What's On in Bloomington

Afrique en Cirque is a show by Yamoussa Bangoura, inspired by daily life in Guinea. This performance shares the beauty, youth, and artistry of African culture. A colorful show beyond its scenery, costumes, and staging, it makes any theatre vibrate with energy and represents the strength, agility, and life's joys of young Africans. The audience will see acrobats execute gravity-defying moves and human pyramids, accompanied by the contemporary sounds of live Afro-Jazz, percussion, and kora. Welcome to the universe of Kalabante Productions and prepare for an unforgettable journey. Kalabante Productions was founded in 2007 by Yamoussa Bangoura, a multidisciplinary artist of Guinean origin, who dreamed of establishing a circus arts school and his own African arts company. Growing up in Conakry, Guinea, he practiced circus skills inspired by European TV performers and the Nyamakala tradition before joining Circus Baobob and touring Africa and Europe.

Leslie Odom, Jr. is a Tony and Grammy Award-winning, three-time Emmy, and two-time Academy Award-nominated songwriter, actor, and a New York Times bestselling author. His Bloomington performance will be alongside the IU Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Thomas Wilkins. Well known for his breakout role as Aaron Burr in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical Hamilton, Odom is set to make a highly-anticipated return to his award-winning role in fall 2025. He recently made his long-awaited return to Broadway in the classic American comedy Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch. The IU Symphony Orchestra, which consists of students from the Jacobs School of Music, will join Odom onstage for this performance. This all will be under the baton of Thomas Wilkins, a current faculty member at the Jacobs School of Music and principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.