A circus with soul

Ebony, Dec, 1996 by Kevin Chappell

WHEN he heard the word, Cedric Walker knew he was on to something special. The veteran Atlanta-based promoter had set out to create a Black variety show, a cornucopia of singing, dancing and animal acts that would tour the country. He was excited about the idea that he pitched it to his longtime buddy and business associate. Cal Dupree, who, after mulling over the multitude of acts Walker wanted to include, jokingly said, "If you're going to have all that, you might as well start a circus."

Dupree laughed. Then there was an eerie silence as Walker's eyes lit up and a smile came across his face. A Black circus. That's it. "I jumped up." Walker says. "I hit the ceiling. From a marketing standpoint. I was in La La Land. Once the idea hit, I didn't look back."

Now, after three years of legwork--mostly spent learning circus history, developing the concept for the show and traveling across the world in search of top-notch Black circus performers--Walker finds himself in a once-in-a-lifetime position, as founder and chairman of what he called the first nationally touring African-American circus in more than 100 years.

Billed as "Your Circus of Dreams," the Universal Big Top Circus, with everything from aerial and equestrian acts to wild animal and clown skits, brings together the largest number of Black performers in circus history. Cirque du Soul, as it is affectionately called, opened in 1994 under a rented tent in the parking lot of Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium. It was financed with money Walker had saved from his past concert and theatrical productions, and with the help of Atlanta franchiser La-Van Hawkins. Now the show has grown into a multi-million-dollar venture, appearing nationwide in cities like Detroit, Los Angeles and Chicago, where, for instance, more than 100,000 people came out to view the nearly two dozen acts that perform in the one-ring show.

Critics have given the circus rave reviews, and Black families have packed the 2,500-seat tent--whoch Walker recently purchased for $250,000--to watch the clowns, elephants and acrobats while eating salty popcorn and sweet cotton candy. The circus is set to visit 10 cities when the 1997 season begins in March.

Featuring urban themes, state-of-the-art lighting and high-energy music, the two-hour show has brought together top-notch African-American performers, many of whom have worked for some of the best-known White circuses in the world. "This is the first opportunity many of these performers have to create acts that express their culture and be able to perform them in front of a Black audience," Walker says. "In the past, they have been on the Ringling circuses, Shrine circuses, in European shows, but it was always that European circus tradition. Now they have their own show."

Universal is the first Black circus since Ephraim Williams developed a Black traveling show in the late 1880s. Williams, who got his start by training a horse to do math tricks which he performed for opera house audiences, was called the "Black P.T. Barnum." After early successes with his horse show, the former shoeshine boy donned a tuxedo, top that and cane and hit the road, entertaining lumberjacks in the northern part of Wisconsin in 1885. Williams would eventually own three circuses, and, at the height of his success, employed more than 100 people. He owned 15 cages of wild animals, 85 horses, and 15 railroad cars that carried the circus equipment and performers from city to city. Bad weather and creditors proved disastrous for Williams, who folded his circus in 1902.

Walker studied the history of Williams' circuses and decided he could not simply throw together a few acts and call it a circus. To do justice to Williams and the strong circus tradition in the United States, he would have to produce a show rich on culture and history. In the end, he developed circus acts that, for example, pay tribute to such Black heroes as the renowned Buffalo Soldier calvarymen and tell the biblical story of Daniel in the lion's den.

Walker also knew he would have to search far and wide to assemble a crackerjack cast. He was so determined to find the best Black talent that he ventured to other countries to secure a few of his acts. To sign Nayakata, an African-Spanish contortionist who can twist her body into unbelievable positions, Walker traveled to Valencia, Spain. She spoke no English, but that didn't stop him from persuading her to travel halfway across the world to be in his circus.

Then there are the Ayak Brothers, who hail from South Africa. The push the limits of their body and mine as they catch each other with their feet while suspended more than 40 feet above the net-less circus ring. As children they clamored for the opportunity to utilize their athletic prowess, but apartheid kept them grounded. Now they are thrilling crowds for Universal.

In his country, Walker assembled a cast that reads like a Who's Who in Black U.S. circus history. There's the King Charles Troupe of unicyclists. The group of Bronx, New York, youths integrated the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1969 after they caught the eye of Ringling Brothers owner Irving Feld outside of Madison Square Garden following a Ringling show. Today, the third generation of unicyclists perform the same high-jinx and antics that kept them with Ringling for 20 years. Another legendary performer now with the Universal Circus is Pa-Mela, the first Black female aerialist with Ringling.