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Salads and Soirées
Sunday, the seventeenth of November, was a jam packed day of volunteering, exploring, and fun. Having recently joined the NYC Jewish Renewal congregation Romemu, my mother has been wanting to get more involved and to meet new people in the community. Together with Muslims Against Hunger, and other initiative groups, we helped make lunches for the homeless and the hungry in NYU’s Hillel Building – the Bronfman Center. Not only was I helping a great cause, I had tons of fun as well! I worked at the salad station, mixing a cauldron sized concoction of shredded lettuce, chickpeas, mangos, raisins, olive oil, and spices. The feeling of the ingredients between my gloved fingers is indescribably amazing! Similar to the feeling of the innards of pumpkins and the mushy-ness of hamburger meat.
The group was so efficient that we finished an hour before scheduled! This left my me and my mother time to walk around the NYU area 
of New York City, a place I had yet to explore. The feeling of Downtown New York is quite different from other places I’ve gone to visit. We both commented on how we felt we were in some small European city instead of in our big metropolis. In Union Square, we saw a phenomenal street artist, painting the paved ground with colored sand. The bright colors contrasted greatly with the grey and dreary day around us.
Our final destination for our Sunday in the city was Union Square Theatre for the evening performance of La Soirée, an amalgam of circus, burlesque, and comedy acts. The theatre was quite small, and very rundown in comparison to other venues I’ve been to. The walls were in dire need of a paint job! When we entered, we were greeted with loud circus music, preparing us for the impending entertainment. The seating was centered around a small circus ring in the middle of the theatre. The air was thick with smoke (from a smoke machine, of course), and smelled of popcorn – available for $3 and oh-so delicious! The lights illuminated the center podium in red and blue: traditional American circus colors.
There were many performances, but I’ll focus on only a few – I don’t want to give too much away, now, do I? My favorite performer was Ursula Martinez, a magician and comedian. In her first act, she did the classic disappearing handkerchief trick… but with a twist! Each time she revealed to the audience where her red hanky was, she took off an article of clothing until she was completely naked. Her performance was ballsy and entertaining! In her second act, she spoke to us in Spanish. Though she is originally from London, her mother is indeed from Spain, and so she has an impeccable accent – if only I could speak so well! She sang a song about being “ethnic” and how it’s the “hip” thing these days.
Another comedic favorite of mine was Mario: Queen of the Circus. His witty sexual jokes, and his latino accent were to die for. 
And his inclusion of music from Queen – Another One Bites the Dust, and We are the Champions – made the show so much fun. He even did a crowd surf! Mario did some short and silly juggling and unicycle routines, but it was his humor that carried him through. I’ve never been a fan of juggling, and even though I wouldn’t consider Mario a “high-stakes” juggler, I had tons of fun watching him because of the kitschy-ness of his act.
In regards to true circus acts, and feats of strength, my favorite was the English Gents. Together, they used their core strength to 
lift one another in astounding ways. How their necks didn’t collapse on themselves, I have no idea! In the second half of the show, the smaller of the two performed an amazing pole routine. He literally seemed to walk on air as his upper strength kept him to the pole! Their personalities were extremely cute, and as they stripped down to their knickers, the little one was jumping all over the place with excitement!
As I said, there were various other acts including a freak show woman, a hula-hooper, an aerialist, and another comedian. With tickets starting at around $30, cheaper if you join TDF, I would definitely recommend making an evening of it! Not only is La Soirée a blast, but the Union Square Theatre is in a great location with loads of restaurants, beautiful architecture, and parks.
La Soirée
Union Square Theatre
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Marina B. Nebro