Correction appended

Brett Harris wasn't going to attend Cirque du Soleil, but now he can thank his brother's fiancée for talking him into it.

"It's actually a pretty cool show," Harris, 25, of Tyrone, said.

Harris was one of hundreds of audience members to attend the opening performance of Cirque du Soleil's Alegría Wednesday night. The show was the first of eight performances at the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC).

"I liked the chick that was up on the tri-bars -- that was intense," Harris said of synchronized trapeze artist Stephanie Gasparoli. "That takes skill -- more skill than I'll ever imagine."

Gasparoli's act was the first one after a brief introduction. She has been performing acrobatics since she was 7 years old.

Before every show, she takes an hour to stretch and prepare herself both physically and mentally, she said during rehearsal before the show. Many things race through her mind during the performance.

"I try to focus on what skill comes next, but sometimes it's very random and you can't help that your mind wanders," she said.

During Gasparoli's performance, a singer in a white dress performed a solo, accompanied by the live band backstage. At some points, another vocalist joined her in a black dress.

The lead actors and singers also got the audience involved as much as possible. At the start of the second part of the show the singer in white even pulled one man on stage to dance with him, eliciting cheers from the audience.

All of the music for the show is original, said Sheryl-Lynne Valensky, the show's assistant artistic director.

Bringing the music, acrobatics and other individual parts of the show together can be difficult, she added.

"We like to say we're all one big happy family working together," she said.

Valensky said that new challenges are met every week because every arena is different. One issue that is consistently a problem is temperature.

"When it's cold, injuries can happen, just like any athletic sport," she said.

The performers and crew only have one week at each location, so before Wednesday and Thursday nights' performances, the entire days are spent training, she said.

The costumes worn by the performers can pose another challenge for the show.

Maintenance of the costumes is a constant process, Amy Brown, head of wardrobe, said.

"All individual stones and pieces are hand applied," she said, "And all the lacy pieces are hand crocheted by four women in Montreal."

All the fabric starts out white and is dyed and stained in Montreal as well, she said. The shoes worn by the artists are hand painted and must be constantly touched up, she added.

"Everything here on this rack is being worked on today," she said, pointing to a full costume rack standing apart from the others.

Attention to detail is very important to the integrity of the show, she added.

Though the work on the design elements of the show is intricate, it was the skill in the performances and music that impressed Taylor Walters (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies).

"The guy that was on the large ring was really amazing," she said. "It looks like something that takes a lot of time and practice."

Walters, who traveled from Penn State Altoona to see the show, also thought the female vocalists had "absolutely beautiful voices" and enjoyed the contrast in musical styles.

"I like anything music-related," she said. "This sounded and looked amazing."

Correction: This article incorrectly states the time for Thursday, Oct. 1's show. The correct time is 7:30 p.m.