In January we had the opportunity to see a Cirque Du Soleil show with the kids.  Kenny and I have seen a couple before but this was a first for the kids.  If you haven’t seen one and get the opportunity, you HAVE to go.  They are amazing.  Words don’t give Cirque shows justice, but I will try.

First, a little history…

From the OVO program:
“In 1982, a troupe of young street performers founded by Gilles Ste-Croix mixed with the crowd of tourists, artists and collectors in Baie-Saint-Paul, the Mecca for Quebec painters. They formed the Club des talons hauts (the High Heels Club).  Walking on stilts, the entertainers – who included one Guy Laliberte – juggled and breathed fire.  Inspired by the vacationers’ obvious delight, the performers organized the Baie-Saint-Paul entertainers’ festival, where the public witnessed the beginnings of what would soon become Cirque du Soleil.  

From that point on, Guy Laliberte, Gilles Ste-Croix and their cronies began to cherish a crazy dream: to create a Quebec circus and take the troupe around the world.  In 1984, Quebec was celebrating the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s arrival in Canada, and Guy Laliberte presented a proposal for a show called Cirque du Soleil: a striking, dramatic mix of the circus arts (without animals) and street performance featuring wild, outragous costumes, magical lighting and original music.  His concept was enthusiastically received, and he succeeded in convincing the Quebec government that a Cirque du Soleil tour would be perfect for international Youth Year in 1985, the following year.  And Cirque du Soleil hasn’t stopped since!”

Each of the over 30 different Cirque shows has a unique title and theme, costumes, staging, and music.  What makes these shows even more amazing is that no words are used.  The characters use body language and noises – gibberish, if you will – to convey the plot and story.  Even the lyrics of the amazing music contain no words.  We bought the CD for this show and are still listening to it.  Anna, especially, has latched onto it.  She LOVES listening to it, dancing to it, and has learned to sing along with the gibberish melodies.  So fun.

Kenny and I are firm believers in exposing the kids to all kinds of live performance.  Stage plays, concerts, musicals, even the worship band every Sunday is showing them something new about live performance.  Movies and TV shows are one thing, but live performance is something all together different and absolutely wonderful.  There is a connection between the performers and audience which you miss watching a screen. There is an added element of awe watching another human take on a role, sing, play an instrument or dance.  It is a special opportunity and we were privileged to attend this one.

We all loved OVO – a story about bugs – the hidden world beneath our feet.  All of the Cirque shows are amazing, though.  If you’ve seen one, leave a comment about which one you saw and what you liked.

Here’s to widening and enriching our lives with live performance!