Cirque du Ballet

I think the jaw-dropping Cirque du Soleil performance was my favorite part of this year’s otherwise lackluster Oscars. Nothing like person-on-person flipping, top-of-the-head balancing and flying-trapeze shenanigans to spice up a “meh” evening of stale Billy Crystal jokes.

But what could make Cirque’s signature mix of acrobatics and artistry even better? Why, adding a full company of ballet dancers, of course.

For the second time, Orlando Ballet is teaming up with Orlando’s resident Cirque du Soleil show, La Nouba, to present A Choreographers’ Showcase. The idea is to combine the creative powers of these two formidable companies, blending artists from both into a performance they describe as “a conundrum of creative ideas.”

The show is on March 12 at the La Nouba theater; proceeds will benefit the Orlando Ballet and its S.T.E.P.S (Scholarship Training for the Enrichment of Primary Students) program. (More details here.) And judging by these photos from the first round of this collaboration, the evening will be a wild—and awesome—ride.