The Last Word: Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins on the UniverSoul Circus Returning to Dallas (2024)

UniverSoul Circus [Photo: Tim Pethel]

Tennell Atkins
Dallas Mayor Pro Tem
.…while waiting for a preview of the UniverSoul Circus at City Hall Wednesday, via NBC 5 DFW.

UniverSoul Circus has returned to Dallas, bringing its international, multicultural “hip hop under the big top” to The Shops at RedBird at 3662 Camp Wisdom Road for performances through August 11. But before the fire breathers blew their first flames and the acrobats took their first leaps, the circus offered a preview at Dallas City Hall Wednesday, where Atkins other city officials, and the public got a taste of this year’s “Family Reunion Tour.”

Celebrating its 30th year, the circus features “flying acrobats, stunts that defy the laws of physics, colorful costumes, fire breathers, stilt dancers, and the ultimate pageantry and flair.” Big-name performers from five continents are all backed by “the infectious beat of world music, including sounds and dance styles spanning the African diaspora.”

Acts from as far away as Ethiopia, Mongolia, and China

This time around, UniverSoul says it’s featuring “never-before-seen acts” from Ethiopia, the Dominican Republic, and Mongolia, along with an 18-person flying trapeze act from China.

“Our special presentation of ‘Cousins Around the World’ celebrates a global community that connects us all in a more inclusive society,” UniverSoul founder and CEO Cedric Walker said in a statement. “United in the spirit of family, we strongly believe that soul is not a color; it’s an experience.”

The circus has performed before more than 25 million people worldwide, presenting highly theatrical circus acts with a distinctive beat. Universoul’s highly interactive mix of circus arts, theater is performed to music spanning pop, classic R&B, Latin, hip hop, jazz, and gospel. And all under a new big top with advanced lighting tech and sound systems.

On a recent broadcast of the Steve Harvey Morning Show, Walker said he was told in 1994 that a circus entertaining a Black audience “would never work.” Flash forward to today, and UniverSoul has been rated as one of the top five family acts in America, along with Cirque du Soleil.

“UniverSoul Circus is presented in a brand-new custom big top imported from Italy, enhanced with advanced state-of-the-art lighting, and a sound system that moves and grooves as if it were the show itself,” Walker said.

One fan favorite that’s coming back: a Caribbean Street Carnival featuring 20-foot dancing puppets, fire-blowing stilt dancers, authentic folklore characters, and dancers from almost every Caribbean Island.

And for those craving real excitement, the “extremely dangerous wheel of death stunt masters” will be flipping, diving, and jumping on a fast-moving pendulum 60 feet in the air.

There will also be ringmaster and comedian Donald “N.O.” Long from New Orleans, kid-friendly, hip-hop dancing Fresh the Clowns, South Africa’s Sifiso Kamela, aka “Whistle Man,” and much, much, more.

You can see scenes from UniverSoul’s city hall preview in the NBC 5 DFW report.

For ticket info and more, you can go here.

For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.

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