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I went to Totem yesterday, as part of the misskitty_79 birthday celebrations.
It was fun. I've been told that the Cirque shows are usually tighter than that, and less a series of unconnected acts.
The trapeeze artists, who did what might almost be described as a tango on trapeeze, were extremely good and probably my favourite act. I also enjoyed the synchronized unicycle act which involved throwing bowls onto each other's heads. The other acts were often technically excellent, but weren't particularly thrilling. Still, a circus is fun, and even when the acts were dropping things or missing their jumps, you could appreciate the difficulty of what they were trying to do.
Since I had been told the show was "The Evolution of Humanity" I was very worried about the prominent placement of a dancer in First Nations' garb on the poster. The dancer (a ring dancer) was there, as was another First Nations themed act in the show. I'm not sure what to think of them. Firstly, the show wasn't "the evolution of humanity" so my fears of "look at the noble native people" were somewhat mollified. (I'm not sure what the theme was other than "stuff at the beach".) Secondly, the Cirque is such its own beast, that what the purpose or background of using the native symbols was is more than a little opaque to me. For me, a lot of appropriation comes down to intent and execution and I really don't have a lot to work with on the first of those.
(BTW - The Disco Ninja was a recurring character who was essentially dressed in a ninja outfit that happened to be covered with reflectors like a human mirrorball.)
It was fun. I've been told that the Cirque shows are usually tighter than that, and less a series of unconnected acts.
The trapeeze artists, who did what might almost be described as a tango on trapeeze, were extremely good and probably my favourite act. I also enjoyed the synchronized unicycle act which involved throwing bowls onto each other's heads. The other acts were often technically excellent, but weren't particularly thrilling. Still, a circus is fun, and even when the acts were dropping things or missing their jumps, you could appreciate the difficulty of what they were trying to do.
Since I had been told the show was "The Evolution of Humanity" I was very worried about the prominent placement of a dancer in First Nations' garb on the poster. The dancer (a ring dancer) was there, as was another First Nations themed act in the show. I'm not sure what to think of them. Firstly, the show wasn't "the evolution of humanity" so my fears of "look at the noble native people" were somewhat mollified. (I'm not sure what the theme was other than "stuff at the beach".) Secondly, the Cirque is such its own beast, that what the purpose or background of using the native symbols was is more than a little opaque to me. For me, a lot of appropriation comes down to intent and execution and I really don't have a lot to work with on the first of those.
(BTW - The Disco Ninja was a recurring character who was essentially dressed in a ninja outfit that happened to be covered with reflectors like a human mirrorball.)
