Cirque Kalabanté: Afrique en Cirque

Inspired by daily life in Guinea, Cirque Kalabanté: Afrique en Cirque makes its Cincinnati debut on Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 7:30 PM at the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall. This amazing show for the whole family shares the beauty, youth, and artistry of African culture. The show is part of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s 2024-25 Season.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 12 at 10:00 AM at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office. Prices start at $20.00. For groups of ten or more, call (513) 977-4155. Applicable services fees may apply. Prices are subject to change.

Filled with color and impressive scenery, costumes, and staging, the performance vibrates with energy and represents the strength, agility, and joys of young Africans. The breathtaking production includes acrobats who execute gravity-defying moves and human pyramids, accompanied by the contemporary sounds of live Afro-Jazz, percussion, and kora. Welcome to the universe of Kalabanté Productions and prepare for an unforgettable journey!

Kalabanté Productions was created by Yamoussa Bangoura, a multidisciplinary artist of Guinean origin. Yamoussa’s dream was the founding of a school of circus arts to direct his own multidisciplinary company specializing in the African arts. 

Yamoussa first became interested in the Circus Arts as a young man growing up in Conakry, Guinea in the 1990s. He studied the circus performers he saw on European TV and practiced on the beach and dirt around his home. He also studied the Nyamakala tradition of circus, practiced by the Fula people of West Africa. He eventually joined Guinea’s original circus company, Circus Baobob, with whom he toured Africa and Europe.

In the early 2000s, Yamoussa was recruited to come to Canada with Cirque Éloize, a Montreal based Canadian cirque company.  While in Canada, he also performed with Cirque du Soleil and Cavalia (cirque with horses).  In 2007, Yamoussa realized his dream and opened his own company – Kalabanté Productions in Montreal, Canada. He recruited many of his extended family members to join the company, including his twin sisters, brothers, and cousins.

The company began doing shows in Quebec and over the years expanded to all of Canada and the USA, and now performs all over the world. In 2018, Kalabanté opened their own studio and school in Montreal, where they offer classes in African dance, cirque, and drumming.

Kalabanté Productions is proud to be able to share their work, achievements, and skills to inspire others and to assist with the humanitarian mission to help the Guinean community from which Yamoussa and many of his company members come.