The UniverSoul Circus is a single ring
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...
, established in 1994 by Cedric Walker and Calvin "Casual Cal" Dupree, an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
man who had a vision of creating a circus with a large percentage of
people of color
The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...
performing. He began searching for people from all around the world with incredible talents. It is headquartered in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
History
The UniverSoul Circus was founded in 1994. The history section of the official website states that "We had the idea to present ... to a wide demographic of spectators."
Recruiting, training and production began in 1993. The first performance took place in 1994 in the parking lot of
Atlanta Fulton County Stadium
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, a couple of years before the stadium closed and demolished the following year. The first season of operations brought formidable debt upon the organization. By 1997 the circus tour grew to 10 cities, 19 cities in 1999, 31 cities in 2000, and 32 cities in 2005. An
Emmy Award-winning special featuring the circus debuted in 1998 on cable TV network
HBO. A tour of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, the first international destination, was completed in 2001.
UniverSoul Circus through some of its animal vendors has had several animal cruelty allegations dating from 1997 to the present time. It also has had incidents of animals escaping.
References
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Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Universoul Circus
Circuses