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ladyspriteIn among the many events of my past busy weekend of busy-ness was a trip to see Cirque du Soleil. To be specific, this was my first trip to see them.
In the past, I'll admit that I've avoided Cirque. The few bits and pieces of their performances that I'd caught during PBS pledge drives had looked like overly-stylized, slow-paced acrobatics and pretentious sad clowns. (I despise sad clowns. They just... irk me, for some reason I can't quite describe.) Between that and the fact that so many of my friends seemed just *TOO* enthusiastic about them, I just did my best to stay the heck away. To borrow a turn of phrase from a friend, they'd been browncoated for me.
But last week I got an email from a good friend asking me if I'd care to join her and see them, since she had a spare ticket. And mostly because I wanted to spend an evening with the friend, and partly because she's a fellow dancer and if she thought they were worth watching I trusted her opinion, I decided to go.
I am hooked. Hooked, lined, sinkered, and as many other words as you can think of to describe being well and truly in love with this performance. From the moment the first performer stepped out onto the stage, through the inhumanly expressive body language of the Lead Player and the creepy, unnatural contortionists and the incredibly crass (and not sad) clowns until the last light went out, they stole my heart. I have not been this.... delighted by something in a long, long time.
Days later, now, I'm still smiling when I think about it. So I owe a giant thank-you to my friend, without whom I never would have had this chance to fall in love, and an apology to Cirque du Soleil and all its fans for not giving it a chance sooner. And, likely, an apology to my bank account, since I foresee many ticket purchases in my future....
In the past, I'll admit that I've avoided Cirque. The few bits and pieces of their performances that I'd caught during PBS pledge drives had looked like overly-stylized, slow-paced acrobatics and pretentious sad clowns. (I despise sad clowns. They just... irk me, for some reason I can't quite describe.) Between that and the fact that so many of my friends seemed just *TOO* enthusiastic about them, I just did my best to stay the heck away. To borrow a turn of phrase from a friend, they'd been browncoated for me.
But last week I got an email from a good friend asking me if I'd care to join her and see them, since she had a spare ticket. And mostly because I wanted to spend an evening with the friend, and partly because she's a fellow dancer and if she thought they were worth watching I trusted her opinion, I decided to go.
I am hooked. Hooked, lined, sinkered, and as many other words as you can think of to describe being well and truly in love with this performance. From the moment the first performer stepped out onto the stage, through the inhumanly expressive body language of the Lead Player and the creepy, unnatural contortionists and the incredibly crass (and not sad) clowns until the last light went out, they stole my heart. I have not been this.... delighted by something in a long, long time.
Days later, now, I'm still smiling when I think about it. So I owe a giant thank-you to my friend, without whom I never would have had this chance to fall in love, and an apology to Cirque du Soleil and all its fans for not giving it a chance sooner. And, likely, an apology to my bank account, since I foresee many ticket purchases in my future....
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Date: 2008-09-29 07:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-29 07:59 pm (UTC)Awesome.
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Date: 2008-09-29 08:03 pm (UTC)For reasons that boggle my imagination and despite all of the creative geniuses behind Cirque, the videos that they make of their productions and market to PBS are complete crap. We've been in love with Cirque for over a decade now and never, ever watch any of their televised productions.
I don't know if it's because the video crews they hire suck (the videos are full of quick-cuts, lousy camera angles, and an insistence on focusing on the wrong parts of an act), the producers actually like these bad videos, or if it's just a matter of the thing that makes Cirque shows special is a "je ne sais quoi" that can only be captured by attending their shows in person and absorbing the entire experience.
But yeah, those shows are frakking expensive.
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Date: 2008-09-29 08:23 pm (UTC)don't shell out for VIP ever, it is jsut an exuse to spend over 300 dollars on beer in plastic cups
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Date: 2008-09-29 09:57 pm (UTC)(Of course, having already done so, I would say something like that, wouldn't I?)
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Date: 2008-09-29 10:08 pm (UTC)i do prefer to go in HArtford, it is earlier in the year then boston and on average 50 bucks cheaper (second row seats, $80 vs $130)
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Date: 2008-09-29 10:10 pm (UTC)I plan to go and enjoy my extravagant tickets. It's not likely something I'd have bought twice anyway, so we shot the moon.
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Date: 2008-09-30 12:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 02:51 am (UTC)Ka is my favorite, then O and Love are close ties. La Reve and Myhsters down there.
and a new one coming.
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Date: 2008-09-30 04:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-03 12:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-05 03:07 am (UTC)Not quite *that* much. (300 would be out of range even for me.) And I'm not sure where you're seeing beer: what we actually get is good cocktails, appetizers and desserts. (And minor freebees like free programs and the good parking.)
But it's definitely over-priced. We've done Tapis Rouge twice (both for