Varekai is simply amazing!

It was raining cats and dogs last Friday but that didn't stop me from going to the Rizal Park to watch Cirque de Soleil's Varekai.  Was it worth the trouble?  You bet!  The show was simply amazing!

Varekai follows the story of a young angel who fell from the sky into an enchanted world under a volcano.  The various creatures that inhabit the place helped him learn to fly again.  The storyline is not important however because this IS a circus after all.

The set was quite simple with only some tall poles jutting out from the back.  But the use of lights made up for its simplicity.  Come to think of it, you wouldn't go there for the sets but for the performance!  

The show features a lot of acrobatic acts that highlighted the skills, strength, fluidity and grace of the performers.  All acts were accompanied by music which was a blend of jazz, latin, africa, etc.,  and performed live by a band and singers.  My favorite parts include the net, the loop and the swing.  The swing must be the most memorable for most of the audience because of its high energy complemented by the pulsing background music. 

The clowns were also so hilarious and their gags brought the house down.  I must mention that the male clown even spoke in Tagalog to engage the audience to participate in one of his acts.

Honestly, I cannot write every performance because I am sure I will run out of superlatives to describe them. But it will suffice to say that the two hour show was so enchanting and exciting that I still feel its energy even as I write this.

In fact, we were so high after the show that we didn't mind walking in a few inches of water as the rain buffeted us on our way to get a ride home.  I must add here that the circus tent was so sturdy that once inside, you cannot even feel the strong winds and rains brought about by the typhoon.  It was like being inside a cozy building.  No wonder we were able to concentrate on and be enraptured by the program.

If it were not for the ticket price (which is way too steep for the average Filipino), I will tell everyone to watch the show.  Varekai will run until July 17.