The Twins from France were in town recently, and having seen an example of their talents on Youtube, I was really excited to see a live performance.  We decided that I would go with Little Man, and my husband would stay home with Littler Man.

We arrived earlyish and snagged good seats in the second row next to some friends.  It was clear that Little Man was feeling overwhelmed by the large amount of people and/or the largeness of the room.  He sat docilely on my lap, three fingers firmly placed in his mouth, eyes wide.  The chairs were arranged in a U shape, with about three rows per side.  The majority of the children were sitting on the floor, as instructed by the performers and emcee.

The show started, and it was an hour of genuinely impressive acts.  There was  juggling, physical acrobatics, sword-balancing, unicycles, creative bicycle riding, a horse costume, giant balls thrown into the audience, and crowd participation, both for children and adults.  The trick I found most astounding was this:

One twin rode around the room on a bicycle as the other twin climbed on the back, standing on the axle of the back wheels.  He then climbed onto the seat.  Then he placed one leg at a time over his brother’s shoulders until he was sitting on them.  Next, he climbed onto the handlebars.  This whole time he was holding onto three somewhat large juggling pins.  Finally, he juggled the pins while balancing on the handle bars of the bicycle his brother rode around the room.  My jaw was on the floor at this point.

About a half-hour into the show, Little Man had warmed up to the venue.  He was leaning forward to watch the show, smiling, and even clapping along with the crowd, which was adorable, let me tell you.  Little clapping hands are one of my absolute favorite things ever!

After the show, I was interested to see what made the biggest impression on him.  Would it be the giant balls thrown into the audience?  The horse suit act, where little boys in the audience were invited to ride around on the “horse?”  The juggling of colorful pins?  What would he take away from this experience?

When I asked him what he liked best, what he remembered seeing, he responded,

“Man fall down.  And he get up!  And he fall down.”

There you have it.  I’m sure the twins have put in years of practice, ingenuity and thought into their show.  They have a real talent for showmanship, plus agility and energy which is astounding.  And my son remembers only the slapstick.

Of course, the important part was that he enjoyed himself, which he did.  We drive past the venue on the way to school in the morning, and he excitedly reminds me that he saw “the show” there.  I’m definitely glad we went.  But it’s fascinating to me how there are so many facets of the performance, and I’m not sure how much was appreciated.

I think we’re kind of like that, sometimes.  We may not appreciate the immense amount of work that goes into organizing a community shiur, or starting and maintaining an organization.  We may not appreciate the work that a spouse puts into a lunch or dinner.  Really, I think it’s easy to under-appreciate the effort other people put into their  (and our) lives.  Maybe we can take the time this week to find someone to appreciate a little more.

Also, you can find the Twins from France’s new DVD here.  No reason for the plug except I think they’re awesome.

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image via Wikipedia