Cirquonscient’s Cirque à la Carte makes a great last-minute gift idea

This article was written for and published by Apt613.com on December 15, 2023. You can find a link to the article here.

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On January 20, Cirquonscient will present Cirque à la Carte, a 19+ cabaret-style circus event with performers from across the Ottawa community. They’re pulling out all the stops to wow us with aerials, acrobatics, juggling, live music, and more. À la carte as a theme means each artist will bring their own performance to an intimate setting, from chair dancing to using a flying pole.

“When you do cabaret, they typically have like little tables with chairs around them,” says Melissa Landry, a founding member of Cirquonscient. To save space, the show will be set up in a U-shape around the circus rig with rows of seats right up close to the artists and a few high-top bar tables in the back.

“We wanted it to be as immersive as possible,” says Landry. “More of a date night type thing.” Landry explains that Cirquonscient usually performs on stage with riser-style seating for the audience, but for this show, “we’re at the same level as everyone that’s there watching … it’ll be a different feel.”

Did I mention there will be a bar?

“We’re opening the doors a little bit earlier, like half an hour earlier, so people can come in [and] have a seat,” says Landry. “I don’t wanna give too much away, but … It won’t just be sitting there with nothing to do.”

If you haven’t finished your holiday shopping, Cirque à la Carte could be a great option for an experience gift. Landry agrees, and points out that the show gives us an event to anticipate after the holidays: “What am I gonna do on these dark January evenings—something fun, right?”

If you didn’t get tickets to Cirquonscient’s December 16 show, CrackdNutz, be sure to snap up a few for Cirque à la carte! You can learn more and get tickets here.

Photo: Cirquonscient
Photo credit: Cirquonscient