CIRQUE D'OR

Goodyear AZ (Low 49 Partly Sunny High 73)

We had quite an adventurous day yesterday, we got out of our comfort zone a little and we survived.

We went with some friends to the Cirque D'Or show at the Herberger theatre in downtown Phoenix. Adventurous in so many ways; rode light rail to downtown instead of driving, out after dark, walked around downtown after dark, rode light rail after dark, and then driving after dark. Just proves you need to step out of your comfort zone now and then because we had a great time.

After we departed the light rail we walked to Pizzeria Bianco for supper. 

Arguably one of the best pizza places in the country (New York Times, Food and Wine, Zagat, James Beard winner) and it did not disappoint. we split the "Sonny Boy" a simple mixture of cheese, tomato sauce, salami and olives that was wonderful, you could tell the ingredients were fresh. Add this place to your list of places to eat.

We then walked to the Herberger Theater for Cirque D'Or. We have to agree with the advertising on this one, it was one of the most electrifying and mesmerizing shows that we have ever seen. Featuring a cast of some of the youngest world champion acrobats, contortionists, and aerial artists from around the world, although the theme of this show was Shanghai China, this award winning spectacle left us breathless at times. Even when they failed, which was inevitable but incredibly rare considering some of the stunts they were attempting, the show was still great. Their failure made it seem even more real and more amazing.

Too many highlights to mention but we will list a few that really caught our eye. First was an acrobat that did a front facing split and then just flexed his thighs and lifted straight up. Second was another acrobat that stacked chair upon chair, we think maybe at least a dozen and then did stunts on the stack of chairs as it got higher and higher. Lastly, and probably the best, were the hoop divers. Hoops were stacked on top of each other and the team dove through them. Of course they had to keep adding hoops until they were about 12 feet off of the ground and diving, twisting, some forward and incredibly some backwards, through these hoops. We don't know how frequent it is for a performance to get a standing ovation in Phoenix but Cirque D'Or got one last night.

Since you cannot take photos or videos here are some images we captured from the internet.

If Cirque D'Or is ever available we would recommend your attendance, you won't be disappointed. It was a acrobatic variety show with some of the best acts we have ever seen.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo