Kick. Stretch. And Kick It.

So have I mentioned in my previous posts how we--the family and all the kids' Godmothers--went to see the Circus Conelli? ...Or maybe you'll better remember it as the circus I was completely hungover for--and that wasn't awkward at all*.
*Note the sarcasm.

Well, yeah... We went to the Circus Conelli Sunday afternoon. And aside from the fact that it hurt my head to just think, the circus experience was pretty awesome. I mean, you know it is going to be a good, inspiring circus (that Sarah H. Robison* would totally cry during) when they open with six African-Americans--wait, they are not American...African-Swiss?--singers performing High School Musical's We're All In This Together.
*Shout out to one of my fave cousins!

(And though you may think that there was sarcasm in my saying the circus was awesome after reading that last sentence, just remember that I am a girl that loves me some showtunes/musicals.)

So not only was I constantly wanting to sing along with the African-Swiss singers (whose musical line-up included songs from High School Musical, Hairspray, Dirty Dancing*, and the diva Tina Turner herself), but the actual acts of the show were awesome, mind-boggling, and thouroughly entertaining. From the juggler, to the male acrobats who were beautifully sculpted and chisled, to the high-flyers, to the contortionists, and to the uni-cycle-ist with a mullet... I kept finding myself wanting to say ''Holy Shit!!'' in complete disbelief that such gravity-defying acts were even possible.
*Yes, Faith, it was (Now I've Had) The Time of My Life... And the whole time, I just kept imagining that you were there with me, and we were dueting it... RIP Patrick.

(And on a complete sidenote referring back to Tina Turner, you do realize that she lives in Zurich, right?? So the whole time the choir of singers was belting out her songs, I was for real seating on the edge of my seat, hoping--just hoping--that maybe Tina herself would pop out into the center ring. Cause in my mind, maybe--just maybe--she had been wondering around the neighborhood that day, and wanted stop by Circus Conelli to help those other singers out with the last verse of Proud Mary... Cause we're rollin'. Rollin'... Rollin' on da river. ...But sadly, she never did...)

Since Tina never came, the best part of the show--and yes, I have been saving the best for last--was the dancers. You can't have a choir of African-Swiss belting out showtunes without some jazzy dancers wearing sequins in tow. And trust me, these were not just your average Liza-Minelli-wanna-bes... Oh no, these were so much more. They were real-life Sally O' Mallys. (Please tell me that you know Molly Shannon's SNL character, Sally O' Mally...) Well just in case you don't, here are the basics: Sally O' Mally is half a century old. She's a ''choo choo Charlie and a class act.'' And she likes to ''kick, stretch, and kick it.'' And dance... And these Circus Conelli dancers were no different. They kicked. They streched. And they kicked it... And they were (honest-to-goodness) over 50 years old. I kid you not. Just to prove my point, there was literally a part of the show devoted solely to the 50-plus year old dancers. The afforementioned choir of singers sang Hairspray's Welcome to the 60's but changed the lyrics from ''60's'' to ''50's'' in honor of these mature ladies. They introdced them one-by-one, announced their individual ages, and then let them take center stage...

...You know, as much fun as I am poking at those ''Sally O' Mallys'', I hope to look half as good as they do when I am that age. And I hope to still be doing what I love, no matter my age. So I guess, in a way, I admire them. ...But still, the better part of me just finds it completely hilarious!