a part of one race, the human race.”
The 25th anniversary tour of the UniverSoul Circus take place in St. Louis from July 12-22 at The Dome at America’s Center. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com or by calling (314) 231-4445. For more information on UniverSoul Circus, visit http://www.UniverSoulcircus.com/.
