If you love the circus, you are in for a treat.
From trampoline daredevils and high-wire wizards to stunning acrobats and limbo dancers from Trinidad, eye-popping talent will soon be on big display in metro Atlanta as various circus performances come to town.
If you want to learn circus tricks like juggling, head over to the annual Groundhog Day Jugglers Festival in early February (it’s free for spectators), and they will happily give you some pointers on juggling.
>>See a photo gallery of circuses here
A fitness studio that combines fitness and circus arts will not only teach you some circus tricks but help you look like a circus performer in tiptop shape. Here’s a look at some circus fun in Atlanta:
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey ‘Circus Xtreme’
Ringling Bros. combines the classics — daring high-wire acts, a huge cast of clowns and human cannonball — with some new surprises, including a bungee aerial skydiving display.
Don’t worry. You’ll still see traditional circus fare such as horse and camel riders, tigers, a strongman and multiple clowns.
But the circus, which lasts about 2 1/2 hours, is also undergoing a major change, with elephants taking their last bow in Georgia. Last year in March, Feld Entertainment announced that the elephants would be phased out by 2018. But the process has moved more quickly. The elephants that are now part of the Ringling Bros. shows will be sent to the circus's Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida.
Feb. 10-15 at Philips Arena. $15-$100. Various times (check website for details). Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
Feb. 18-28 at Infinite Energy Arena. $15-$100. Various times (check website for details). Infinite Energy Arena, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 770-626-2464, www.infiniteenergycenter.com.
MORE: Must-see children’s productions to take stage across Atlanta
UniverSoul Circus
http://youtu.be/F1qCFFOqrk8
Atlanta-based UniverSoul, a highly interactive combination of circus arts, theater and music, returns to the Turner Field Green Parking Lot next month. This is a circus that prides itself on celebrating cultures from around the world and bringing them together under the big top. Get ready for edge-of-your seat performances that showcase a multicultural/multinational cast — motorcycle daredevils from Colombia, limbo dancers from Trinidad and Tobago, and a new act from Cuba features acrobatic stunts high in the air with performers hanging and swinging only by their hair.
Feb. 3-28. Various times (check website for details). $20-$38. Turner Field Green Parking Lot, 755 Hank Aaron Drive, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
Cirque du Soleil, ‘Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities’
http://youtu.be/HmnJBc0M1lY
Cirque du Soleil is not your everyday circus. But you can expect “Kurios,” which will be staged under the familiar blue-and-yellow big top at Atlantic Station, to deliver an awe-inspiring experience.
Set in the latter half of the 19th century, Cirque’s 35th production is named for odd but benevolent characters who inhabit the Seeker’s Cabinet of Curiosities, a fantasy world where, as Cirque’s ad pitches, “seeing is disbelieving.” Expect to see a stunning acrobatic spectacle that will really leave you wondering, how on Earth did they just do that?
Since opening in Montreal in May 2014, “Kurios” has been garnering rave reviews as it performs in cities across the country and Canada.
March 3-May 8. Various day and evening showtimes every day except Mondays and a few Tuesdays (check website for details). $35 -$495. Under the blue-and-yellow big top at Atlantic Station. Atlantic Station, 1380 Atlantic Drive N.W., Atlanta. 1-877-9 CIRQUE (1-877-924-7783), www.cirquedusoleil.com/usa/atlanta/kurios/buy-tickets.
Watch behind-the-scenes Kurios videos here.
The Groundhog Day Jugglers Festival
The Atlanta Jugglers Association's annual juggling festival will take place Feb. 5-7, a three-day extravaganza featuring some of the finest jugglers in the Southeast.
You’ll find jugglers, unicyclists, hoopers, live music and family fun for all ages at the annual Groundhog Day Jugglers Festival. Know how to juggle? Want to pick up a few new tricks? Just like to watch and maybe learn how to juggle? Admission is free to the public, with juggling shows at 2 and 10 p.m. Feb. 6. You can even ask at the registration table for a free juggling lesson.
Juggling competitions, games, workshops and events will take place 5-10 p.m. Feb. 5; 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Feb. 6 and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 7.
Feb. 5-7. Free for spectators. (One exception is the late-night cabaret Saturday evening is $10 for the public and participants.) $30 for participants (jugglers, unicylists, yo-yoists, hoopers, etc.). Yaarab Shrine Center, 400 Ponce de Leon Ave. N.E., Atlanta. www.atlantajugglers.org.
Circus Arts Institute
Ever dream of running away with the circus? Well, this may be the next best thing. You know many acts require performers to be in tiptop shape. And at classes at Circus Arts Institute, you can combine fitness and circus arts for a fun, unusual way to exercise. In these fitness classes, students brave the trapeze, gymnastic-style rings, silks, Spanish web, balancing boards, juggling and hand balancing. Classes take place at a warehouse studio near Candler Park.
Year-round: 7-8:30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays. Rates are $33 per class (discounts for purchases of four classes and up). Note: Students aren't required to invest in equipment. They perform the stunts barefoot, and yoga-friendly apparel or leggings work just fine. Circus Arts Institute, 206 Rogers St. N.E., Suite 214, Atlanta. 404-549-3000, www.circusartsinstitute.com.
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