Ginny from the Blog

I left Durham Performing Arts Center dizzy and dazzled last night. It was opening night for Cirque Dreams Illumination, a show for which I had absolutely no expectations. I’ve never seen a Cirque show, and until yesterday, I had no idea Cirque Dreams is not affiliated with Cirque de Soleil (but it turns out that doesn’t matter).

I went with my BF because we were excited to see an ad for his Design group in the new playbill. But it turns out the show was just as thrilling. I literally spent half of the show clinging to my BF and whispering: “Don’t do it, Don’t do it, Don’t do it” as balancers, strap fliers, aerialists and a chair climber attempted breath-holding feats.

There were moments where I was so tense because I was worried a man walking a tight rope would crash onto the stage as he did somersaults. At one point, a guy climbed onto a swinging platform, balanced on a board over a cylinder and stepped through a hoop all while dangling high above the stage.  I saw contortionists rearrange their bodies in impossible positions and climb on top of each other in ways I didn’t know were humanly possible.

The climax came when a petite woman climbed into a series of metal rings and held on for her life while the man below held the ring in the air and spun it so fast that it left me dizzy. The picture below shows the scene I’m describing, only imagine those rings spinning so fast that you can barely see the woman inside. (I e-mailed DPAC folks this morning for some pictures because I feel they do a better job showing off the show than my descriptions. They were taken by DPAC photographer Noah Rosenblatt-Farrell.)

The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the narrator, who occasionally would come on stage to sing. I couldn’t understand half the words she was singing. Also, at times there were so many stunts and dances happening on stage that I couldn’t focus. The BF told me afterward that the show is a dream for someone with attention deficit disorder.

Some parents brought their children, and I actually enjoyed the fact that a boy about 6-years-old was seated behind me asking his dad if certain things were real and wondering out loud how the performers pulled off their tricks.

The show ends Sunday, and tickets range from $25 to $60. We were on the main level, but I think this is one of those shows where it doesn’t matter how high up or far back you are from the stage. Students can get tix for $20 if they get to the theatre two hours before the show.

If you’ve been to a Cirque show (or if you make it to Illumination), let me know what you thought.

One of the coolest feelings is meeting someone you follow online in real life. You get a rush from recognizing the face behind the words you’ve been reading on their blogs, in their tweets, their websites, etc. I got to experience that rush over and over again last night at the 30THREADS Blogger Bash at Durham Performing Arts Center.

The bash was a chance for us bloggers, picture takers, Tweeters and the people who love us to come together and mingle, eat incredible cheeses and raspberry brownies (My belly thanks you DPAC and Durham Catering). DPAC also graciously gave away tons of cool prizes, including dinner at Revolution, tickets to Legally Blonde, The Color Purple and the world premiere of Cirque Dreams Illumination.

We gathered on DPAC’s stage and listened to the soundtrack of Wicked while networking, sipping beers and touring the theatre. It was exciting to see a lot of new faces, bloggers who didn’t make it to previous bashes. Among my highlights from the bash:

* DPAC officially launched its own blog called DPAC Spotlight. It’s going to be run by their assistant marketing director, Rachel Gragg, who is also the voice on the @DPAC Twitter account. I knew about this ahead of time because my boyfriend’s company, This Is Beautiful, designed the site, so it was tough keeping my lips sealed in the days leading up to the event.

* I finally got to meet @JayDolan, one of my funniest tweeps who will someday soon have a big break in his singing and acting career. His tumblelog usually has something on it that makes me smile. Here’s my all time favorite post from his blog.

* I got to chat with my newest contact Steve Burnett. He posted some pics from his DPAC tour on Twitter. This one is INCREDIBLE.

* I met @Shawnf for the first time, which was cool because I feel like I’ve known him forever because I’ve been following his blogs and Twitter updates for over a year. He’s in the security business and this guy truly gets social networking and how to make it work for your industry.

* I met Rebecca, the foodie behind the Triangle restaurant review blog The Gourmez. I could tell her and her husband Ben are pretty hip (even if he doesn’t blog). She blogged about last night’s events here.

* Durham blogger Phil Marsosudiro made it out, which is a miracle because there’s something about the universe that always pulls him out-of-town when blogger events are happening. He went on the DPAC tour and photographed the autograph wall that is starting to develop. It includes signatures from Bill Cosby and Topol.

* Frozen food vlogger Greg Ng was there, and he gave me some of his cool, new Freezer Burns vinyl stickers.

* @Jazzychad, the creator of TweetGrid, showed up a little late (he got lost), but it was all good because he was rocking a vest and a newsboy cap.

* Also, my friend and fellow blogger Andrea drove all the way from Mebene to meet the bloggers she reads on 30THREADS. She blogs about dogs on her blog, Dogs & Randomness.

* I met Valerie from Triangle Music, which was cool because her and I are meeting next week to work on a cool project, so now I know what she looks like (and she’s just as adorable as the pics on her Tumblelog).

* And, of course, I was pleased to see some of the staple Durham bloggers make it out including Barry from Dependable Erection, Lenore from Eclectic Glob of Tangential Verbosity, Joe from Fallout Shelter.

I got to meet and say hello to so many others too. Please list your blog URL if you were there but not mentioned in this blog post. I’m sorry I didn’t give a shout out to everyone, but you know I love you Triangle Bloggers.

Don’t forget the 30THREADS Blogger Bash at Durham Performing Arts Center is Thursday, April 9.

Here are three reasons why you should plan to go to the 30THREADS bash:
1. The party will be on the stage at Durham Performing Arts Center. So you’ll get a chance to live out any on-stage fantasies (well … sort of … I mean nothing too weird please).

2. There will be DPAC ticket giveaways.

3. You’ll get to mingle with all the fabulous bloggers whose blogs you troll. You can see if they really look like their avatars.

One final detail. Since the party will be on the stage, Please use the Mangum Street entrance!

Looking forward to seeing you IRL!

The fun starts with a 6:30 cocktail hour (cash bar) but you can drop in anytime between 6:30 and 9 p.m.

Special thanks to DPAC for taking the time to arrange this event for us.

Questions? Ask away.

I was wooed by the RENT cast last night at the Durham Performing Arts Center. They put on a hell of a show despite performing in front of a somewhat sparse audience. Yesterday’s wicked winter weather prompted DPAC officials to let ticket holders swap out seats for another performance (with the caveat that they may not receive as good of seats the second time around). I would later find out that the gesture was just one of several examples of the DPAC staff providing excellent customer service (but more on that in another paragraph).

RENT

I first saw RENT in the late ’90s at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis. I was in high school and the edgy musical wedged its way into my heart. I bought the soundtrack and memorized the songs, pretending I was each of the characters when I belted out the lyrics. Years have passed since I broke out the soundtrack, but it all came back to me last night (and luckily for my date, I chose to only sing them in my head). I had not seen a performance of the musical since, and I was happy the cast (which includes three original Broadway cast members) didn’t disappoint. I don’t feel comfortable critiquing the show like mad because I probably would have loved it even if half the cast were off-key and stood still. But I can assure you that the cast was incredibly dynamic and energetic. (Guys if your girlfriend drags you to the show, just wait for Mimi’s performance of “Out Tonight” in her electric blue liquid lycra pants).

DPAC

Tuesday was opening night for RENT, and the debut Broadway performance at the DPAC (which will also bring Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof, Legally Blonde and the Color Purple to town). The venue, which is the largest indoor theatre in the Carolinas, is gorgeous. I toured it during the public open house, but the experience is entirely different when there’s a show going on.

I was most impressed with the staff. Despite the freezing temperatures, we were greeted by a doorman in a top hat who warmly welcomed us into the theatre. The staff member charged with directing women into open bathroom stalls offered to hold glasses of wine and programs for women waiting to use the bathroom. At least three ushers sweetly and sincerly thanked us for coming. At a time when it feels like customer service is fading, it was refreshing to experience service that’s better than what I consider acceptable (have I mentioned I’m a huge customer service freak?).

Here’s a video from my November tour of the theatre:

RENT runs through Jan. 25 and there are still tickets available! Also, for my fellow Tweeple, you can find @DPAC on Twitter.

I was cruising down the Durham Freeway this morning when I spotted some sort of green mural on the side of the new parking deck that adjoins the Durham Performing Arts Center. At first I thought the Chapel Hill mural bug must have bit the Bull City, but I as I got closer, I saw that they were mesh panels hanging from the top of the deck.

I was so glad to see these panels camoflaging the concrete deck.

In July, I wrote a spokeswoman for the city of Durham and asked whether there were plans to conceal some of the concrete. Here’s what the parking deck looked like then:

She responded saying the banners were forthcoming. Eventually, there will be a building adjacent to this parking deck, which will block the deck’s view from the road. In the meantime, I applaud the city for taking steps to spruce up a generic parking deck. I hope the folks building the parking deck for the new Hue development in downtown Raleigh take a similar approach.

Don’t forget, tonight is the official ribbon-cutting for the Durham Performing Arts Center. The public event starts at 5:30 and includes the lighting of the light sculpture “Sleep No More,” by artist Jaume Plensa.