WOW, What an evening?
I wanted to write a blog to express how much last night meant to me, but currently there appears to be something in my eyeâŚ..
Thank you to EVERY SINGLE person who took the time to watch our cabaret - I know that some of you even got dressed up for the occasion, and what an occasion it was.
As everyone started logging on, I felt my anxiety and worry melt away as I was joined by over 130 people on the zoom call, all there to support Showtime Circusâs mission to get a new Defibrillator for our HQ in Milton Keynes.
The team of performers that had come together to create such a wonderful evening were just incredible, and I speak for all of us when I say that it sparked our passion for performing and ignited our soul. It really is a huge part of who we are. Hugest thank you has to go to Crazy Wavy Davy for battling his internet like a trouper and still delivering an incredible performance.
Everyone who donated no matter how much the amount, you have helped us potentially save a life. I donât know about you, but for me, that is priceless.
Matt is missed every day and whilst we donât know for sure that a defibrillator would have saved him - having the option would have definitely increased his chances. 12 people between the age of 14-34 die per week of undiagnosed heart conditions, with the first symptom often being death. Itâs heartbreaking. Trust me.
I adored seeing everyone dancing along, seeing the children that I teach writing in the chat box how amazed they were, getting feedback from our apprentices about how inspired they were and seeing children and parents SMILE and laugh made my heart happy.
I wanted to opening to portray the joy we had creating a fully inclusive circus space and I think that the team definitely achieved this in our rendition of âTonight Belongs to Usâ from Prom the Musical. Then I simply HAD to perform live first - otherwise I knew the nerves would have gotten the better of me! An Instagram poll decided that I had to learn sling and roller skating - but I quickly abandoned the roller skates after realising tat to learn both was DEFINITELY counter intuitive haha!
Then we had our AMAZING Crazy Wavy Davy showing us what he does best - I donât know about you but I could listen to him singing all day!
New to our team are Candy Floss Kate and Roll Up Ryan, and what a team they are. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know them, throwing them in at the deep end assisting in some zoom parties and training together (when I say together I obviously mean apartâŚ.VERY far apart!!) I canât wait for the children in Milton Keynes to come to class and be guided by these super stars! Multi talented, Kates hoop routine was just beautiful. They can teach all things circus AND have a gorgeous duo acoustic band âLittle White Lightsâ too, I loved being serenaded by them, thank you, thank you!
Then there was NOTHING Silly about our Silly Slytherins AWESOME hoop performance (but there was definitely some Slytherin hehe!) can we take a second to appreciate that she has never been on a hoop before? Other than the odd play around in circus class after teaching acro/contortion. She is a PILLAR of strength, an incredible friend and an all round WONDERFUL human - who said Hufflepuffs and Slytherins couldnât get along?
Next we go on to husband and wife duo Kat and Matt - what a dynamic duo they are - or should I say trio with their gorgeous floof Skye who made a very special appearance too?!
Matt blew us away with his pennies trick - 𤯠I was watching SO closely but....nope couldnât work it out! For those interested in learning from him please go to mymagiccourse.com and sign up!
Then Kat....wowowowow! Soooo....a little story...Jolly Mess actually taught Kat silks in 2012 and got her a job performing together at corporate Christmas entertainment. We had the MOST fun learning and performing (and celebrating afterwards đ there was a RODEO CAMEL haha.... anyway....) Since then Kat has absolutely FLOURISHED as an aerialist performing solo onboard top luxury cruise lines also doing illusions with Matt. But she has NEVER performed rope! Weâve been training together (again...APART together haha) and I canât tell you how many times weâve both said âthis hurts more than silksâ hahaha!
Then OH MY GOODNESS Silly Sparkles, Zappa and Rosie! What an act....keep going Melie, they will be on BGT one day!!! How awesome and mesmerising is she as she performs hula so flawlessly, I could see the children watching eagerly as they recognised the moves sheâs been teaching them over lockdown! Maybe the Doggoâs will be ready for our next cabaret?
Talking of the next cabaret, looks like I need to get my skates on, hey?! Wasnât it just wonderful to see Matt skating around? I appreciate that if you donât know him then you wonât have know which guy in the black tank top it was đ but hopefully you still enjoyed it regardless! Watch out for CrazyWavyDavy and Jolly Messâs Wheely good routine next time đ¤Ł
We simply HAD to finish on the Greatest Showman and the incredible talents of IOI duo. Just AMAZING. So grateful to have them as part of the performance, and Iâm hoping to get Shelley in to teach duos as soon as we are allowed to share a hoop again as I know some of the teens in particular would enjoy learning those awesome transitions.
Overall an INCREDIBLE evening that just felt warm and fuzzy. It made my heart happy, it made my soul ignite and most of all....It made my worries about not having a defibrillator diminish as we raised enough to get 3!!
Those who donated enough for a star on the wall of fame, I will be in touch to ask the name youâd like on there, and to show you what it looks like when itâs on there too! If youâd like the recording of the show, please do get in touch. If youâd like to make a donation we will keep the page open for a little bit :) Hereâs the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/defibrillator-for-showtime-circus-hq?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet
Thank you, from the bottom of my glitter glued together heart. It was truly a highlight of lockdown and a feeling of gratitude that I will remember forever.