The cast of Cirque Kalabanté performs “Afrique en Cirque” at Macky Auditorium on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Cirque Kalabanté)
Taking place at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Macky Auditorium, the national touring show of Cirque Kalabanté performed “Afrique en Cirque” on Nov. 7.
Cirque Kalabanté was created by Yamoussa Bangoura in 2007. Bangoura is a Guinean artist who teaches circus, West-African dance, and shares the culture of Guinea through his creation of Cirque Kalabanté.
Maputo Mensah, teaching associate professor, directs the West African Highlife Ensemble at CU, and was chosen to conduct Cirque Kalabanté’s pre-concert talk. Mensah had seen the show previously and was excited for what the audience would be lucky enough to experience.
“[The audience] would take away a lot, because they are still present, what they are bringing to the table is not only performance that they are connecting with their ancestors,” said Mensah. “For me, you know, they are doing the West African piece in the Western piece, and blending the two cultures together. That really opened my eyes a lot.”
“Afirque en Cirque” shares the stories of daily life in Guinea. The culture was displayed for the audience in Macky to see. The lively spirits were expressed through bright-colored costumes, passionate music, and heartfelt dancing. Throughout the show, audience members saw scenes of the marketplace, construction workers, and the accompaniment of Afro-jazz music.
“Jazz comes from Africa. So Afro-jazz has blended a modern form of Western fusion into it. I’ve seen a lot of previous groups like Guinea ballet do the same thing before,” said Mensah. “You know, living in Canada, they are going back to start turning up jazz into modern fusion. It is really incredible.”
The musical component at the cirque was unique from other types of accompaniment.
“What really resonated with me was that it was the music that was accommodating the performer, versus the performer, performing for music,” said audience member Tina Fanello.
The band accompaniment, especially the bassist, played according to the performers, bringing a feeling of movement into their music. Another component was the rhythm and drumming, where performers would do routines involving drumming and dancing alongside their acrobatics.
“I liked the rhythm of the show, like how there were moments where it just felt really soothing, almost like I could go to bed and then all of a sudden it just got really exciting and so uplifting again,” said audience member Kari Nelson.
Additionally, the stunts and acrobatics were central to the performance. Dancers participated in gymnastics, juggling, acro-balancing and contortions.
“The most memorable was the contortionist,” said Fanello. “But as it just went on, I liked each one more than the one before.”
Fanello and Nelson were both amazed by the performance and claimed they would highly recommend it to others.
“I thought it was amazing,” said Nelson. “It was super energizing, and really fun. And also culturally cool to kind of be immersed in a fishing village.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Maddie Lasker at madeline.lasker@colorado.edu
