Abby Pistoni, Madison Worthington, Dale Herr, Nicolas Torres-Labarca, Olivia Weinstein, Melanie Minro, Julian Dishart, Slyphie Currin, Chloe Gordon-Murer, Lizzy Sheets, Brett Womack, Breonna Noack, Robert Vicario, Shawn Hallman, Carlos Aguirre, Rami Margr

“And if we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended … “

—- a line from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream that inspired the title of City Circus’ amazing show And If We Shadows now playing at Brava Theatre deep in the Mission district. This urban circus arts performance was written and directed by City Circus’ new director Tim Barsky.

Beautifully choreographed by Shannon Gaines and accompanied by that master beatboxer Carlos Aguirre, AIWS presents scenes from a circus life that features break dancers Iron Monkey and Finesse (Renegades B-boy Crew), aerialist Brett Womack (Circo Zero), contortionist Breonna Noack, hip-hop theatre artist Rami Margron (Women’s Will), and a baker’s dozen of aerialists, acrobats and circus specialists! People of all ages can enjoy the show, though really tiny ones might not be sophisticated enough to follow the story.

With the influence of Cirque du Soleil tending toward narrative’s connective tissue to accompany acts of daring, City Circus fits right in but the ages of these performers are far younger, although no less dedicated as artists than any at CdS. It would be hard not to be a totalist as a circus artist. And aerialist Womack, is no exception. A real standout as comfortable spinning on a rope and flying through the air as any I’ve seen, Womack is simply breathtakingly phenomenal. Born to fly, and full of an easy grace, he makes it look so easy when you know that it’s not. Back on the ground and spinning fast are break dancers Bobby “Finesse” Vicario and Shawn “Iron Monkey” Hallman (though blind from a detached retina that occurred months ago refuses to let that limit his performance). Delina Brooks, understudy for Rami Margron as MC the afternoon this reviewer attended, was spot-on as a singer, dancer and performer in her own right, and hard to imagine anyone doing better. Ms. Brooks knows how to move and modulate her voice to get the blood boiling. There wasn’t a weak spot in the ensemble and even the contortionist Breonna Noack, who normally would not be a favorite, was so beautifully choreographed accompanied by Nico Torres-Labarca (a mere 17) and Julian Dishart (a merer 13), it was impossible not to be seduced by those langourous movements.

Visually the show is enhanced by Dustin Snyders light design, whoever chose the gorgeous color scheme of  rear projections with moons of all shapes and sizes, and Glynda Cotton’s charming costumes. Given the technical challenges of circus, rigger Karl Gillick deserves a big hand for keeping all those flying people untangled from one another and alive to perform for their next challenging show.

City Circus is a three-generation strong professional ensemble and training program based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is the performance arm of AcroSports, a physical and circus arts gym, founded by Bay Area resident Dorrie Huntington and performers from the Moscow Circus. Since last year’s appointment of Tim Barsky as Artistic Director, City Circus has begun to be known as the world’s foremost training and performance program that specializes in urban circus arts — a cross-style performance discipline that encompasses traditional circus arts such as acrobatics, aerial acts and contortion with newer city-born forms, which explains the inclusion of the very enjoyably up-to-date break dancing, parkour, and hip-hop aspects. This multi-ethnic ensemble, which ranges in age from 13-34, is a product of the vibrant circus and hip-hop communities fostered by the Bay Area, and draws strongly from both traditions.

Don’t miss And If We Shadows. Although it took a good 15 minutes before the show started, once they got going, you couldn’t stop them. The next 75 minutes sped by.

And If We Shadows by City Circus, produced by Acrosports in association with Everyday Theatre and Brava! for Women in the Arts continues through May 25 at Brava Theater Center,  2781-24th St., SF. Tickets ($12.50 to $25) are able by phone at (415) 665-2276 and at www.citycircus.org.