Posted under juggling & reviews
The end of the year is always accompanied with gatherings and events which take up most of your time. For the last two weeks, any day where I was not working, I was busy at an event. It is amazing how fast time flies when you are kept busy, and next thing you know, it has been over a week since you last posted. While I missed a Music Monday, I hope you were all too busy with the holidays to notice!
The Cirque du Soleil is currently back in Montreal with Alegra. This show started touring in 1994 and is still going strong. They changed their format in 2009 to fit in arenas, but the show is still the same. Since I had never seen it before (as if I need an excuse), I bought my tickets as soon as they were available. Unfortunately, my “awesome” front row seats (not on the floor, but first row in the bleachers) were directly behind some projectors blocking out part of the floor. Luckily, one of the attendants gave us seats in the third row which had not been sold for that night. Regardless of that slight annoyance, the show was great.
One thing you realize when you see many circus shows is that the acts all start feeling familiar. I had a sense of deja-vu throughout the performance. While that didn’t dampen my impression of the show, it is something to consider. My favourite act of the show was definitely the clowns. I often find that clowns are never fully fleshed out in Cirque shows, but I loved the dynamism between the two in Alegria. They were really funny and did a great job. It was no surprise that they had the biggest ovation at the end of the show.
Another great part of this Cirque show is the music. As usual, there is a live band and singers and it adds to the overall experience. The Alegria theme song is probably the most known Cirque du Soleil out there, and it brought me joy to finally hear it live.
Overall, I really enjoyed Alegria, but I didn’t find there was much that was new to me. This is my fourth Cirque du Soleil show in 2009, so after a while, the acts tend to repeat. If you are new to the Cirque du Soleil world, then Alegria will definitely impress, but if you are used to circus shows, then you will enjoy yourself, but will find nothing really new. To those who have seen the show and loved the clowns, I have only this to say: “Never surrender!” 
Watch the official trailer here.
