11 THINGS I LEARNED AT CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

So last week I was lucky enough to be whisked away to Paris for an evening at Cirque du Soleil TOTEM! I'd never witnessed a show before, and this included the whole experience, including a backstage tour - so I thought I'd document my time there and put together a lil piece for you guys; here are 11 things I learned at Cirque du Soleil!

THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO CIRQUE THAN YOU THINK

The big top (or 'grand chapiteau') takes 8 days to set up, with over 1000 tonnes of equipment and 78 trucks to transport it. This takes 85 people to construct it, and sits 2543 audience members. They usually take over large parks and leave without a trace, but sometimes occupy venues, like the Royal Albert Hall!

Their latest award-winning show is TOTEM, which features 48 acrobats. actors, musicians and singers, from 21 countries. It's honestly mindblowing to see how much work goes into the show, and how incredible talented all the performers are!

ALL PERFORMERS ARE BETTER AT MAKEUP THAN ME

Every member of Cirque du Soleil is responsible for their own makeup for every show; this can take from 40 minutes to 2 hours, and there are detailed instructions for each character. We watched one of the frog acrobats work and he honestly managed it in half the time it takes me to do a smokey eye!

THEY DON'T MESS AROUND WHEN IT COMES TO COSTUMES
We were lucky enough to be shown around the wardrobes, which include over 300 complete costumes and over 1200 components including accessories, hairpieces, wigs & shoes!! All costumes that come into contact with the artist's skin is washed after every show. It takes 2 people for 2 hours a day (6 days a week), totalling 24 hours of laundry time per week!

PERFORMERS ARE FED VERY WELL
For the full Cirque experience, we had dinner in the catering tent and the food was bloody delicious, I'm mega jealous the performers get that on the daily! I also got given some crazy stats - the tent preps 250-300 meals a day, and every week a total of: 370kg of protein, 100lt of milk, 60 dozen eggs, 10kg coffee & 3-4kg of cookies are consumed!

I AM A DIABOLO MASTER AND THE HOOP DANCE QUEEN
Ok, not really, but I DID surprise myself - turns out I'm not as uncoordinated as I thought! I got to learn a couple hoop tricks, and can successfully throw and catch a diabolo (although I did accidentally attack one of the warming-up performers in the process).

I WILL NEVER GET TIRED OF VIP TREATMENT

We were treated like royalty for our visit! If you choose the VIP package you get to mill around the exclusive suite, access to a free bar and canapés, and receive a goodie bag! I believe at the London shows there's an option for a Michelin star meal too, if you wanna be mega boujee.

I ABSOLUTELY NEED A DISCO SUIT

The show starts and ends with The Crystal Man in a suit made from over 4500 sparkly components. I absolutely need one - although I'd probably just end up looking like Vince Noir in his mirrorball suit.

ALL MUSIC IS LIVE

No soundtracking here folks; there is a band playing the score live at every show - and let me tell you, they're bloody brilliant, definitely adds to the atmosphere big time.

THE PERFORMERS TALENTS ARE BEYOND COMPREHENSION
I spent most of the performance yelling; I was blown away by the variety and skill of each act - if you watched my insta stories you'll know! My favourite was the unicycles and bowls act, and the trapeze act was magnificent; honestly - imagine putting that much trust into a man??

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL HAS COME SUCH A LONG WAY
Starting with just 20 street performers in Quebec in 1984, Cirque du Soleil has taken over!! Since it's inception, the show has entertained more than 155 million spectators in over 300 cities, in 40 countries, on six continents. It's seriously a spectacle not to be passed up!

I WILL 100% BE RETURNING FOR THE LONDON SHOWS

Cirque Du Soleil TOTEM will be taking over the Royal Albert Hall from 12 Jan - 15 Feb next year; I'd wholeheartedly recommend going - I was swept off my feet by the performance, honestly I've never seen anything like it! Click here to buy tickets, and also be sure to check out their instagram @cirquedusoleil!

I wanna say a mahoosive thank you to Cirque du Soleil for having me, and giving me the experience of a lifetime - I cannot wait for the UK shows. Have any of you guys been before? Will you be attending the London dates?