With dazzling acrobats suspended from the ceiling, a juggler that wove optical illusions with his fingertips and a contortionist capable of inhuman feats, “The Acrobats of Cirque-tacular” delighted the audience of the Wright Center. On Thursday, Sept. 21, the Cirque-tacular kicked off the Wright Center 2023-24 season with spellbinding acts that had the crowd roaring with delight.
Self-described as “high-energy, family-friendly flurry of fun,” Cirque-tacular is a performing arts company based in New York City. Led by performer, Tad Emptage, the company boasts several world-wide tours and a roster of accomplished performers.
The performance at the Wright Center featured a sampling of these performers, combining classic American circus tradition with a zany, modern twist. Aerial acrobat Nina Mann spun through the air to the lyrics of “Walking on Sunshine,” proving that all you need is enough athleticism and some aerial silk, and you too can literally walk on sunshine (or in her case, stage lights).
Juggler Brian Buugeng twirled a wide array of props from more classic hoops to a cube larger than he was tall. Each one of the juggler’s acts found a new way to twist perception as the juggler created optical illusions with his hands.
The contortionist, Jared Rydelek, boggled the crowd by twisting himself into baffling configurations, fitting his whole body through a tennis racket with ease and shoving a screwdriver up his nose.
For one of his acts, Rydelek paid homage to the greatest escape artist of all time, Harry Houdini, by freeing himself from the trappings of a strait jacket. Rydelek explained that there are three ways performers overcome this classic obstacle. First, by dislocating their shoulders like Houdini. Second, by being very, very flexible. Or third, by wearing a fake strait jacket.
Never one to be accused of cheating, Rydelek requested a volunteer from the crowd to verify the authenticity of the jacket. And from the gathered masses, answering the call to action like the heroes of yore, came Myles “Styx” McMillan.
McMillan leapt up to the stage and inspected the garment, testing the straps and buckles. He handled the strait jacket with the ease of a man well accustomed to bizarre circumstances.
“It felt like home. It felt like where I needed to be at the time,” McMillan said. “No, but honestly, it felt a little weird. A little wild.”
Rydelek then asked McMillan to tie the strait jacket for him. Styx decided that if he was going to spend his Thursday night fastening a man into a strait jacket, he was at least going to do a good job of it. The contortionist encouraged McMillan to make it as tight as possible in every area, except in between the legs in order to prevent any unnecessary discomfort.
“I [tightened the straight jacket] to the tightest setting. Unfortunately, not that area because he said no, and I was feeling nice. Catch me on a bad day and I may not have been so nice. But the arms? As tight as I could make it,” McMillan said.
To the amazement of the crowd and McMillan, Rydelek did indeed squirm and shimmy his way out of the strait jacket, his shoulder still in his socket. McMillan would later claim that this was his favorite part of the show.
“My favorite moment of the show was when he was struggling to get out of the strait jacket. Because I knew I did a good job,” McMillan said.
“The Acrobats of Cirque-tacular” was the first show in the 2023-24 event season. For more information on upcoming events, visit https://www.samford.edu/wrightcenter/.
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