Magmanus in Free Cirque Performances in Hufnagle Park

Magmanus will bring their family-friendly circus and improvisational skills to Hufnagle Park in downtown Lewisburg on Thursday, June 25. There will be two interactive performances at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the park, located between Fifth and Sixth Streets in Lewisburg.

The performances are free and tickets are not required. In case of rain, the shows will be relocated to the Weis Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Bucknell University.

Magmanus is a Swedish circus company founded in 2009 by the Franco-Norwegian duo Manu Tiger and Magnus Bjoru. Their show, which features impressive circus skills, non-stop humor and intensive audience participation, includes an angry, small but passionate acrobat and a stupid, gigantic yet so lovable juggler whose friendship is put to the test with high-flying acrobatics, feats of balance and Bollywood juggling.

"Our vision of the company is to spread happiness and inspire our audience to follow their dreams," says Magmanus. "We know this is a very big challenge to accomplish by performing arts, but we believe it's important to set our goals high. And we think the combination of impressive circus skills, humor and the intensive interaction with the audience on stage is a very good toolbox to deliver the message we believe in.

"The contrast of our physical appearance — 'the tall and the small' — emphasizes the different nature of our personalities, which we found actually complement each other both on the professional and private level. It has created a very strong bond between us and it gives us the possibility to play with this contrast to express our visions. The big difference turned out to be our best strength."

Magmanus has performed on three different continents in 22 different countries. Their show won first prize for best outdoor show voted by the audience in Festival La Fête de Cirque in Saint Romain de Clobosc, France (2014), Festival Miramiro in Gent, Belgium (2012) and at Feria de Teatro de Castilla y León in Ciudad Rodrigo, Spain (2010).

The event is sponsored, in part, by the Office of the President and the Bucknell University Office of Summer Session with additional support from Autopistes: Circus Dissemination, a project funded by the European Commission aiming to strengthen and build touring networks for circus performances in Europe and America.

For more information about this free performance, contact Rachel Martine, Interim Marketing and Outreach Director, at 570-577-3925 or by email at rachel.martine@bucknell.edu.

For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, visit www.bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or www.facebook.com/WeisCenter