IN THIS TIME of uncertainty, it is time for parents to allow their children to be surprised and delighted by world-class family entertainment."
The Flying Fruit Fly Circus
comes to isle shores to show
off its delectable acrobaticsBy Scott Vogel
svogel@starbulletin.comSo begins the press release for the Honolulu engagement of Australia's Flying Fruit Fly Circus, beginning tomorrow evening, a statement that immediately begs two questions: Will the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd be enough to distract youngsters from the real-life circus that's engulfed us all of late? And are the Fruities, as they're affectionately known, really a piece of world-class entertainment?
You will be relieved to hear that the answer to both questions, apparently, is yes. Brimming with youthful brio and dazzling in their displays of gravity-defying acrobatics, the 19 kids (aged 10 to 18) scheduled to perform at the Hawaii Theatre would seem to be a liquid monument to the limitless possibilities of the next generation. (Just the thing for a child overburdened with thoughts of recent events.)
And if their past engagements are any indication, calling the Fruities "world class" is hardly exaggeration. They charmed New York's notoriously ferocious theater critics during a December 1999 run at the New Victory Theater in Times Square ("Delivers a cornucopia of family fun," gushed the New York Times). Less than a year later, they flipped and dipped for a global audience, becoming an overnight sensation after performing at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Festival.If, as no less a philosopher than Sharon Stone has remarked, an overnight success in Hollywood takes 10 years, the circus equivalent takes roughly twice that amount, as the Fruities' artistic director, Kim Walker, explained.
"The circus started as a six-week workshop for the International Year of the Child in 1979 and grew from there," he said of the initially modest enterprise based in Albury-Wodonga, an agricultural center (population 86,000) on the Murray River near the border of the states of New South Wales and Victoria.
But just like the insect for which they are named (the Australian variety is "small and sometimes very annoying," said Walker), the Fruities were destined to make a noise far out of proportion to their size or location. The troupe grew into a circus factory attracting trainers from all over the world, and especially Russia and China.
"The circus has 86 kids in training all the time," he said. "They are selected by what circus skills they show, as well as their dedication, schoolwork and general talent."The kids' devotion to academics is significant, for the circus is an all-encompassing affair. A staff of four teachers runs a school on the premises, which allows the students easy access to training sessions during the day (three times a week for two hours) and evening (five times a week for three hours).
It's an undeniably grueling schedule. (One teacher is accompanying the troupe to Honolulu so that studies may continue without interruption.) Nevertheless, the circus insists that most of the children perform as virtuosically in the classroom as the gym.
If so, they must be quite good students indeed. The Fruities' act demonstrates a wealth of skills demanding balance and precision, featuring tricks both low-risk (juggling) and high (chair stacking). And if you're wondering what, in addition to the performers' youth, separates this troupe from Barnum & Bailey, it's the incorporation of storytelling elements into the act.
"When we toured to New York, we thought, 'They don't know us, so let's do a show about what we are, young kids that go to school with the added advantage of doing circus!'" said Walker. The result was an evening of theater entitled "The Gift," about a young boy's struggle to fit in with his classmates on the first day of school. Of course, in this case, the difficulties are compounded by a student body possessing the ability to leap over desks and fly through the air, juggle balls in black light and spin brightly colored hoops, all of it precisely choreographed to a techno-funk beat. (Talk about peer pressure.)
Still, at the risk of giving something away, it's safe to say that this particular school has room for one more acrobat.
But does its curriculum have room for a seminar on Hawaii? "I think (the kids) think it's all beaches and huge waves, with Elvis singing songs to everyone," said Walker, before immediately adding that he was only kidding.
Hopefully, in between feats of chair stacking and schoolwork, an Oahu field trip will be arranged.
"They will be so busy, there won't be much time," he said, "though they are looking forward to surfing, as we live inland with no surf, just a big river."
And we're looking forward to the Fruities, and especially the innocent joy the Aussies take in high-flying fun. In a time of uncertainty, as a press release might put it, such is the spirit our own children must regain.
When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow through Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday The Flying Fruit Fly Circus
in "The Gift"
Cost: $30 to $45 for adults; $15 to $30 for keiki, students, seniors
Call: 528-0506
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calendars and events.
