Two performances on March 30 by the Great DuBois, a husband-and-wife cirque-style variety show, celebrated the first public performance in UVU’s Noorda Center for the Performing Arts since the COVID-19 pandemic halted theatre and arts in March 2020.
Two performances yesterday by the Great DuBois, a husband-and-wife cirque-style variety show, celebrated the first public performance in UVU’s Noorda Center for the Performing Arts since the COVID-19 pandemic halted theatre and arts in March 2020.
Theatergoers enjoyed a night of thrilling acts, including feats of balancing, strength, juggling, contortion, aerial work, magic, comedy, unicycling, and more in two performances in the Smith Theatre on March 29, 2021, at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The two shows of 100 were sold out.
The award-winning Michael DuBois and Viktoria Grimmy have five generations of circus performing between them. They were recently featured in Hugh Jackman’s “The Greatest Showman” and have performed in the Tony Award-winning “Pippin” on Broadway, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with David Letterman,” Britney Spears’ Circus Tour, and the movie “Burlesque,” just to name a few.
Alex Malone, executive director of the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts, stated that there were major precautions taken to keep everyone safe and that the show was strategically planned during a time when it was needed most.
“We worked closely with UVU’s health and safety director and her team to make sure everything was safe and coordinated,” he said. “We weren’t taking any risks, but we were doing what we do. We put on shows — we bring people together in an environment to allow a release of energy, especially the energy that people have kept bottled up while sitting at home during the pandemic. After a hard year, it is just exciting for everyone, and that is why this event was so important to do at a time like this.”
The Great DuBois act was on the docket for The Noorda before the pandemic hit, according to Malone. A year later, the husband-and-wife duo made for the perfect act to feature to get back into performances. “We wanted to invite a group that was low or no impact and still allowed us to bring people together for something fun,” Malone said.
For more information about upcoming events at The Noorda, please visit https://www.uvu.edu/thenoorda/calendar/.
