Video
Minty Fresh Circus work-in-progress trailer
Upcoming Tour Dates
Fri & Sat, Jan 31 - Feb 1, 2025 |
Penn Live Arts Minty Fresh Circus, World Premiere |
Philadelphia, PA |
Fri & Sat, Jan 10 & 11, |
SLAM shared showcases with STREB EXTREME ACTION |
Brooklyn, NY |
Please check back soon for newly announced tour dates!
Photo gallery
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Conceived by Monique Martin, Minty Fresh Circus is a US-based circus show performed by an all-Black cast, with a majority-Black creative team celebrating the healing power of Black music & movement, infused with the joy & resilience of those who traversed the transatlantic slave trade.
With an Afro-futuristic vibe and a steam-punk look, Minty Fresh Circus features movement, music, and circus arts in a time-bending journey of redemption. With choreography and movement by Adesola Osakalumi and Traci Bartlow, the acrobat/dancers will perform a range of movement sourced from the African Diaspora, including percussive dance, ritual movement, Lindy, hip-hop, poppin’ & lockin’, jukin’, rope jumping, hand games and physical theater. The driving score is recorded and features a combination of mixes by dj Roderick “Doc” Judkins with compositions from Soul Science Lab.
Inspired by abolitionist Harriet Tubman and the survival of generations of African Americans, the central question in Minty Fresh Circus is: what does freedom feel & sound like if your only access to it is through your imagination? The journey explores liberation spaces, oasis spaces, and joy spaces where black & brown bodies have found sovereignty. The show celebrates the power of Black music as a healing, alchemical, transformative force; a ritual, a portal to joy and an invitation to tap into your imagination. The energy of call-and-response within Black culture will serve as a circular structure within the arc of the show: the audience will be engaged with, versus presented to.
Structured in nine rituals via spectacular circus and dance skills, this all-ages show will be 70 minutes in length (with 50 minute performances for all-student shows), touring with 7 circus and dance artists plus 2 staff/crew. Minty Fresh Circus will premiere at the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia with 3 performances presented by Penn Live Arts on Jan 31 & Feb 1, 2025. It will be presented by The Kennedy Center for 2 performances on May 8, 2025.
To-date, the development of Minty Fresh Circus has been supported by:
Lake Placid Center for the Arts, James Lemon
The Apollo Theater, Kamilah Forbes
Samuels Foundation, Mikki Shepard
The MICC, Ruth Wikler, Montreal, CAN
Factory International, John McGrath (formerly the Manchester International Festival), Manchester, UK
La Grainerie, Jean-Marc Broqua, Toulouse, France
The company’s next development period will take place in a partially supported residency at Jacob’s Pillow in Lee, MA, Nov 29 – Dec 10, 2023 with a work-in-progress showing on Sat, Dec 9, 2023 at 2pm. The company will also perform as part of the Elsie Management Dance Showcases on Sat, Jan 13, 2024, 9am – NOON at City Center, Studio 5 during industry convenings in NYC.
Following its world premiere in spring, 2025, Minty Fresh Circus will be available for touring. (Presenting theaters will need a height clearance of 22 feet).
Monique Martin, Creator & Director
Adesola Osakalumi, Co-Choreographer
Traci Bartlow, Co-Choreographer
Soul Science Lab, Composer
Dr. Fredara Hadley, Music Consultant
Kim Cook, Dramaturge and Creative Consultant
Downloads & Links
Company’s website
Minty Fresh Circus marketing doc