Free, open-to-all, and fun for ages from two to ninety-two, Circus Bella’s 15th Annual Circus in the Parks arrives in Salesforce Park on Sunday July 14 with performances at 1:00 and 3:00. Presented in this location by TJPA, this summer’s show, WOW!, is delightful start to finish - just ask the children giggling all around me. The cheery circus ring and flying apparatus fit perfectly on the rounded stage of Salesforce Park’s Amphitheater. With strollers parked around the corner to make room for picnic blankets, the lawn is pleasantly full. This family-friendly show attracts many multi-generational groups with toddlers and school age children clowning along, as their parents and grandparents appreciate the more nuanced displays of grace and suppleness.
The cast of Circus Bella's WOW! lifts aerial artist Dwoira Galilea to her hoop; Photo J. Norris
WOW! is a creation of Circus Bella producer, director and host Abigail Munn, who in bright tailcoat, shorts, and top hat is our charming guide for an hour of joyful entertainment. Munn has assembled a cast of nine, who offer feats of strength, balance, flexibility, agility and daring do, alongside a healthy-serving of silliness. Two roustabouts, in blue coveralls, are kept busy throughout, moving platforms, props, and most importantly, pulling the ropes that lift aerial performers into the air. All this happens within view of the audience, so the observant future-circus worker understands what all is entailed, should they choose to run off with the circus some future summer.
WOW! with its roster of new and familiar entertainers, feels fresh as this summer day, with gravity-defying acts framed by engaging clowning around. The Circus Bella’s clowns, wiggy and wiggly Natasha Kaluza, sleepy but sly Jamie Coventry, and acrobatic Calvin Kai Ku, make the most of how WOW’s letters which become MOM when turned upside down. The youngest readers in the crowd try to help the spelling challenged pranksters sort it out.
Aerial hoop performer Dwoira Galilea displays beauty, flexibility, and creativity as she gracefully transitions from one impressively difficult pose to the next. Curving her body and extending her limbs around and through her Lyra hoop which rotates above the ring, she is an iridescent jewel of blushing lavender. The colorful and sparkly costumes are just one part of the uniformly high production values of this traveling troupe. Designer Autumn Adamme’s costumes, custom-made by San Francisco’s own Dark Garden Unique Corsetry, define each character perfectly.
The incomparable Circus Bella All-Star Band performing original compositions by band leader and accordion player Rob Reich, bring magic to the proceedings, as the musicians roll with the punches in real time, heightening each suspenseful moment and circling back for do-overs if a bowl toss goes awry. A slide-whistle accents a clown’s pratfall as a tuba creates a series of wonderous drawn-out honks for a clown’s bit which involves flatulence and a megaphone.
Contortion artists Elise Hing part of Circus Bella's WOW! ; Photo: J. Norris
Each soloist brings their own wow factor to WOW! Juggler Jefferson Freire’s pins become a blur as he keeps them all aloft even as he rides a unicycle taller than a man. Strongman Toni Cannon bends a metal rod over his neck and folds a frying pan in half over his leg. Joel Herzfeld displays superhuman strength of his own as he balances on one hand with one leg parallel to the ground and the other bent to fold perpendicular to the first. Contortionist Elise Hing shows off her unique supple bendiness atop a round raised stage ensuring all can see. Supporting herself on her hands, she folds her body into a circle, tucking her feet behind her shoulders, and then tipping her head back to face us with a smile as we marvel at her flexibility.
Munn leads the clowns in “WOWathon 2024,” a ridiculous relay race perfect for this Olympic summer. Ku tickles the funny bones of my young neighbors with his ineffective tiny but fast-paced steps, which at one point have him travelling backwards with an exaggerated expression of dismay on his face. It takes four to make a relay team, so the clowns draw a participant from the audience. Several enthusiastic school children are disappointed when an adult is chosen over them, though the well-timed comical antics of this selected guest imply that perhaps he was a plant all along.
Acrobat Ori Quesada shows off his unique skill on the Rola Bola balancing board. He surfs on a three-foot plank, hovering in space as he rolls back and forth atop a hollow tube. Placing a bowl at the end of the board, Quesada shifts his weight, quickly sending the board bowl flying and landing it with apparent ease, into a second bowl he has balanced on his head.
Circus Bella's Ori Quesada performing his Rola Bola Bowl throwing trick; Photo: J. Norris
Natasha Kaluza, the “Super Duper Hula Hooper,” can spin multiple hoops at her ankles, knees, wrists, neck, and waist, sometimes simultaneously. We gawk, fascinated, as she agilely moves a hoop quickly from ankle to neck and back again without ever using her hands. The whole gang gets involved as Ku and Quesada dive, jump and tumble through Kaluza’s hoops.
Circus Bella always ends with “The BIG Juggle,” a finale number in which everyone not playing an instrument gets in on the juggling. It is festive and an ideal way to demonstrate the multiple talents of the performers and crew, likely also inspiring the circus-inclined off to learn a trick or two.
The cast of Circus Bella's WOW! performing The Big Juggle; Photo J. Norris
San Francisco has long been a place where circus has flourished and this homegrown company with its performances to live original music in an outdoor setting, free of charge on a bright Sunday afternoon is the perfect antidote to dispel any downtown blues. As they move the first audience along to make room for the next group, I overhear several folks wondering about the return of Circus Bella’s big top this December. Fingers crossed their holiday show returns again this winter at The Crossing at the East Cut. Until then, Circus Bella’s summer season concludes on July 20 at PROXY in Hayes Valley.
Review by Jen Norris published July 17, 2024
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Production credits:
Circus Bella’s WOW!
Director, Producer & Host - Abigail Munn
Music Composition & Arrangement - Rob Reich
Production Manager & Right Hand Man- Carlo Gentile
Costume Design & Fabrication - Autumn Adamme & Dark Garden Unique Corsetry
Contortion Choreography - Leslie Tipton
Clown Coaching- Jeff Raz
Sound Engineer - Andrew Heller
Publicity - Lawrence Helman
Roustabout - Avery Ucker
Merchandise - June Price
SHOW ORDER and casting
Pre-show- featuring the Circus Bella All Star Band
Charivari-Ensemble
Lyra- Dwoira Galilea
Juggling- Jefferson Freire
RolaBola- Ori Quesada
WOWathon- Clowns
Contortion- Elise Hing
Strongman- Toni Cannon
HulaHoop- Natasha Kaluza
Hand Balance- Joel Herzfeld
W~O~W-Clowns
The BIG Juggle- Ensemble
The Circus Bella Clowns: Jamie Coventry, Calvin Kai Ku, and Natasha Kaluza
Circus Bella All Star Band:
Rob Reich, Accordion; Shaina Evoniuk, Violin; Kasey Knudsen, Saxophone; Ian Carey, Trumpet and Slide Whistle; Jonathan Seiberlich, Tuba; Michael Pinkham, Percussion
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