Symphony plus circus equals a spectacular show

FORT WORTH -- When the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra announced that it would present a concert called Cirque de la Symphonie, it was puzzlement. How were they going to have the high-flying acts on the stage of Bass Hall and with the orchestra sharing the space?

It all worked spectacularly.

The orchestra began with a frantic ride through Dvorak's Carnival Overture, Op. 92 with Ron Spigelman, principal pops conductor, doing the honors. In a regular concert, his reading would have been too fast, but it worked here to get everyone ready for the circus. After that, the orchestra played a selection of orchestral music that functioned as a ballet score for the choreography of the athletes.

There were two different acro-gymnasts, working on a pair of long scarves. They hook their legs and fly through the air. Christine Van Loo appears in the first act, all feminine grace.

In the second act, the more musical Alexander Streltsov did many of the same moves, but he brings a sensitive masculinity that makes everything different.

Elena Tsarkova did a balancing and contortionist act with nothing to hold her up but two stools. She is able to twist her body into the proverbial pretzel in the most graceful way. Irina Burdetsky twirls multiple hula hoops, from her toes to her ponytail, while doing a perky dance. Aloysia Gavre is another aerialist, who works on a hoop suspended high above the stage.

Vladimir Tsarkov is a triple threat: clown, mime and juggler. He acted as continuity, bringing out the various pieces of equipment and juggling six hoops in the air.

The finale was the jaw-dropping hand-balancing act of Jaroslaw Marciniak and Dariusz Wronski, former Polish national hand-balancing champions. To the pounding strains of Ravel's Bolero, they moved in slow motion into one astounding pose after another. They started out with one of them doing a single handstand on the other's head just as a warm-up.

As they all came out for a final bow, the audience gave everyone a well-deserved standing ovation.