Kenya Safari Acrobats
Description of Various Acts

Traditional rope skipping taken to another level of double ropes which incorporate flips in the air while still jumping the ropes.

Traditional dances from South Africa.

Not just ordinary limbo but done with the African culture in mind.  It is legend that a rich Bantu King used a flaming rod of knives as a test to find a husband for his daughter.  The tribesman who could go the lowest under the flaming rod of knives would win the honor of marrying his daughter.  Audience watches as the acrobats go under the limbo stick as low as the height of a coke bottle.

The audience watches as one of the Acrobats bends real metal with his hands and teeth.  He even holds up one of the other acrobats with his teeth.

Two acrobats test their strength balancing each other in hand stands.

Watch as an amazing contortionist fits himself through a tight ring.

Made of real nails!  One acrobat will walk across and then lay down on a bed of nails.  He will then have a second bed of nails placed on top of him and another acrobat will stand on top of that.  This is an amazing test of concentration!

To exemplify the need for tribesmen to perform extraordinary feats in order to earn tribal markings one acrobat will take 5-6 chairs and place them on 4 regular drinking glasses and stack them while doing hand stands on each chair he stacks.  He balances on the top chair then climbs back down each chair as he dismantles the stack on the way back down to the stage.

Bending and twisting the body in a varying manner of shapes.

One acrobat begins by performing handstands on a small bench.  He will then balance himself along with other acrobats who join in to do different types of balance styles on the small bench.

Regular “juggling” is not what these acrobats do – they will take ordinary straw hats and juggle them.  They work up to 6 hats into this unusual juggling routine.

The acrobats will stack themselves together to perform unusual, unbelievable human pyramids.  Their balance technique must be seen to be believed.

Kenya  Safari Acrobats

The Kenya Safari Acrobats are Natives of Kenya.  Kenya is located in East Africa and the capital city is Nairobi.  The acrobatic show is both educational and entertaining.   Following is an outline of the production.

The show opens with a brief history of Kenya.  Students are familiar with Kenya, in part, because of the movie “The Lion King”.  Themes from the movie are used throughout the program to explain the language, the animals and fun facts about their homeland. 

The narrator teaches the students some Swahili words from “The Lion King” such as “Hakuna Matata”, “Asante Sana” and “Rafiki”.   Excitement begins to build because the kids are familiar with the words and are now learning their true meaning.  “Hakuna Matata” means “no problem”.  In Kenya they say “Hakuna Matata” when there is something going on which they can do nothing about.  The elders still use this saying today.

The students will hear the tale of a rich elder wanting to marry off his daughter so he calls all the tribesmen together.  The elder has the tribesman compete in a limbo exhibition where they all go under a flaming bar of knives.  The tribesman who goes the lowest under the bar will earn the honor of marrying his daughter.  Not only do the students hear the story they will see it displayed when the acrobats perform the flaming Limbo act. 

One Kenyan ceremony is based on the Bed of Nails.  The students are told how lucky they are to live in the United States because they have cars & buses for transportation.  The narrator stresses the importance of going to school and that some children in Kenya want to go but cannot afford it.  The Kenyan children might have to walk up to 10 kilometers (6 miles) to get to school and many don’t have shoes.  The bottom of their feet get so tough they can “walk on nails”.  Boys of the Kambaa tribe have to walk and sleep on a bed of nails in order to earn their tribal markings.  The Bed of Nails act demonstrates this story.

The Kikuyu tribe is the largest in Kenya.  Their tribesmen are required to perform extraordinary feats to earn their tribal markings such as climbing to the top of a coconut tree to pick an elder a coconut.  As this story is told an acrobat begins performing Chair Stacking, a precarious balancing act between chair and man.

The show is narrated throughout and audience members are invited to the stage to be included in the demonstrations.

What the show teaches:
*Physical education is important.  You should stay in shape. 
*It is necessary not to drink or smoke. 
*Never give up – stay focused.
*Significance of staying in school
*Value of the family tribe and respect for elders
*Tribes of Kenya
*Size and location of Kenya
*Capitol of Kenya
*The national motto, which is “pull together” and what this means to them
*Tribal dancing
*Music of Africa
*Language of Kenya