African-American troupe inducted into Circus Ring of Fame
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR FEBRUARY 7-13, 2020 55
BY JASON COHEN
The world’s fi rst African-
American circus troupe,
which began in the Bronx
more than 60 years ago, was
recently inducted into the Circus
Ring of Fame.
On Sunday, January 12,
The King Charles Troupe was
enshrined into the Circus Hall
of Fame, along with four other
groups.
For decades the razzle-dazzle
unicycle troupe performed
all over the world with its basketball
high-jinx and comedic
antics, exhibiting skills ranging
from slam-dunks, dribbling,
passing, jumping rope
and acrobatics.
“It was an honor to have
been inducted,” said Kim Anthony
‘Kip’ Jones, a former
member of the troupe, who
now acts as its spokesman.
The King Charles Troupe
was founded in 1958 as a unicycle
club in the south Bronx.
In 1968, it auditioned for
Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey and was soon signed to
a contract with The Greatest
Show On Earth.
Nearly 50 years after fi rst
appearing with Ringling Bros,
members of the troupe were
The members of the King Charles Unicycle Troupe in 1970. Photo Courtesy King Charles Unicycle Troupe
part of the fi nal performance
of the circus in 2017.
Jones, who grew up in the
south Bronx near Yankee Stadium,
never heard of the troupe
as a child, nor ever imagined
he would be part of it. But, at
the age of 15, he was walking
with a friend who told him to
come to tryouts with him.
He assumed it was for football
or basketball, but instead,
kids were playing basketball
on unicycles. He was shocked
and hooked at the same time.
“I kind of fell in love with
it,” he said. “I was just blown
away to see guys of color doing
these amazing things.”
For the next four years
he immersed himself in the
troupe and the members became
his second family.
Jones recalled that getting
used to riding the unicycle
was a bit of a challenge at fi rst.
But once he got that down, the
rest was a piece of cake. He
was good at jumping off the
bike and dunking and doing
a trick called walk the wheel,
which involves walking on the
tire, not the pedals.
“I defi nitely got some scars
on my shins learning in the
gym hallway,” Jones said.
According to Jones, his
family was blown away by
what him and the kids from
neighborhood were doing.
Being part of the circus
and traveling to places like
Florida, California and Texas,
was not only fun, but also unheard
of for many kids in my
neighborhood, he said.
He was active in the troupe
through his 30s, until he eventually
started a family and moved
to Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
But being honored last
month with his former troupe
mates was a surreal feeling.
“Being part of something
that affects the lives of children
all around the world that
we’ve been able to come in contact
with that was special,” he
said.
Jones is working with
elected offi cials in an effort to
reestablish the program for
youngsters.
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