Cirque du Soleil TOTEM

I am a BIG fan of Cirque du Soleil. To date, I have seen four of these shows since 2001 and I look forward to seeing more in the future. Last week I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to see TOTEM, here in Atlanta. According to Cirque du Soleil: "The word “totem” contains the idea of the order of species. We carry in our bodies the potential of all species, all the way to our desire to fly—like the thunderbird at the top of the totem pole. TOTEM traces the fascinating journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly. The characters evolve on a stage evoking a giant turtle, the symbol of origin for many ancient civilizations."

My mom and I arrived at the blue and yellow Big Top in Atlantic Station and took our seats. As we were chatting one of the characters from the show- the Ring Master, decided to come over and visit. 

In French he told me I was pretty and then he proceeded to place a big fake red nose on my me! All over the tent antics like this were taking place and were very entertaining before the start of the show. 

Photo credit: Pouya Dianat/Cirque du Soleil

Totem opened in dramatic style with acrobats jumping around the larger than life turtle skeleton on stage. The brightly colored outfits were reminiscent of amphibians and they totally nailed the imitations of the reptiles. I was totally impressed. In true Cirque fashion, humor and athleticism were combined and I frequently ooooohed and ahhhed during the show. 

photo credit: Pouya Dianat/Cirque du Soleil

One of the most impressive acts for me were the Native American couple who did a wonderful skating performance on a circular platform that could not have been more than 6 feet across! 

                          Photo credit: Pouya Dianat/Cirque du Soleil

I also was quite impressed with the Chinese unicyclists who balanced and tossed bowls onto each other's heads!  I think my laugh out loud moments occurred when cavemen and/gorillas jumped a businessman. It was too funny and it was followed by a performance by Russian acrobats. I was so impressed. 

This is truly a show that you do not want to miss. I recommend it for children 10 and up because it will hard to keep the attention of younger kids. A three year old was sitting in front of me and had a very difficult time focusing on the show and the family left early. However, older children will be as impressed as I was I'm sure. And every time I attend a Cirque show, I feel like a child again! 

TOTEM is currently playing until Sunday, December 30, 2012 under the Big Top at Atlantic Station. Tickets are available at any time online via www.cirquedusoleil.com/totem & http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/totem or at the Cirque du Soleil box office, located inside the entrance tent at Atlantic Station. (Regular box office hours are from 2 hours prior to show time to 30 minutes after beginning of the show from Tuesday through Sunday.

Disclosure: I received media passes for the purpose of this review.