Today we went to the Russian Circus (Цирк) which is right off of Проспект Вернадского (Prospect Vernatskova) and not far from our dormitory. The circus is a pretty big source of entertainment for Muscovites and certainly differs from circuses back in the United States. For one thing, it is a permanent structure that holds the events and they take place every weekend and most Thursdays and Fridays. They are also, in part, much more like musicals rather than just showcasing balancing acts and animals. The first act is similar to an American circus but with a much faster pace. Acts seem to fly on and then off again during the entire performance and each of them have a very high level of skill attached to them. The acrobatics were incredible and the final trapeze performance was outstanding. When the first half was over, we took a 20 minute intermission and then returned to see a musical performance of Zorro. It was pretty interesting and certainly had a lot of action that I would not have expected with cap guns and horses racing across the 30 foot ring. The whole circus lasted about 3 hours and we left the building around 5PM. After a quick chicken wrap from a street vendor (who asked us to give him English lessons in exchange for free food), we headed back to the dorm.