 Mickens' first circus venture was Cicuri Curajul, a "fake Romanian Circus" co-produced with Tony St Clair, which debuted on April 25, 2004 at the Crystal Ballroom.Upon the abrupt dissolution of Cicuri Curajul, Mickens and fire martial arts performer David "the Fireninja" founded a ritual performance troupe called Societas Insomnia which lasted from 2004 to 2007.Societas Insomnia featured a variety of performance types meant to evoke a world of nightmares, including fire dancing, suspension, and butoh, along with traditional circus acts and Tuvan throat singing by Enrique Ugalde a.k.a.