The phantasmagoria

Quidam. A surrealistic performance. A display of the human perfection and the discipline of the mind, body and soul.

The setting was perfect. The stage was fabulous. The cast was mulit-talented. The music was excellent. The show was enticing. The story was well plotted and the dances were well choreographed. The only that was not perfect is my $71 ticket which allowed me the side view of the stage. Sigh.

The magic and the illusion created on the show was surreal. The show engaged the audience well as two items required people from the audience to come onstage to be part of the show and it was hillarious!

The stage was made to perfection. A rotating platform with two manholes and another two drainage covers that allow performers to emerge from below and all these were nicely concealed to camouflage with the stage. About 15m above, there were tracks overhead to allow performers to fly in, and how each performer enters the stage is simply amazing.

The live band played behind, somewhat submerged in the shadows, but their presence is felt all the time. And they play beautifully. I love the little Chinese girls with the doldrums, even better than any Chinese quality acrobats. They did somersaults and twists while spinning the doldrums... to perfect rhythm and timing. Gasp.

One thing I realized about this show is that rhythm, music and beat plays an important part to allow the circus actors to perform their stunts flawlessly. The choreographers and scriptwriter merged the act with the dancing and performance beautifully. The profoundity of the story sometimes puzzled me ( I still can't guess what the red balloons symbolize... but I do know that when they were inflated, it meant happy times. Perhaps it was a mere reminder of the child in all of us as we go about with our daily lives?) I love the way the director included clowns in the background to try to mimick the main performer. It was as though he was telling us that as we go about in our daily lives, we too tend to imitate people whom we admire or idolize. I could have read it wrongly, but it is just so thought provoking. I like the way the mood switches, from sombre, to happy, to dark and to vibrant.

I think the circus is just too hard to describe. It is an experience that one needs to immerse in, in order to feel the subtleties of the wonderfully detailed show. The finesse of it is just too complicated to explain, perhaps by my own limitations. Whatever it is, this is one show that I truly truly enjoy and have no regrets paying a hefty $70 for it. I wished I could have sat at a better seat, but I guess I'm lucky enough to be able to watch. Looking forward to more from Cirque du Soleil!