Jun 8, 2009

A night at the circus

The evening opened with a limp explosion of cheerleaders shaking their silver pom poms and a pantomime of the Revolution involving unicycles and a disco ball. A lone trapeze artist swung above pretty Lao ladies dancing a traditional dance. A contortionist distorted herself on a platform above pretty Lao ladies dancing a traditional dance. And Lao ladies alone, without any circus-y distractions, danced a traditional dance. Two bands of martial artists sparred; two girls gyrated inside rings of spinning silver. A fat woman and a lady boy argued, seemingly for hours, at the “beauty shop.” The band played out of tune; the audience laughed. And at the end, seven performers dangled off a bicycle pedaled by the hot clown. It was a night at the Lao circus.

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