At the conclusion of this show, this crowd leapt to its feet. I'm sure we've all witnessed performances where a few people stand - perhaps out of obligation, perhaps truly moved - while the rest of us stand so that we won't be seen sitting. Cirque Kalabanté elevated these people out of their seats - all of them - all at once. They received a sincere and unanimous standing ovation. It was an honor to be part of that genuine appreciation filling the Carpenter Center wall to wall.

The show itself is a series of circus vignettes with music and acrobatics - a sort of mini du Soleil. Some of those vignettes are absolutely mind-blowing and visually stunning. Some of them, less so. Worry not, the former are far more plentiful.

The dazzling acrobatics are reminiscent of Chinese gymnasts and often encapsulated in a fusion of break-dancing and ballet. It's beautiful. The players are passionate, energetic, and bring their love of sharing motion to the stage and to the audience.

While percussion is a big part of the performance, I was surprised to find the music more a Jazz and Rock mix than strictly African. Yamoussa Bangoura (Cirque Kalabanté's founder and a multidisciplinary artist of Guinean origin) casts a magical spell on his Kora (African harp-like instrument), while an electric bassist punctuates moments and movements with plucks and slaps, to a thick track of richly blended and powerful music that one might expect from the progressive rock band "Pink Floyd." And despite a few vocal mic issues, the music mix and amplification was right on the money. This is some very good music!

And lastly, the contortionists. This audiences was oohing and ahhing and wincing and shouting as these amazing athletes had their bodies twisting and rolling like lizards, pretzels and scorpions. I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like this.

As I exited, I overheard people expressing their reactions to their partners and groups. Here are just a few direct quotes:

"Amazing." "Unbelievable." "I dug the beats." "I would see them again." "My hands hurt from clapping."

The Carpenter Performing Arts Center is located in Long Beach at CSULB. It's a lovely area and a beautiful venue.