Join the circus, see sky
Chicago acrobat won't let vertical challenge keep him down
Omar Dudley shows off his hoop skills at Washington Park, where he's appearing with the UniverSoul Circus. October 12, 2010
BY MISHA DAVENPORT mdavenport@suntimes.com
Despite his 5-foot-1½-inch height, Chicago native Omar Dudley is something of a basketball superstar.
At least to those in attendance at the UniverSoul Circus.
As part of that circus' Slam Dunk Allstars, the 21-year-old is part of a three-man alley-oop, a six-man lay-up and, like most guys in the Allstars, he also jumps off a springboard, does body twists and somersaults in the air and still makes baskets 13 shows a week. Occasionally a ring of fire is involved.
"I might be the shortest guy, but I have the hottest moves," he says with a smile.
Antron Morgan, the producer of the Slam Dunk Allstars, agrees.
"Omar came in to audition as a mascot for the Atlanta Hawks for the halftime show I also produce, and I was amazed by his athleticism," the 27-year-old producer says. "He's amazing on a trampoline, and I told them to put him in UniverSoul and see what he can do."
Morgan caught up with Dudley in May and was impressed with what he saw.
"He does a 'Rudi' going into the net [a somersault with a one-and-a-half body twist] followed by a backout [a one-and-a-quarter somersault]," Morgan says. "Very few acrobats can do it. And he does it with a basketball and still makes the shot."
Dudley says it's taken a lot of practice to get to the level that he's at, and he has a few scars to prove it.
"This isn't something you want to try at home without training," he cautions. "I've busted open my forehead when I overshot and hit the rim, and I've trained for three months to do what I do."
The most common injury: an ankle sprain.
"I know it's a theater thing to say to a performer 'break a leg,' but don't tell me that," he says with a laugh. "It could happen. I've already been injured 20 times this year, and we still have another two months of touring."
Despite the hazards, he says the stunts aren't nearly as dangerous as the neighborhood in which he grew up. Dudley lived in the Henry Horner Homes until he was 12 and started touring with the Jesse White Tumblers and other acts.
And he says his life could have easily turned out so different, had it not been for a few mattresses from the trash and a knack for tumbling.
"We didn't have much, and my friends and I would pull out these discarded mattresses and jump and tumble," he recalls. "Where I grew up, there aren't a lot of things kids can do and even less they can look up to."
Gangs and drugs were so prevalent, they sometimes seemed like the only way out.
Dudley had his tumbling, though. He says it kept him focused and engaged in something more wholesome than the alternatives."Performing gave me a way to better myself," he says.
It also enabled him to see the world.
"Growing up in the Horner Homes, the 10-block radius of my neighborhood was my world," he says. "It wasn't until I began traveling that I realized just how small that world was."
Dudley has toured the United States five times and been all over the world. He still has a few places he hasn't seen, though.
"I really want to do a tour through Europe," he says. "There is a tradition of circuses in Europe, and I would like to perform there and also catch a couple of circuses."
Dudley is pragmatic about it all and realizes he won't be tumbling forever. "You can only do this as long as your body doesn't give out," he says.
When he can no longer can tour, he plans to come back to Chicago and pay it forward.
"I was given a chance to get out and it was never a question of whether or not I would give back to the community, but when," he says. "Eventually, I'll be back here to coach kids to do what I'm doing."
Despite his 5-foot-1½-inch height, Chicago native Omar Dudley is something of a basketball superstar.
At least to those in attendance at the UniverSoul Circus.
As part of that circus' Slam Dunk Allstars, the 21-year-old is part of a three-man alley-oop, a six-man lay-up and, like most guys in the Allstars, he also jumps off a springboard, does body twists and somersaults in the air and still makes baskets 13 shows a week. Occasionally a ring of fire is involved.
"I might be the shortest guy, but I have the hottest moves," he says with a smile.
Antron Morgan, the producer of the Slam Dunk Allstars, agrees.
"Omar came in to audition as a mascot for the Atlanta Hawks for the halftime show I also produce, and I was amazed by his athleticism," the 27-year-old producer says. "He's amazing on a trampoline, and I told them to put him in UniverSoul and see what he can do."
Morgan caught up with Dudley in May and was impressed with what he saw.
"He does a 'Rudi' going into the net [a somersault with a one-and-a-half body twist] followed by a backout [a one-and-a-quarter somersault]," Morgan says. "Very few acrobats can do it. And he does it with a basketball and still makes the shot."
Dudley says it's taken a lot of practice to get to the level that he's at, and he has a few scars to prove it.
"This isn't something you want to try at home without training," he cautions. "I've busted open my forehead when I overshot and hit the rim, and I've trained for three months to do what I do."
The most common injury: an ankle sprain.
"I know it's a theater thing to say to a performer 'break a leg,' but don't tell me that," he says with a laugh. "It could happen. I've already been injured 20 times this year, and we still have another two months of touring."
Despite the hazards, he says the stunts aren't nearly as dangerous as the neighborhood in which he grew up. Dudley lived in the Henry Horner Homes until he was 12 and started touring with the Jesse White Tumblers and other acts.
And he says his life could have easily turned out so different, had it not been for a few mattresses from the trash and a knack for tumbling.
"We didn't have much, and my friends and I would pull out these discarded mattresses and jump and tumble," he recalls. "Where I grew up, there aren't a lot of things kids can do and even less they can look up to."
Gangs and drugs were so prevalent, they sometimes seemed like the only way out.
Dudley had his tumbling, though. He says it kept him focused and engaged in something more wholesome than the alternatives."Performing gave me a way to better myself," he says.
It also enabled him to see the world.
"Growing up in the Horner Homes, the 10-block radius of my neighborhood was my world," he says. "It wasn't until I began traveling that I realized just how small that world was."
Dudley has toured the United States five times and been all over the world. He still has a few places he hasn't seen, though.
"I really want to do a tour through Europe," he says. "There is a tradition of circuses in Europe, and I would like to perform there and also catch a couple of circuses."
Dudley is pragmatic about it all and realizes he won't be tumbling forever. "You can only do this as long as your body doesn't give out," he says.
When he can no longer can tour, he plans to come back to Chicago and pay it forward.
"I was given a chance to get out and it was never a question of whether or not I would give back to the community, but when," he says. "Eventually, I'll be back here to coach kids to do what I'm doing."
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