Behind the Scenes of the Cirque du Soleil Show at the State Fair of Texas

Cirque du Soleil's Songblazers is stunning, and it gets you into the state fair. Mike Brooks

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Two things that we look forward to every year are the State Fair of Texas and Cirque du Soleil coming to town. But what if those two things could happen at the same time, in the same place, and — if you play your cards right —for the same ticket price?

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Brittany Gee-Moore performs artfully in Cirque du Soleil's Songblazers.

Mike Brooks

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Brittany Gee-Moore in Cirque du Soleil's Songblazers.

Mike Brooks

In a bit of genius pairing that may go on to rival peanut butter and chocolate, Cirque du Soleil will be setting up shop in the historic Music Hall at Fair Park, and a ticket to the Cirque show will also get you into the fair.

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Flying high. Teo Spencer for Cirque du Soleil.

Mike Brooks

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All rope, no cattle. Cirque du Soleil's Songblazers.

Mike Brooks

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Teo Spencer, "Dusty": Acrobatic rope, fiddle and vocalist in Cirque du Soleil's Songblazers.

Mike Brooks

This year’s Cirque show, Songblazers, also fits right into the state fair vibe, with a country music theme featuring performers from Texas and Nashville. One of the lead performers is Allora Leonard, from a ranch near Hondo in South Texas. When she’s not singing or writing music, she is probably out working her quarter horse, hunting with her dad or finishing her college degree.

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Allora Leonard, a performer in Cirque du Soleil's Songblazers.

Mike Brooks

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Daisy is part of the circus in Cirque du Soleil's Songblazers.

Mike Brooks

Songblazers leans heavily into the musical side of Cirque, but there will still be acrobatics involved. We got a taste while watching some practice rounds with ropes before the show opened, and while there are no calves involved, there is some high-flying excitement.

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Brittany Gee-Moore stuns in Cirque du Soleil's Songblazers.

Mike Brooks

Backstage, we met Daisy the cow, saw the rear end of the spectacular larger-than-life steam locomotive that dominates the set and got a peek at the juggling red drink cups.

Songblazers runs through Oct. 20 and tickets to the show include free entrance to the fair.  If you already have fair tickets you can use them to get a discounted Cirque du Soleil ticket as well.

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It's hard to stop a train. With a rope.

Mike Brooks