If a performer ever wants to know if they have an audience in the palm of their hands, it’s easy to judge from the cheers during their rehearsed big moment. Yet an equally telling reaction is how the audience responds to the performer flubbing a big moment. Having both seen and experienced quite a few on-stage SNAFUs myself, I can say from experience that an audience applauding a performer’s recovery just may overshadow any applause stemming from a performance that went according to plan.
There were some flubs during the opening night performance of Circus Bella’s Kaleidoscope (through December 31 at The Crossing at East Cut, SF), though nothing could keep the awe at each routine suppressed for long . It’s a testament to the skill of the performers that every misstep was greeted with the audience encouraging them to try it again—followed by an even larger pop when they actually pulled it off.
When you’ve gathered to see people perform acts you wouldn’t dare try yourself, you can’t begrudge those performers for occasionally missing their marks. Still, one has to wonder if perhaps the venue itself played a role? Having previously only seen the troupe’s summer shows, I was initially unaware that their winter shows take place under a big top. This obviously isn’t their first time doing so, but I still wound up asking myself if the
confinements of the tent and the elevation of the stage played a roll in how the night unfolded.
But I digress: Kaleidoscope finds ringleader Abigail Munn and her winter roster huddled under the warmth of the tent to present their skills for a much more intimate audience than those who gather outside for the summer shows. As usual, it includes her regular troupe of clowns (Jamie Coventry, Calvin Kai Ku, and hula-hooper Natasha Kaluza) to pop up between each act for pratfalls.
The show begins with an aerial act by Veronica Blair, who effortlessly shows a grace in the air that most skaters only dream of when on the ice. She’s accompanied by a score that sounds a bit jazzy with a Middle Eastern influence. Equally graceful is the following act by contortionist Elise Hing.
After Kaluza’s hoop act and a full-cast bowling pin juggle that precedes the intermission, we get strongman Toni Cannon showing off on the Chinese pole, finishing with a gravity-assisted slide that makes one all the more grateful that this act wasn’t one to feature any errors. Though a few derbies were dropped during Kirk Marsh and Julie Marshall’s hat-juggling duet, it was still amusing. So, too, was Ori Quesada’s rola bola routine, which saw him at first struggle to flip metal bowls onto his head, but resulted in the loudest audience roar of the night when he topped those bowls with a tossed spoon.
We then get another graceful aerial routine, this time a hoop version by Dwora Galilea in a sparkly burgundy ensemble. After a song by Munn, we finish with a balancing routine by Kyran Walton.
Through it all, the audience was onboard. They came to escape the winter cold and see old-fashioned performances, and I don’t think anyone was disappointed. In fact, certain members of the audience may have been more problematic than anything that happened on stage; including an inebriated woman seated behind me who almost seemed intent on drowning out the band with her own belligerent vocals. Thankfully, I never leave the house without my earplugs.
I also never leave without a high-quality mask, this one an FFP2. By coincidence, opening night of Kaleidoscope happened the same time Kitka had to postpone their annual Wintersongs show until February because of a COVID outbreak, and when a collection of London-based performers with Long COVID announced they’d be both passing out masks before their David Tennant-starring Macbeth and that they’d be fighting for the return of COVID safety measures.
I empathize. I went into Kaleidoscope knowing I’d likely be one-of-few (if any) who masked—during intermission, an affluent couple outside actually gave me a deliberate side-eye for masking—but I was told that the tent itself would provide adequate ventilation. What the tent provided was enough consistent noise to where my MedifyAir MA-10 wasn’t at all disruptive when I had it on full-blast for the entirety of the show. (Again, grateful to have brought my earplugs.) My Aranet4’s CO² readings inched closer and closer to 2000ppm before
intermission and topped 2149ppm by the final bow.
When the show was over, the cast took their usual post-show photos with audience members. I love that this still exists for the kids, but considering that I was one of maybe a handful of masked attendees, I left hoping that Circus Bella wouldn’t soon have to make an announcement similar to Kitka’s.
Nevertheless, Circus Bella’s 2023 winter show is another fine showcase of contemporary local talent. For everyone who attended, there’s no mystery as to why you wanted to see these folks succeed.
CIRCUS BELLA’S KALEIDOSCOPE runs through December 31 at The Crossing at East Cut (Beale & Howard
Sts), SF. Tickets and more info here.
