sure we go to Western restaurants all the time, and sure we would go to cool places like Kyoto more than once if we had the money, but we don't usually do the cheap and cheerful sites around here a second time. that stance suddenly changed on Saturday when we were invited to go with a group from church to the Little World Museum of Man.
not surprisingly, it was all pretty much the same, the same buildings, the same general emptiness of the park, even the weather was seriously similar (only this time we got drenched on the way home instead of the way there). so if it was all the same, why this post? well, friends, because of the Oriental Circus. and what might that be, you ask? not entirely sure, to tell the truth, but our Japanese compadres had got the word they were at the museum and sped us through much of the park until we found the small amphitheater where these stars of the East were performing their tricks.
one performer terrifying a timid audience member with his whip tricks. what terrified me was his creepy leather costume
the show was so ghetto it made the one we'd seen in Beijing look like a Metropolitan Opera production, but they did have some pretty cool stuff. even the strange whip guy was pretty impressive, confidently slicing paperback-size pages held between a volunteer's hands. the best one, though, which they did save until last, was the highwire act. they ran across it backwards and forwards, did backflips right in the middle, and even carried each other across; but the best part was the true finale:
the pretty impressive tightrope finale of the Oriental Circus, neatly captured by Jill. we're not sure the name is totally accurate, however, given that all the performers looked, well, not very Oriental. we later learned they were from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
not surprisingly, it was all pretty much the same, the same buildings, the same general emptiness of the park, even the weather was seriously similar (only this time we got drenched on the way home instead of the way there). so if it was all the same, why this post? well, friends, because of the Oriental Circus. and what might that be, you ask? not entirely sure, to tell the truth, but our Japanese compadres had got the word they were at the museum and sped us through much of the park until we found the small amphitheater where these stars of the East were performing their tricks.
one performer terrifying a timid audience member with his whip tricks. what terrified me was his creepy leather costume
the show was so ghetto it made the one we'd seen in Beijing look like a Metropolitan Opera production, but they did have some pretty cool stuff. even the strange whip guy was pretty impressive, confidently slicing paperback-size pages held between a volunteer's hands. the best one, though, which they did save until last, was the highwire act. they ran across it backwards and forwards, did backflips right in the middle, and even carried each other across; but the best part was the true finale:
the pretty impressive tightrope finale of the Oriental Circus, neatly captured by Jill. we're not sure the name is totally accurate, however, given that all the performers looked, well, not very Oriental. we later learned they were from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
1 comment:
Whoever caught that moment on film is amazing...
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