This was such a pleasure to read! I've only seen a few Cirque shows. Saltimbanco and Alegria when I was small, Varekai and Totem more recently.

I have a cousin presently touring with Totem in Japan, as a drummer! He's been on for a couple of years, did their Australia-NZ tour in 2015, I think, and then went to Asia with them. His wife is with him, and their daughter was born in Japan last March!