Minty Fresh Circus

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.

Grounded in Sankofa (a Ghanaian word encouraging one to learn from the past to inform the future) with an Afro-futuristic vibe, 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 acrobats perform a range of movement sourced from the African Diaspora, including percussive dance, ritual movement, Lindy, hip-hop, poppin’ & lockin’, jukin’, hand games and physical theater. The driving score is recorded and features a combination of mixes by Corey Action 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 serve as a circular structure within the arc of the show: the audience will be engaged with, versus presented to.

Structured in eights rituals via spectacular circus and dance skills, this all-ages show is 60 minutes in length and tours with 7 performers, plus 3 staff/crew. Minty Fresh Circus premiered 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; at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas (New Haven, CT) on Sat & Sun, June 14&15, 2025; and as part of the Breckenridge International Festival of the Arts (BIFA, Breckenridge, CO) on Sat, August 23, 2025.

The creation of Minty Fresh Circus has been supported with co-commissions by the following:

Arizona Arts Live, Tucson, AZ, Chad Herzog
Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem, PA, Mark Wilson
ArtsEmerson, Boston, MA, Ronee Penoi
Penn Live Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Chris Gruits

Minty Fresh Circus is supported by a grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Minty Fresh Circus premiered Jan 31 & Feb 1, 2025, in Philadelphia at Penn Live Arts. It will be presented at The Kennedy Center with two shows on May 8, 2025.

The development of Minty Fresh Circus was 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

Minty Fresh Circus is available for touring. (Presenting theaters will need a height clearance of 21 1/2  feet).

Monique Martin, Creator & Director
Adesola Osakalumi, Co-Choreographer (dance)
Traci Bartlow, Co-Choreographer (dance)
Susan Voyticky, Co-Choreographer (circus)
Kim Cook, Dramaturge and Creative Consultant
Ashaka Givens, Costume Designer
Ty Brooks, Costume Designer
Amanda K. Ringger – Lighting Designer and Technical Consultant
Corey Action, Sound Designer
Dr. Fredara Hadley, Music Consultant
Corey Action, Music Supervisor
Soul Science Lab, Original Music