photos by David Halterman

In case you missed it, the circus came to town Sunday. No, not your typical big-top ringleader, head-in-the-lions-mouth, smell of animals and sawdust type of circus, but the much-anticipated Cirque Le Masque performance at the Community Concert Hall. Combining elements of theatre and dance along with a dazzling visual display, the Cirque Le Masque pays tribute to the time-honored traditions of European cirque troupes with its unique acts from around the world.

Mike Moran and Bill Calahan make it look easy as the Men of Strength Bordering on genius and insanity, Yevgen Vilkovskiy performs a horizontal handstand nearly 20 feet in the air atop nothing more than stacked kitchen chairs. Danny Oscar soars across the stage during his Flying Man routiine Sisters Sabrina and Mylene Vaudrevil, from Quebec, prepare backstage for their high-flying duo trapeze act, without a net. The strange yet adorable Weego, a sort of mime-meets-ringleader, watches on during a performance on the trapeze.