Cirque de la Symphonie

On Saturday night, William and I went and saw the San Francisco Symphony performance of "Cirque de la Symphonie." Since we are both big cirque fans, we were hoping that it would be good- and it was. This was the first year (at least since we have lived here) that they have done this for Christmas (or any time during the year). The theater was beautifully decorated with dozens of Christmas trees with ornaments donated by children or local organizations. Our two favorites was this star tree and the Salvation Army tree with the teddy bears.

The concert was even more amazing than the decorations. The Symphony played traditional and non-traditional (meaning ones you hear a lot around this season but do not specifically mention Christmas) songs and cirque performers choreographed routines to fit the music. There was a girl doing aerial silks, a juggler who did rings and lighted pins, a contortionist who used a bouncy ball as a prop, the aerial rope, an amazing hula-hooper (she could even spin it around her ponytail), two incredibly strong men (who finished their routine slightly early), and then the finale of a guy doing aerial silks to Ave Maria and looking like an angel. But, the most spectacular piece was the aerial hoop. The music, "Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila" by Saint-Saens, was so moving and emotional, building to a dramatic climax where the artist then was spinning so incredibly fast around the hoop. It was literally a show stopper and we felt that they should have been the finale. And we now have new favorite seats- they are in the center terrace- behind the stage, and are general seating (first come, first serve), but they provide the BEST and most intimate view of the concert. We could see all of the emotions and facial expressions of the conductor, as well as the plastic noise shields that are behind some of the performers to help diffuse the sound of the loud brass instruments. And the best part about them- they were only $18 each, including the processing fee. What an INCREDIBLE deal to see such an AMAZING show. We loved seeing Cirque to classical music and hope that the San Francisco Symphony will continue to do more performances like this.