I once had a (kinda wacky) professor in college who was a bit obsessed (or passion as some might argue) with Cirque du Soleil shows. He would use them as examples every chance he got and would routinely tell us that “they aren’t the cheapest things, but they are worth every cent.” One day he even used a video clip to illustrate his point. Since then, anytime I have heard the name or seen a poster I think back to that class. In all honesty his descriptions and the preview had peaked my interest but I had never been in a position to actually see a show.
I am not sure when the ads started but sometime earlier in the year I started to see posters and ads for the Cirque show TOTEM, an artsy twist on the evolution of man. Days turned into weeks and eventually even Groupon was jumping on the TOTEM train. Every time I saw a mention I was interested, but either didn’t have the time or money to initiate a group trip.
Enter my fabulous boyfriend and his coworker who cooked up a scheme for a surprise double date. I was informed about a month out that “Saturday, September 22 is off limits.” “We will be in town but that is all you need to know.” As the date approached I was given hints about what to wear and what time our pick up would be but still had no idea what to expect. At 3:30 on the day of, as I was pulling out clothes still considered “too dressy,” the surprise was finally revealed.
We started our night in National Harbor dining at Ketchup. I am going to pause here for a moment for a side story about me and my love for all things ketchup. Anyone around for any part of my childhood knows that I LOVE ketchup (not just like, love – we are talking to the point I can, and will, eat the stuff straight). Now that I know it to be socially unacceptable to eat just ketchup, I am able to curb my enthusiasm but there was a time where I would literally eat it right out of the packets. In my defense, I think this trait was a genetic one. Both my father and grandfather were the exact same way. To this day my dad will eat his steak and eggs smothered in red stuff and enjoys telling stories of how he would keep my uncle from eating his food as a kid by doing the same. With this in mind, you can only imagine my feelings when I realized we were eating at a restaurant known for their burgers, fries, and diverse array of ketchup creations. Sadly, that excitement was short lived as I realized that I had had an equally fabulous cheeseburger from Good Stuff Eatery the night before, and even though I LOVE cheeseburgers, even I cannot stomach the thought of eating them back to back (for health reasons of course I could totally eat them all day every day if they were healthy).
It was a busy day at the Harbor, Das Best Oktoberfest was winding down, and the Ragnar Relay had just wrapped up in addition to the normal traffic flowing through for the TOTEM show. We were seated outside which turned out to be one of the best spots for people watching as sweaty runners mixed with men and women dressed in their best German costumes on their way back to wherever they were going. Our meals were excellent; although three of the four of us ordered seafood in lieu of the more traditional burger (which I am told by “James two” was also very good). Hayley ordered the parmesan crusted tilapia, (my) James ordered the seafood risotto, and I got the crab stuffed shrimp.
After dinner we made our way to the shuttle that dropped us a short walk from the tent. The funny thing about this whole situation is that for weeks, I have been spotting this tent all over town. It is perched atop what the harbor calls its plateau (pretty appropriate name) and is pretty easy to see from any high vantage point on the Alexandria side of Arlington and especially along the Old Town waterfront. I finally asked James what it was and he responded with no indication whatsoever that we would be heading that direction in a matter of weeks or days. The tent itself looks like it came out of Narnia with yellow and blue stripes that swirl around its high peaks. As we walked in we were greeted with people in costume meant to distract the audience until the beginning of the show. The diversions worked and pretty soon everyone was laughing along to a variety of characters who we all later found had starring roles throughout the night.
One instance in particular that stands out in my mind was when the “funny guy” of the bunch grabbed a lady from one of the back isles and drug her to the front of the section. He then pointed at a gentleman seated on the end and asked him to stand up, after which he handed him her ticket and motioned for her to sit down. Of course they ended up back in their regular seats but it was funny in the moment nonetheless. Another act saw popcorn being tossed all over another audience member and her seat.
Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of the set or the show because they were super strict about copyrights and images. I can however say that there was not a bad seat in the house and that the stage set up and design was incredible. Lighting, wires, and hydraulics were used throughout the show to give the illusion of movement, flying, water, and so many more effects that it would bore you to tears if I listed them all. Artists performed bits that ranged from high bars, acrobatics, dancing, and balancing the likes of which I have never seen. Needless to say, I am now a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil and their shows. I cannot say enough about how fabulous it was and how I left completely dumbfounded at the things the human body can do.
To be honest, I am not sure which act during the show was my favorite. I have always been a huge gymnastics fan so watching a group of gymnasts jump from a monkey bar-like structure onto a trampoline and then to a high bar was pretty impressive. At one point there were even three people on the high bars swinging in rhythm. Then there were the unicyclists balancing bowls on their heads. It doesn’t sound that great, but these women were at least 10 feet in the air, balancing bowls, then flipping the bowls using one foot, balancing and driving the unicycle with the other, and catching the bowl by letting it fall into the stack already on their head. Oh yea, and they were all doing this in rhythm as well. There were dancers on roller skates performing tricks inside a small circular stage, balancing artists who walked a thin bar in the air while balancing a fellow caste mate on his head, and so much more.
Nutshell version, I loved it and anytime a Cirque show comes to town, you will know where to find me! Have you been to see TOTEM or any other Cirque show, what did you think? What was your favorite part?
From Carolina to the Capital 