We just returned from the best time in Los Angeles! I got in some blogging and writing time, c2cDad even ran into some business contacts during the launch weekend, we visited with family out there, took Li'l Boo to see some sites for the first time, and oh yeah . . . attended the world premire of "Project Natal" as imagined by Cirque Du Soleil, and the launch of Kinect for Xbox 360!!
I had read in the LA Times piece that they were attempting to plan a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I think they succeeded. Microsoft invited some lucky people to participate in a pre-show drum beat ceremony, counting down the time to the launch, and Li'l Boo represented c2cfamily well in a collaborative drumbeat with four other bloggers and celebs including NYC's own @mominthecity and @MakeupbyMel, as well as gold medal Olympian Steven Holcomb. (That's him hoisting Li'l Boo up to bang the drum. . . the drum platform could only fit four people up at a time and there were about dozen of us in our group. Yes, it takes a gold-medal Olympian to hoist Li'l Boo.)
It was fun to meet some Los Angeles-area mom bloggers like @rockinmama, @peachhead, @mintcool and @daytrippingmom at a pre-show soiree.
"Project Natal" as imagined by Cirque De Soleil was magical, and dreamlike, as expected from Cirque. Though I have to admit that many of the Cirque dancing portions fell wayside to the gaming technology being shown. We all wanted to see the games and what we could do with Kinect! Before we entered the auditorium, we donned interactive white ponchos which we all assumed meant there would be water at the show, but none of us considered interactive lighting! The shoulder pads on the ponchos lit up at different portions of the show in different colors. It was pretty cool.
The crowd erupted for the official naming of "Project Natal"...Kinect. The name sits well with me, "kin" evoking family, and "connecting" representing the relationships the technology can foster and help to bring people together. . .and of course the homage to kinetic energy and motion. (Sony already owns "Move," for it's new incarnation, so it's close without a name that would confuse the two products.) The crowd also erupted when the Star Wars demo appeared...it brought chills. ;-) I am SO excited for the dancing games like Dance Central and totally lay claim to a dance off with my sisters this holiday season.
I think we all left the show wondering the tricks behind getting a family to sit down on a sofa turned upside down, how a girl walked upside down on the ceiling, and how on earth she was able to bounce a ball up (onto her "ground") and catch it! We always leave a Cirque Du Soleil show scratching our heads at how they performed something.
After the show we were interviewed by gorgeous Jennette McCrudy ("Sam" on iCarly) about what we thought of Kinect. Unfortunately, it was 9:30 p.m. West Coast time, and Li'l Boo had been up since 5 a.m. PST after flying the day before, so he was not his usual talkative and energetic self, but our interview still made it into the mash-up video of the event. We *almost* look hip the way the video is edited with all of the celebrities. ;-)
The show was broadcast on several Viacom networks including Nickelodeon, so we actually caught the airing while on our @VirginAmerica flight home. It was funny - we even had the guy across the aisle from us checking it out.
I'll post about our hands-on experience with Kinect for Xbox 360 next. . .hang tight!
Disclosure: Microsoft Xbox 360 sponsored the trip to L.A. to attend the world premiere of Project Natal as imagined by Cirque du Soleil, and have some hands-on time with the soon-to-launch Kinect games.
Welcome back. It was a fabulous time!
Posted by: Kimberly/Mom in the City | June 16, 2010 at 10:18 PM