The Zuzu African Acrobats performed in the Grand Ballroom this weekend for Family Weekend in a show that was meant for all ages.

Patrick Bora, a member of the Zuzu African Acrobats, led the group throughout most of the show.

Bora said the group performs in many places on and off college campuses.

“We perform anywhere and everywhere they need us to to do the show,” Bora said.

Bora said his favorite part of performing is the crowd.

“My favorite part of performing is the audience; once they’re happy, we’re happy,” Bora said.

Paris Mumba, a member of the Zuzu African Acrobats, said his favorite part of performing is the tricks.

“My favorite part of performing is the pyramids, but also the juggling is interesting,” Mumba said.

Bora said he likes the diversity of the group’s tricks.

“I don’t have any favorite tricks; they’re all unique in their own way,” Bora said

Emmanuel Bao, a member of the Zuzu African Acrobats, said his favorite tricks are the ones involving skipping rope.

Bora said the group practices for 6-8 hours in the morning, rests and then comes back to practice more.

“We need to be constantly practicing because it’s how we make everything perfect,” Bora said.

Mumba said the hardest part of performing for him is going out in front of people.

“Facing the audience (is hard),” Mumba said. “But it’s very exciting; it’s very entertaining.”

Mumba said he enjoyed performing at Eastern.

“The performance today was very wonderful; it was lovely. The crowd was really lovely. They were feeling us and we were feeling them,” Mumba said. “There was great energy during the performance.”

Bao said he hoped everyone enjoyed the performance as much as the group did.

“We hope we put a smile on each and everybody’s face; that’s what we like to do,” Bao said.

Emmanuel Ayiku, a graduate student studying college student affairs, was called up from the crowd to do crowd participation.

Ayiku said he enjoyed the show because it was different from other events

“I really liked it because it was out of the ordinary; it was like something you would see on a cruise ship or something like that,” Ayiku said. “It was very nerve-wracking because I didn’t know what they were going to ask of me.”

Ayiku said this was his first year participating in Family Weekend events.

“Even though my family was not going to be here, I had family here, I had my friends and people that have become my family,” Ayiku said. “I wanted to come and be part of the experience.”

Lisa Mette, sophomore graphic design major Rachel Mette’s mother, said the show looked like a lot of work.

“They did a lot of tricks; they have to be sore (after performing),” Lisa Mette said. “It was about what I expected. I like the music. It kept the crowd really pumped up.”

Dominique Brown contributed to this article.

Corryn Brock can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].