Review: Aerialicious UP LATE

I love circus, and particularly aerials, so it probably won’t surprise you to hear that the show I’ve been most excited for this Anywhere was Aerialicious UP LATE, a burlesque circus show that opened Saturday 27th at the Pole Gym on Burnett Lane (off Queen St Mall). I went to the not-quite-so-late 7pm show for an evening of very energetic, very impressive performances.

I will say, if you go, it’s probably worth splurging for the seated tickets. Standing, we were unelevated behind several rows of chairs, and also backed a little into the next room, so our view was somewhat obscured by a wall, and we also couldn’t see any of the floor work the performers did. There were quite a few times where a performer disappeared from our line of sight, followed by enthusiastic applause from everyone who had a better view. This was a bit disappointing.

Still, what we did see was fantastic. A great variety of circus performances, including hoops, pole work, contortionism, and of course aerials, all pushing the boundaries of what you think bodies should be able to do.

Mixing circus with burlesque was a smart way to use the space—the gym ceiling is much lower than a typical circus venue, which for aerials in particular doesn’t give a lot of room to perform the more spectacular vertical tricks. Tapping into the burlesque genre kept it interesting and made up for the space’s shortcomings.

Overall, Aerialicious was great fun, despite the limitations. When the emcee said our city has some of the greatest circus talent in the country, I don’t think they were exaggerating.