There have been clowns and acrobats for thousands of years, but the circus, with its collection of breathtaking acts, only dates to the mid 1800s.

♪ From horse-riding tricks to sound and light show extravaganzas, circuses continue to seek new ways to delight their audiences.

♪ Man: Let's go.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and go.

Curry, voice-over: In Northern Virginia, the circus has come to town, but it's not like any circus you've seen before.

Woman: Company, I just wanted to say thank you.

The show is fabulous.

Woman: Ready?

Curry, voice-over: Founder Lisa Lewis has created a circus revolutionary in its inclusivity.

It's called Omnium, which means "of all."

Lewis, voice-over: 90% of us will face disability at some point in our lives if we live long enough.

[Cheering and applause] Lewis, voice-over: What prevents someone from being able to fully participate in a performing-arts experience?

We believe in embracing inclusion.

Lewis, voice-over: If you're Deaf, we use sign language.

Man: The clown is doing time steps and tap dancing.

He's still in a tutu.

Lewis, voice-over: If you're blind, everything is described simultaneously through a set of headsets which you pick up at the coat check.

We have a touch tour, so those who are tactilely-oriented can feel little, miniature props.

[Applause] There are people for whom noise is very triggering, so we make sure that the decibel level never gets too high.

We leave the house lights on.

If someone gets deregulated and they need to leave to go to the calming center, they need to do so safely.

We create as much access as we possibly can to make sure that everybody is able to enjoy the production... [Applause and laughter] and anything that anybody else needs, if you write me in advance and if we can do it, we will.

Man: So Dick is on stage juggling.

Malik does his dance.

Lewis: Anything you might need from Production is gonna be right next to the green rooms.

OK. Do you need some help with them?

Lewis: Oh, and I need to unpack that one sometime.

Man: Check, 1, 2.

Lewis: Eric's here.

It's good to see you.

OK. Curry: Eric Latcheran of Chantilly, Virginia, works with Lewis promoting Omnium.

He and his mother Gina Latcheran were among the first to discover Omnium when it was founded in 2021.

Gina: I love the circus, but he was scared to death-- the noise, the smells, everything that came along with the circus.

[Honk] Curry, voice-over: Omnium's approach makes it possible for Eric, who has Down syndrome, and his mom to enjoy the circus together.

Gina, voice-over: The lights were on.

There were no loud noises, just fun.

The performers came and introduced themselves, clowns without makeup... Gina, voice-over: or without something that might have been scary.

What color is this?

Pretty bad.

Gina, voice-over: I think the favorite part is that he's made friends.

Gina, voice-over: It's improving his speech.

It's improving his energy level, and that's wonderful.

Come on.

We got to go help your mom.

OK. Curry, voice-over: Not only did Lewis expand the potential audience, she took it one step further.

Lewis, voice-over: I looked in the ring and I thought, "The people in the ring "don't represent the people in the audience.

Why can't that be more connected?"

Curry, voice-over: Including staff and performers, 40% of the people in Omnium have a disability.

Woman, voice-over: I am an actor, director, dancer, artistic director, and producer.

I have osteogenesis imperfecta.

We go...

Yes, so when you're sending me off, do I need to just-- What happens...

If you've met other people with OI, we're the biggest hams in the entire world.

And then I jump out of the chair.

Man: Right.

♪ Richard: Until Omnium, I was very uncomfortable around circus because of the "freak" idea and all of that stuff.

Lisa really takes Omnium and turns that on its head.

Thank you, Suzy.

Richard, voice-over: Lisa convinced me in her authenticity.

I believed in what she was doing... 5, 6, 7, and boom.

Richard, voice-over: and to get to do circus stuff, come on.

How fun is that?

Ooh, it's gonna be so fun.

Lewis, voice-over: It is going to be a fabulous collection of some of the best circus acts in the entire world.

One of our dancers is a 7-time NCAA gymnastics champion, and he does a tap-dance number.

Our aerialist is a beautiful aerialist.

Legs are irrelevant.

I get comments all the time-- "Are you a sideshow?"

"Are you a freak show?"

No, obviously not, but go back in history.

People with disabilities were not given any opportunities, but the circus itself was a big proponent of people with disabilities.

It's really truly special to work together and create and really see the gifts and the talents in each person.

You guys are all such special, special people.

We've got this... Whoo!

Yeah.

Lewis: and what are we gonna do?

All: Change the [beep] world!

[Cheering] Lewis: Go get 'em, everybody!

Curry, voice-over: It's showtime.

♪ [Applause] Welcome to Omnium, a bold, new circus.

[Cheering and applause] ♪ [Rhythmic clapping] ♪ [Cheering and applause] ♪ [Cheering and applause] ♪ I don't know how to describe it.

Like, it was so, like, perfect.

The jump rope, that was really amazing.

Ha ha!

[Cheering and applause] Gina, voice-over: I see so many friends who are coming back year after year.

Omnium is expanding people's minds by showing them what people with disabilities can do.

It's not reliant upon verbal skills.

It's not reliant upon intellectual skills, and that's such a beautiful, unifying force for people.

For a brief moment in time, we can all connect with our hearts.

Lewis: All right.

Whoo!

Thank you.

Curry, voice-over: You can catch Omnium on February 22nd at the Warner Theatre.

Check omniumcircus.org for details.

[Cheering and applause]