From the Buffalo News:
Cirque Niagara’s “Avaia” includes spectacular horses, world-class acrobats and droll clowns – how could you go wrong?
Only very slightly, it turns out, with too little of the first and way too much of the last, and an opening segment with far too many slow-paced clown skits.
Perhaps hoping to ease viewers into the magical fantasy world where anything can happen, the circus opened with a clown languidly throwing imaginary pebbles into an imaginary pool, then a second clown emerging from under a bench, setting the bench on end and climbing to the top.
It was amusing-ish, and the crowd applauded politely when the clowns finished. But there was a sharp gasp when three sets of gorgeous costumed horses thundered into the ring, each ridden Roman-style by an elaborately masked figure – standing with a foot on the back of each horse. This was what we came to see.