Under the Big Top

Steve took me to Cirque Du Soleil for my birthday Friday night!!!!! (Yes that deserves a lot of these !!!!!)

I have been fascinated and in love with Cirque Du Soleil forever. When I was much younger (we’re talking middle schoolish), my dance company did a dance to some of their music. That is when the love affair began and it grew from there. The dancing, the music, the art, the acrobatics, the costumes, the drama, the colors, the ahhhh! It’s too much I can’t take it.

Despite my love affair, I had never been to a Cirque Du Soleil show before. Anytime I thought about buying tickets to a show, I felt guilty about spending that much money. It is not a cheap date. C’est tres cher! But, it’s totally worth it!

Evidentially, Steve had been planning my super duper birthday surprise for several weeks. Well last week when we were looking up things to do for our Date Day, I found myself on the Atlantic Station website and what happens to be on the front page but Cirque Du Soleil! Steve was sitting right beside me when I jumped out of my socks with excitement. “Cirque Du Soleil is in Atlanta!” After rubbing his ear, Steve acted oblivious to his prior knowledge and played it cool. I proceded to research oVo (the show playing in Atlanta) and ticket prices, oh the expensive ticket prices. I, of course, had no intentions of going but I was getting a thrill out of researching and knowing that they were so close. I do a lot of travel research and exploration on the internet for the thrill of the possibilities. Later that evening as we were exiting interstate deathtrap, I saw the giant blue and yellow tent rise out of the concrete jungle, and again squealed with excitement. Steve played it cool. “I’ve driven by that thing a million time going to appointments, but had no idea what it was. That’s cool.”

When Steve handed me the box with the oVo tickets in it on Wednesday he goes, “Just so you know. I’ve been planning this for weeks and you almost ruined it. It’s impossible to surprise you.” I had no idea what he was talking about until I opened the box. When I opened the box, his little speech made sense. After I opened the box he said, “I couldn’t decide if I should tell you before I bought the tickets so you could help me pick them out since you know more about theater and stuff. But, I figured if I told you before I bought them,  you would talk me out of it because you would say it was too expensive.” True story, I would have.

After dinner at Rosa Mexicano (again), and a very chilly walk, we arrived at the tent about an hour before the show began. We were some of the first to arrive at the gate. We were able to take our time shopping for souvenirs and playing with the silly hats and umbrellas before the mad rush of people arrived. We were also able to find the bathroom, snacks and our seats without having to climb over top of half a dozen people. I highly recommend arriving early; it will save you a world of stress.

The show was fantastic. The dancing, the music, the art, the acrobatics, the costumes, the drama, the colors, the ahhhh! It’s too much I can’t take it. (I’ve said this before haven’t I?) I mean it though. The detail and passion that was put into portraying these funny little bugs was  inspiring. From the moment we walked into the tent and all the way through until we were making our cold trek back to the car, we were submerged in the world of Cirque Du Soleil.

This is the first glimpse of the Cirque tent exiting off the interstate. Doesn’t it look like something you would see in a fantasy movie about a magic circus that takes over urban America?

We were getting honked at by the drivers behind us because Steve slowed down to almost a complete stop so I could take this picture.

Isn’t it beautiful?! I want my house to look just like this… err maybe not.

Look at the oVo!

Check out my new purse! I wanted something slightly avantgarde and Cirque Du Soleil without screaming it. It’s hard to see from this picture, but Cirque Du Soleil is stamped into the fabric on the red triangle. The lining of the purse is printed with circus scenes.

Of course, photos and videos were not allowed during the show for the safety of the performers and for copyright protections. I’m grateful to have had this limitation put on me. If photos were allowed, I would have spent the entire show trying to take pictures that weren’t turning out and getting frustrated instead of allowing myself to be mesmerized by the beauty of the performance. Even though photos were not allowed, I still wanted to share a little bit of the excitment with you, so I found the trailer for oVo for you to watch. You’re going to love it!

PS. My birthday isn’t until the 22nd of this month; we celebrated early!

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