Usually stilt-walkers and trapeze artists are content with defying death with their feats of aerial wizardry. But the members of Do Jump!, a touring performance troupe coming through Ames Saturday, do much more.

Performances of Do Jump! feature a blend of acrobatics, aerial artistry, dance, humor and original music. Sara Barr, Iowa State Center director of marketing, believes the group has something different to offer in its performance.

“It’s an athletic performance and the artists utilize a lot of different performing arts genres to create their art. From the type of music that they use to the dance to acrobatics, they just incorporate all those things into the performance. That’s unique,” Barr said.

Do Jump! was formed in 1977, primarily as a vehicle for choreographer Robin Lane’s uniquely physical brand of choreography.

Do Jump! is made up of a central group of six dancer/aerialists who do most of the show’s choreography. These artists collaborate with Lane to form the performance pieces within Do Jump! using different physical elements not usually found in dance or theater shows.

“It’s a very physical show,” Barr said. “They use different types of props in their show. They use hoops that hang down from the top of the auditorium. They even go so far as to use the two-wheeled dolly-type carts in their performance. They use lots of different props to create their art.”

Very few shows of this special brand have taken place in Stephens Auditorium. In fact one might relate the atmosphere to more of a circus than a play or concert usually associated with an auditorium.

But Barr was quick to note that Do Jump! was designed with a venue like this in mind.

“This is a performance that is created for the stage,” she said.

Barr also said that the show isn’t exactly limited to the physical area of the stage at Stephens.

“It’s very interactive,” she said. “If you come to the show early, they do have some of the performers roaming around in the lobby, performing little stunts.”

Barr believes that this performance will be a good fit with the schedule of events that have already come through Stephens.

“We had very good success with the National Acrobats of Taiwan earlier this year and this goes along those lines, but it takes it probably a step further, incorporating their music into their performance.”

Patricia Cotter, performing arts manager at the Iowa State Center, thinks the ingenuity and creativity of Do Jump! is reason enough for Ames to give it a chance.

“People will find that Do Jump! is a very creative, light-hearted afternoon of theater, dance and circus all mixed into one. It has a lot of the creativity of Cirque De Soleil, but it’s not quite as large-scale of a performance. It’s a very inventive way of looking at movement and theater arts,” she said.

Do Jump! will roll into Ames 3 p.m. Saturday at Stephens. Tickets are $8.50 for ISU students and patrons 18 and under, and $16 for all other seats.