Dralion

This afternoon's outing was to see Cirque du Soleil's 'Dralion'. Don't think of it as odd that I'm going to see a show by a Canadian company while I'm in Japan... Cirque's only been to Calgary three times, and never Dralion, which has been second on my "must see" list of Cirque shows for a long time.

I couldn't exactly remember why though ^^; Apart from the asiatic theme. But then once it actually started, I remembered - the score. Dralion definitely has, IMHO, the best score of all the Cirque shows, hands down. Favorites being Stella Errans, Ballare, Miracula Aeternitatis, and Ninkou Latora <3

So I bought it. And the DVD. ^^;;; I'm really looking forward to watching it on DVD... I find that the DVD recordings of the Cirque shows are good at highlighting little nuances of the story and art that are easy to miss in the glamour of the live performances.

Act wise, it was really solid - the list of acts for Dralion don't -sound- as impressive as some of the other shows, but in reality they're really really good. Juggling for instance, rarely turns my head, but their Juggler was REALLY really impressive.

The other one that I wasn't too sure on was the Ballet on Lights - but seeing it live - imagine a bunch of tiny little girls in blue spandex making amazingly intricate human pyramids, while standing en pointe on fucking LIGHTBULBS. It was crazy!

Favorite act was the 'Aerial Pas de Deux' - not surprising considering my love for the Flying Man act in Alegria. There's just something about watching someone wrap themselves and hang from billowing curtains of silk as they dance and fly about the stage that is very very breathtaking to me. In THIS case though, it was a pair - the air sprites, a sweet couple whose dance was as intimate as it was skillful... their caresses, the way their bodies tangled together in mid air was really beautiful. It made that act win out for me over the Double Trapeze - which was also amazing, but lacked the artistry and human element of the Aerial pair.

The clowns really impressed me as well, one of them in particular - at the beginning of the show, they pulled an 'average guy' from the audience, and get him to read the welcome (turn off your cell phones, etc), pestering him the whole time. He's very good spirited about it, a bit reluctant, embarrassed.... Later on in the show they pester him again... and then in the third act, and 'normal guy' played his part SO WELL that it wasn't until he actually broke into a choreographed dance with one of the other clowns that we finally realized that he was actually a performer. He was fabulous!

The show overall... left me with such a beautiful sense of glamour. I definitely don't regret going to this as I begin to close out my vacation. But I can't say I'm not a little afraid to go back home... everything has been so beautiful here, that I worry that I'll slip back into regular life and lose the sense of wonder and glamour that I've found here.

Thank goodness for the love that I have to return to. I don't think I could bare to go home if my heart were not already there.

Thoughts on tonight's live to follow :)