It's a bugs life at latest Cirque show

I've seen three Cirque du Soleil shows now, including the latest touring show "Ovo," which opened in San Jose at the Taylor Street Bridge on Friday. I can say each one has left me amazed.

There are few things I can expect from a Cirque du Soleil show, especially the touring shows, which are performed in the Grand Chapiteau, a kind of big top tent that offers good - and close - views from almost every angle. There will be some high-flying trapeze act that will nearly make me have a panic attack and that will cause me to look away and cringe from time to time. There will be a contortionist who will make me wonder at the amazing way a human body can move, given that I am barely flexible enough to touch my toes. And there will be a plot that isn't really clear until I read the synopsis of the show.

The latest show "Ovo" is about a thriving colony of bugs, though I can't really say what most of the bug costumes were, except for the grasshoppers and a spider. Oh yeah, and some random bug shows up with a big egg and falls in love with a rotund lady bug and that's kind of the storyline.

But somehow the creators of every Cirque show I've ever seen have made me forgive them for the lack of plot since it's really all about the awesome performances. My favorite pieces from the latest show are the same types of acts as my favorites from the past shows I've seen, "O" and "Kooza." I love watching trampoline acrobats, in this case the grasshoppers, and I like seeing contortionists, in this case a spider. The grasshoppers leapt around the stage, and up onto a rock wall stage piece.

The show didn't have quite the wow factor of "O," which has been showing at the Bellagio in Vegas for years, and which features a stage that opens up into a water tank, or "Kooza," which featured the wheel of death act. But the costumes were still spectacular, even if it was a bit hard to recognize what some of the bugs were supposed to be. The performers move in amazing ways that seem to defy the limits of human abilities. The music was perfectly matched with each act. It was worth the cost of admission for fans of past Cirque performances while it is in the Bay Area, where tickets are still available for some of the shows through March 21. Arrive early, though, since parking is hard to come by in the area near Taylor Street - and be patient when leaving since traffic jams are inevitable on the streets nearby.