The sky’s the limit

St. Boniface

St. James-Assiniboia

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/03/2025 (203 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Welcome to the jungle.

Untamed: A Cirque Spectacular will swing into the Centre culturel franco-manitobain on April 4 and 5. It is described as a local Cirque du Soleil produced and created by the Prairie Sky Circus, a local group of six women who have all been involved in the circus arts scene for varying amounts of time.

“We really wanted to have something that could incorporate aerial circus (arts) in a way that was fun and … made sense with the story,” said Carla Cerceau, an aerial circus performer — or aerialist — who has been involved in the craft for more than a decade.

The story will follow host/narrator Chris Without the Hat as he navigates a strange jungle in search of his missing hat. Along the way, he will meet many different animals, played by the performers. Cerceau and fellow aerial performers will be the monkeys, for example — swinging through the air on drapes and hoops.

“It is going to be a fun story,” she said, adding that it will be an all-ages experience for kids and adults alike.

”There’s going to be a lot of really high-end aerial, but also some jokes that are going to be a little punny and a lot of fun character acting in terms of our ‘animals’ in the jungle.”

Cerceau teaches circus classes at Prairie Circus Arts, which is based at 195 Collegiate St. All members of Prairie Sky are affiliated with PCA, and practise at that space.

Cerceau is there five to six days of the week, she said.

“It’s an absolute passion for this art,” she said, explaining how she’s held its thrall.

“Every time I go there, I can try something new. I’m always hanging upside down. There’s always something new to learn, something new to try. And it’s just so freeing. Once you get upside down and you fly around, it’s like nothing else you can do.”

Cerceau said that there is quite a lot of local circus talent in Winnipeg but, even with the city’s strong arts community, there’s a lack of knowledge beyond the circus arts community itself.

She hopes Untamed will be the first of many shows by the collective, leading the way to creating a stronger circus arts community.

“Part of the goals of Prairie Sky Circus is to create more opportunities in Manitoba to showcase our local talent,” Cerceau said. “That was really sort of why we put this group together.”

Cerceau has performed a lot around the province — both on her own and with Hoop and Hat, a comedy circus show she co-stars in with Chris Without the Hat — but there still aren’t as many opportunities as there could be, she said.

“I think partially because Manitobans just don’t know what type of talent we actually have,” she said.

If Untamed gets people interested in trying the circus arts out for themselves, that’s even better, she said.

“I truly believe that you only live once, and you should give it a try,” she said. “I often hear from people that they want to be stronger before they take their first class, which is great in theory. But if you take the class, then I can teach you how to be stronger. I just need you to come and be present with me.

“So if someone is interested in it, I would really suggest taking that class or taking a private class and feeling it out and I can teach you the rest.”

Tickets for the April 4 and 5 shows at CCFM are $37 and can be bought online at showpass.com. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show will begin at 7:30 p.m.

For more information on Prairie Sky Circus and Prairie Circus Arts, visit prairiecircusarts.com