Thoughts from Lance concerning the Greatest Show on Earth..ok, Just a really good show!
I don’t remember my last visit to the Circus. I was a child and I know that we went, but I could not tell you more than that. So this trip was to be a surprise for me, as well as the rest of the family, who’d never been. And surpisingly, there was little to no apprehension from me, concerning any clowns we would see (a blog for another day). We arrived early hoping to see the pre-show and animal tour, which precipitated us needing to walk all the way around the Fort Worth Convention center to see the animals that would participate in the later evening. Caleb loved it! Cora clung to me for dear life. This is a theme that we would revisit again and again throughout the evening, and which I will explain further in this blog. Suffice to say, Cora was a bit young for all the things that she would experience.
The animals included: Tigers, Elephants (a few feet away from us! Not separated by much of anything from the throngs of crowds taking pictures), Horses, Miniature horses, Poodles, and goats. Upon the completion of the animal tour area, we headed to the Pre-show that took place an hour before the real show. To enter early, we had to wait in lines that kept changing places. One person would tell us that we would go in this door, while another greeter stated the other door was the proper entrance. We looked like a bunch of confused cattle. By the time the doors were ready to open, no one knew where we were supposed to go, so it was a bit chaotic. Finally, the doors DID open and we all rushed up the stairs into the arena and then down again onto the floor.
The pre-show allows you onto the circus floor where several acts rotate through the different rings. You can talk to the performers, get pictures, try on circus outfits, and see different acts than are in the actual evening performance. At this point Caleb and Mandy paired up (buddy system), and since Cora had permanently attached herself to my side, she was with me. Team Candy (Caleb and Mandy) watched the clowns juggle and some acrobats. Then Caleb wanted some popcorn, so off Mandy and him went to find the good stuff before the show started. Team Corance (Cora and Lance) went and watched an elephant paint a picture, men on stilts jump rope and to top it all off, a trampoline act that was really cool. The hour went by quickly, and people continued to gather until every ringside was a good 6-8 people deep. When that finished, we headed to our seats.
We did not buy the cheapest seats in the building (as you would assume I Lance would do) mainly because the kids’ tickets were free from their reading program at the library. This enabled us to shoot a little above the cheapest and got some really good seats. The show was centered around a clown named Bello who kept getting into trouble and had fallen in love with one of the female acrobats in the show. He spends most of the time doing wacky stunts to get her attention and win her heart. Not to spoil it for you, but he does get a peck on the cheek near the end (from the girl, not one of the animals). This is worth it in his eyes, or so we are led to believe. The show is a good one. It is filled with great animal acts, silly and sometimes amazing stunts, and precision choreography and timing. Some of the highlights of the show include:
· The Poodles—yes I said the poodles! They do an act that will get you going. They are jumping and flipping with the trainers and it was something to see. Keep this to yourself. I don’t want to be known as a poodle endorser.
· The Tigers—I love Tigers. They have been one of my favorite animals my entire life. Anytime a man gets into a ring with 10 tigers there is some excitement.
· The elephants—they were so beautiful and so well trained, as they stood on each others backs.
· The 7 story sway pole—basically Bello and the girl of his dreams scale the poles and when they get to the top they begin to sway and perform tricks. Eventually they will swap poles from the top and come sliding down the pole head first. For more info, read about Cora and the pole below.
· Wheel of Steel—this was a great stunt where Bello and another performer run around a metal ring that is on this spinning apparatus. It was truly a sight to see.
There were other great acts, but allow me a moment to digress. Some of the thoughts that came to my mind during this performance, I have saved for the end. I will list them in more of a bullet format:
· Ringlin doesn’t really make their money on the tickets. All the money stems from concession and memorabilia sales. From the time that you set foot on the grounds, they are selling and selling and selling. If you want a program and a children’s coloring book its $22 bucks. How about a cheap hat and cotton candy? $12 please! Not to mention the spinning light up things and the stuffed animals. At the end of the day they are truly trying to make a sale.
· The choreography and the timing for the entire event are amazing. They keep this 2- hour show rolling and there are hundreds of wires that have to drop at the right time, as well as lights coming in from all over. It is amazing, and I appreciate it all the more, having coordinated some tech for conferences and knowing all what it takes to pull them off.
· The Cora Experience—for Cora the event was very interesting. Like I mentioned earlier she was never separated from my lap or my hip. She would scream anytime the elephants came near her. During the sway pole extravaganza she started screaming. She was afraid someone was going to fall. Everyone around us began looking back at why a 2 year old was sending out these blood curdling screams. I literally had to turn her head and keep her from watching to help her get through the trick.
· Tigers, Tigers, Tigers—it was amazing to see the tigers but in some way it was a real struggle. It just seemed wrong. They seemed so beaten down. They were meant to be in the wild, they were meant to run free and to eat animals. It honestly just seemed so wrong. When you go to the zoo and see the animals they are there in a confined capacity, but they are valued and they are allowed to be studied and to reproduce in a somewhat natural habitat. In some ways that seems better than the training and droning that happens at the Circus. I am open to some insight and feedback on this.
· Carney’s—I also thought about the folks that spend their lives in the circus. I don’t think people run off and join the circus anymore, but there is something to be said about those that find their craft in the circus. That desire to perform must come up often. The ability to do crazy stunts over and over again has to be a rush. The constant travel has to be a learned skill.
Well that is all I had. It was a good night overall. We enjoyed the sights and sounds. It’s something everyone should take the kids to at least once.
Filed under: The Blogs on August 28th, 2008 | 1 Comment »