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!

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.

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.

Cirque Du Soleil is coming back to town!

Cirque du Soleil will be back at the Cedar Park Center March 10-20th, 2011. This year the show is Dralion which is a blend of traditional Chinese circus arts with typical Cirque du Soleil flair. I saw the tent show in 1999 and it incorporated many entertaining acts: juggling, teeterboard and hoop diving with fantastic Cirque du Soleil music. I have not yet seen the arena version but I've heard that the show has been updated and now includes a trampoline wall act - Yay!

For more information on the show visit Cirque Du Soleil's website here.

The Cedar Park Center sent me this link for discounted seats - use the promotional code STARS (all caps).

I'm always happy to see Cirque du Soleil come to town, even if they don't allow photography during the show :-)

Some Events Coming Up

Here's a list of a few events that are coming up soon:
1. The Shrine Circus will be at the Cedar Park Center again this year Friday January 14 - Monday January 17.

2. Austin Sky Candy Aerial Arts Collective is raising money to expand their classes and purchase new equipment. If you are interested in donating to their cause here is a link to more information.

3. Cirque du Soleil's Dralion will be at the Cedar Park Center in March and, during that time, Cirque will be holding auditions for singers and musicians. More information is available here for singers and here for musicians.

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!