Last night, I had the best time ever with my son, Anthony.  We went to see Cirque du Soleil – KOOZA.  It was the first time seeing a Cirque du Soleil show for both of us, and it was amazing!

It wasn’t just amazing though.  It was terrifying, exciting, electrifying, heart-stopping, vertigo inducing, wild and FANTASTIC!  Oh, and Funny, too.

Is that enough adjectives for you?

KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil: It combines two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor.

Anthony and I arrived at the Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) at 7pm for the 7:30 show.  I was worried about being “too” early, but we could have gotten their sooner since there was plenty to see and do once inside.  This is the only picture I managed to get.  I was told no camera’s inside so I didn’t even bring one.  A decision I regret since we could have taken photos outside of the stilt performers and scenery.  I probably could have gotten someone to take our picture, too. 

We were greeted by performers on stilts and other clowns passing out Gerber daisies and doing street performance acts.  There were lots of children present which surprised me being it was late on a school night.  I guess I don’t corner the market on “cool mommy-ness.”  Inside the tent we were treated to complimentary popcorn and soda’s.  I don’t know if this was free because it was a “press preview” showing or if that’s the norm, but I certainly appreciated it.

We made our way to our seats.  I was shocked to discover that we were in the FRONT ROW!  How exciting is that?  We were to the far right of the stage, in the front row.  These were very exciting seats because we were right underneath all the crazy acrobatics.  It was a nausea inducing perspective for sure.

If you want a very tiny taste of what we got to see at KOOZA, watch this video trailer.  It’s cool!

KOOZA Trailer

It would be really hard to narrow down a favorite act for me since they were all spectacular.  But the “Wheel of Death” (how’s that for a name?) was particularly exciting.  These certifiable crazy people were running and flipping and jumping rope on the outside of these “wheels” while it spun through the air and breakneck speed.

Anthony could tell I was scared to death and he kept reassuring me, “mommy, these people train for a really long time.”  Yeah, I hope he remembers that this morning when he starts trying to do the stunts himself…which I have no doubt he will try!

Anthony seemed the most impressed with the “Chinese Chairs.”  It was truly amazing to see the strength of this man as he did head and hand stands atop the chairs.

I’m sure Anthony will be stacking chairs this morning, too.

KOOZA is an adrenaline rush.  I’m so glad that I was able to take Anthony to see it, and I’m really glad I got to see it myself.  I would not hesitate to buy tickets for any future Cirque du Soleil productions since they are colorful and entertaining to the max.  KOOZA will be in San Diego through March 21st with future stops already planned for Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary and Miami.

Tickets are still available online or by calling 1-800-450-1480.

FTC Disclosure:  I was provided 2 tickets to see KOOZA so I could tell you about the show.  The opinions are always my own.