STUDENT WRITING: Evaluation by MAYELA PEREZ

The Circus

I have never forgotten the times when my mother used to take us to Circus Atayde’s Brothers in Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico, when we were children. In those days, circuses commonly traveled around performing in different places.

The circus performed in a ring that was about 13m in diameter but large circuses had multiple rings. They also had a system of tiered seating around the ring for the public. Their capacity was maybe 800 people. The performances included a variety of acrobatics, gymnastics, including tumbling and trampoline, aerial acts such as trapeze, aerial silk, tight rope walking, and contortion. Juggling was one of the most common acts in the circus as were balancing acts and the rolling globe with motorcycle riders inside. Clowns interacted with the public and a variety of animals such as horses, elephants, tigers and dogs were used in the acts. Some of the things that have stuck in my mind forever are the smell of popcorn, the flavor of Coca-Cola in a glass bottle, the sawdust on the floor and the opening music which was “Entrance of the Gladiators.” Sideshow acts were part of the circus. Their activities include fire eating, knife throwing, magic shows and, of course, the strongman. I really enjoyed the traditional circus, but suddenly the circus changed and a contemporary genre of circus was born.

These circuses tend to focus more attention on the overall aesthetic impact, character and story development, the use of lighting design, original music and costume design to convey thematic or narrative content. Music used in the production is often composed exclusively for that production and aesthetic influences are drawn as much from contemporary culture as from circus history. Animal acts appear less frequently in these circuses. The best example of this kind of circus is Cirque du Soleil and if I had to evaluate this circus in one word, this word would be “awesome.” Cirque du Soleil is a Canadian entertainment company. Each show is a synthesis of circus style from around the world with its own central theme and storyline.

The first performance that I saw from this circus was Mystere which was presented in the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas, in its own theatre. The theme of Mystere is an exploration of the origins of life in our universe. The show is a conglomerate of mythologies from multiple cultures. Its music relays ethnic music of Peruvian, African, and East European inspiration. Cirque du Soleil has expanded rapidly, going from one show to 19 shows in over 271 cities on every continent. The shows employ approximately 4,000 people from over 40 countries and generate an estimated annual revenue exceeding us$810 million. The multiple permanent Las Vegas shows alone play to more than 9,000 people a night, adding to the 90 million people who have experienced Cirque du Soleil’s shows worldwide. I have seen several of its shows and I can only say that Cirque du Soleil is a fantastic circus with plenty of talent in its creators, performers, musicians and all people that collaborate in its creations.