by Samantha Andolina
Do you remember going to the circus as a child? Or perhaps you dreamt about it? Circuses have always compelled people from a young age and the Rhythmic Circus is no different. The Rhythmic Circus comes from Minneapolis and is a renowned 12 member, live music and tap dance ensemble. Although the company’s official inception was in 2007, the troupe’s core members have been collectively choreographing and performing together since 2000. No stranger to the spotlight, they have recently opened for Savion Glover’s Bare Soundz, collaborated with Vocal Essence in Witness: A Tribute to Duke Ellington at the Ordway Performing Arts Center, and appeared in the Crash Bang Boom! Festival At the Minnesota Orchestra Hall. Rhythmic Circus combines dancing, humor, and music while also displaying positive messages for their crowd. They have performed on many popular platforms including the hit TV show America’s Got Talent.
The mission of Rhythmic Circus is to “spread positivity to audiences everywhere through inspirational experiences for all age groups and cultural backgrounds through the sensational blend of theater, music, and dance.” Many of the dancers have performed and choreographed together since 2000, but most have also known each other since childhood, having danced competitively against one another. The musicians have a similar story of supporting one another’s music before joining together as a band. Both groups decided to join forces after crossing paths backstage during an Amateur Talent Competition at the Minnesota State Fair.
The troupe is composed of a vocal percussionist, beat boxer Aaron “Heatbox” Heaton, a seven-piece band, Root City, which plays music ranging from funk to blues to Latin styles such as salsa, and four tap dancers who utilize percussive dance, a highly rhythmic and musical dance form which employs percussive foot sounds for musical expression and is a cross between modern Irish step-dance and American tap dance. Dance techniques employed by Rhythmic Circus have been likened to a cross between Blue Man Group, Stomp, and Riverdance. The show “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now!” premiered at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis in August 2008. The title for the show was adopted from an early 1900s New Orleans chant, and is meant to replicate their spirit of celebration. The show integrates rapid-fire tap, percussive dance, a percussive folding-chair routine, and a tap-beat-box showdown described as “a sonic ninja battle” all to a wide variety of musical genres. The show continues to garner rave reviews and sell-out performances to audiences of all ages.