La Nouba Cirque De Soleil

Traveling With Daddy

I became one instead.

Father's daze: Keeping up with a 2-year-old is a three-ring juggling act all its own that requires the dexterity of an acrobat with the acumen of a mind-reader.

It is also the greatest show on earth.

For someone who has traveled the world as I have over the decades -- including four treasured trips to Australia where every day was a g'day and taking triage from life with trips to the Caribbean -- it is the closer-to-home sojourns since taking on parenthood late in life that have hit home with the loudest yet softest of thuds.

As for that circus: I have seen Cirque du Soleil perform in almost every one of their venues under the sun, all over the world. But it was at a performance in Orlando, at Walt Disney World Resort, that it took on special meaning.

Because it was there that I introduced my little Hannah Rose to the bliss of Big Top theater as she sat on my lap, mesmerized, motionless -- except for the occasional jaw dropping attendant to the troupe's abracadabra acrobatics -- making me see "La Nouba" as a newbie.

Those twirls and tosses they tossed off with such ease and aplomb were miracles of magic that are now forever imprinted in my 2-year-old's imagination.

And having been to Disney World a handful of times when I was childless, claiming, with a childish braggadocio, that it was meant for grown-ups not kids -- I now see how wrong I was.

Watching as my Hannah hugged and was hugged by "Mr. Rabbit" -- as part of the roving "Alice in Wonderland" characters at the park -- I was wowed with how wonderful it is to fall down the rabbit hole of imagination and creativity for the very first time.

Splashing down in the Caribbean takes on a more exotic beat when you really hear -- and feel -- for the first time music you had earlier learned to tune out. Those omnipresent steel-drum musicians beat a path to my daughter's soul, and suddenly -- as she gyrated wildly to their calypso clangs -- I realized how Hannah and those drums could steal my heart.

If travels are a whirlwind, where better than on a moveable stage? As a fan of carousels -- remembering my very first turn decades ago in Hunting Park in Logan -- I now take my tow-headed child to those wherever I can find them, whether they be at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia or Six Flags in Jackson, N.J.

Cirque du Soleil La Nouba dress rehearsals for charity - MouseBuzz.com

They came up with the idea of selling tickets to the rehearsal performance to raise money for the Cirque du Soleil Foundation USA. It was such a success that now every Cirque du Soleil across the country does the same thing. This year -- on June 4 -- the Orlando performance raised $44,030. The funds will be used for local cultural programs and donated to community organizations that work with at-risk youth, such as A Gift for Music, Orlando Ballet Steps Program, Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida, Heart of Florida United Way and Michelee Puppets.

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