I can absolutely say that I have never been so captivated and entertained by anything in my entire life. Pretty much every second of the show was absolutely mesmerizing, from the high-energy feats to the mind-boggling reaches of the human body's capacities. You cannot help but laugh, applaud, cry out, and hold your breath as the acts-- some of which simply defy description-- unfold before you.
To back up, the reason I got to see this show for free is that Cirque du Soleil gave the organization where I work-- Urban Peak, a nonprofit agency serving homeless and runaway youth in Denver-- tickets so that youth and staff could attend. Upon arriving, it became apparent that many of the dress rehearsal tickets were given to various groups involving youth. And let me tell you, even if you've been to a Cirque show before, if you ever have the chance sometime, you should try going with a bunch of homeless teens and young adults who don't often get such an opportunity.
Anyway, so there are 2 points I have on why Cirque du Soleil-- and not Ringling Brothers or any of the other popular animal-based circuses-- is in fact the "greatest show on Earth." The first being their amazing generosity, not only in providing an amazing opportunity for urban youth to experience the show, but also in the fact that they gave Urban Peak 700 level-one tickets to sell for 100% profit. This is not the first time they've made such a generous contribution.
The second is that every last second of this incredible, unforgettable show was 100% guilt-free. None of the entertainment was tinged with questions of how they got the animals to do that, or guilt over the confinement and cruel training that went into creating the show in front of us. There were no lingering questions of what the children were learning about what was right or wrong, to distract from the sheer joy. I'm not going to get into all the issues involved with animal-based circuses and entertainment acts (though if you want to know more, I'd be of course willing to get into that at another time), but the question is, why are they even "necessary"? I cannot imagine anything more entertaining that what occurred before me the other night.
Who needs scared elephants and cramped tigers when you have THIS kind of magic?
(And no, these are not actual pictures from the Denver run. But they are from the Kooza show. I'm glad they don't allow any sort of photography within the show.)
