A friend had an extra ticket, so tonight—for the first time in a very long time—I went to the circus.

A lot of very talented people performed many wonderful acts, and a few of them were truly mesmerizing—to the point that I didn’t even notice the other acts which were going on simultaneously. We were sitting at the end of the arena, so we could see all three “rings” without turning our heads, which made it a bit easier.

The current incarnation of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is headlined by a singer, a trio of juggling clowns, a trio of other clown-like performers (one is a percussionist and one a unicyclist). But the main thrust of the show are the acrobats: tumblers, aerialists, trapeze artists, tight-rope walkers, all sort of acrobatic performers. There was also a BMX bike troupe, a double “wheel of destiny,” and—to end the show—a human cannonball. But I was truly enthralled by the Gemini Twins, a pair of Ukrainian aerialists who “specialize in duo aerial hoops, loops, hand balancing and acrobatics.”

I did, however, sorely miss the animals. Apparently the circus misses them, too, because there is a robot dog which appeared in several interstitials throughout the evening.

The other thing I found surprising was the number of people wandering in, looking for their seats, up to 45 minutes after the show had started (at 7:00 on the dot). That’s a mind-set I just don’t understand.

But I had a great time, and crepes for dessert was a yummy topper.