Jerm goes to Cirque Du Soleil Saltimbanco...

Published June 26, 2009 at 11:43 a.m.
So last night was the opening night of the Cirque Du Soleil Saltimbanco performance over at the St. Pete Times Forum, and of course you know that Jerm was in the place! I do have to admit though, that I really didn't have any idea what to expect, with this being my first show. I mean you hear about these performances all of the time, and will catch one in TV every so often, but let me say that nothing is compared to actually being there and seeing it first hand!

I have always said that whenever you go to the Forum for an event, with the way the arena is setup, there is not really a bad seat in the house, and that was without question the case last night.

For this event, they closed down roughly half of the arena to accommodate the spectators and give you more of a theater style feel. It was amazing to be that close as we were right up from the floor. Good thing we were not on the floor as the Cirque Du Soleil characters regularly will pull people from the crowd, which was very amusing by the way.

We got to see all of the shows famed characters this evening including a few I didn't expect to see. Here is my review of each one, but I would like to say first that they were all excellent.

• Adagio - I think i pulled a muscle just watching these guys. They actually started off the show, and what a great way to get the crowd ooooing and ahhhhing early on in the show. I can't even imagine the level of concentration it takes to do most of that. It was like watching a group of human pretzels! Amazing!
• Artistic Bicycle - I thought I was a whiz on a bike until I saw this guy! When he came out I just figured he would do a few x-games level tricks and then ride off into the sunset. Not quite, as he put on an amazing 10 minute or so performance of some of the most unique and out of this worlds tricks on that bike. Each time he did a trick i was afraid that he would land on his head or hurt himself, and he surprised me as he was flawless the entire time.
• Chinese Poles - I personally would snap one of those poles if I tried to climb up them and steady myself. One to many slices of pizza I guess. The ease with which the performers climb up these poles, and perform tricks like JUMPING FROM ONE POLE TO THE NEXT. Sorry to yell, but it was truly fascinating.
• Juggling - I was thinking that a guy juggling was not going to impress me much. Boy was I wrong. This guy was sick. I could barely see and keep up with how many he was juggling, so I don't know how he does it. At one point towards the end, he even began juggling the balls against the stairs while walking down them. Amazing stuff.
• Boleadores - This was an amazing performance as well. The tiny boleadora instrument that they used is that makes this so magical in how they are actually able to make a percussion like sound by swinging this and hitting the ground with it. This art-form originated in Argentina and was originally performed by only men, but for this performance there is a man and a woman on display.
• Russian Swing - This was probably the most action packed I would say. The performers of this show were a very high energy group, and they needed to be with the gravity defying stunts that were performed. There were so high doing these flips and such that I was concerned they they would hit their heads...lol. I though Lebron had some hops, but he has nothing on this crew!
• Duo Trapeze - I think I was on the edge of my seat for this entire performance. These two performers will have you gasping for breath each time they attempt to perform a move. The amount of strength, focus, and trust with in one another is on display here.
• Hand to Hand - I felt the need to go to the gym last night and probably tonight after watching this performance of strength and focus. I can only liken it to watching the Olympics, but to the 10Th degree of difficulty. Be careful though, watching this will make you want to go outside and do a handstand...or was that just me! Yeah it was just me...lol
• Bungees - Another one of the more beautiful high flying acts of them all last night. Like the rest of the show, these were executed with perfection. They were practically swinging from the rafters!

As far as Tampa Bay events go, I can assure you that it doesn't get much better than this. Lucky for us, if you missed it last night, you have until July 5, to get out to the forum and witness this amazing spectacle of human physical achievement.

Well that's all for now gang, I'll be out the rest of this weekend enjoying the Tampa Bay entertainment scene and I hope to see you out with me! Enjoy your weekend and be sure to check back for things to do in Tampa Bay!



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