Every weekend, Ron-A-Roll roller rink in Vernon is packed with skating families. On Friday, July 27, circus performers join the fun.
Cirque to Go is a newly formed collective of former circus performers living in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. At different times throughout the night, five members of the group will perform stunts and acrobatics. There will be dancing on poles and hanging hoops, as well as “swirl artists” who use spinning apparatus. DJ Originate will spin disco and house music.
Between acts of the Roller Disco Circus, visitors can skate, enjoying the rink as they usually do.
Mændy MacFarland of East Windsor, who has performed with Hartford’s Beat City Beauties burlesque troupe, Hartford’s SOMA Dance Company and New Haven’s Clark Dance Theatre, has a pole-dancing studio in Springfield. With Cirque to Go, MacFarland dances on a pole and on a lyra hoop.
“We are just a circle of friends who did circus and wanted more opportunities to perform and be creative. We formed last year,” MacFarland says. “We’ve done festivals, performing in the background, private events. We saw that Ron-A-Roll has a huge space. That’s great for doing circus.”
Other performers are flow dancers Megan Thompson and Sanford Cluett and aerialists Carolyn Kipp and Crystal Menninga.
Because of the midnight finishing time, the event is geared to ages 16-plus. Cirque to Go’s next show in the area will be Oct. 13 at Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford.
ROLLER DISCO CIRCUS is at Ron-A-Roll, 85 South Frontage Road in Vernon, on Friday, July 27, from 8 p.m. to midnight. For ages 16 and older. Admission is $20 and includes skate rental. ronaroll.com.
