Cirque du Soleil OVO

I remember well the first time I heard of Cirque du Soleil, about 15 years ago when my sister went to a performance and gushed, You've GOT to see it! A couple of years ago I finally got the chance, when Alfie and I watched Zumanity at New York New York, but the kids have never seen the show. A couple of nights ago we had the incredible opportunity to attend the opening night performance of Cirque du Soleil's OVO in San Jose, and I had the pleasure of seeing my kids' eyes light up for a couple of hours as Cirque du Soleil worked its magic.


The Basics
OVO is Cirque du Soleil's latest big top touring show, set in an insect-themed world. Here's a description of the show from Cirque du Soleil:

OVO is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement. The insects’ home is a world of biodiversity and beauty filled with noisy action and moments of quiet emotion.

When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives.

It’s love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.

OVO is overflowing with contrasts. The hidden, secret world at our feet is revealed as tender and torrid, noisy and quiet, peaceful and chaotic. And as the sun rises on a bright new day the vibrant cycle of insect life begins anew.

We weren't allowed to take photos or video during the performance, but you can catch a video preview of the performance by clicking on the link below:
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/ovo/tickets/san-jose.aspx?icid=dropdown/ovo/San Jose


The Bongga
OVO features many circus acts that we've seen before, like foot jugglers, contortionists, trapeeze artists, acrobats, balancing acts. We've been suitably impressed and enjoyed those performances immensely. But Cirque du Soleil must get the best of the best, because the performers in OVO really took their acts one step further. The degree of difficulty was the highest I've seen, with more things to juggle, more somersaults, more twirls and whirls -- and more resulting gasps and ahhhhhhs. The talent is amaaaazing!

But as anyone who has watched a Cirque du Soleil show before can tell you, it isn't just about the circus acts. You don't just see a bunch of separate acts parading in to do their thing. Everything has been integrated into the insect theme, so instead of circus acts you get a single show: ants juggling bits of food, crickets climbing up a wall, a firefly playing with spools of light, a dragonfly balancing on a spinning leaf, spiders balancing on a web. A group of dancing insects help move the show from one act to the next, and the music ties everything together (by the way, I see now why they sell cd's of the performance music; I'm itching to buy the OVO music myself!) I'm so impressed by their attention to detail -- from the ushers with green lights that they shine like fireflies in the dark, to the juggling props painted to look like bits of food, down to the live band dressed like cockroaches, everything is designed to make the audience feel like they've been immersed in the world of insects. The whole thing was amazing, and I am sooooo glad that OVO got to be my kids' first Cirque du Soleil experience!


The Blah
I can't really find anything negative to say about the show, so I'll save my criticism for the high ticket prices, which keep Cirque du Soleil inaccessible to a great number of people. I can't really argue with what they charge, because it must take a lot of money to put up a show of this high quality, and you get what you pay for. Fortunately they do have some rare special offers, like the BOGO offer I'm describing below, which makes a performance of this caliber affordable to so many more people. Thanks so much for such a great discount, Cirque!


The Bottom Line
OVO is Cirque du Soleil at its best, combining catchy music, spectacular scenery, beautiful costumes and amazing acts for one showstopping performance.


Buy One Get One Free!
Cirque du Soleil has a sweet deal going until Valentine's Day: buy one ticket to select performances and get the second ticket free! Considering Cirque du Soleil shows run upwards of $100 per ticket, this is an incredible deal, so make sure you take advantage by going to

www.cirquedusoleil.com/valentines-Silicon


Win It!
The Silicon Valley Moms Blog is giving away two tickets to Cirque du Soleil's OVO performance on Valentine's Day in San Jose! If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, head on over to the SV Moms Blog giveaway post to enter -- and hurry, because the giveaway closes on Feb. 8!

Disclaimer: I did not receive monetary compensation for this post. I received complimentary tickets to the show courtesy of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog and Cirque du Soleil. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.