One-Man Circus Set for Merriweather District in Downtown Columbia

In partnership with The Howard Hughes Corporation and the Columbia Festival of the Arts, internationally celebrated performance artist David Dimitri presents L’Homme Cirque at Downtown Columbia’s Merriweather District June 20-23. Tickets go on sale March 15, at 9 a.m. exclusively at columbiafestival.org.

Created in 2007 by David Dimitri, L’Homme Cirque has been presented by established performing arts festivals in venues around the globe. The artist sets the scene for an immersive theatrical experience by way of a miniature old-world-circus inspired “small top.” Imagine a charming theatrical performance that pays homage to the long history of circus traditions – through the skill of a single artist.

The tent offers the audience an extraordinary up-close experience that harkens back to the spirit of a bygone time while showcasing the world’s fastest growing art form, Contemporary Circus. This world phenomenon is a hybrid art combining theater, dance, storytelling, brilliant visual effects and extreme physicality with a variety of circus skills.

Dimitri will travel over 4,000 miles from Frauenfeld, Switzerland, to pitch his own tent in Downtown Columbia as part of his spring and summer tour. While in Columbia, he will perform L’Homme Cirque, a breathtaking 60-minute one-man show featuring an innovative combination of acrobatics, music and dance, including everything from a human cannon ball to a climactic high-wire act.

Dimitri’s tent will be on location over a two-week period in the Merriweather District. Contemporary Circus is a rapidly expanding world-wide phenomenon that combines traditional circus skills such as acrobatics, juggling, aerial work and clowning with other art forms including dance and theater. Characteristically physical, playful, noncompetitive and often nonverbal, circus arts have the capacity to bring dissimilar people together to share a common and powerful audience experience.

“Today, circus arts are growing at an unparalleled pace worldwide offering the world an international abundance of new works, new companies and new artistic perspectives,” said David Phillips, Director of the Columbia Festival. “Forward thinking cities around the globe are looking to contemporary circus as a catalyst for neighborhood and arts district rejuvenation, cultural tourism, and community engagement and I can barely contain my excitement about L’Homme Cirque coming to the area.”

L’Homme Cirque is being presented in the Merriweather District, the first neighborhood being redeveloped by Presenting Sponsor The Howard Hughes Corporation as part of its 391-acre transformation of Downtown Columbia . One of the hallmarks of the redevelopment is the repositioning of Downtown Columbia as a true urban core and regional hub for culture and commerce. As part of the Columbia Festival of the Art’s programming, L’Homme Cirque is an initiative that serves to present a world class celebration of the arts and entertainment that attracts, engages, and inspires the broad and diverse community it serves.

Because of its limited capacity of 230 seats per show, people should not wait to get their tickets. Tickets are $28 for adults. Adults can purchase up to 2 tickets for kids 3-18 at 50 percent off the regular adult price, when also purchasing one or more adult ticket. There is a limit of two Kids Tickets per one full price adult ticket. Quantities are limited. Kids Tickets discount cannot be combined with other discounts. Tickets purchased by phone are subject to a per ticket handling fee.