Cirque du Soleil has done more to revive the traditional European circus art in the mainstream American consciousness than any other organization, a feat that's almost as amazing as what you'll see in any of their many productions. Cirque du Soleil: Alegria remains one of the group's most popular offerings, and it's little wonder. Mixing powerful acrobatics with dazzling costumes and distinctive music (Cirque du Soleil is for all intents and purposes its own musical genre at this point), Alegria celebrates the vibrancy of youth through the fire-knife dance, aerialists, contortionists and those freaky-deaky clowns. Cirque du Soleil: Alegria is performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday (May 6 through 9) at Chaifetz Arena (1 South Compton Avenue; 314-977-5000 or www.thechaifetzarena.com). Tickets are $34 to $97.
May 6-9, 2010