One colorful circus
In 17 years UniverSoul has rainbowed into a multi-culti global spectacle - still with that pumping hip-hop pulse.
By Lori L. Tharps For The InquirerWed, Oct. 26, 2011
There are only a handful of well-known circuses in the United States: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Cirque du Soleil, Big Apple, and UniverSoul. Cedric Walker, 58, owns one of them, the one that features first-rate performers from all over the world.
Hint: It's not Cirque du Soleil.Walker is the chief executive officer and founder of UniverSoul Circus. Once considered a "black circus," UniverSoul has outgrown that categorization. Walker wants everyone to know that UniverSoul has far more to offer than just hip-hop under the big top.
"UniverSoul originated as an idea to present family entertainment relevant to the urban experience," Walker explained in an interview from his hotel room in Guayaquil, Ecuador. "We wanted to combine the various talents of black culture that wasn't just hip-hop or R&B," he said, "and we wanted to go beyond just dance or theater."
Walker got the idea for a circus after reading about black circus performers in the early 1900s. It took more than a year to put the first UniverSoul show together in 1994, and it quickly became an award-winning, groundbreaking African American circus.
Today, 17 years after the circus' debut, Walker is busy transforming UniverSoul into a global extravaganza of diverse, multicultural talent. "We're presenting acts from around the world," Walker said. But, staying true to his original mission, all of the acts and the way they are presented have an urban aesthetic and a hip-hop beat.
Hint: It's not Cirque du Soleil.Walker is the chief executive officer and founder of UniverSoul Circus. Once considered a "black circus," UniverSoul has outgrown that categorization. Walker wants everyone to know that UniverSoul has far more to offer than just hip-hop under the big top.
"UniverSoul originated as an idea to present family entertainment relevant to the urban experience," Walker explained in an interview from his hotel room in Guayaquil, Ecuador. "We wanted to combine the various talents of black culture that wasn't just hip-hop or R&B," he said, "and we wanted to go beyond just dance or theater."
Walker got the idea for a circus after reading about black circus performers in the early 1900s. It took more than a year to put the first UniverSoul show together in 1994, and it quickly became an award-winning, groundbreaking African American circus.
Today, 17 years after the circus' debut, Walker is busy transforming UniverSoul into a global extravaganza of diverse, multicultural talent. "We're presenting acts from around the world," Walker said. But, staying true to his original mission, all of the acts and the way they are presented have an urban aesthetic and a hip-hop beat.
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