Austin Shrine Circus

Austin Shrine Circus is returning to the Cedar Park Center January 18-21, 2013. Tickets just went on sale to the public but I haven't bought mine yet.  Why?  The good seats appear to be blocked off.  No matter what day or time I try, I cannot get a seat in the center section.  I've gone to the Shrine Circus for several years and I've always been able to find decent seats.  I doubt they are all sold out already (I was having this problem during the presale yesterday).  With money being extra tight now I'm not going to pay for bad seats so at this point it looks like I'll be skipping it this time.  That's too bad because it's one of my favorite photo opportunities.

If anyone knows why the seats are blocked off or how I can get seats in the center section please drop me an email.  Thanks!

Cirque is coming to town!

Cirque is coming to town!
Originally uploaded by DigiNik13

I saw this ad for Cirque du Soleil in Barton Creek Square. I hope the mall doesn't mind that I snapped a quick photo. I can't wait to see Saltimbanco! 

Some Circus Events in Austin this month

Sorry I've been negligent about updating the blog.  Some personal issues have limited my time and resources but I definitely want to mention some events coming up in Austin:

1.  Blue Lapis Light is doing a student showcase November 30th and December 1st.  More information is here: http://bluelapislight.org/performances/

2. Sky Candy is doing a show called "Land Without Evil".  It happens to be the same weekend of Cirque Du Soleil (darn!).  More info on Sky Candy's show here: http://skycandyaustin.com/performances/

3.  Trapeze Austin is doing 3 shows in the near future:  December 15th, January 12th and January 26th at their Circus tent.  I live very north so the tent is even harder for me to get to than the Soccer Zone, thus I haven't been out to their tent yet.  But I really enjoyed the show they did at the Soccer Zone and hopefully I can make it out to the tent some day.  But December 15th is Cirque du Soleil weekend and I believe January conflicts with the Shrine Circus (not confirmed yet).  So I may be missing this batch of shows again.  Why does everything in Austin happen on the same weekend?

4. Cirque Dreams will be doing their show "Holidaze" at the Long Center November 20-25.  I always enjoy Cirque Dreams and this looks to be a great show!

**Update** Now that I've joined the ranks of the unemployed I'm going to have to miss Cirque Dreams this year :-(

5.  Cirque du Soleil brings the final performances of Saltimbanco to the Cedar Park Center December 12-16th.  Yay!!  This is within driving distance for me and fortunately I already have my tickets :-)

Photos from Ringling Brothers in Austin, Tx.

Ringling Brothers 2012, a set on Flickr.

Ringling Brothers has become my favorite Austin event to photograph. I still have a few photos that I'm editing but here's almost completed set on Flickr.

A few upcoming Austin Circus Events

While I continue editing photos from Ringling Brothers, I want to mention a couple of upcoming Austin Circus Events:

1. Cirque Dreams Holidaze is coming to the Long Center on November 20 - 25, 2012.  While I don't know much yet about Holidaze, I've enjoyed previous Cirque Dreams shows so I'm looking forward to this one.  Tickets are on sale now from The Long Center's website.

2.  Blue Lapis Light is doing a performance on the Terrace of The Long Center from September 9 -19th, 2012.   Although I have yet to make it to one of their shows (they are always so late at night for those of us who don't live near downtown), I hope to be able to go some day.     

3. Trapeze Austin is taking sign ups for their workshops and circus performances!  On Facebook they list their next show as being on December 15, 2012 (darn... same weekend as Cirque du Soleil!).  They also mention a Christmas show and a New Year's Show so hopefully I can make it one of those.   Their website is www.trapezeaustin.com but I recommend following them on Facebook for more up to date information.

Ringling Brothers was fantastic....

Jumping from one wheel to the next (Explored)
Originally uploaded by DigiNik13
I really enjoyed Ringling Brothers' show "Fully Charged" last weekend in Austin, TX. We went on two different days and I took lots of photos each day. The show had some good acrobatics and aerial acts. It ended with a "tumble track" act that really was a rod floor instead of a trampoline. The tumbling in the act was very good but not spectacular. I think the most impressive skill I saw was a quad full but I was so busy taking pictures that I'm not 100% sure it was 4 twists instead of 3 :-) My bad!

As always, the Wheel of Death was a crowd favorite and a very energetic act. I also enjoyed the handbalancing, the aerial act and the guy who was shot out of a giant crossbow while on fire (yikes!).

The Ringmaster, Brian Crawford Scott, was fantastic.  He was very charismatic and had an amazing voice.  He also had several cool costumes so I took quite a few photos of him.

There was lots of juggling in this show and the jugglers were very entertaining! The high wire performers were also great to watch and one of them even did a side flip off the high wire onto the platform (I haven't seen that before!).

Overall I definitely recommend this show and I'm always grateful to Ringling Brothers for allowing cameras so I can take pictures. I have to say that Ringling Brothers has become my favorite photo op in Austin :-) I look forward to it every year.....

I'll post a link to the final set of photos once I am done editing them.

Fun Week for Circus events

It's that time of year again..... Ringling Brother's is coming to Austin this week at the Frank Erwin Center with a new show "Fully Charged".  From the website it appears to be a fun acrobatic show with a 80 foot tumble trak act - that should make me really jealous :-)  I'm planning to take photos and post them on my Flickr page.

Also, I just found out today that Cirque Du Soleil is returning to the Cedar Park Center this December.  This breaks their usual pattern of coming to Cedar Park every February.  They will be performing the final US performances of Saltimbanco December 12-16th.  Presale tickets are already available for Cirque Club members (it's free to join through Cirque Du Soleil's website).  Tickets will go on sale to the general public on August 24th.

I'm excited to see Saltimbanco because I've only seen it on TV and I'm really looking forward to seeing it live.  It was a new tent show around 1993 but I missed it at that time.  The DVD is great although I imagine some of the acts have changed since then.  I still think it will be a great show and I'm already looking forward to it.

Ringling Brothers is coming back to Austin

I'm quite behind on my blogging but this is a quick post to say that Ringling Brothers Circus is coming back to Austin on August 22-26, 2012 at the Frank Erwin Center.  It's a new show called "Fully Charged" and based on the previews on the website I think we're going to get a power tumbling act :-)  Yay!

As always, I absolutely love taking photos at Ringling Brothers so I cannot wait for this show! 

Quidam was spectacular!

We really enjoyed Quidam at the Cedar Park Event Center Sunday afternoon. Quidam is one of my favorite shows and I was curious to see if it still had the same magic that it had when I saw it 15 years ago under the Big Top. The arena version of Quidam did not disappoint! I thought it was just as lovely and magical as the tent version.

Since I first saw the show in 1997 my favorite act has been Banquine and it still is. This particular Banquine act was just as great as the original. The music is beautiful and the Choreography is spectacular (thanks to Debbie Brown, one of Cirque's original choreographers). The act is a true art masterpiece in my opinion.

I also enjoyed all the other aerial acts: spanish webs, aerial hoop and aerial silk. According to the program, former Australian Olympic gymnast Lisa Skinner performs the aerial hoop act now. It was a lovely performance! She was in Austin 2 years ago as a tumbler in Alegria so it was nice to see her perform again.

German Wheel was very entertaining to watch and makes me wish I could try it somewhere :-) I remember loving the skipping ropes act 15 years ago and it was just as delightful this time around.

I particularly enjoyed the Diabolo act this year since I've been playing with my own diabolo recently - dropping it more often than catching it. The juggler was fantastic as well.

Hand to hand was amazing since the female performer was often the base. Wow! She is very strong. The Handbalancing on canes act is very engaging - especially with the powerful music and costume. When I first saw the show in 1997 this act was out that particular night so I'm glad I got a chance to see it live.

I find the characters in Quidam very engaging: Zoe, the young girl ignored by her parents, John the clown and The Target (who is a fantastic dancer!).

According to the neon signs in the event center Saltimbanco will be the next Cirque du Soleil arena show to come to Austin/Cedar Park. Yay! I've never seen Saltimbanco live so that will be a real treat. There were no dates listed yet so I'll post if I find out any information.

Quidam opens tonight at the Cedar Park Center

Don't miss it! I'm going this weekend. Quidam is one of my favorite Cirque du Soleil shows. I first saw it in Orange County in 1997. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Banquine act again as well as my other favorites: diabolos, hand balancing, jump rope, aerial hoops, German wheel and anything else acrobatic. Can't wait!

Congratulations to Mackenzie Brannan

And the winner of the Senior International Elite Session... Austinite Mackenzie Brannan
Originally uploaded by DigiNik13

I'm swamped with work and editing gymnastics photos from the WOGA Classic 2012. Austin's own Mackenzie Brannan (Capital Gymnastics) won the Senior All-Around title at the Classic on Saturday night. Congratulations!

Here's a link to my Flickr set from WOGA Classic (I'm still adding photos but it's almost complete).

Trapeze Austin Circus Show February 11th

Trapeze Austin is having another circus show but this time it's in their new circus tent! Sounds like fun! There's more information and a link to buy tickets on their website: www.trapezeaustin.com

Shrine Circus 2012

Shrine Circus 2012, a set on Flickr.

I'm just about done editing photos from the Shrine Circus. I couldn't get good shots of all the great acts but I managed to get a few shots....

Eyes on the club

Eyes on the club
Originally uploaded by DigiNik13

Here's one of my favorite photos so far from the Austin Shrine circus. This lady is a fantastic juggler.

Austin Shrine Circus 2012

We had a good time at the Shrine Circus this year - I think I am getting more acquainted with how they run the show and that makes it easier. For example, this time we did not buy floor seats because the setup never matches the seating chart and that always frustrated us. This time we bought seats in the first row of the arena and they were good seats. It was nice to be a little higher than the floor seats because it was easier to see over equipment and people walking around during the show. So I never had a problem with my view being blocked while they setup for the elephant rides (which happened last year).

Another advantage of the non-floor seats is not getting trampled while the elephant rides are happening. I mean trampled by people pushing to get into line - not trampled by elephants :-)

Some of the acts are the same every year - like one of the clown acts but it's a great act so I don't mind seeing it again. My favorite acts had to be the Wheel of Death and the juggling. The female juggler in the center ring was very good and engaging to watch. I enjoyed seeing the Wheel of Death up close for the first time. Other acts included trampoline, horse riding, motorcycles, dogs and a human cannon ball. My best suggestion for this circus would be to include less animal acts and more aerial acts - like Ringling Brothers has been doing over the years.

I took quite a few photos and I'm slowly editing them and posting them on Flickr. I'm always grateful for the shows that allow cameras because I love taking photos of circus, gymnastics, acrobatics etc!

The next circus event at the Cedar Park Center is Quidam by Cirque du Soleil in March - can't wait!

Shrine Circus this weekend

This weekend the Shrine Circus returns to the Cedar Park Center. I'm hoping for some good photo-ops!

And don't forget Cirque Du Soleil's Quidam will be at the Cedar Park Center in early March (no photo ops there since they don't allow cameras but it's still worth it). Quidam is a beautiful show with breath taking acrobatics - I can't wait!