Silks and Serpents

A flurry of panicked motion filled the back changing tent as the belly dancing troupe frantically tried to find all of the pieces of their costumes before their portion of the show began. The lights dimmed, then rose, and dimmed again. Gears above the stage clicked as they shifted into new positions to prepare for the second half of the circus shows.

Alexandra tucked her deck of cards back into a pouch at her waist as she walked back from her performance tent into the changing tent to help control the chaos. Upon seeing the mess, she immediately dove in and helped to sort out everyone’s costume pieces.

All the lights in the circus dimmed and then slowly began to rise with a red undertone. Music began to spin and weave throughout the tent and drifted in past the double layered curtains that separated the changing tent from the rings. It was a haunting tune in a minor key: played on violin, clarinet, accordion and cello. The dancers, wrapped in sheer and flowing multi-coloured silks, gracefully slid past the curtain and posed in the center ring. The lights continued to rise, allowing the crowds to see the silhouette of the belly dancer troupe. A heavy drum beat started in the background: one, two, three, four. With each drum beat the dancers reposed themselves, spreading out across the stage. More instruments added themselves: clarinet, accordion and cello. The lights rose completely and the troupe continued to dance seductively to the beat of the drum.

As they glided around the ring, another act was preparing in a small shelter attached to the main tent. A scantily clad woman with henna tattoos covering her body knelt and opened up a deep basket to lift out large python, which she wrapped around her slender shoulders. Two muscular men, wearing only loose fitting pants and more henna tattoos, lifted a basket on each shoulder and followed her as she slipped into the back of the main tent.

The woman stalked out of the shadows and into the view of the crowd. Bells attached to her ankles chimed to the beat and she spun and danced in half time to the music, lifting the python over her head and dancing with it. The rest of the belly dancer troupe spread out to either side of the snake charmer, moving with the music. The two men placed the baskets on the ground, opened them, knelt and pulled flutes from loops on their belts. From inside the baskets deadly cobras and vipers began to raise their heads, hissing at the light and noise of the crowd.

As one, the crowd seemed to draw back in their seats at the sight of some of the most venomous snakes in the known world. The music playing for the belly dancers faded slightly as the snake charmer men began to play their flutes. The snakes’ attention was drawn to the sound and they rose further out of basket, swaying to the music. The woman with the python wrapped around her danced gracefully in between the baskets, gently stroking the swaying scaly heads.

To one side of the stage, Colette stood with Alexandra watching the performance of the belly dancers and the snake charmers. “They’re doing well tonight, aren’t they,” Alexandra murmured to the ringmaster, “it’s a full crowd out there and the tickets for tomorrow night are almost sold out.”

“Wonderful. Tell the ticket master to bring the cash from tonight to be to put in the safe; we don’t want anything to happen to them, especially after making such a profit,” Collette replied, keeping her eyes on the performance. “I’ll see you at the end of the show; I have to go announce the next act.”

Alexandra nodded, walked back behind the curtains of the stage and left to go find the ticket master of the Cirque to pass on Collette’s message.

As the act drew to a close, the song played by the flutes grew slower and slower, lulling the snakes back into their basket. And, with the belly dancers accompanying them, the snake charmers gathered up the baskets and slid gracefully off the stage and back behind the dark curtains.

A small group of men and women wearing sparking red and gold bodysuits tumbled out of the shadows and into the bright spotlights and, barely even pausing, three of the men broke out of the roll and knelt, allowing one of the smaller women to flip onto their backs and bow to the crowd.

“Ladies and Gentleman!” Collette’s voice rang out from high above the crowd as she dropped down on a swing shaped like a gear from the top of the tent. “I am pleased to present the Tortuosity Troupe of Contortion.”

Two of the women who had rolled to each side then simultaneous flung themselves at the three person pyramid; pushing off the backs of the men and balanced themselves in a handstand on the shoulders of the woman on top with one hand and held each other up by grasping each other’s hand over her head. The crowds exclaimed with amazement at the feat and continued to “oooo” and “ahh” as the contortionists broke from the pyramid and reformed with each of the men holding one of the women above their heads by one hand. The women, balancing on one hand, gracefully and in sync did the splits while upside down, before dropping one foot into the men’s other hand and letting go with the other hand and flipping themselves right side up. They continued to bend and contort themselves, all the while balancing on one foot, held up by the incredibly strong men underneath them.

All of a sudden, the women flung themselves out of the grip of the men and caught almost invisible black ribbons which had dropped from the ceiling while the crowd was watching the contortionists. The women twisted and spun as the ribbons began to lift high into the top of the circus tent, appearing to the crowd as if they were floating stars shimmering in mid-air as they continued their contortions.

As the women were lifted off the stage, the men began to flip backwards across the stage one after the other and each one grabbing the hands of the other acrobat and lifting and tossing the other across the stage. They continued their twisting and tumbling until they reached a small platform that had lifted out of the stage. They agilely stacked themselves, one on top of the other, holding themselves up by one hand or foot and staying almost motionless in one almost impossible position. This platform began to slowly spin and sink into the stage. As the platform turned a full rotation, the men changed their positions, turning their bodies into full circles or twisting their legs around and above their heads while balancing on one hand.

As they disappeared completely into the floor and the women on the ribbons above disappeared into the darkness, swings began to drop from the ceiling of the tent. Fog began to rise from somewhere in the depths of the machines under the stage, swirling around the ground and rising slowly to completely obscure the wooden flooring. The lights dimmed and a spotlight shone down from the top of the tent and into the fog.