An Intro to Cirque Nouvea c/o Afrique En Cirque's Millersville Show
September 22, 2024 |
| Afrique En Cirque concert at Winter Center, Millersville - September 2024 |
Hi beautiful souls,
Have you ever been to a circus show?
Well, after the Man City v Arsenal game (which ended in a draw), I went to one...the new type, apparently there are types, and the new ones have chiseled men that make you forget what you went to see. I will break them down for you, as I attempt to share about Afrique En Cirque, the circus show I went to.
Prior to this experience, I have always equated circus to those elephant balancing on a barrel type shows that are held in large tents, and move from city to city with exotic animals like those 'owned' by Siegfried and Roy or Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin. Yes, I was part of the crew that binge-watched all the human-animal documentaries that came out during the pandemic.
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| Seigfried and Roy - Image Source |
While theirs was not circus, I thought to share because part of what they did, doing shows with animals is part of what the traditional circus world was all about. Generally, there are two broad categories - traditional and contemporary circus. While the former includes animals, clowns, magicians and jugglers, daredevil type things - think fire eating, cannon balls, and other large tent performances, the latter is more of a theatre performance. It does not include animals, and the acts are interconnected through a storyline that the audience follow from the beginning of the show to the end...think traditional circus (minus the animals) meets theatre/musicals.
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| My ticket to the show, will definitely want to see them again, hopefully I will concentrate second time around - September 2024 |
The most I have seen in relation to this world, is the occasional juggler and acrobatic troupe, that sometimes had a fire eater and bottle balancer. Back home in Kenya, most of them either did there shows at open air markets or during national public holiday events. The only spot I can think of that had a somewhat organized show is a spot called Safari Park Hotel which used to (not sure if they do anymore) host a weekly performance by a group called Safari Cats Dancers.
Clearly, I did not get the tickets because of my love and knowledge about things circus, I got them because I love it when acts from Africa come to my neck of the woods - I have blogged about Soweto Gospel's Concert and did a photo dump of Jupiter & Okwess' show - and I will go to their shows regardless of what they are (unless they are promoting harm for self and others).
Afrique En Circle, the show I went to, is classified under the contemporary circle aka the new circus or Cirque Nouveau. Right now, Canadian based Cirque du Soleil is considered the powerhouse of the genre, and Yamoussa, the guy in charge of Afrique En Circle did some shows with them before forming his own production company.
Cirque du Soleil, was however, not his main cirque before he ventured on his own (how many times have I said cirque and circus?). Yamoussa who is originally from Guinea (West Africa), was part of the local circus there - Circus Baobab, think the Kenyan version - acrobats et al.
The group went on a couple of tours including one in Europe..and while in Spain, Cirque Eloize (another big time cirque based in Canada) liked his moves and hired him as an acrobat. He toured with them until 2012 when he decided to form his own company, Les Productions Kalabante (Kalabante Productions)...which added a new flavor to the Cirque Nouveau space - African music and dance.
He is said to have hired members of his extended family as part of the troupe, and together they toured various parts of the world, with their recent tour bringing them to my 'neck of the woods'.
Be warned, I will not do a good job reviewing the show (hence the long history lesson). My excuses - 1) I was distracted by how chiseled the men were 2) I was too busy holding onto the edge of my seat when some of the acts did those boneless type twists.
The little I can share, beside the bodies on those men, is that the main storyline was daily life in Guinea (which is a West African Country). The show opened with a fish market, a shirtless Yamoussa plays a tune at that reminded me of Salif Keita's Je t'aime me amour...I started speaking in tongues because I was getting 'voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir' thoughts...did I say that man is FINE!!!! the end
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| A write up about the group and concert |
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| The Opening Act, I went to heaven and beyond from the opening scene - September 2024 |
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| I was far from the stage but could still see those abs - September 2024 |
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| This part reminded me of Safari Cats Dancers and Acrobats based at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi |
After the show, I ran to TellUS360's rooftop to cool off, as I caught something local - these 'exotic acts' had me tripping. It was the last show of the season by my favorite local band here in Lancaster - Big Boy Brass Band. It was amazing as usual, but not at the 'voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir' level.
If you hear that the circus are in town, please check if it is Yamoussa and his troupe before dismissing the announcement. Cirque Nouveau can change your life...so please buy a ticket...heck buy me a ticket, I will find my way there...as a matter of fact, I have learnt a couple of circus tricks from all this research, that I would like to discuss with Yamoussa, privately...see rehearsals below.
Until the next show,
Sending love and light,
Sitawa
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