To those who haven't heard of it, Circus Amok is a circus that is small in size but big in personality.Since 1989 Circus Amok has been performing free at parks and squares all over NYC.What makes them even more extraordinary is the fact that they do their circus acts while educating the communities about some of the most pressing social issues happening in NY and in the world.
They accomplish that feat while entertaining the children with dynamic acts and getting the adults to feel like kids again.Circus Amok is run by the brilliant Jennifer Miller, the bearded woman from Coney Island and is performed by an eclectic group of talented and spirited performers.
While helping them out the other day, I witnessed a private and deeply moving moment in the lives of these artists. I got to Washington Square Park to meet them and they were somberly sitting together holding each other, and Jennifer came to me to explain what had occured. One of the people who had been involved with the circus for a long time, Meg, had died in a bicycle accident the night before. I had never met Meg, but watching their pain and hearing them lovingly talk about all the small moments when she had affected their lives brought tears to my eyes and seriously made me wonder how they could perform that day.
Showtime started drawing closer and they started setting up, silence and tears still punctuating so many of their actions. And the audience begins to gather and they start announcing the acts. Within minutes they start moving around with smiles on their faces, blowing bubbles, juggling, running on stilts and creating social change with their piercing humor and perspicacious wit. If that is not art, I don't know what is...
For more information on Circus Amok, visit:
http://www.circusamok.org/
