Kalabante welcomes Ottawa to Africa

Saturday night I took a drive East and left the city to be “welcomed to Africa” by the insanely talented ,Montreal based, group Kalabante. This African Circus group presented the short version of their show to an eager crowd at the Shenkman Arts Centre. The show symbolizes the joy, playfulness and joie de vivre of African youth. This was not only visually appealing, with incredible acrobatic stunts, but also music to my ears as the performers were also brilliant musicians.

If you’ve seen a cirque show before you know the thrill and excitement there is in watching acrobatic stunts live. I had those same feelings last night. It was incredible to watch this small cast of 8 doing tricks that would rival those of any bigger cirque production. It was a minimalistic production with only a few props on stage but each one playing its part in filling the space with beautiful colours and bold sounds of the drums. There was a certain charm in this show though, one that you don’t get with those bigger productions.

I’ve done a lot of traveling and have had the pleasure of experiencing welcoming customs from a number of different cultures. This show gave me that same feeling, it really was a cultural experience and gave the feeling of a warm welcome. They event invited a couple of members of the audience on stage to join in on the fun. I will say that some of the jokes and interactions went over my head since the production was presented in French, but it was so visually appealing that I left feeling like I didn’t miss a beat.

If you have the opportunity to catch this production I would recommend taking advantage of it. It is an experience like no other!

For more information on Kalbante and future productions visit http://www.kalabanteproductions.com/