Balancing acts bridge the gaps between fair's competitive events
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on October 4, 2017 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Secky Hassan works a barrel up his body from his feet on stage with the Kenya Safari Acrobats Tuesday night.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Amina King bends a piece of metal rod in her mouth in a show of strength during the Kenya Safari Acrobats performance Tuesday night at the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair.
Balancing acts, backflips, squeezing through a tight ring and bending steel are some of the acts performed by the Kenya Safari Acrobats at the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair this week.
The four-person team includes members from Kenya and Tanzania.
"We've been performing in the United States since 1998," said Karen MaKange, manager and performer. "We have different people that come back and perform with the group."
The show at the fairgrounds includes dancing and acrobatic tricks to the sounds of Caribbean and African music, MaKange said.
The show, during a recent performance, started with jump rope skipping, with performers doing backflips in between the movement of the rope. Another performer balanced two soccer balls on a piece of wood. He also balanced glass bottles on the wood before flipping them into the air.
One of the more difficult moves included a performer slipping his entire body through a tight ring, which can cut off circulation and breathing if the person is too large, which can happen from eating the wrong foods, MaKange told the audience.
"If you don't breathe properly, you will not come out of it," she said.
Performer Secky Muya slid his body through the ring several times. During one of his performances, Muya danced upside down while balancing himself on one arm.
Wallace MaKange also showed off his skill during a chair-stacking performance, where he stacked six chairs on top of each other and performed a handstand at the top, where his feet touched the roof of the pavilion.
One of the team's strongest performers, Amina King, also bent several steel rebars for the audience. She bent one on the back of her neck, one around her waist and one with her teeth.
"She is a very, very strong woman," MaKange told the audience. "She can hold up to five men at one time and walk around."
The Kenya Safari Acrobats perform throughout the United States at fairs, festivals, in theatrical shows and at other events. The group recently traveled to Japan and performed for U.S. troops.
"We were here years ago," MaKange said of the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair. "We love it because we love fair audiences, especially North Carolina audiences. They are so welcoming."
The shows are also an effort to share aspects of their culture with the world.
"A lot of the things we do, it comes from a lot of culture," she said. "We always try to make sure our audience smiles and sees Africa in a different way then just seeing them as being a poor country.
"Kenyans are known for smiling and being happy."
The group has a pen pal program where American children can write to children attending school in Kenya. Anyone interested in writing can send a letter to the school to find out more information. Letters can be mailed to Little Angels, c/o Elizabeth Kalama, P.O. Box 184, MTWAPA, Kenya.
"Children love to get letters from American children," she said.
Isaac Stevens, who was visiting Wayne County this week from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said he was amazed at the performances.
"It's impressive on multiple levels, not only the stamina but the strength," he said. "They are certainly busy enjoying what they're doing."