May Palacpac, Storyteller

I love saying this – we took the boys to the circus!

Growing up, the circus was not a thing in the Philippines. At least not where I lived. We had those pop up carnivals in middle class neighborhoods, but we never had any shows that resemble a circus.

In Filipino movies, carnivals are sometimes portrayed as having “freak shows,” featuring unusual creatures like mermaids or a man with two heads. Personally, though, I’ve never encountered anything like that in the peryas my yaya (Filipino term for nanny) took me to growing up and thank God for that. They were usually made up of just a few rides and lots of game booths where you’d play hoop toss or squirt games to win a toy or a plush.

So I only knew about circuses from the story books I’ve read or American movies I’ve watched, and these were mostly the kind that still took to animal cruelty – Lions and Elephants, and seals. Think Disney’s Dumbo.

There is, of course, the movies The Greatest Showman and Water for Elephants.

Previous Circus shows in Manila

The closest to a circus we’ve been to was the Wanders in the early 2000’s, but it mostly featured aerial acrobatics and dancers. Our eldest son was only 2 years old when we took him so he does not really remember any of it.

I do, though. And I will never forget that one romantic nocturnal-themed aerial performance. That was the highlight of my evening.

Cirque de Soleil had shows in Manila in the past, but we weren’t able to see that. So when I ran into a EuroXtreme Circus post on Meta and learned that it was just a few minutes away from where we live, I immediately checked the ticket prices.

Tickets

We usually do a lot of fun family hangouts on Christmas holidays and I thought that maybe the circus would be one of them but I didn’t immediately buy the tix, I waited a bit just to be sure I wanted to spend all that money for it, after all, the lowest priced tickets were unavailable online. The other option we had was the Silver section which would cost us a total of Php 5,600 for one night.

It’s a good thing that a fellow content creator, Levy Martinez of Mommy Levy, watched earlier than we did and posted her pictures. I immediately messaged her to ask if it was worth the money. She was cautious about it, she didn’t want to set our expectations too high, but she told us that her teenage son enjoyed the show. Her feedback was enough to convince me to book our seats.

The show was originally advertised to have its final performance on the 4th of June. Judah’s birthday was on January 2 so we thought it was the best time to see it. We came early – around 4:30 PM and had dinner at Army Navy which was only a block away. When we got back, it was still 15 minutes til 6 PM (the show was scheduled at 6 PM), but the line was already very long.

So that’s my first tip for you, if you’re coming to see the show. If you want good seats (it’s free seating in all sections), you need to come an hour early so you can find a good spot. If you’re in the Bronze section, make sure not to sit behind one of the ramps so you won’t miss the BMX stunts.

Also, it is best to be early if you want to get your kids popcorn, cotton candies or slushies before the show. The lines at these booths are pretty long during the show’s break.

Just a warning, though, that this kind of cotton candy melts. I almost missed the trapeze act because I had to help Judah wipe off his legs and his shorts where the cotton candy dripped!

Something to consider, though, is that we watched on a holiday. I’m not sure how popular the show’s going to be still leading to 18th of January, now that work and school have resumed

EuroXtreme Circus Honest Review

The program was well put together. You get a sense that a lot of these performers have been doing this for a long time. The transitions were seamless. Even the few tiny mishaps seemed like they were choreographed, to condition the audiences to understand how difficult and risky these stunts are.

Lukas and I are still not in agreement regarding the jump rope fumble in the first act. The first act was called Wheel of Suspense which happens to be the favorite act of all the boys, aside from the Globe of Terror and the aerials.

The Wheel of Suspense is two “crazy” guys without harnesses jumping and doing all these dangerous stunts while on a spinning double lyra.

It looks like this:

There was one instance when the long-haired guy appeared to have tripped on a jump rope and lost his balance while atop a wheel. Of course, everybody screamed. How frightening to have one of the performers get hurt on the first act!

I told the boys it’s part of the act, Lukas says no.

I’m not saying the acts aren’t risky, I wouldn’t dare attempt any of those stunts myself, haha! I couldn’t even bring myself to try the trapeze park in BGC when we lived nearby. What I am saying is that this wasn’t a careless show. It is executed well by seasoned artists who clearly know what they are doing.

While I extremely enjoyed all the stunts, I think that the intermission acts led by one of the hosts – a true circus master, in my humble opinion, deserves recognition. There were no gimmicks involved, just solid entertainment skills honed through years of experience. His act, which included audience participation, had us completely engaged.

The clown was also genuinely hilarious. You could tell these acts were well thought out and carefully researched. From the music choices to the puns, everything was tailored perfectly to what Filipino audiences relate to and enjoy.

These intermissions were laid out simple. The jokes were not over the top and yet, we were doubled up in laughter. That’s the mark of a true entertainer.

My favorite act was the quickest of all – the motorcycle jump. I was thrilled to see the motorcycle leap from the ramp, over the audiences, onto the large customized airbag.
I thought that was the most exhilarating, not to mention, most dangerous act of all. And it came right after a fire baton twirling act which is just the perfect match.

The only thing that was just okay for us were the dancers. Let’s be honest, they’re more like models than real dancers and were most likely chosen based on their physical attributes, and not really for their impeccable technique.

Judah also said that the appearance of the tall Spiderman was a bit awkward for him. It wasn’t really all that bad for me, but the Spiderman I know does back flips on the ground and can swing from rope to rope like Tarzan. So yeah, that act can be improved.

Anyway, going back to what we like about all of it, we like that taking photos with the circus performers after the show was free, which is quite a refreshing break from all the others that monetize every single detail of their shows. This made us feel that the performers are much more accessible.

I think that it is also very considerate of both the organizers and the performers. The Silver, Gold and VIP seats are not cheap, mind you, so if you’re going to charge us another Php 500 – Php 1000 just for a photo with the performers, many may not even think about it.

And they were so nice, too!

I must mention that the magician’s partner is so much prettier up close, so don’t forget to take a photo with her.

The boys were not able to have a photo with the most popular performer in the show – Alejandro, because of all the people who wanted to have a photo with him. He’s the heartthrob of the show. My ears had to bear with all the screaming of the giggly girls seated behind us.

But did you know that this kid is in more than one act! He is in the Wheel of Suspense (he’s the one that does the more daring stunts), the BMX stunts, the Flying Trapeze (I knew I recognize him!! But I was like…”could it be him???”) and definitely not the least of them all, he was the third biker in the Globe of Terror.

I won’t be surprised if he acts as trainer for some of the performers, I don’t really know. But his stunt resume is pretty impressive, don’t you think?

Here’s a video of our evening of celebrating Judah’s 15th birthday at the circus:

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EuroXtreme Circus has extended their performances until 18th of January 2025, so you still have a chance to catch it.

Currently, it is set up along Daanghari in Alabang, across Alabang West Parade and beside Landers. (they’ve traveled around the country)

You may visit the EuroXtreme Circus’ official page on Meta, Instagram or TikTok for more details or search Art Box Entertainment to purchase your tickets online.