EVENT PREVIEW
UniverSoul
Select days Feb. 4-March 1. $16-$37 at box office; Ticketmaster orders include fees. Green Lot at Turner Field, 755 Hank Aaron Drive S.W., Atlanta. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com, www.universoulcircus.com.
Don’t expect 25-year-old Daniel “Lucky” Malatsi to step into the circus ring crowned in a top hat and wrapped in a red topcoat with tails.
The ringmaster for UniverSoul Circus rocks his own sense of style. Malatsi, a South African native turned Atlanta resident, prefers donning a pancake hat, large shades, earrings locked on each lobe and a hip rotating wardrobe. Let’s call it more “GQ” than “step right up.”
Through dance floor-ready footwork and his passion for the big top, Malatsi pours gallons of enthusiasm over the audiences at each installment of UniverSoul, an Atlanta-bred production with an African-American spirit. Along with his sidekick Zanda “Zeke” Charles, the short-statured UniverSoul mainstay, Malatsi attempts to entertain while linking a batch of acts together.
This year’s roster swings with a high-flying trapeze act from Wuhan, China; Caribbean dancers; Ethiopian acrobats; the death-defying Navas Brothers from Ecuador; a harmonica-playing elephant named Bo and more.
So what makes Malatsi the right choice to keep things moving? It may be because he knows the circus business from the inside out.
Having toured the globe with his uncle as an acrobat and contortionist by the age of 9, Malatsi, along with his uncle and a cousin, were recruited by UniverSoul Circus founder and President Cedric Walker in 1999. By 2000, the 10-year-old was on the road with UniverSoul and has stayed there ever since.
Through the years, he’s been a contortionist, an acrobatic hip-hop dancer and a teeterboard artist, and caught serious air on the trapeze and trampoline. And that’s not all.
He’s wowed crowds and cheated mortality, but being ringmaster, he says, remains the most challenging job of all. Before this tour hit the road in late January, Malatsi found himself pulling excruciatingly long days — sometimes 18-hour stretches — putting the finishing touches on the show. Not only is he the king of the ring, he also helps write and arrange the show.
In between gearing up for the latest production, Malatsi took a break and chatted over the phone about UniverSoul’s hometown audience, living in Atlanta and what differentiates him from the ringmaster pack.
On what sets him apart from other ringmasters:
“I’m not your typical ringmaster. I’m always moving, always dancing, fast-paced and energetic. There never will be a dull moment with me. I’ll always catch you off guard, and you never know what I’m going to say. … I also do a magic act where I represent my country, South Africa. I magically change girls into tigers, change a dog into a girl. It’s amazing.”
On what he likes most about living in Atlanta:
“I still visit South Africa, but live full time in Atlanta. Atlanta is the new Hollywood. It’s great to see all of these great entertainers in Atlanta. We get together and share ideas. We’ve worked with T-Pain, Big Boi and Lil Jon. They’ve helped me and helped the show with ideas about what’s hot and happening out there. And they’ve helped us by introducing us to music for some of the acts. It’s a great experience. … There are a lot of South Africans also in Atlanta. I could do without the cold weather. Other than that, I love it. It’s home away from home. And it’s the home base of UniverSoul Circus.”
On what makes Atlanta shows special:
“Atlanta always shows UniverSoul love, because it’s the home base. And they’ll always let us know if the show isn’t rocking. So we always do a couple of cities or a city before Atlanta, because we want to make sure when the show hits Atlanta, they’ll love it. This is their product. It’s coming out of Atlanta, and that’s the first place UniverSoul ever performed before it toured nationwide.”
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