ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE

Accidental Circus roars into West Ashley

By Warren Cobb
Managing Editor

A taste of Eastern Europe. Accidental Circus director Paolo Garbanzo (Paul Hudert) juggles the knives as Darbuka Dave (David Machek), left, and August Hoerr provide the gypsy/Romany/carnival soundtrack

While the name might sound coincidental, everything about the performances of the Accidental Circus troupe is well planned out. As much as the show seemed impromptu, you can't juggle knives or walk on broken glass for the very first time onstage.

A few West Ashley residents were treated to this circus sideshow last week when the Accidental Circus arrived at Jimbo's Rock Lounge off of Savannah Highway. The circus/vaudeville/freakshow/Eastern European folk concert came to Charleston for one purpose: to entertain. Prior to the show, the group's director, Paul Hudert said the audience was about to experience, "comedy, mayhem, and Balkan ruckus." "People are going to be thrilled and entertained," he said. "You're going to see something you've never seen before."

The Accidental Circus was that and then some.

The accidental part of the name has a double meaning. Their shows are billed as "anything can happen" events. But more to the point, the group is made up of performers from all over the east coast. Their Charleston show was supported by local acts Whiskey Diablo, a music trio, and Carnivalesque, a Charleston-based circus sideshow/burlesque act.

As a small troupe, each member has their own talent and special place in the show. Paolo Garbanzo (Paul Hudert) is the director of Accidental Circus, and serves as its ringmaster during performances. He also juggles knives and fire, and serves up some magic tricks. Darbuka Dave (David Machek) and August Hoerr provide the background heavily Romany, or gypsy, music of darbuka-style drumming and accordion. Sidetracked (Shoshanna Hill and Kimberlie Cruse) offer up Abbot and Costello-style comedy with a healthy dose of audience participation. And finally, Mab Just Mab - a circus geek whose wide-ranging talents include eliciting laughs and walking on glass.

These collaborators have been working together since 2002 and maintain professional careers across the full arts spectrum: juggling, music, fire, dance antics, the fine arts and the sideshow arts. While their talents are disparate, their stories are very similar. All of them began performing at an early age. All were slowly drawn to the circus arts during their early 20s.

Hudert started juggling at age 12. He got a slight push from the fact he already had circus folk in the family. His uncle, Christopher Hudert, was a clown at Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey's Circus for about a decade. At a young age, Hudert attended a performance by The Flying Karamazov Brothers-and international juggling act that has been performing all over the world since the 1970s. Young Hudert was mesmerized.

"I saw them and got inspired to do it for a living," he says. "At age 16, I started working with torches and knives. I started working in performance at age 23 and never looked back."

After receiving a degree in Theater Tech from Virginia Commonwealth University, Hudert hit the road, working his way into a long-running juggling gig at Hershey Park, and eventually as a member of The Flying Karamazov Brothers, with whom he toured for two years before developing his own shows, as well as Accidental Circus.

Circus shows, along with cabaret, burlesque, and various other "underground arts" have made quite the comeback in recent years, with big boosts from big name performers like Justin Bieber and Brittney Spears incorporating these kinds of performers into their acts and their music videos.

"There's a wave of this kind of thing coming through the East Coast," Hudert says. "It was underground, and still is to some degree, but major pop acts have helped spread the word on the culture. And acts like Cirque du Soleil have had a major impact."

The Accidental Circus came to Charleston from Asheville's Abs-Fest, an annual circus sideshow/burlesque festival. After leaving West Ashley they were headed to Nashville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, and other parts unknown. Keep an eye on this motley crew through their website, www.accidentalcircus.com.