Do You Know the Way…

to Cirque du Soleil?

My week of amazing-ness was brought to a fantastic close with a performance of Quidam (translated as, an anonymous passer-by living lost in the crowd) by French-Canadian troop, Cirque du Soleil. The show took place at Dublin’s new O2 arena, which is such a lovely venue! I had never been to the Point, but the O2 is a brilliant place to see a performance – the amphitheatre seating means that wherever you are, you have a great view of the action and no one is blocking your way! There were also ample toilet facilities, and I wasn’t in a queue for more than 5 minutes (which in female standards is teensy!).

The show itself left me in complete and utter awe. The story followed a little girl on a boring rainy day – who slips into this fantasy world of acrobats, clowns and a mysterious headless man with an umbrella! The choreography was such that although your eyes were drawn to a piece of circus performance in the centre of the stage, there were no shortage of other acts appearing in other parts of the set. The characters reminded me of something from Pan’s Labyrinth, except not quite so scary!

When you go to a circus, what do you expect to see? Why clowns, of course! And boy did Cirque deliver! It’s two main clown pieces involved bringing audience members onto the stage and placing them in physically awkward situations. It was side-splitting kind of funny – and what a rush for those people on stage to have the entire venue applauding their efforts!

There were no shortage of amazing feats. My favourites included a troupe of Asian girls with Diablos – they were able to do things with them that I’d never seen (and I did a thesis on Irish circuses last June!). I also loved the acrobats that came out suspended on large rings – it was both beautiful and exciting to watch. The entire show was so graceful and daring! I loved every minute.

I also have to give a mention to the wonderful live band and vocalists that provided the sometimes eerie backdrop to the performance! They were so polished that you’d never have known the music was live.

If you missed Cirque du Soleil this time around – make sure you catch them whenever they come back! I for one will be first in line for the next show!

“Do I know my life is weird? It’s all I’ve ever known.”

Currently on repeat on my iTunes.

I’m loving: Circus, Kill the Lights, Shattered Glass, If U Seek Amy, Unusual You, and Mannequin

Watched “Britney Spears: For the Record” the other night and was totally impressed. Loved the style of the documentary, thought the work on the project was wonderful, but mostly, I was impressed with Britney. She seems to have gained a mature, realistic perspective. She came across as very likable as well – and she’s much prettier than the tabloids give her credit for!

I knew that she was tormented by hordes of paparrazi – but the images in the docu were unbelieveable. How sad to see someone trapped in their own celebrity reality. She exists in this 1984-esque nightmare where there is always someone watching her every move. No wonder she acted out last year!

I wish her the best of luck – she’s so young and works so hard. I completely admire that.

Photo from Glamour Magazine shoot Dec 2008