The UniverSoul Circus is the only black-owned, black-operated traveling circus in the United States, and the only place you can watch double Dutch jump-roping under a 70-foot-high big top or a Chinese bungee-jumping troupe sailing through the air to the hip-hop grooves of OutKast.
Though black-run circuses have existed in America since the turn of the last century, they were mainly regional outfits. UniverSoul has spent the past decade offering a show that combines traditional circus fun with contemporary black culture.
Its motto: "Hip-hop under the big top."
The circus is pitched in the parking lot of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa through Sunday.
The performers are mainly people of color - whether from Brooklyn, South America or Central Africa - and the acts are backed by a nine-piece band or by rap, R&B and jazz mixed by a DJ.
Music is the soul of UniverSoul: The audience is expected to sing and dance in the aisles. "When we go to a concert or church, we like to stomp our feet, snap our fingers, sing along," says ringmaster "Casual Cal" Dupree, above. Dupree, who co-founded the company in Atlanta with partner Cedric Walker in 1993, says, "We want interaction. Why go to a show when you can't sing "Hey, ho, hip-hop hooray?' "
The UniverSoul Circus performs at 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. today and Friday; noon, 4:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Sunday under the big top at the stadium, 4201 N Dale Mabry Highway. Tickets are $10 to $25. Call toll-free 1-800-316-7439 or see www.universoulcircus.com
