…featuring spectacular performances by international dancers
By Chris Onuoha
Lagos is billed to witness and enjoy the creative performance art of circus, come this weekend as a new artistic initiative tagged ; “Circus in Motion: The Lagos Contemporary Circus Festival” by the National Theatre commences on Saturday, October 3 to Sunday 4, 2026.
Under the theme “Reimagining Nigerian Performance for the Global Stage,” the landmark initiative aims to establish a sustainable, homegrown performing arts industry by fusing traditional West African acrobatics, folklore, music, and storytelling with contemporary circus techniques. It also aim to formalize a contemporary circus industry, training young Nigerian performers and connecting them to international networks.
Unveiling this in Lagos at a briefing, the General Manager, Chief Executive Officer, National Theater, Tola Akerele stated:
“Circus in Motion is a transformative effort to establish a sustainable creative ecosystem for contemporary circus in the country .
According to her, the Lagos Contemporary Circus Festival is the first-ever contemporary circus festival in Nigeria and West Africa. It serves as a pioneering cultural initiative designed to build a sustainable contemporary circus industry across the region.
This festival-driven model tents, pop-up rings, and short-run shows, captures both the historical itinerancy of circus and a contemporary push to build sustainable, story-driven performance that can tour globally.
“By blending our rich movement traditions with international expertise, we are creating a world-class platform that empowers young West African talent and presents African stories on global stages,” she added.
She also mentioned that beyond the live weekend performances, Circus in Motion will feature youth engagement and community outreach initiatives designed to introduce young Nigerians to professional pathways in performance, directing, and technical stage production.
Speaking further, she noted that the show, hosted by the National Theatre in collaboration with key international partners that include the Swiss Arts Council (Pro Helvetia) and the European Union Delegation to Nigeria, adding that the landmark maiden festival blends West African acrobatic traditions, folklore, music, and dance with contemporary global stagecraft.
The extraordinary show will bring together, emerging Nigerian artists and world-class international circus companies that include Samuel Udoh, founder and Artistic Director of Wow FactorZ Initiative for Artistic and Creative Development; Dereje Dange, Fekat Circus from Ethiopia; SenCirk from Senegal; Chantal Djedje; founder of La Fabrique Culturelle, Ivoire Cirque Décalé (Côte d’Ivoire); Jessica Arpin from Switzerland and Renee Zentar; Member of the board of La Fabrique Culturelle and the RICA among others.
On the significance of the event to Nigerian audience, Mrs Akerele noted; it is an opportunity for Nigerian local artists to gain international exposure and develop more skills beyond what they do here.
She mentioned that National Theatre is laying foundation for the revitalization of circus culture in the country, adding that it is something new in Nigerian, although it has gained huge success in other parts of African continent, such as Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Ethiopia and Guinea among others.
On the economic impacts, she noted, the initiative will create jobs and empower the youths to develop a career in circus performance art as professional dancers that is globally acceptable.
She said, making it unique in Nigeria by infusing traditional dances, circus will be a big economic enabler.
Akerele also noted that part of the highlights of the event was a two-week masterclasses programming held ahead of the show, which serves as a mentorship programmes and awareness creation for the young Nigerians to appreciate and embrace circus dance as a noble career.
Chantal Djedje; founder of La Fabrique Culturelle said, the audience perception of the circus culture in Nigeria is as the same as in Cote d’Ivoire few years back when it first started, but the infusion of traditional culture to it, changed the narrative, making it a show for family delight.
For Dereje Dange, he noted that in Africa, there has been circus dance which was practiced in different ways. He mentioned that the traditional ways of life of a typical African, the acrobatic moves, the every day hustle pattern, all tilts toward circus performance.
For Tola Akerele, “it’s certainly going to be an evenings of thrilling moments as the two-day show would showcase the new face of circus in Nigeria, around a makeshift ring where young performers defy gravity, spinning on silks, balancing on stilts, and tumbling in time to popular sounds.”
Meanwhile, Circus as a performance art dates back to centuries. While spectacles of skill and acrobatic daring, date back to ancient Egypt, records of acrobatics and juggling appear as early as 2500 BCE, and the grand Roman circuses.
It is noted that circus direct ancestor is Philip Astley’s trick horse-riding demonstrations at Astley’s Riding School in London in 1768.
Astley established the circular ring and a format of varied acts that spread across Europe and the Americas. By the mid-19th century, features such as parades, clowns, trained animals, and multi-ring spectacles had become circus mainstays, in the United States, Britain, and other parts of Europe.
Data report shows that the modern circus is comparatively recent. In the 20th and 21st centuries, “contemporary circus” emerged as a movement that downplays or eliminates animal acts in favor of human athleticism, narrative, dance, and theatrical storytelling, often performed in tents, theaters or temporary urban spaces.
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