On Wednesday evening, Pix, Dan, Judy, and I went to the Clay Center to see the Cirque Dreams show entitled Illumination. I told Judy that this was to celebrate my bunion removal which was on November 30th. I got my stitches out yesterday! All is well on the podiatrist scene.



This show was not a production of the well known and highly successful Cirque du Soleil (French for "Circus of the Sun") which is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Canada and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, this particular company was founded in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier. If you recall that Laliberte was the individual who traveled to the International Space Station this past fall. He was Canadia's first space tourist and first space clown.



The Cirque Dream shows are not the extravaganza produced by Cirque de Soleil, but this show was extremely fast paced and interesting. Cirque Dreams is a production company started in 1993 by Neil Goldberg. Goldberg operates his enterprises out of southern Florida. Since 1993 Cirque Productions has created and opened over 12 new original shows performing in theatres, casinos and for tours worldwide



Following is the review of the show that was printed in the Charleston Gazette.

December 9, 2009
Review: 'Cirque Dreams Illumination' overwhelmingly beautiful
By Mona Seghatoleslami

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Cirque Dreams Illumination show at the Clay Center on Wednesday night was overwhelming, beautiful, impressive, and fun.

There was so much happening on the stage it was difficult to take it all in.
For a moment, you could be distracted by larger-than-life walking traffic cones or a reporter chasing suits without heads, and then you would have almost missed a construction worker doing a flip on a wire or a contortionist break-dancer balancing on a human pyramid.

The show captured life in a city, with a train station, city streets, signs, workers, street people, and harried commuters. A singing reporter gave a loose narration of life in the city, accompanied by a street musician playing the saxophone and an otherwise prerecorded soundtrack.

The acrobatic performances throughout the night were worked into the theme, but they were impressive all on their own. There were aerialists, contortionists, balancing acts, and other feats of strength and grace I'm not sure how to even describe.
Sleight-of-hand and stage tricks added to the sense of wonder and magic throughout the performance.

The show was very funny in some parts. A bossy clown produced a mock silent movie on stage using people from the audience. He led them with a gym whistle in a production that involved miming a love triangle gone wrong, with many silly directions along the way.

Amidst the humor, the gasp-inducing stunts, and playful scenes, there were also some poignant moments, especially in a beautiful dance duet.