In the latest episode of “Matt About Town,” WTOP’s Matt Kaufax attempts to try acrobatics, courtesy of Cirque du Soleil, to master the art of hoop jumping.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to run away and join the circus?
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Cirque du Soleil returns to Tysons with new high-flying show, ‘Luzia’
In today’s episode of “Matt About Town,” we’re trying out the whole acrobatics thing — courtesy of Cirque du Soleil — to master the art of hoop jumping!
It’s all part of spotlighting the latest iteration of Cirque du Soleil, a show called “Luzia,” which is currently running at the Tysons Galleria in Tysons, Virginia, through Oct. 18.
Inspired by the culture of Mexico, “Luzia” features some of Cirque’s most gravity-defying stunts yet, paired with incredible feats of strength, flexibility and a unique array of costumes and animatronic stage props.
No matter your age, there’s something in this show for everyone — especially if you’ve ever dreamed of flying through the air yourself!
Hear “Matt About Town” first every Tuesday and Thursday on 103.5 FM!
If you have a story idea you’d like Matt to cover, email him, or chat with him on Instagram and TikTok.
When Thailand’s most mesmerizing storytellers join forces, unforgettable doesn’t even begin to cover it.
‘ลามปาม (circus)’ by BOWKYLION and Jeff Satur delivers exactly what fans hoped for and more from the Queen and King of T-Pop. It’s heartbreak wrapped in harmonies, visual metaphors, and raw storytelling.
With the very first line, “If I had known before, I wouldn’t cry all night,” we know we’re in for a ride. BOWKYLION’s voice carries a hint of vulnerability that draws us into a story filled with regret, longing, and lost love. The pre-chorus builds with just her vocals, raw and exposed, until suddenly, there it is.
That first soft harmony between BOWKYLION and Jeff Satur feels effortless. Their voices intertwine like they were always meant to, gently echoing the heartache of loving someone who shattered your heart and might never come back.
Then Jeff hits us with the line: “Loving me was pretend, your love is just for show.” It brings another dimension of heartbreak. The kind that’s angry, exposed, and tired of pretending. The song feels like two sides of the same love story. One is still aching and trying to understand, whilst the other has given up trying to forgive. And when he sings the line “Kept me hidden, like our love was wrong,” you can just hear our heart breaking into a million pieces 😭.
One of the most beautiful aspects of BOWKYLION and Jeff Satur is how it shows the raw side of going through a heartbreak. These two standout voices from the Thai music scene perfectly balance the ache and the anger.
This Collab Was So Worth The Wait!
Their harmonies are soul-healing. The pain? Undeniable. And the chemistry of T-Pop stars BOWKYLION and Jeff Satur? Off the charts. But even through heartbreak, ‘ลามปาม (circus)’ feels warm — like two voices catching each other mid-fall. And let’s give BOWKYLION her flowers: she didn’t just sing. She wrote, composed, produced, arranged, vocal directed, and even handled backing vocals. A true powerhouse in every sense.
Are you adding ‘circus’ to your heartbreak playlist, or are you still emotionally recovering like us? Tell us over on X @thehoneypop. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see more of our content.
Kentucky State Fair’s largest pumpkin beats last year’s by nearly 500 pounds
WITH SOME BLUE RIBBON WINNERS. ALEX, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT? ALEX: MASSIVE PUMPKINS. THEY’RE SO BIG THAT THEY HAVE TO PUT SIGNS OUT THAT SAY DO NOT CLIMB ON THE PUMPKIN. IMAGINE A PUMPKIN YOU CAN CLIMB ON. THESE ARE HUGE BUT NOT THE BIGGEST. THIS IS A 1,045.5 POUNDS. YOU’VE GOT TO TELL ME, WHAT IS THE SECRET TO GROWING A PUMPKIN LIKE THIS? >> THE BIGOTS SECRET, NOT — THE BIGGEST SECRET, NOT SO MUCH A SECRET BUT HAVING GOOD SOIL, GOOD SEED, HOPEFULLY THE WEATHER IS GOOD AND A LOT OF FERTILIZER. >> THERE’S SOMETHING YOU WEAR ON YOUR FEET THAT YOU THINK AFFECTS PUMPKIN GROWING? >> YOU’VE GOT TO WEAR CROCS. >> YOU’VE GOT TO WEAR CROCS, HAVE GOOD SOIL, GOOD WEATHER, ALL THAT. OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE WILL LOOK AT THIS WEIGHT AND BE LIKE THERE’S NO WAY I CAN DO THAT. BUT I’M SURE THEY DON’T REALIZE THE HARD WORK THAT GOES INTO THIS. EXPLAIN IS TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES. >> A LOT OF PREPARATION IN THE FALL. THEN YOU START GETTING YOUR SOIL READY AND IN THE SPRING YOU ALSO ARE FINE-TUNING YOUR SOIL. YOU’VE GOT TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE WEATHER AND MAKE SURE YOU GET EVERYTHING PLANTED AT THE RIGHT TIME. WHEN THE PLANTS GO IN THE GROUND, ARE THEY’RE STARTED IN THE HOUSE FROM SEED AND TRANSPLANTED ABOUT FOUR WEEKS LATER. IT’S WIDE OPEN FROM THERE. THEY DON’T SLOW DOWN. THEY GROW VERY FAST AND YOU’VE GOT TO STAY ON TOP OF THEM ALL THE TIME. >> YOU ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE LINEAGE OF THE PUMPKINS? >> I’M PRETTY CAREFUL ABOUT PICKING MY SEED. OBVIOUSLY I LIKE AN ORANGE PUMPKIN. NOT ALL OF THEM ARE ORANGE. SOME ARE WHITE. THEY EVEN HAVE GREEN SQUASH COLORED PUMPKINS. I ALSO WANT A HEAVY ORANGE PUMPKIN AND THAT’S SOMETIMES HARD TO FIND. >> NICK IS FROM HANCOCK COUNTY. THIS IS HIS PUMPKIN, THE LARGEST AT THE STATE COUNTY FAIR. IT IS MASSIVE. THIS IS MY HAND, AND LOOK. ISN’T THAT CRAZY. THIS STUFF IS INTRESSIV
Kentucky State Fair’s largest pumpkin beats last year’s by nearly 500 pounds
One of the Kentucky State Fair’s biggest competitions has named its winners.The bragging rights were handed out for the largest pumpkin and watermelon at the fair this weekend.This year’s largest pumpkin weighed in at over 1,621 pounds. It was grown by Josh Monin.Monin said it took 64 days for it to grow.That beat last year’s winning pumpkin by 488 pounds and the 2023 winner by 351 pounds.The winning watermelon was 258.4 pounds, 25 pounds heavier than last year’s winner. It was grown by Nick McCaslin.State fair visitors can see the massive gourd and melon in the West Wing Exhibit Halls. Check out a guide to the Kentucky State Fair here. Fair officials say this is a highly anticipated event each year.
One of the Kentucky State Fair’s biggest competitions has named its winners.
The bragging rights were handed out for the largest pumpkin and watermelon at the fair this weekend.
This year’s largest pumpkin weighed in at over 1,621 pounds. It was grown by Josh Monin.
Bring a blanket but not a Bluetooth speaker to a picnic at the Mann this weekend, where you can leave the music to the professionals.
The Roots Picnic is bringing another slate of rap and R&B stars to Philadelphia for outdoor concerts in Fairmount Park. The lineup includes André 3000, Nas and Lil Wayne, who will lead a celebration of New Orleans sound with the Roots themselves.
But it’s far from the only festival in town. Trapeze artists and contortionists will perform in the Hand to Hand circus showcase, while comedians will crack jokes at the Philly Sketchfest. Oyster lovers can claim a few dozen shells at the Shuckfest on Penn’s Landing. And Philadelphians can start their Pride Month celebrations at one of the many marches, balls and shows scheduled for this weekend.
That’s a lot of partying, but stargazers should remember to set an alarm on Sunday: You’ll need to be up by 4:30 a.m. at the latest to catch the planetary parade.
Questlove, Black Thought and the rest of the Roots are returning to the Mann Center for another weekend of music under the summer sun. This year, the Roots Picnic will feature fellow Philly legend Jill Scott alongside Nas, Lil Wayne, André 3000 and Gunna. The concerts run over Saturday and Sunday, but the picnic will move indoors Friday for a series of panels on music education, real estate, film, television and beauty at the Fillmore.
From Friday until next Saturday, June 8, comedians vying for Colin Jost and Kenan Thompson’s jobs will perform in Philly Sketchfest. The weeklong showcase highlights troupes and comedy acts specializing in scripted sketches (as opposed to free-form improv). Bring $15 and your biggest belly laugh to either the Adrienne Theater or Sawubona Creativity Project, depending on the performance.
Whether you like acrobatics or clowns, the Hand to Hand festival has a circus act for you. The three-day showcase will be split across two shows featuring students of the Circadium School of Contemporary Circus and professional artists. All will take place at the FringeArts theater in Old City.
Seafood lovers will crack open a few cold ones at the returning Shuckfest on Sunday. The oyster festival will bring a dozen New Jersey farms — including Sweet Amalia, Cape May Salt Oyster Farms, Barnegat Oyster Collective and Brigantine Oyster Company — to Liberty Point between noon and 3:30 p.m. Ticket-holders can sample their shellfish and watch the pros face off in a shucking competition.
Saturday also marks the start of Pride Month, and the first weekend is a busy one. Dust off your formal wear for a summer ball at the Franklin Institute on Friday night, or save it for the Pride Promenade at the art museum on Saturday. You can also check out a queer comedy show, boat party, park party, Dyke March or fitness classes over the course of the weekend. Finally, there’s the annual Philly Pride Festival on Sunday, featuring an evening performance from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” diva Sapphira Cristál.
The sky-high thrills and jaw-dropping skills of Cirque du Soliel have returned to Houston with Corteo, running now through March 3 at Toyota Center. Corteo, which means “cortege” in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown named Mauro. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobats to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between Heaven and Earth.
Alexandra Gaillard, tour manager with Corteo, explained in more detail what the storyline involves and the central character, Mauro.
“It’s Mauro’s funeral, so this is his way to say goodbye and remember his friends, lovers and coworkers,” she said, adding that the entire show is set up in a dreamlike atmosphere. “It’s a family show to celebrate life.”
The show features all the high-flying stunts that have captured audiences’ imaginations throughout the years – acrobats flying on silks, clowns entertaining the crowd, jugglers, trampoline jumpers, ring dancers, pole climbers and the like – and a few new ones. At one point a lady flies throughout the crowd, buoyed by helium-filled balloons, and she is passed around the audience, almost like a volleyball passed between players on a court, before eventually landing back on the stage. It’s the ultimate crowd interaction experience.
The stage itself is also a change for Houston audiences.
In a Cirque du Soleil first, the stage is central in the arena and divides the venue, with each half of the audience facing the other half, giving a unique perspective not only of the show, but also a performer’s eye view of the audience. The company also moved from their recent usual location in a tent at Sam Houston Race Park to the Toyota Center arena.
Sky-high thrills fill the Toyota Center during Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo.
Photo by MajaPrgomet
Gaillard said the the show has 53 artists on stage, 34 technicians backstage and 27 different nationalities represented to make the magic happen.
It’s also a boon for local workers as Cirque du Soleil hires local workers to build the set.
“We did the loading yesterday. We hired 100 local professionals, and within 16 hours and with 21 trucks, everything got set up during load out,” she described.
Creating the Cirque du Soliel experience requires meticulous planning, but they’ve been doing this long enough that it runs like a well-oiled machine. The company has strict guidelines about makeup and costuming, and quality control checks take place on regular occasion to make sure each look is maintained at perfection. Acts on stage are regularly checked to make sure each step and daredevil feat is up to par.
But it’s what happens behind the scenes where things start to get really interesting.
Behind the scenes, it’s also a miniature city for everyone involved in the show. Physical trainers travel with the troupe so they can provide services to the performers who must maintain peak physical health. Kitchens are set up to provide food for the performers who warm up sometimes several hours before the show and need sustenance in order to keep their bodies in tip-top shape. They have six washing machines and two dryers to handle the everyday housekeeping of a cast that is on the road for months on end.
They also invested in a culture of care, where the team members each play a role in attending the special requirements to make this cast of performers and workers feel like a family.
“We stay at a hotel, so someone is dedicated only to hotel charters and bus transportation. Another person is dedicated just for contracts and visas. Everybody is hard working, and together it’s almost like we have magical powers to make everything work together,” Gaillard said.
In the end, it comes together to produce a magical two-hour show that captivates audiences and tells a thought-provoking, visually mesmerizing and audibly pleasing show. Cirque du Soleil presents Corteo 7:30 p.m. Friday; 11:30 a.m., 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday at Toyota Center, 1510 Polk. For tickets or information, visit toyotacenter.com/events/detail/cirquedusoleilcorteo or call 713-758-7200. $49 – $225.
My childhood belongs to the Spears family. Jamie Lynn starred in one of my favorite shows, Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101, as the title character, while Britney was the soundtrack of my adolescence.
Growing up, I’d sing “Toxic” at the top of my lungs. And the Circus and Blackout albums endlessly circulated through my iPod Nano. Britney’s denim outfit alongside Justin Timberlake were one of the most popular couple’s costumes every year.
And as I grew older, I was stunned by the truth that came out about the realities of Britney Spears’ life. Once the world’s sweetheart, she was constantly ridiculed online and began posting seemingly out-of-character Instagram videos. The world started paying closer attention, and the #FreeBritney movement began.
“I don’t think people knew how much the #FreeBritney movement meant to me…And the fact that my friends and my fans sensed what was happening and did all that for me, that’s a debt I can never repay”
Fans of Spears’ were told that the star’s erratic behavior may have be due to her father’s, Jamie Spears’ conservatorship that granted him control over Britney’s estate and personal affairs. A legal battle ensued, and in November 2021, Britney Spears was officially free.
“The conservatorship was created supposedly because I was incapable of doing anything at all…So why was it that a few weeks later, they had me shoot an episode of How I Met Your Mother and then sent me on a grueling world tour?”
Considering the horrors of Britney’s conservatorship, the harrowing legal trial, and all she’d endured, you might assume the harsh online criticism was over…You’d be wrong, because that’s the American public: ever-present, ever-hypercritical.
Which is why everyone had to read her debut memoir, The Woman In Me, it’s such a cultural phenomenon. We know the Britney Spears of the tabloids and the stage and the trial, but we’ve never heard her story from her perspective. Which is why I had to read it myself.
What’s glaringly obvious from the book’s first paragraph, is that Britney must have had a strong hand in writing it. The sentences are quite simple, and this isn’t to insult her writing because I believe she’s got a fantastic story, but you can tell a professional writer did not write this. I was able to read 288 pages in only a few hours total!
Britney is clearly traumatized from a whole host of situations: her father stealing her money, being overworked and stay captive inside all day, her family turning on her for the sake of conservatorship, and the fact that Justin Timberlake wanted her to go through an at-home abortion so the public wouldn’t find out.
She details her life in an honest and open manner that we’ve never seen before: her abusive marriage with Kevin Federline, how Justin Timberlake cheated on her multiple times, the abortion, the conservatorship, and her relationship with each family member including Jamie Lynn.
It’s genuinely haunting to hear the torture and abuse that she’s endured so far in her life, but also helps you understand Britney. While her Instagram posts may be off-putting to some, she’s lived so much of her life under the control of others.
“I would go to sleep early. And then I would wake up and do what they told me again. And again. And again. It was like Groundhog Day. I did that for thirteen years.”
But there are happy moments captured by Spears as well: her love for her children and her fans, her dedication to performing and the albums she loved writing. And then there’s her account of regaining her sense of self.
Now, we get to see Britney as she’d like to be seen: a strong performer, a loving mother and friend, and someone who deserves to live her own life on her own terms.
You don’t always get a firsthand glimpse into the life of one of the most famous pop-stars in the world…so when you do, you read their memoir.
