WNAA-FM brought the UniverSoul Circus to A&T to provide a free preview in Moore gym on last Wednesday.  

Students were in attendance as well as some faculty and area day care centers.  

The crowd was slow to fill the gym but by the time the 45-minute show ended, there was a packed house.

The UniverSoul circus was in Greensboro Nov. 10 – Nov.14 at the Greensboro Coliseum.  Ticket prices ranged from $10 – $26.50.

The emcee, Lucky, entertained the audience with dancing, jokes and witty humor.  He also had a clever way of introducing each circus act.  

“A circus is not a circus without clowns,” he said.  Then out came Onionhead the signature “clown from the hood.”  

Onionhead entertained with the typical clumsy clown act in addition to some balancing tricks and dancing.  

He also had a great deal of audience interaction, getting kids from the audience to play games, answer questions and even have a dance contest.  

Each audience member brought out of the crowd won four tickets to the Nov. 10 show.

Next, the African Acrobats from Central Africa took the stage.  

“We’re gonna take you to the motherland,” said Lucky.  

The African Acrobats danced to a call and response type of song along with drums.  

They did an acrobatic form of dancing in addition to balancing tricks.  

One of their acts really amazed the audience as they sat on each other’s necks while clapping and skillfully throwing each other back and forth.  

The Chinese drum line was the next act to take the floor.  They wore signature Asian outfits.

They showed their balancing abilities by juggling Asian printed drums with their feet.  

During the juggling they threw each other back and forth while catching their counterparts with their feet.

Lucky then presented the next act, Double dribble basketball.

The first two guys in the basketball segment were from Europe and displayed their basketball tricks and talents.  

They took the basketball through their legs and balanced it on their heads and fingers.  

They also spun the ball on their fingers and did several over tricks similar to those of the Harlem Globe Trotters.  

The second group of guys to join the basketball segment was four guys called the Slam Dunk All Stars.  

They used a trampoline to run and dunk the ball.  

They took turns dunking the ball while doing back flips and dancing to entertain the audience.  

Tashawna Calbreth brought a group of children from the Kiddie College daycare center.  

“It’s great that we could bring the kids to the circus for free,” she said.

Ezinma Murphy, office administrator and radio personality for WNAA-FM, said that the UniverSoul Circus reached out to A&T because of their known work in the community.  

She also said the event was a huge success. “There wasn’t an empty seat in the house, ” Murphy added.

“It’s only the beginning,” said D’sherie Lofton, program advisor for WNAA-FM.  

She also said events like the circus are done to reach out into the community.  

According to Lofton, events like these give potential students an opportunity to experience A&T events and see A&T placing emphasis on African American culture.

 

• Shequia Cole