My dad used to joke that his long-lost brother ran away with the circus. We found that story endlessly amusing, because, for children from rural North Carolina, joining a circus was outlandish and insensible. It was neither something our family would do, nor an act that had any relation to our world. The Canadian circus company FLIP Fabrique suggests a counterpoint. These performers are infinitely more talented and flexible than anyone in our family, but in Muse, they present a work as relevant to a dancer’s life as to ours. The performance, where performers don heels and football shoulder pads, poses a bold, central question—what does it mean to be a woman?—and answers through acrobatics. As the company puts it, Muse offers “a refreshing view of contemporary circus,” and it’s coming to George Mason University for two nights of its U.S. tour. Cirque FLIP Fabrique performs March 31 and April 1 at George Mason University Center for the Arts in Fairfax. cfa.calendar.gmu.edu. $30–$50.
Cirque FLIP Fabrique’s Muse, March 31 & April 1
