Chris and I went to Las Vegas this last weekend, and saw the Cirque du Soleil's performance of "O."  It was actually our second time seeing it - the first time we had an obstructed view, so this time we splurged for good seats.  It was worth every penny.  

O is a hybrid circus, aquatic dance/acrobatics artistic performance that will knock your socks off.  The custom built theatre, which holds two performances a night, has a 1.5 million gallon pool which the performers emerge from, dive, flip and fall into, and sometimes submerge into without resurfacing.  In typical Cirque du Soleil fashion, the show is breathtaking visually from beginning to end, not only because it is visually appealing, but also because you're holding your breath for the daredevil performers who are flying through the air, hanging by their ankles or being launched off a swing in a fifty foot arc over a tank of water.

"O" is the phonetic pronunciation of the French word for water, "eau."  But don't feel bad for not figuring that out, seven years of French and I still didn't put two and two together until I read about the show.  Before that we were sure it stood for "O my god" because that's what you find yourself saying each time you see one of the performers doing something you thought was not humanly possible. 

At any rate, there is probably more complexity to the name than meets the eye.  One theory (mine) is that "O" is meant to represent a "circle of life" theme - the performers emerge from the water (birth), there are playful childish scenes, a scene with a herd of performers donning ties and bridal veils, a funeral procession.  The performance does not have an obvious theme though and it does exactly what it sets out to do--provide an hour and a half of spectacular distraction.  With all that water, you can almost forget for a moment that you are in the middle of the desert.