Afrika! Afrika!
*Tickets are available for this event. See booking button below.
Event location: The Tented Palaces, O2 Arena.
Please Note
No performances on Mondays
Admittance 1 hour and 15 minutes before the show begins
Each performance lasts for about 2.5 hours including a 30-minute interval
Prices vary depending on show time and date from Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday
AFRIKA! AFRIKA! would love to show you just how rich this culinary culture is "diverse, fresh and bursting with flavour. We look forward to welcoming you to an incredible, unforgettable experience.
AndrĂ© Heller’s sensual discovery of Africa fascinates the audience with its tempo, energy and the zest of life that is oozing out of the tent. The troupe travelled through Africa for two years between Mali and Morocco, and Egypt and South Africa, to all the coasts and the heart of the continent. They even searched the African diaspora for more than 100 artists, eccentrics, dancers, singers and musicians who had that special something.This circus theatre offers sensous pleasure to children and adults, workers and intellectuals. Unbelievable acrobatics, intoxicating rhythms and costumes of exceptional beauty will entrance you for more than two hours. The pole artists from the troupe Hakuna Matata, (Swahili for no worries here) will have you holding your breath as they elegantly swing back and forth on poles, nearly touching the top of the tent, while other dancers build a dizzingly high human pyramid. Body eccentrics bend and curve into proud snake-like formations: Feet become hands and hands become feet in a rare spectacle known only to the African tradition of cult-like mastery of bodily movements. The so-called water man, Dickson Oppong, makes bowls dance on top of a metre-high fountain which is spewing from his mouth. Juggling ten balls at once is no problem for Abdurazak Reshid Adem. He takes his tarp and throws the balls in the air so fast that you would think they were remaining airborne the entire time. An Egyptian circus star swirls his swords through the air at top speeds, suspending them over the backs, shoulders and arms of the dancers. It is the combination of courage and the artists physical control that is so elegant.The two female artists in the segment, Mama Africa, are diametrically opposed opposites. They lay on their backs and are moved around in circles at a rash tempo as they juggle heavy furniture with their feet as if it were an air-filled ball. Then an 11-member group of unicyclists appears and begins playing a surreal game of basketball on wheels, combining physical prowess and comedy. They are accompanied throughout the arena by a strong beat. Visitors can relax again when they enjoy trapeze artist Jean-Claude Belmat. That is, they can relax until they begin to get dizzy with the feeling that they, too, are swinging back and forth above the stage, body parallel to the ground, going round and round the trapeze bar until it reaches the dome of the tent. A combination of traditional and modern music enchants all these performances, including the entrances of the athletic dancers when they make off with the audience on a journey to the continent of awe.
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