My Favorite Photo from Level 6 State

This is my favorite photo from the shots I took at Level 6 State in November. I like how the hair gives a sense of motion. www.flickr.com/photos/flipimages

Level 6 State at Capital Gymnastics

Level 6 State Championships were held at Capital Gymnastics on November 21-22. I enjoyed watching and taking pictures for awhile. The new facility is awesome! Too bad they don't have adult classes - well maybe it's a good thing (I don't really need to know if I can still do a full-in on the trampoline or not). Everyone we talked to was very nice and I'll definitely go to future meets at the gym.

Cirque Shanghai Bai Xi - Review

I saw Cirque Shanghai last Thursday at the Paramount Theatre. The acrobatics were impressive but I feel that the show was somewhat flat and mechanical. The performers didn't have the same charisma that we saw at Cirque Mechanics in October. On the bright side, there were some good acrobatics and a variety of acts. Some of the acts that stood out are: Diablo, Hat Juggling, Slack line, Contortion, Spanish Web, and Hoop Diving. A couple of the acts were almost like copies of Cirque Du Soleil but not quite as engaging. For example the Cube Act (very similar to Misha's act in Alegria and later Mystere but without the aerial part) and the Hand 2 Hand act was similar to Mystere's Hand 2 Hand but not quite as solid or dramatic.

There were a couple of performers that did a good job of connecting with the audience. I don't know their names but the performer in the jug act (he had heavy jugs that he tossed around and juggled) and one of the performers in the hat juggling act. Also, the Slack Line performer was entertaining and had the crowd interested.

Even though I emailed in advance and was told "non flash photography" would be okay, I was still stopped when I walked in the door with my camera. I guess the policy was actually "no photography at all". Oh well, sometimes these things happen and I still enjoyed the show.

I can't wait for Cirque Du Soleil Alegria in Cedar Park!

Lynn

Cirque Du Soleil is coming to Cedar Park!

This is an update to my previous post about Cirque Du Soleil's Alegria coming to Austin. I received an email this morning and the venue is actually the new Cedar Park Center. I'm thrilled because it's closer to where I live. Yay! Tickets are on presale now for Cirque Club Members (it's free to join - just sign up at http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/). The dates for the show are February 17-21, 2010.

Assuming that the arena show is similar to the tent show I saw in 1995, I think this is a fantastic show - especially for people into gymnastics! Alegria has a tumble trak act (called power track), Russian bars, aerial high bar and other great acts (like trapeze). I already got my seats and I'm considering going twice to just support Cirque coming to Austin.

Here is a small version of the Alegria wallpaper image available from Cirque Du Soleil's website. Check out the Alegria page for more information about the show:
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/alegria/default.aspx

Update on Cirque Shanghai

Paramount theater has released some seats in the orchestra section. I'm so happy that I get to see this show after all. I'm not sure if they allow photos (I've sent an email asking) but at least I will enjoy the show and I will write a short review after.

Cirque Shanghai at the Paramount Theater

I found out about this show too late to get good tickets. Cirque Shanghai will be at the Paramount Theater in Austin on November 11 & 12, 2009. I'm sorry I'll have to miss this one. If anyone goes to the show, I'd love to hear about it (leave a comment or send me an email).