I Survived the Halloween Circus

When I read about Apex Movement’s SpookArray: A Halloween Circus Night, in the newspaper under adult themed Halloween activities, I had no idea what kind of entertainment they would provide. Hosted by the Fractal Tribe, they advertised movement play in an interactive gym. I wasn’t sure what the heck that was, but they had a haunted house and suggested wearing a costume. It sounded like my kind of party.

Deciding to go at the last-minute my husband, Danny, and I reached for the easiest of costumes: Morticia and Gomez. We have getting into character down to five minutes, tops.

We arrived at a Boulder warehouse and walked up to the entry with several other costumed partygoers to the bouncer dressed as a butler outside the door. He held a sign-in sheet of some kind. Maybe we were supposed to call for a reservation.

Nope.

It was a waiver. The butler explained they didn’t want to be held accountable for any accidents while inside the gym.

What????

Of course we signed our lives away and stepped inside. A very fit and gorgeous woman DJ sat behind a booth, rocking a ten-inch mini skirt and bra top. She swayed in rhythmic motion like a belly dancer with her rock hard abs. I would rock my bare midriff too if mine looked like hers. We paid a zombie with a black hat $25 each and stepped inside.

We met very charming Jessica, AKA, Wednesday Addams, at the party.

Jugglers performed in greeting as I scanned the strange interior. It was a parkour gym complete with an interior building-like structure on one side of the room and monkey-bars throughout. I imagined someone leaping from one raised structure to the railings, then landing on the soft cushioned ground below. Zombies stood on top and performed with glowing hula-hoops. While we made our way to the back of the room, we passed a table full of drinks and snacks. Several people stretched out in the lounge on sumptuous chairs and couches. Another area was set up for a band.

A view from the top.

The haunted house opened and we stood in line. Nervous with tentacles around my feet and a partial knee replacement, I climbed to the top of the structure and then stepped down the ladder to the foggy darkness below. After being frightened by ghouls and zombies and creeping through a maze of small rooms, I came upon two dead ballerinas.

Too much fun!

Every twenty minutes throughout the night, the emcee interrupted the music with an announcement for a performance. One of the first was an acrobatic couple’s dance smoothly executed by a muscular bare-chested fox and a young maiden. Their intricate and gravity-defying fluid motion made Dancing with the Stars look like the Hokey Pokey.

A couple practiced acroyoga inside a spiderweb.

Acrobatics flowed to music in a new kind of dance. In solos and duets, performers used ropes, silks, and trapeze demonstrating incredible feats. Danny and I had a front row seat, except for one. The DJ played keyboard and a violinist accompanied her in the theme from Game of Thrones for a floor dance of some kind. Did I mention there were a ton of tall guys in attendance?

I was in the front row for Thriller.

Performances moved to the back of the room where acroyoga was performed in fluid display of body stacking and core strength. Yep. I’m a rank beginner. By then there were a couple hundred people and this was my view.

All of the acts were brilliantly executed. I didn’t notice any slip ups and most performed above the ground. Whoa. I think twice before climbing my apple trees.

My favorite?

A woman in army fatigues ran onto the stage screaming, “Help! Help me! Don’t take me, please!” She stepped inside silks draped from a circular trapeze. Wrapped up inside, she twisted and writhed to the top of the mother ship. She crawled and struggled against the invisible aliens and at one point fell halfway down the silks then clawed her way back up. In the end, she stopped fighting and slid back down inside the silks to the ground. She emerged in a skin-colored bodysuit and stared with blank dull eyes. She had transformed into an alien. Cool or what?

Everyone was super friendly and approachable. Most knew each other from classes. Many of them practiced with instructors during the party. I was tempted to try acroyoga, but at the risk of ripping a tentacle, I watched instead. Most everyone was in costume and no one was drunk or out of control. This event resembled a recital without the stuffy formality. There was no sense of competition, instead everyone cheered for their friends.

One tall Elvis impersonator told us he had worked at Apex for two years, but had never attended a performance. He couldn’t believe the level of talent. Neither could we.

What are we doing next weekend?

It’s a toss-up. Halloweird is a costumed dance party at the Dairy Center of the Arts. It starts with a showing of John Carpenter’s film Halloween for $5.oo. Or we can learn to tango at the UMC Glen Miller Ballroom at their Masquerade Ball. Comfortable costumes are recommended and it’s free. Saturday night there are too many choices including a Halloween Masquerade Party at the Stanley Hotel at a steep $110 each.

All I know is I have a basement full of costumes with somewhere to go.

Apex Movement has performances every few months. Next time, I’ll leave my tentacles at home. Maybe I’ll join the Circus…

 

Do you like dressing up in costume?