Saltimbanco, Halloween, and Saltimbanco!
By Melissa
Last week Thursday, I got the opportunity to attend the opening night of "Cirque du Soleil - Saltimbanco" at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena with Michelle Garcia from This Week Magazine. I have seen the Cirque du Soleil shows "Mystere" and "O" in Vegas, so I knew this was going to be nothing short of amazing.
Whether you've seen the Vegas shows or not, you should go to this one, because they're all different, and they're all good! Just one note: Although the stage is round and the seats go all around, nothing beats a center seat. We had seats on the side loges, but moved higher up to be in the middle, and that made a WORLD of difference.
The Chinese pole acrobats, one of the opening acts. They did some stuff that doesn't seem humanly possible!
Saltimbanco, by the way, comes from the Italian "saltare in banco," which literally means "to jump on a bench"--which is what street performers used to do when they wanted to perform.
At the end, PR diva Mei Jeanne Wagner arranged for a keiki lei greeting for the cast.
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The next day was Halloween! I happened to be running an errand to Anthology and found the offices empty. As it turned out, they were all downstairs in Tamarind Park for a crazy Halloween costume contest with all the downtown denizens. Two cast members from Saltimbanco made an appearance, blending in naturally with their own costumes. Then Dan Zelikman of Starrtech started fooling around, and learned the dangers of getting too close to Saltimbanco performer Olga Kozbar. They inadvertently put on a real show for everyone!
Exclusive photos courtesy of Anna Fong.
Anyway, if you don't already have tickets to Cirque du Soleil, what are you waiting for?
Cirque du Soleil - Saltimbanco
November 4 - 16
Neal S. Blaisdell Arena
Click here for show times, with links to Ticketmaster
Urban Mix Plate
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:00 pm
This article is not correct, I DO wear that make up everyday! It was all in good fun, but you're right, she did flip me around a bit. I think it means I need to hit the gym ASAP! I wish I knew she was Russian (is she Russian, Olga?) I would have dropped some of my Russian one-liners on her (yes I speak Russian) like, "Help", "Stop", and "I think you're breaking my back!"
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Hi, Melissa: Why pay to go to Cirque when I can just read your blog
Sounds like it was great!
Thanks for showing me what it was like,
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Dan does look like he's part of the act, doesn't he? Wish I was there to witness it.
November 4th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Melissa...that Dan Zelikman is quite the all around marketing guy...interactive media planner by day, Cirque du Soleil acrobat by lunchtime, all while being quite a social media explorer throughout the day. I'll have a word with his boss. Seems like he needs more work.
In all seriousness, the Anthology Marketing Group gang got into the Halloween spirit like no other. So much so I had no choice but to blog about them too (do not click this link - http://is.gd/5mz5 - if you want to be inspired to dress up next year).
Glad to hear Saltimbanco was good fun. I'm planning to go on Sunday. Can't wait. I love Cirque's show's in Vegas...got to see Mystere and Zumanity a few years ago.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Hi Melissa, Cirque du Soleil put on great shows, no words can express how awesome there are. It's a must see.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Yes, Cirque du Soleil is the show to see! No, I'm not biased at all! The local guy they pulled up from the audience was great. Everyone was asking if he was a plant (answer, no). Maybe Dan can be the next one they pull on stage - he now has experience.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Hey Melissa,
Saltimbanco! To tell you the truth, I rather have saltimboca, chicken that is. I cannot get "O" out of my mind after seeing it in Vegas. Everybody was all like, "oh you GOTTA see it, etc" so I went. Maybe I'm too braddah braddah or something, but I don't get all of that stuff. Was probably the most bizarre and unenjoyable show I've ever been to.
With that said, Hey! been waiting for a post from you. Must have been busy with all the Halloween stuff and all yeah? Got something for you from Nihon whenI return.
November 5th, 2008 at 4:43 am
Hi Melissa, Dan's mom here! Thanks so much for posting these wonderful pictures! With Dan so far away, it allowed me a glimpse into his very busy professional life
I only wish I was there in person to see this!
November 5th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Awwww Dan's mom, that's sweet! I'm glad I could show you how much fun he's having....and what his professional life is like! ha!
November 5th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Hmm, you make me want to go and see this show too. I've seen Mystere, O, Ka, in Vegas, I can't remember if I saw Zoomanity or not?? They seem to all be blending together -haha.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Hey Melissa...that Dan is a hottie! Hook me up!