Cirque Eloize

Well, I experienced that "other perspective" that I hoped for on Tuesday night. Our tickets confused the ushers at first but we were then guided to seats behind a white counter that typically is reserved for critics. While I was still a part of the audience, I was able to pretend that I had a different perspective because of my new placement in the theater.
The show opened with dramatic music and the eventual introduction of what I call the three MC's who provided comic relief between acts.
The semi-transparent curtain separated the foreground from the background on stage. It made another barrier between the audience and performers. The curtain was lifted at various times throughout the performance but I thought it was an interesting feature as I was asking myself "Is this real?" as if the performers were behind a TV screen.
The combination of the curtain and fog added a mysterious, eerie appeal. The show was bizarre. There was a variety of stunts, music and jokes which kept the audience entertained. I thought Act I was good until I saw Act II, which I thought was even better. I particularly liked the trampoline scene. Again the use of the curtains made this engaging as the audience had a limited perspective. This reminded me of a film shown in wide screen versus full screen. I always feel as though I'm missing something when I watch a film in wide screen. Why do the black bars above and below the picture have to be there? I assume that if there's something important, the camera will eventually pan. Yet I still want to know what's happening outside of the primary action. I felt the same way when watching the visually captivating trampoline jumpers. I wanted to know their tricks and see the behind the scenes, or in this case behind the black walls. Eventually, the curtains lowered and raised to reveal a bar near the ceiling that one of the performers grabbed before jumping back down. Rather than revealing something that would make the audience less impressed, this thin white bar allowed the jumper to jump higher, display his tricks and make the audience laugh louder.
I also enjoyed the xylophone scene and the objects dropping from the "sky." I'm still not sure what fell but I hoped that it would eventually downpour on stage because it was very neat to watch. This was also similar to the White Out dance performance with the unexpected, objects entering the stage.
It's really all about perspective. The audience in the balcony essentially has a different view than the front row who directly engaged with some of the performers. My perspective from the critics corner to the 2nd floor library allows me to expand my personal view into a collective opinion of yet another exciting show.