Cirque D'Or stays grounded at the Embassy Theatre

Ah, poor Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's pretty sad when the media advertisements for a traveling show contain the wrong pronunciation of a French word. For the recent Cirque D'Or show at the Embassy Theatre, the announcer calls it Cirque (Day-or or De-or). He's using two syllables for D'Or, when anyone with a semester of French could tell him it's "door". One syllable. Oh well, no wonder the French get so impatient with Americans.

I did my research, and found that Cirque D'Or is actually a Chinese acrobatic group, one also known as the Golden Dragons. Since D'Or means "of gold" in French, one sees the connection. With the dramatic, well-deserved success of the Canadian Cirque du Soleil troup, Cirque D'Or as a name may draw a wider audience than would Golden Dragons.

Cirque D'Or did a fine job. I do think audience members were disappointed if they were expecting a different show. For example, press photos used to promote the show featured aerialists suspended from fabrics swinging high in the air. Video commercials also had performers swinging and suspended. The Fort Wayne performance featured no aerial or trapeze acts such as this. Maybe at other stops on their tour they do have aerial performances. Maybe there is something about the Embassy venue which doesn't allow for that stage set-up. But I heard patrons say they were disappointed, they were expecting what was promoted, and ticket prices for the show ranged $23 - 63.

I liked the show, however, and was glad I went. The young children with us really liked it as well. It's a good family show. Their are acrobats who make human pyramids, who can balance others on their heads (head to head), athletes who can run, jump and fly through high hoops. It was very entertaining.

Perhaps my favorite act was a parasol juggling routine. Two young women lay on benches tossing and spinning multiple big, awkward parasols with their feet. They stacked them, they balanced them, and the painted, twirling parasols were beautiful to see.

What I learned after reading more on the Internet is the troup is based in Hebei, China - an area where performers are trained since childhood in these traditional arts. The young man on stage who stacked six chairs at their full height and then did a handstand on the top may have been an 18-year-old. An article from 2008 discussing the Golden Dragons' appearance in Ann Arbor I found online gave me the history I wanted. According to Roger LeLeivre writing for MLine, acrobats in Cirque D'Or come from farm families who practiced this art 2500 years ago.

While ancient farmers in this area of China were waiting for their fields to dry before spring planting, they played around tossing, catching, twirling and juggling plates, cups, saucers, tables and chairs. At spring festivals that were held before a season of hard summer farming began, families and individuals would perform for each other, showing off tricks they had diligently practiced. This art has been carried on over the generations and continues today.

It's fun to see the capabilities of a disciplined gymnast, flipping, doing hand springs, balancing beautifully with a partner. Lovely, graceful hands, stunning costumes, attractive people. If I had a complaint, it would be that there was almost no set design - no lovely backdrops, no artwork or scenery, only the props used as tricks, whether that was juggling large pottery or loose yo-yos and cords, tables, chairs, bowling pins, etc.

It was not Cirque du Soleil with its fabulous choreography, technical support and visionary artistry. But Golden Dragons or Cirque D'Or is great in its own way, and just needs a little more interpretation and translation to the American audience. I was impressed the performers went out to the lobby at the end of the show to meet the audience members. A meet-and-greet is a nice touch when there is a cultural divide or a language problem, especially for the young folks. It's always fun to just be at the beautiful, old Embassy. I'll be going back there again soon.