My parents took me to the circus when I was young. I don’t recall which one, specifically, but I’m guessing it was Ringling Bros. I also don’t recall wanting to run away with it. Maybe I wasn’t impressed, maybe it simply seemed out of reach. Less than six months after witnessing Cirque du Soleil for the first time, I was standing on stilts in a Denver nightclub. I’d never given any thought to walking on them before that, but our entertainment director offered me the opportunity and I seized it. I’m still walking on stilts nearly eight years later, having played elevated ringmaster for a plethora of circus-themed electronica events. I even starred in a show called Carnival de Fuego at Elitch Gardens.
Cirque is still a relatively new phenomenon for many, but the Canadian company is actually more than a quarter-century old. Consequently, some of their productions are now considered “classics”. Old school Cirque, so to speak. Alegría is among them. After pitching a tent for nearly fifteen years, Alegría graduated to arena status in 2009. Broomfield’s 1st Bank Center hosts one of three Colorado runs this month, kicking off this Wednesday, January 19. A Spanish word for elation or jubilation, Alegría features flaming-knife spinning, synchronized trapeze, the usual death-defying acrobatics and Mongolian contortion–the only act that kept Cartman awake in South Park’s Cirque du Cheville spoof.