Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MIDVALE — You've just been unexpectedly laid off from your job. The doors were locked one day when you went to work. You never saw it coming.
Now what?
For one group of unusual employees, they've decided to stick together and keep doing what they do best: performing acrobatic stunts.
These employees are entertainers who performed during dinner at the Mayan Adventure Restaurant in Sandy. For years, when you ate at the Mayan, there were fire dancers and trapeze artists and others doing all sorts of acrobatic tricks to add to the experience.
That all ended Oct. 31 when the Mayan — along with restaurant Spaghetti Mamas — closed abruptly.
Many of these folks have been at it a long time, and they don't want to stop performing.
They've banded together in a Midvale studio under the name Cirque de la Soul. They stay sharp spinning, flipping, and free falling from long strands of silk or a rope. Everywhere you turn, someone is doing some sort of interesting move — smoothly, effortlessly, it seems — often upside down. They sometimes perform with a partner, as husband and wife Tyce and Mary Nielsen do.
"It's duo trapeze," Mary Wolfe-Nielsen explained. "Me and my husband have just started learning that."
These performers are putting in hours every week, refining their routines and working on new ones in the hopes of taking their show on the road.
"We're pretty portable," said performer Chastitie Lujan. "A lot of the equipment is very portable, easy to move. Some of it you have to have special rigging… It's just a matter of hooking it up and jumping on."
There are 10 or 12 former Mayan restaurant entertainers who are committed to showcasing their arts and skills, and all venues are open.
"Including some other fine dining restaurants, fairs, we've even talked to people who want to do big holiday parties and have us come to their homes, businesses," Lujan said.
Dinner theatre shows are popular in a number of cities across the country. This group, having seen success at the Mayan Adventure for years, believes the unique show will remain popular.
"You don't see a lot of this in Utah, and that's why we really want to put a good show together and show people that you can have a quality show like this in Utah," Wolfe-Nielsen said. "You don't have to go to Las Vegas, you can stay home and bring your family."
This group will also do fire eating and dancing, making for one very unusual company holiday party.
Email: kmccord@ksl.com
