Wonder Circus
media release: Madison Circus Space Presents Wonder Circus on Friday-Saturday, May 31 & June 1, 2024 and Clown Theory and the Creative Performer Workshop on May 29, 2024
“Wonder Circus” is a celebration of all things awe inspiring, from the cosmos to the human experience, and featuring aerial and floor dance, juggling, and clowning. This family-friendly event is emceed by guest artist, Benjamin Domask-Ruh, director, performer, teacher, musician, and clown residing in Minnesota and working all around the world. Special guests, Natalia Armacanqui of Kallpa House of Spirit Dances, will perform in Saturday shows. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway will make a guest appearance during the Friday show. Showtimes: Friday, May 31, 7:00 pm and Saturday, June 1, 4:30 & 8:00 pm.
Tickets are sliding scale from $12 to $60 for this seated show and can be purchased online: https://madisoncircusspace.
Clown Theory and the Creative Performer Workshop Info - May 29, 2024 6-8pm
Circus performers, comedians, improv artists, and anyone engaging with an audience are invited to explore the craft of stage presence + audience engagement i.e. “Clown Theory” plus delve into act creation in “The Creative Circus Performer”. Workshop fees are sliding scale, $40-75. This workshop is sponsored in part by Dane Arts and Madison Circus Space. Open to participants ages 16 and over or with special permission from organizers. To register and for more information go to https://forms.gle/
About Madison Circus Space
The mission of Madison Circus Space, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is to be a home for modern circus and movement arts and to foster appreciation for a variety of circus-related talent and creativity. Since 2013, MCS has been cultivating a broad array of circus artists, producing homegrown performances, and hosting guest artists from around the world. Madison Circus Space emphasizes dance, creativity, fitness, and recreation for all ages, abilities, and aspirations, hosting classes, clubs, and performances that are affordable and open to the public. MCS is the largest community of circus artists in Wisconsin, with 70 members, 50+ hours of weekly programming, and 16 public activities per month. To date, the organization has raised $1,136,000 of their $1.4 million capital campaign goal.
To learn more: www.madisoncircusspace.com
About Benjamin Domask-Ruh
Benjamin is a director, performer, teacher, musician, and clown residing in Minnesota and working all around the world. He has worked with a number of different circus troupes and theaters as guest performer, teacher, and director and most recently toured his show HODGE PODGE (2023) at the International Physical Theater Festival in Chicago. He’s the director of the Youth Juggling Academy, Associate Editor with Modern Vaudeville Press, and works rurally with the Department of Public Transformation and their Activate Rural arts program. Professionally Managed by Afton Benson. www.benjamindomaskruh.com
About Natalia Hildner Armacanqui
Natalia weaves Kathak, Peruvian, Middle Eastern and other global dance styles into one tapestry which connects her and others to spirit, culture, and ancestral wisdom. Guided by her Indigenous Andean roots and global citizenry, she shares her art with an international audience, transcending binaries and borders with a medium through which we can thrive despite historical trauma. Blessed by her dance mentors Mekhala Devi Natavar, Smt. Sandhya Desai and others, in 2008, she was awarded a prestigious fellowship award as Senior Performing artist by the American Institute of Indian Studies and has performed solos at renowned international venues such as Kamani Theater in Delhi, India (2010), Sadler's Wells in London UK (2013) and Edinburgh festival, Scotland (2016). As an M.A. graduate in dance from Roehampton University, Natalia performs, teaches and choreographs in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin and abroad. www.nataliadances.com