Attractions

On a chunk of land behind Sandestin’s Grand Boulevard, three white tents stretch to the sky, surrounded by large signs pointing to the main attraction: Le Grand Cirque, which my friend and I are here to experience on a balmy Thursday night.

This traveling show, comparable to Cirque de Soleil, has garnered high praise for its amazing stunts. The excitement builds when we enter the first tent, which serves as a foyer and looks like an actual building with black-and-white checkered flooring and realistic “walls” behind the snack bar and box office. A cluster of umbrellas hang upside down from the tent’s peak, draped in fabrics, beads and white lights.

The arena in the auditorium tent is intimate, with stadium seating close to the stage. Music pulses and red and blue lights travel through fog as a mime warms up the audience. When he finishes performers flood the stage in a flurry of sound and color, climbing poles the height of the tent using only their hands, extending their bodies horizontally and wrapping themselves around and upside down. They descend the poles headfirst using only their feet to stop them, while other acrobats climb billowy sheets dangling from the ceiling and yet others perform stunts on the ground. READ MORE

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