Do you have visitors coming to visit you this holiday season and are looking for a way to entertain them while they visit the Big Apple? Then I would highly recommend taking them to The New Victory Theater in Times Square to see the U.S. Premiere of Circus Der Sinne Mother Africa. Circus Der Sinne means Circus of the Senses and this is one exciting show for your senses! The circus is not your typical circus since there are no clowns or animals but there is bright colors, vibrant music and exciting performances from 26 artists from all over Africa. My 8 year old daughter and I got to see Mother Africa this past weekend and we are still talking about it! The performance is 100 minutes long with one 15 minute intermission and there are 15 acts that will make you want to dance and then hold your breathe or gasp!
If you are not familiar with The New Victory Theater it is an awesome theater that has huge variety of shows that are excellent for children like opera, puppets and now a circus! The theater has booster seats for the smaller children and free lockers for those bulky winter coats. They also have a snack bar and will deliver your snack to you if you pre-order and the bathrooms are clean and have stools for short people! This particular show is geared for five years and older and think even a four year old would enjoy it since it is not too loud. Our opening act was a Drum Dance and then next act was the Unicycle Act that had us gasping in our seats! They rotate the acts so you go from sweating during the terrifying acts to be entertained with acts like foot juggling and hula hoops. All the performers are so talented and strong and have excellent balance & focus! In addition to entertaining us there is also some education. Sadly my knowledge of African culture is not the strongest so it was great to learn about the Gumboot dance that originated in the South African mines as a form of communication among the miners.
The whole show was fabulous but the act that was really astonishing was Ersi Teame Gebregziabher’s contortionist act. Who knew a body could fit through a tennis racket (no strings of course)! The whole time you are watching him you are thinking ow, ow, ow! My daughter loved Merherete Yeshewamebrat Kassa’s hula hoop act but her absolute favorite was when the 12 year old performer, Tomas Teka Alemu was being flipped around in the air by fellow performer, Tamrat Yemane Ayalew’s feet! He clearly doesn’t eat right before he performs!
How do they learn to do these things my daughter wanted to know? The Mother Africa director, Winston Ruddle, opened a circus college in 2005 called the Artists’ College in Tanzania. It has an open door policy where anyone can join, watch and audition. If a young person shows a significant talent then they get to study at the college and their materials, meals and transport to and from school are covered by the academy. This is such a great opportunity for young people to escape poverty in their homeland! Their joy, happiness and exuberance is so obvious throughout the show. Run to the theater with your family this holiday season and you will see why we loved Mother Africa so much!
Mother Africa is playing now through Sunday, January 5th at The New Victory Theater which is located at 209 West 42nd Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. Tickets are $17-$70. Members tickets start at $11. Please see the website for the schedule.
(Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to review the show but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own.)