Cirque Dreams Illumination Review

Saturday we saw Cirque Dreams Illumination at the Long Center in Austin, TX. This was my first time to see a Cirque Dreams production so I wasn't sure what to expect. Overall, I found the skill level of the performers to be very high and enjoyable. The music and choreography was average (in my opinion) but overall I would say this was a good show. Some of the acts that stand out to me are the Foot manipulators (I believe Cirque du Soleil calls this Icarian Games), the juggler (fantastic!), the aerial cube act (with 4 girls on a cube) and the handbalancer. According to the program, the handbalancer is 6'2" - that makes his skill level even more impressive. No doubt his fantastic flexibility helps him but it's impressive to see someone that tall do a reverse planche. I enjoyed the slackline performer (Wirewalker) and was especially impressed by his back extension roll to handstand on the wire. There was another handbalancing/acro act by three guys who did a really great job. Other notable acts were the contortion girls, rollo bollos, and the aerial perch couple.

I also enjoyed seeing Sky and Aaron - the two local Austin performers who won the "Run Away with Cirque Dreams Casting Call". The casting call is a very good marketing tool for Cirque Dreams as it gave us a preview of the show (and the ability to take pictures) and also allowed for some local talent to perform in Austin (some of my pictures from the casting call are located here: www.flickr.com/photos/flipimages/sets/72157625235230721 )

One thing about the performance that seemed odd to me was the clown act. It's act where the "Director" is directing "audience members" (most likely plants) through a silent movie. However, it's an almost exact copy of the same act done by David Shiner in Cirque Du Soleil's Nouvelle Experience, which I saw in 1991 (and is still available on DVD). I don't know who owns the rights to this act but it was weird to see it done almost verbatim by another circus.

I look forward to Cirque Dreams returning to Austin next year - especially if they do the Casting Call again.

Workshops and Performances at Sky Candy Austin

As part of the East Austin Studio Tour, Sky Candy Austin will be doing workshops and performances on November 13th & 14th. Space in the workshops is limited so if you are interested visit their website to sign up (or to get more information): http://www.skycandyaustin.com/. I'm hoping I can get away from Austin Comic Con long enough to stop by and see what's happening there.

Adult Gymnastics Class at Star Center

I just found out that Star Center has an adult gymnastics class on Monday and Wednesday evening... for more information visit their website http://www.austinstarcenter.com/ (it's on the Class Schedule). The gym is located in South Austin - nice and convenient for those of you that live South. Since I'm on the opposite side of town (North Austin....in a galaxy far far away), I probably won't be able to check out this class but I'm still happy to see that some gyms are willing to have classes for adults.

Cirque Dreams Casting Call

I wasn't sure what to expect at the Cirque Dreams casting call but we had a great time and the opportunity to see local performers as well as some Cirque Dreams performances. Cirque Dreams is promoting their new show "Illumination" which will be at The Long Center in November (can't wait!). I'm really excited to see more circus performances and activities in the Austin area (and especially in Cedar Park since I live north).

Run Away with Cirque Dreams

This sounds like fun..... (I got this information in an email from The Long Center):

Casting call at Lakeline Mall on Sunday, November 7th at 12:30 p.m. JCPenny's rotunda at Lakeline Mall - 11200 Lakeline Mall Drive, Cedar Park, TX, 78613

CIRQUE DREAMS ILLUMINATION and The Long Center for the Performing Arts have teamed up to offer one lucky dreamer the chance to "Run away with Cirque Dreams" and perform in a feature role when the show performs at The Long Center, November 23-28, 2010.

The creative team from Cirque Dreams will hold a casting call, limited to the first 100 dreamers of all ages, on Sunday, November 7, 2010, beginning at 12:30 p.m. at Lakeline Mall and encourage aspiring performers, acrobats, gymnasts, musicians, dancers, singers and anyone else with a special talent who has ever dreamed of performing in a Broadway show, to audition for their chance to perform with the internationally renowned Cirque Dreams company. Each participant will have up to 2 minutes to impress the cirque experts with their skills. Performers requiring music should bring their own CD. In addition, performers from CIRQUE DREAMS ILLUMINATION will be on hand to give a sneak peek of the show.

The winner of the "Run Away with Cirque Dreams" competition will be trained locally by the Cirque Dreams design team for their debut performance in CIRQUE DREAMS ILLUMINATION and will receive six complimentary tickets to their debut performance.

Climb aboard the all-new CIRQUE DREAMS ILLUMINATION journey, from the creators of Broadway's groundbreaking hit and only show of its kind to ever perform on Broadway, Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy. "Full of streetsmart stunts and acrobatic invention" raves the Columbus Dispatch, and proclaimed, "Dazzling, A reason to stand up and cheer", by the New York Daily News, CIRQUE DREAMS ILLUMINATION will perform 8 shows at the Long Center beginning Tuesday, November 23-Sunday, November 28, 2010.

www.thelongcenter.org

Two Circus Events Coming Up...

Contortion

A couple of events to check out:

1. On October 29, 2010 at 7:00 Blue Lapis Light is performing at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The show titled "Limitless" will also be performed on November 4th and 5th at the same location.

2. The Shrine Circus is returning to the Cedar Park Center. Although I didn't have the best experience last year (horrible seats), I've already bought tickets to go again. This time I got my tickets from Ticketmaster so I can be sure the seats I bought are the ones indicated on the seating chart. The shows are running from January 14-17, 2011 at the Cedar Park Center. Last year they allowed cameras so I'm hoping to be able to take pictures again this year.

Blue Lapis Light - One

Blue Lapis Light is performing a site specific dance (title "One") at the Long Center all this week (September 27 - October 3). Unfortunately, the 8:30pm start time is conflicting with my schedule this week but hopefully others are getting there to see the show. Here's a link to Blue Lapis' website:
www.bluelapislight.org

And some very nice photos from the rehearsal:
http://galleries.austin360.com/gallery/one-rehearsal/#128225

Cirque Du Soleil is returning to Cedar Park

I just found out that Cirque du Soleil is returning to the Cedar Park Event Center next March (2011). This time the show is Dralion, which has been touring around the world for 10 years (or so). I saw the original tent version in 1999 (I think?) but I've heard the show has added a few acts since then - most importantly a trampoline act :-) Here's a link to the Dralion page on Cirque's website: http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/dralion/show/acts.aspx The show is in presale right now and will be on sale to the general public later in September (through Ticketmaster). Just a word of caution, I had problems getting Cirque's new website to work consistently so you might have to try a few times.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Metamorphoses at the Zach Scott Theater in downtown Austin. It's based on some of the stories of Greek Mythology with a modern twist. All the stories were fantastic (and very emotional) and the performers did an excellent job. There are also some students of Blue Lapis Light that perform on aerial silks throughout the show. We were in the front row, which was definitely a "splash zone", and we got wet - but it was fun (dress comfortably). Here's a link for information about Metamorphoses: http://www.zachtheatre.org/show/metamorphoses

Aerial Silks Drop at Ringling Brothers

I had a great time at Ringling Brothers show "Zing Zang Zoom" last weekend. At the last minute, I decided to see the show twice (Thursday and Sunday) so I could take more pictures. It goes without saying that the acrobatic acts were my favorites. I also thought the clowns were more entertaining than usual. It was a very acrobatic group of clowns, with one guy doing a side flip over 4 audience members. I'm slowly working on editing the photos and posting them to my Flickr stream (www.flickr.com/flipimages).

Here's one of my favorite shots of one of the aerial silks performers:


Aerial Silks Drop

Just got my tickets for Metamorphoses

I just purchased front row tickets for Metamorphoses in September. Yay! I've heard that the show is fantastic, so I'm really excited. Yes, I'm prepared to be in the "Splash Zone" :-)

Here's a link for more information: http://www.zachtheatre.org/show/metamorphoses

A few events coming up:

1. Next week Ringling Brothers will be in town with their show Zing Zang Zoom (Aug 18 - 22). Last year they allowed cameras, so I'm hoping I can take pictures again this year.

2. The Zach Scott theater has a new show called "Metamorphoses". I haven't seen it yet but I heard there are aerial silks used during the show (and Blue Lapis Light is listed in the under the Artistic Staff). http://www.zachtheatre.org/show/metamorphoses. It sounds like a really interesting show.

3. Blue Lapis Light is performing a site specific aerial dance at The Long Center September 27 - October 3. Tickets are available through The Long Center. More information is available at www.bluelapislight.org.

A few events to mention....

1. I just found out that Blue Lapis Light will be performing an aerial dance at the Hyatt Regency this weekend, as part of the Bat Fest on June 6 (unfortunately, this is the same day as Star Wars in Concert).

2. Also, Ringling Brothers tickets are now on sale for their show Zing Zang Zoom.

3. Trapeze Austin is offering summer camps for kids and circus workshops for adults: http://www.trapezeaustin.com/pricing_aerials.html. They were recently featured on a segment on News 8 Austin: http://news8austin.com//Default.aspx?ArID=271496

That's all for now!

Dizzy Feet Have Got No Rhythm

Meaning... there are a few events coming up but I'm not sure I'm well enough to get to them.

1. Level 10 JO Nationals are in Dallas this weekend. Gymnasts from all over the country will be there competing. More information at http://www.metroplexgymnastics.com/jo/

2. There's a fundraiser for Blue Lapis Light this weekend (May 8) at Spring Condominiums in Downtown Austin. It sounds like fun (if I was feeling better). For anyone interested in going there's more information at http://www.bluelapislight.org/

3. Ringling Brothers tickets are now available for pre-sale. Ringling Brothers Circus is coming back to the Frank Erwin Center in August. Tickets are available for pre-sale and will be available for public sale on May 22, 2010.

Austin Trapeze Circus Performance Workshop

This sounds like so much fun (wish I was feeling better).... Austin Trapeze is doing a 6 week performance workshop ending with a show on May 29th. The workshop meets twice a week starting on April 22, 2010. Even though I can't attend the workshop, I'm very excited to see circus events like this happening in Austin. Yay! I definitely plan on attending the show and taking pictures (if allowed). Here's a link for those that want more information: www.trapezeaustin.com/workshop

I'm still editing photos from NAIGC Nationals last weekend. I'll put some on this blog soon. In the meantime, I am putting a few up on my flickr account: www.flickr.com/flipimages. NAIGC Nationals was a fun, high-energy level meet. I was surprised at the number of competitors there, I guess I didn't realize there were so many college clubs now. It's great to see so much participation and great skills in college club gymnastics. It's improved so much from when I was in college, a long time ago (in a galaxy far far away) :-)

Why does everything happen in the same weekend?

Sometimes I scour the paper looking for photo opportunities and/or things to do but in this case there are too many at once! Here's what's happening this weekend:

1. NAIGC Nationals at Texas State University in San Marcos April 8-10.
2. McCallum Fine Arts Academy is doing their spring performance on April 9-10. The aerial dance is called "Around the Bend" and was created with the help of Blue Lapis Light. More information is available at www.BlueLapisLight.org
3. Cedar Park is having a Heritage Festival on Saturday April 10th. According to the schedule in the Chronicle, two gymnastics schools are doing perfomances: Capital Gymnastics and Zero Gravity Gymnastics and Cheer.

It's going to be tough to choose!

NAIGC Nationals

The National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs (NAIGC) is holding their 2010 National Championships at Texas State University in San Marcos. Yay! The competition runs from Thursday April 8 through Saturday April 10. The schedule is posted on their website and there's quite a few more teams than I was expecting. Hopefully they allow photography because I'm really in the mood to kick back, watch gymnastics and practice taking pictures.

Here's a link to the website and the schedule: http://www.naigc.net/nationals.php

Aerial Arts Classes at Trapeze Austin

I was just browsing Trapeze Austin's website (www.trapezeaustin.com) and I noticed they have Aerial Circus Arts Classes listed now. The website says they offer aerial rope, Spanish web, static trapeze, silks and hand balancing. Yay! I have to get down there when I'm feeling better. Or maybe I'll just stop by and watch a class. Either way, I'm so excited that we have classes like this available in Austin (South Austin).

I hope they have some kind of show soon - specifically one that allows photography :-) If I can't participate (yet) at least I can take pictures.

Ringling Brothers is coming back to Austin

I just found out that Ringling Brothers is returning to the Frank Erwin Center August 18 - 22. Yay! Tickets will go on sale May 29, 2010.

Last year they allowed cameras so I was able to take pictures (like the one below of trapeze). I hope they have the same photo policy this year.



Flying Trapeze

Cirque du Soleil's Alegria was fantastic!

We had a great time last night at Cirque du Soleil's Alegria at the Cedar Park Center. It was so nice to see Cirque du Soleil again (they haven't been to Austin since 2005 when the tent show, Varekai, was here). Everything about Cirque du Soleil is first rate, from the costumes, the make-up, the music and the acrobatics. Alegria has been one of my favorite shows since I first saw it in 1995. Of course, I'm partial to the power track act and the aerial high bar but I also love to watch Russian Bar, contortion, trapeze, flying man and basically every other performer.

The power track act has some fantastics tumbling, as expected with performers like Lisa Skinner and Trudy McIntosh (both Olympians from Australia). There were several double layouts (with great form), a couple of double doubles, a triple full and several split leg double layouts. I even spotted a split leg, full-out, which I believe I've never seen before (split leg layout on the first flip and a full twist on the second in layout position).

The handbalancing performer had a few sets of canes and he was hopping from set to set (while in a handstand of course).

Overall the set was smaller than the tent show version (especially the aerial high bar setup) but I think they did a great job adapting the show to an arena version. I hope we get more Cirque Du Soleil shows in Cedar Park!

Not exactly Austin related but...

Switch leap

I had a great time at the WOGA Classic in Frisco, TX. The lighting was okay, depending on what the scoreboards were showing (if the boards were white, my shutter speed almost doubled!). I'm slowly adding photos to my Flickr account.

A couple of February events to note:

Capital Gymnastics in Cedar Park is hosting their "Heart of Texas Invitational" this weekend. There are more details on their website www.capgym.com

Cirque Du Soleil is coming to Cedar Park on February 17th-21st! This is the first time Cirque du Soleil has been in the Austin area since 2005.

The Artistic Director of Blue Lapis Light is featured in a new book: "Site Dance: Choreographers and the Lure of Alternative Spaces". There will be a book signing at Book People on February 27 at 5pm. Sally Jacques (Artistic Director of Blue Lapis Light) will join Carolyn Pavlik (Co-editor) for a book signing and Q&A.

Austinite Mackenzie Brannan

Austinite Mackenzie Brannan

Austin elite gymnast Mackenzie Brannan competing on beam at the Metroplex Challenge in January 2010.

Austin Shrine Circus Photos

Juggling Hats

I'm happy that I got a few photos from the Austin Shrine Circus. My best shots are of the jugglers that performed right in front of us. Visit my Flickr stream ( www.flickr.com/flipimages ) to see more pictures.

University of Texas Home Meet

UT Gymnast on the high bar

We had fun watching part of the UT Home meet Saturday night (January 16) at Crenshaw's. It was a little dark for photos but it's always fun to try. Other teams there included Texas A&M and Texas Tech. We had to leave before the meet was over so I don't know the results yet. I'll post them as soon as I can find them online.

Disappointed with the Shrine Circus

We went to the Shrine Circus on Sunday night. Although we had VIP Seats, we did not have a very fun experience. I started this blog to promote circus events in Austin, so I really don't want to devote a lot of space to complaining about every little problem. However, I think it would be unfair if I didn't mention what went wrong at this event.

First the good stuff: The performers did a good job! (I think!) Our seats were too far away to see many details but I think the trapeze, aerial acts, and contortion were all well done. Juggling is the only act that we could see easily (right in front of us) and I really enjoyed this pair of jugglers. They were very animated and, at that point, I was so grateful to have an act in front of us that we could actually see easily! Also, I was very happy that they allowed me to bring my camera and attempt to take photos (although our seats were too far away to get many pictures).

Now for the not-so great- parts. I don't know if these were "Shrine Circus" problems or "Cedar Park Event Center problems" or a combination of both but here is what bothered us and kept us from really enjoying ourselves:

1. Our seats were NOT the seats that we thought we bought! We tried to buy seats the day they were available on Ticketmaster but there was no seating chart available. So, a few days later, we went directly to the Cedar Park Event Center Box Office because I specifically wanted to choose seats that I could easily take pictures from. The seats the employee pointed to on the seating chart were Row 1 directly between the center ring and one side ring on an aisle (it's called a "three ring" circus but more on that later). Well, when we arrived and walked to the seats we thought we had, the numbers didn't match up. We asked the usher for help and he guided us to the very farthest end front row seats at the arena, more than 20 feet off to the side from where we thought we would be. I would have brought a bigger telephoto lens if I had realized we would be that far away. We were close to one of the side rings, but 95% of the time that ring was empty and unused. To make matters worse, the rest of our row towards the center appeared to be unsold because the volunteers, riggers, etc kept using those seats on and off throughout the show. So why couldn't they just let us move down to the other end of the aisle? Why make your paying "VIP guests" sit in the worst seats, while the better seats are used as temporary seats for the employees? I would have preferred to be several rows back and in the center than in the front row at the very end of the arena. The seats we had should never have been called "VIP seats" and we would not have bought them if the Cedar Park Event Center Box office employee had shown us correctly on the seating chart.

2. The Smoke Machine was placed on the floor right next to us (about 2 feet) and it was LOUD! I thought it would turn off once the smoke was done for the opening act but the fan continued to blow even after the smoke stopped. Our ears started to ring and hurt! After awhile my husband couldn't take the noise anymore so he found an employee and asked them to turn it off. When they did turn it off the people behind us said "Thank you", so obviously it was bothering them too. Why place something so incredibly loud, right next to the audience?

3. Elephant Rides left a lot of crying kids! Parents were allowed to purchase tickets so their kid could wait in line to ride the elephants. This was very popular and had a long line. When it was time to start the show, they closed down the ride and told the kids in line to come back at the intermission. They actually let kids wait in a long line and get to the front, to be turned away! Well, during the intermission everyone mobbed back down to get in line, which they unfortunately guided right past our front row seats, so we got mobbed, bumped, stepped on, while waiting in our seats during the intermission. It got so crowded that we couldn't even stand up to abandon our seats for the intermission, we were trapped. Fortunately for us the intermission was only about 20 minutes but that was bad news for some of the kids, who again had to get turned away (after standing in a long line and buying a ticket). Imagine lots of crying young kids who can't understand why they stood in a long line and got turned away right when they got to the elephant! The announcer said they would continue elephant rides after the show and would stay until every kid got a ride but everyone still seemed a little upset and quite a few kids were still crying. We were quite annoyed this point (and my ear was still ringing) and almost left during the intermission because we couldn't see most of the acts anyway.

4. This is mostly a "one ring" circus. Please don't sell it as a "three ring circus" because almost nothing happened in front of us except the tiger act (which doesn't interest me), the Rolla Bolla act (but the performer had his back to us the entire time - he only turned around to bow), and the jugglers (who were excellent). They shouldn't even sell "VIP" seats that are so far from the center of the action. Anything at the far end of the arena (trapeze, wheel of death) we couldn't see well enough to know what they were doing. The center ring we could kind of see if we strained hard enough but for the clown acts, we really couldn't tell what was happening. We felt very detached from the whole event because our "VIP" seats were so far away.

I guess if the Shrine Circus returns to the Cedar Park Center, I would give it another chance (especially since they are camera friendly) but I would buy my tickets from Ticketmaster, instead of the box office so I can have more confidence that I'll end up closer to the center. I'm definitely very disappointed in the event and in the lost photographic opportunities. If my seats were where I thought they were, I would have been able to get some great shots!

Gymnastics Essentials

Gymnastics Essentials

I took this photo of my old grips and shoes. Now that I think about it, the grips and shoes are in too good of condition. Maybe I should drive my car over them and then take another photo?

UT Gymnastics and Shrine Circus this weekend

Two fun events are happening this weekend. On Saturday, January 16th is the first competition of the season for UT Gymnastics (http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/gymnastics/index.html). The meet will be held at Crenshaw's. Warm-ups start at 6:00 and the competition begins at 7:30pm. I'm planning to go and bring my camera. If I'm lucky and there's enough light in the gym for decent photos, I'll post them here afterwards :-)

Also this weekend is the Austin Shrine Circus (www.austincircus.com) at the Cedar Park Event Center. I haven't yet heard what the photography policy is for this event. I'll definitely call the Cedar Park Event Center before I go and hopefully I'll be able to get some interesting pictures.

And don't forget, Cirque Du Soleil is coming to Cedar Park in February!