From Don Covington

BERTRAND GUAY/BIG APPLE CIRCUS Among the highlights from the Big Apple Circus’s 35th anniversary show, “Legendarium,” is contortionist Elayne Kramer. For its 35th anniversary season, the Big Apple Circus’s new production, “Legendarium,” is looking back. Way back. As ringmaster John Kennedy Kane informs us, “We’re going to take you back to the origins of the Big Top.” It’s a neat setup. The affable ringmaster’s introductions help provide context for the acts with little narratives recalling pivotal moments and fun facts from circus history. (Did you know the man who invented the flying trapeze in 1859, Jules Léotard, also invented the traditional flier’s garment, the leotard?) A tone of nostalgia is also reflected in the muted set backdrop, some of the costumes, and mostly traditional-style music. It’s all fairly straightforward and low-tech. Unfortunately, at Saturday afternoon’s performance, it was also a little low-energy and lackluster overall, more routine than magical. Some of the performances, like the silks and solo trapeze, were puzzlingly brief and decidedly underwhelming. But sprinkled throughout the show are some memorable standout acts. Contortionist Elayne Kramer is a knockout, offering a stunning display of strength, balance, and flexibility, including some angled backbend poses supported only by one hand or by clenching a mouthpiece in her teeth. A sixth-generation circus performer from Argentina, she has the hypermobility of a pipe cleaner, twisting and angling her body into eye-popping coils and zigzags with extraordinary control and fluidity. Her grand finish is bursting a balloon by shooting a bow and arrow with her feet — while upside down balancing on her head.