Okay so I went to Cirque du soleil today... and it was absolutely amazing. I went to the traveling version of Alegria and was blown away. I loved nearly everything about it, especially how weird it all was. I kept expecting Tim Burton to walk out, it reminded me so much of Big Fish, which is not a bad thing at all. From what I can remember, there were clowns (that were actually funny), acrobats, contortionists, live fabulous music, balancers, a guy who was basically on a rubber band, fire breathers but who also did tricks and caught on fire and stuff, a ribbon girl/ring girl, and that's all I can remember right now. The whole atmosphere was just terrific. My seat was not the greatest, but after it started it didn't even matter. My favorite was probably when they moved the panels of the stage to reveal a huge trampoline in the shape of an x. They were doing all sorts of tricks nearly hitting each other but you knew they wouldn't. They're professionals. I also loved the clowns. They were still doing clown things, as expected, like slapstick and such but then in one scene I believe they were imitating a train and then they just kind of broke out into beat boxing and it was just hilarious. Those were the two standout performances, but I really did love it all. Some other cool things was the audience involvement, the performers would occasionally bring an audience member up on stage or in the spotlight to participate (they were in the VIP section, but still). Also I liked how the performers would also serve as grips as opposed to hiring actual grips. My only complaints was the huge red light that would occasionally come on, shining directly towards my section and blind me; as I was sitting evry far away from the stage, I couldn't really see the makup or costumes well which was a bummer; also the first act was much stronger than the second, and there was not really any big bang at the end. The very best thing about Cirque du Soleil? It's like a circus without the animal cruelty and gimmicks. Completely human, and all about true mind blowing performances as opposed to the strong man or balancing plates.
I would give this a strong A. If you have enough money and a Cirque show ever comes to your town, go see it. It's the experience of a lifetime.
P.S. I clapped so hard my arms started hurting. Also, I'm watching ice dancing right now and I keep comparing it to Alegria.
also: all photo credit goes to cirque du soleil.
