Monday, November 11, 2013

Russian Circus

We missed the circus in both September and October in Ufa.  I was hoping to see it as it came through town in November but thought we were going to miss it.  As it turned out, I misinterpreted the advertisement and found out it was on today!

We took the bus out to the circus building (an actual permanent structure for holding the circus) and purchased our tickets.  The place was buzzing with horses and ponies outside for kiddy-rides.  Inside, they were selling white cotton candy and popcorn, and there were several exhibits with animals for picture opportunities.




The building was small and intimate.  We were seated approximately 20 feet from the ring.  It smelled like a circus...

It all began with two beautiful horses and riders doing tricks.  They spurred the horses and made them prance and kick their legs high in the air and bow to the crowd.  I could have done without that part.
(I have pictures this far, and once again I was tapped on the shoulder "HET"- so much for circus pictures).


Next were the cats.  Yes...cats.  They had about 12 cats in these little cages that came out one at a time and did tricks-and they were good tricks!

The clowns were great and easy to follow as they didn't speak.

Now was time for the acrobatics. Unbelievable.  A man and woman who we both swore had to be former Olympians. They were fabulous. The performance was stunning and the Russian music beautiful. 

Next were the dogs.  Not just any dogs, they were basset hounds for goodness sake.  They jumped and rolled over and barked.  Not nearly as talented as the cats if you ask me.


The jugglers were the most impressive ever,  and the lady on the flying trapeze made our hearts skip a beat.

The chimpanzee dressed as Elvis was kind of creepy.  He was big and the trainer seemed alittle fearful of him.  They were selling photo ops where you could sit next to him too, in his glass box-no thanks.

The main attraction advertised for October were bears riding water buffalo. I was hoping for something as exotic this month.  Instead it was 7 white tigers! (Bengal, not Siberian I learned) 

We had a 20 minute intermission while they put up a cage around the ring and when we returned, the tigers entered the ring.  They were huge, surly, beautiful and threatening.  The one near us seemed uninterested in what was happening in the ring and kept staring out at the crowd and leaning on the wire fence.  John said he was "deciding on which kid to eat for dinner".  They had to poke him a few times from outside of the fence, and throw some meat at him in the cage to get him back in his game.

The building lost its intimacy at that point...       

   

No comments:

Post a Comment