Dralion roars Dubai

English

When I first got that text on my phone revealing Cirque Du Soleil was coming back to Dubai, I called hubby: "listen, I know you are scheduled for back surgery around that same time and sitting on a circus chair will not be on your to-do list but this is Cirque Du Soleil so either you man up and join me or I go alone". Next thing I know, hubby is picking a date faster than I could say "Cirque". That was on January 13.

For days now, the kids have been sick with a nasty cough and fever so we are not sleeping at all at night. They keep waking up, chocking and coughing and crying to catch their breath. So you can imagine, I have been exhausted, overloaded and preoccupied to say the least. 

Just in case you are not a mother and you wonder, here is how mommy-brains are built: somewhere in that brain, there is a large memory space, pretty much like a building with floors and rooms and in each room lay perfectly aligned filing cabinets which are compartmentalized in categories and clearly identified and colored sub-categories with labels and everything. Sometimes a document will get lost somewhere, granted. These things happen. But overall, that filing system works pretty well. Until, pregnancy. Pregnancy is the brain tsunami that will destroy everything and turn that magnificent building of OCD-filing into a war zone. Forget about filing, all you want is to be able to just see something in all that destruction. And because you have other priorities, cleaning up is not really an option so you keep throwing things in there, randomly, with the hope you will be sharp enough to remember where you put them. And most of the time you do. Except not when you really need them or it is a couple of days too late. A teeny bit unpractical and kind of beats the whole purpose. When that child is finally out of you, you think, at last, it is time to sit down quietly and reorganize. Right? Wrong. The word "quietly" should have been a hint. Now all that is in that mess of a memory is insignificant in comparison to all the new baby stuff that take up humongous space and just literally squash down and walk (and poop) all over everything else.

So yes, Cirque Du Soleil was lost in my mess and I would remember it every once in a while when I would see an ad or a post about the show somewhere on Facebook. But the minute my eyes would be off that precious reminder, I would completely forget about Dralion!

Until yesterday when hubby suddenly barges in the living-room (he is spending his days lying in bed, recovering from his back surgery) and asks me with a teasing smile: "You do know we have tickets for Dralion tonight, right?" 

Of course I know we have tickets for Dralion. What do you think I am? A senile 90 year old who cannot remember what she had for breakfast? Actually my 90 year old grand-mother can remember what she had for breakfast every day of last month, Bless her... Meanwhile, I cannot even tell whether I ate at all today. So yes, Alzheimer might become an issue one day (tomorrow). 

My mom, my savior forever, tells us to go and the kids will be fine so we agree that if the fever is under control and they both go to bed before we have to leave, then we will go. And for the first time, poor little Mia fell asleep, exhausted on the couch while I was feeding her brother who on the other hand, had no intention of sleeping whatsoever. So we dumped him on my mother and ran as fast as we could! Parents Of The Year Awards, here we come!

Bottom line, we made it!

And I can prove it:

Parking at Dubai World Trade Center

They extended the dates in Dubai until February 16 and you can still catch the show in Beirut, and although there was a possibility to book tickets in advance for Lebanon in October (10-13), it appears the dates have to be reconfirmed now.

So I will be kind if you have not watched it yet: No spoiler alert ;)

I will just say that we missed Alegría when the show was brought to Dubai but I remember very well Quidam, my very first live Cirque Du Soleil and to be honest, nothing beats it yet. It may be because the first one is always extra spectacular, or just that it spoke to me more. I do not know.

That being said, all the performances were  outstanding last night and some truly breathtaking. Here is a sneak-peak if you want to get in the mood for more (I promised no spoilers and this is just the official trailer released for Dralion).

As usual, the costumes, make-up and set were as impressive as they were beautiful. All the performances were so fluid, some even appeared to be lighter than air! And in addition to the traditional circus acts like the clowns, acrobats and jugglers, we were introduced to Asian scenes which reminded me of the Shaolin monks.

The Eastern mood was ever-present, Dralion being the main character and I loved how they inserted pure asian art like the gigantic shadow theater, while merging that world with Western art. The clowns spoke italian and the live singer, whose colossal voice filled the room, sang in various European languages (I think I recognized Spanish at some point). Not to mention the brilliant live orchestra which the clowns made sure to show us. Don't you just love it when artists respect their audiences so much, they keep it all true, genuine and live? That implied a couple of mishaps by the acrobats which made the show all the more impressive and dramatic. Watch for those who will make Spiderman crawl in a hole and hide in shame for all eternity and expect the most flabbergasting juggler ever!

Everything wrapped with a sense of humor that kept the whole play as entertaining as it was gorgeous and astonishing.

If you plan on taking your loved one to watch the show on the 14th, there even is an acrobatic scene which gives an entirely new dimension to "Love is in the air". Valentining at Cirque Du Soleil anyone?

Since we were not allowed to take photos during the show (understandably, although as usual, many did not care), and anyway, what sort of photos would you get on your mobile phone, I decided to steal one of the empty stage on our way out.

Oh and if you are wondering which tickets to buy, I can confirm that wherever you choose to sit, you will enjoy the show but I feel the middle is best because many scenes happen in the "air" and if you are sitting too close to the stage, you cannot possibly see all that is happening right above your head.

Leaving Dralion's arena

Enjoy the show Dubai!  

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