Cirque and Shard

I took this photo when I was down near London Bridge a couple of weeks ago -- it's the top of the Shard (right) with the moon and a pointy bit of sculpture. In case you're wondering.

I went to see Cirque du Soleil's "Totem" show last night at Royal Albert Hall. One of Dave's colleagues in the music department had box seats, through the generosity of some parents at the school, and invited us to attend. Dave stayed home because he's been battling a cold, but I went with several others from school and some of their kids.

I've never seen Cirque du Soleil before, and it was intriguing. I love the way it updates the traditional circus forms -- there are acrobats and clowns but they look nothing like the old Ringling Brothers model. The costumes are amazing, brightly colored and stretchy and spangly, and there were colored lights and video projections as well as thumpy music with indecipherable lyrics. We saw juggling with bright balls of light inside a clear plastic funnel, and aerialists -- professional gymnasts, really --  on rings and trapeze bars. There's something balletic about watching incredibly fit human beings flowing gracefully through a series of unbelievable poses. Not unlike going to see "Swan Lake" last week.

Some of the show seemed suspect from a political correctness point of view -- what was up with the Native Americans on roller skates, for example? And why does the clown speak Italian? I am not the first person to ask these questions.

Still, it was fabulous. I'd go again.

This morning Dave and I had to muscle our saggy, broken loveseat down the front steps and out to the street. Sadly, we are not as fit as gymnasts, but we managed. It's supposed to be picked up by the council later today, by pre-arrangement. Fingers crossed!