Night at the circus

Once again I'm learning the benefits of the corporate life, as I was lucky enough to get VIP tickets to Barnam and Baileys/Ringling Bros Circus thanks to nestle sponsorship. 

The tickets included all the perks you can imagine. Like hanging out with the ringmaster preshow 

Having fun trying on crazy costumes 

Getting free clown noses 

There were plenty of other perks, mainly hanging out with the performers for the two hours before the actual show. Some fun facts I learned

1. Over 1 million Swarovski crystals are hand sewn onto the costumes of every performer. The average price of a costume is $10,000. The ringmaster has a costume worth more then I make in a year.

2. They all live on a mile long train that includes a school for the performers kids

3. The performers represented over 30 nationalities and even more languages

4. One of the high wire acrobats was a 6th generation circus performer. Another was disowned by his family when he entered circus school 

Everyone was very interesting to talk to. The show itself was spectacular and worth of the "greatest show on earth" title. 

Naturally one of the best parts was the elephants 

And the 16!!! Tigers

Some other acts included the clowns, high wire, bungee trapeze, a mermaid acrobat act, motocross, trampolines and so much more. I had a fantastic time and it was fun to share with my coworkers.

While sometimes I hate the corporate life, perks like free circus VIP tickets make it a little better :)