A circus is in town, or at least at the children’s hospital

Four performers from the group’s advance hype crew came to the hospital as part of their outreach in preparation for “The Greatest Show On Earth” at UBS Arena, which opens March 6. 

“We come in before the big show to hype everybody up,” Juanita Olivo, the singer and emcee for the group, said. “They show a lot of interest, and they seem to look at us and see something that they could do someday. It’s very fulfilling to be able to bring that to kids.” 

Matthew, a young patient who attended the show in person, said he really liked the performance. He said his favorite part was the robot dog that the performers brought along. 

Patients from all over the hospital, both in person and virtually, watched the performance, which included acrobatics, unicycle, jumprope tricks and dances. Cohen has 130 beds and currently serves about 25 in-patient kids with a range of conditions, according to Sofia Agoritsas, vice president of business and development. 

“Events like this bring the kids not only a break, but a therapeutic moment of joy,” Agoritsas said. 

Beyond the patients and their families in the room, children in isolation for infectious disease or for protection from infectious agents watched the performance virtually through the hospital’s Seacrest Studios, an internal, closed-loop television studio designed to share media hospital-wide. 

Taran Green, the studio’s multi-media manager, said that Seacrest Studio’s partnership with the UBS Arena led to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey performance. 

“It gives patients an opportunity to get a break from appointments and being stuck in the room,” Green said. “Whatever the patients need, we’re able to fluctuate the show so that it’s fun and healing at the same time.” 

The four performers came from all over the world, including hand balancer Chen Lei from China, acrobat Zeke Pranis-Ricci from the U.S. and acrobatic breakdancer Hassani Muya, a former member of the Kenyan Wapi Wapi dance crew.