Photo courtesy of Yann Ropars

For many, the circus conjures up images of too many clowns in a car, a tightrope walker with an umbrella and women in barely-there, sparkling leotards riding on elephants. Children in the front row, stay up past their bedtimes and spill popcorn and crackerjacks onto a dusty floor. But that is not Deena Marcum’s MOTH Poetic Circus.

As the artistic director of MOTH (Movement of the Heart), Marcum has been hard at work choreographing the The Cirque Side of the Moon: A Voodoo Mardi Gras Masquerade, which opens on February 8 at Casselman’s in downtown Denver.

“This show is a collaboration with my partner. We wanted to do a music festival with circus,” Marcum says. “We both love Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon,’ and we thought it would be cool to do. It’s a show that’s going to be about the album—the struggles we have with politics and our own deaths and life.”

Photo courtesy of Danni G Cyr Wheel, Dream World Cirque

Born in California and now living in Boulder, Marcum studied dance (contemporary ballet, modern and hip-hop) at Marymont Manhattan College before fate intervened: after taking trapeze lessons to prepare for a role in a dance company, she was hooked, and her aerial career began.

“My feet are definitely happier off the ground,” she says.

In addition to choreographing and organizing the February 8 event, Marcum will also be performing—as the Angel of Death—and she will be hanging by chains donning leather boots and gloves. Along with other acrobats, the show will feature hip-hop dancers, pole dancers, hula-hoop dancers, a fire boy and hand balancers.

“After the show there will be a headlining DJ, and the performers will be there to dance with the audience and revel in the music. It will be an annual Mardi Gras celebration, a voodoo celebration, to remind people to live their lives rightly,” Marcum explains.  “I feel like we are just creating a place for people to come and be themselves, and let loose a little bit.”

Photo courtesy of Vivian Spiral

It’s not necessarily a family show (keep the kids at home with their popcorn), and while Pink Floyd will be prominent, Marcum hopes that there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

For more information, visit www.mothpoeticcircus.com

The Cirque Side of the Moon: A Voodoo Mardi Gras Masquerade

Casselman’s

2620 Walnut St., Denver, CO 80205

Feb. 8, 2013

Ticket price $25 or buy at https://holdmyticket.com/checkout/event/124828