THE BALLOON MAN

UniverSoul Circus defies all boundaries

 

Scott Cunningham
The UniverSoul Circus is bringing its Party Rock Dancers to State Fair Park in West Allis next week.
By Jackie Loohauis-Bennett of the Journal Sentinel
from---jsonline.com
Oct 10, 2012
Milwaukee---If you've ever dreamed of joining the circus, mark Tuesday on your calendar. It's the day you can become part of a troupe under the big top.

That's when the UniverSoul Circus, a live show that combines urban energy with audience participation, starts its six-day run at State Fair Park in

 West Allis.

 

UniverSoul Circus steps it up
Come prepared to jump up. "The interactiveness, the fan participation. You're in the action," says UniverSoul spokesman Hank Ernest. "When you get there, our dancers and our performers go into the audience. They'll have them dancing with them, high-fiving the ringmaster. They'll pull you out in the aisle. This is something you will want to do."

You'll want to dance in the aisle, Ernest explains, because of the circus' music lineup - everything from hip-hop to classics to salsa to jazz. "The power of the sound is part of the feeling. The music gets you out of your seat. We keep up to date with today's music, so it's like party-type radio."

But there's more than music to get audience members caught up in the two-hour show. Even the Cash Funny improv comedy group draws the audience into the ring.

"People come to UniverSoul expecting to be involved, to be part of the family. We do the loudest shout under the big top together. We do 'Simon Says.' We do a skit for 'I Smile,' the gospel song," says Cash Funny member Reggie Jackson (no, not that Reggie Jackson - this one's female).

The group, which includes Clayton English from TV's Tyler Perry's "House of Payne," also involves UniverSoul audience members in "skits from everyday life, like the Home Shopping Network," says Jackson.

Internationally known performers, of course, will still take the lead in the UniverSoul lineup of circus arts, dance, music and theater. The dancers in the show have appeared on the BET awards, Ernest says. "The show is all choreographed on the cutting edge of hip-hop dancing."
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