365/52 Alegria ... the aftermath

A baroque ode to the energy, grace, and power of youth.

Home again, home again. Cirque du Soleil's Alegría is in town. It's rare that we get to see a big event like this and take the whole family out, so my wife purchased tickets for us all as a Valentine's Day treat. More importantly, we wanted the kids to see what a modern day performance troupe was like. Not quite a circus, but something more, something to be remembered.

From the Alegría website:

Alegría is a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means "jubilation" in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth—it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it.

To put it succinctly, the performance was outstanding. There were many moments throughout the show where I would have killed for a 300mm lens and my camera. There were so many moments that would have been wonderful to capture and bring home. And the costumes. Oh, I need to find a costumer!

Favorite acts? The Fire Knife Dance and the Flying Man.

Favorite characters? The clowns and the White Singer (who had a hauntingly powerful and rich voice).

Sadly, the performance ended too soon. It wasn't enough, even at over two hours. But that's just my greedy opinion.

We ended up making our way to a local pizza joint for dinner, stuffing ourselves with various meat and cheese delicacies. Snapped a quick photo of my daughter with the iphone because she was being very cute. Later, once the kids were all in bed, and I was alone to find my photo of the day, I looked at that, but it was missing something. A few shots later and I had my Alegría aftermath photographed and ready for the day.