THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS INTO THE BIG TOP
Highlights From Circus Chimera's 2006 Season
Wait a minute, you're thinking. A circus show based on Alice In Wonderland?
Yup. And it's a once-in-a-lifetime entertainment experience, a marriage made in heaven.
Because, you see, Wonderland and the Circus Chimera have a lot in common. Both are enchanted places where magic happens, where the unusual is the ordinary, where imagination shares the spotlight with an amazing cast of performers.
The magic begins as the classic characters emerge from the pages of a book in a dance reminiscent of a Balinese shadow play. Our Alice — golden-haired Russian circus superstar, Ekaterina Bazarova — recreates the beloved heroine's fall down the well with grace and fluidity on the aerial lyre while acrobats from far-off Russia and China twirl behind her. Two beautiful gymnasts enact the battle of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. The source of their dissention? Not a rattle but a diabolo, an ancient Chinese toy that looks something like a yoyo.
Enter the clown, the renowned Russian master of mirth Genia Naidenkine. (True, there aren't any tramps in the original Alice but at Circus Chimera as in Wonderland, expectations only exist to be cast aside.) Next to appear is French sensation Berengere with hoops in a dazzling display of rhythmic gymnastics. Then it's time for Peruvian daredevil Fridman Torales as the Mad Hatter. (You can tell this Hatter is crazy. You'd have to be crazy to do a rolobolo act that's five cylinders tall!) A beautiful acrobat hangs on by her hair (literally!) forty feet above the ground. Act One concludes with an acrobatic adagio, a breathtaking Chinese Pole routine by two of the world-famous Acro Star Acrobatic Troupe's most agile performers.
Leading off the second half of the show, Fridman Torales as the Cheshire Cat performs the classic Pase de la Muerte (upside-down walk), inspired by the rope bridges stretching across treacherous abysses in his native Andes while Alice's size-mic (!) shifts are beautifully symbolized by Ekaterina Bazarova's award-winning contortion routine. And what would Alice In Wonderland be without the Jabberwock? Here, "the claws that catch" are essayed by the talented Russian aerial team, the Naidenkine Duo. More tricks, more clowns, more heart-stopping visuals and before you know it, two hours have passed and the Circus Chimera cast is lining up on the stage for its Grande Finale. Falling Through the Looking Glass and into the Big Top is an experience you and your family will never forget!
Circus Chimera tickets may be ordered by phone (1-888-663-7464) or online (www.circuschimera.com)