Saturday, June 14, 2014

Le Noir


Watching Le Noir wasn't on my priority list till the girlfriend asked if I wanted to catch it with her. Sounded like a great way to spend time with her. Immediately procured tickets off a rather wonky Sistic site.

I'm very clear why I wanted to watch Le Noir. Didn't watch it when it came round the first time. I wanted to watch it because it's hosted in a more intimate venue and precisely because it's not Cirque du Soleil. Bought seats as close to the stage as possible. Pleasantly surprised that the champagne wasn't horrid. :P

Thomas Worrell opened the show on the aerial lyra. Quiet and gorgeous. Stunning. David Matz on the Cyr wheel was just a whirl of speed and colors. He should just be called X-Men. You can't even see him shift from position to position. It's as though he's bouncing around in a room with solid walls.

Couldn't pick a favorite act. Enjoyed them all. I'm well aware of what it takes to put on a show like that. Yes, choreography could have been stronger, and the circus master could have been less lame and changed his filler acts to something different this second time round. Somebody needs to tell him not to equate Singapore with a main language of Mandarin, but also English, Malay, Tamil and many other languages. His 'I *heart* SG' tee was hilarious. But I wasn't there for that. It's already quite a feat trying to entertain a theatre full of people to allow enough time for the performers to sort out costume changes and technical swaps.

I wanted to watch the performers. While there's glamor in being associated with the Cirque brand, it doesn't require performers to be in Cirque to equal the incredible core strength needed. That dedication to a perforamance art is the same. Breathtaking and amazing. Those years of training stripped down to those five minutes. Miss a beat or a catch and that means possibly grievous injuries, and adding insult to that, have the audiences pan you for bad work. It's probably worst than missing the cut in a competition.

Denis Ignatov-Radokhov and his geometric metal rods were a visual treat.
Effortlessly floating those shapes. He made it seem so easy.
Well, if it were that effortless, he wouldn't have had those abs and muscles.

All those wheels, spinning and twisting; balancing, jumping and leaps. The lighting played on their muscles and as near as I was seated to the stage, I couldn't exactly spot beads of perspiration running off the performers' foreheads. They seemed but slightly winded. Hahahaha. Awesome strength and power there.

Couldn't believe the 12 acts didn't use safety harnesses or nets. As trained and professional as they are, it doesn't minimize the danger they face each time they take the stage. Each time. I don't even know how they do this night after night for the season. Each show isn't quite like the last. Looking at how much they depend on their equipment, there's a zero margin for error for any sort of technical glitches. Think of the May incident at Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Not all acts are in this collage. Just those that showed up sharp enough in my camera.
No flash photography allowed in the show. For very good reasons. 

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