Yes, it was definitely a 'Cirque'us!
Phenomenal movement, color, sound and a mysterious story about an island governed by goddesses and guided by the moon's cycles combined to create "AmaLuna," a Cirque du Soleil production presented at the beautiful Royal Albert Hall where we also had a delicious dinner, before the show.
Acrobats, musicians, and dancers performed incredible feats of skill and grace. The comic clowns had everyone laughing! The constant question of "how in the world did they do THAT?" went round our heads and we were fascinated by the choreography.
Cirque productions are always a little quirky -- okay, very quirky ;) -- and imaginative and this one fit that style. Amazing and so much fun!
Pix credit: The Cirque Du Soleil Program
Woohoo! We got tickets to London Fashion Weekend. Okay, we wondered, what do we wear to that?!? We ditched our comfies for a more smart-casual look and went. It was great fun to experience the vibe and flourish of Fashion Weekend at Saatchi Gallery, and as much a show to watch the people there as the fashions shown!
Racks of gowns, coats, shoes, purses and miscellaneous accessories by every designer we have and haven't heard of ;) filled room after room. We perused all kinds of pretty and pretty outlandish items before settling in for the catwalk runway shows of new phenomenon Mary Katrantzou and of 2016 trends.
Katrantzou's work was actually wearable-looking and very pretty. She's touted for her unique aesthetic ". . .often borrowing from decorative upholstery patterns such as Victorian wallpapers and tromp l'oeil motifs of objet d'art."* and "eye-catching, highly worked clothes, which vibrate with color and energy."* *The Weekender Magazine
The trends runway featured willowy, see-through-sized models, complete with detached expressions and giraffe-like steps. They showed off what fashion trends are big in 2016. Those included:
- Beautiful Botanicals: Think English country garden, others were graphic or oversized
- Americana: Red, white and blue, bold stars and stripes, collegiate jackets, tailored blouses
- Pop Art: A "painterly" trend, bold colors, color-block dresses. Imagine a Rubic's Cube in clothes!
- New Romance: Delicate and feminine. Pastel ruffles, lace, tulle and silk
Music played, camera flashes popped, models strutted. Surprisingly, there were no over-the-top fashions shown; maybe that was during the week?
What an experience -- a whole different world! Then, feeling quite "with it" and "fashionable," we headed home to our T-shirts and sweats!
All Lit up at the Magical Lantern Festival
A poster I'd seen leaving an airport somewhere had the most intriguing-looking lanterns featured at a festival and we decided we had to check them out.
Chiswick House and Gardens became home to the Magical Lantern Festival in further celebration of Chinese New Year. A bit of a overground train ride and walk -- literally 1,000s of steps around the wall of Chiswick's grounds (let's say the entrance wasn't close to where we were nor was it marked, but we had a lovely walk on a pretty night!), we ventured into a fantastic display of art.
We found metal frames, fabric and artistry do make magic as we wandered through dozens of vignettes, many featuring way-larger-than-life animals and such. Among them was a long dragon, swans, fans bedecked with fish and flowers, a bamboo forest of pandas, elephants, koi ponds, and representations of each of the Chinese calendar's animals. Loved it!
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