Illusionist Spills Britney's Circus Tour Secrets

The following italicized article is from www.people.com:

As Britney Spears gears up to kick off her Circus tour March 3 in New Orleans, PEOPLE enlisted the tour's resident illusionist, Ed Alonzo, for a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the tricks – musical and otherwise – the star, 27, has in store for fans.

So is this comeback for the serially-troubled Spears? "I don't know if I would call it a comeback," says Alonzo, a lead illusionist on MyNetworkTV's Masters of Illusion. "It's more of a continuation of the greatness she always had."

Britney Plays a Magician's Assistant

During one song (Alonzo won't say which one), Britney becomes part of his magic act. "She's incorporated into major illusions. She'll do dissection, where she's sawed in half, and transposition, where she's in one place and ends up in another place. She's doing all the classic elements of magic."

Yep, It'll be a Spectacle

"There are three giant [circus] rings with unbelievable things hanging in the air and flying around," says Alonzo.

Expect Outrageous Dancing

"She's dancing so hard in the show," Alonzo says. "It's elements of hip-hop, tumbling, it's really outrageous. The kind of choreography in the show is similar to the kind of stuff you see in America's Best Dance Crew."

Brit's Back in Shape

"She looks really incredible," says Alonzo, who played Max, the owner of the diner hangout, in the '90s TV hit Saved By The Bell. "She's really toned. Her stomach looks fantastic. This is the Britney Spears people remember from the past. Even stronger and better."

This Time, Britney's on Point

Forget her bungled performance at the 2007 MTV's VMAs. "She's really got it together," says Alonzo. "She's totally focused. And she's working her butt off."

Source: People

Britney Spears to Get Sawed in Half and Other Circus Tour Secrets

The following italicized article is from www.eonline.com:

Sort of like a wayward career, Britney Spears is going to disappear into thin air—and then magically reappear, to her fans' ecstatic delight.

"Right away, she got into the boxes and into the magic contraptions to learn the stuff, and she's so excited about this tour and all the elements that are in it," illusionist-comedian Ed Alonzo, "the Misfit of Magic" (and former Saved by the Bell diner owner) who will be doing a number with Spears on her Circus tour, tells E! News.

The pop star will serve as Alonzo's assistant in the bit.

"We're going to be doing the classics of magic but a little high-tech," he said. "We'll be doing a little dissection, transposition, a vanish, an appearance—and if I do a trick she doesn't just hold the props, she's actually getting inside the big boxes or I am slicing her up."

Sounds a bit risky, which is perhaps why Team Spears decided to leave the tricks to a professional.

I "made [the tricks] really easy for her...but there are some complicated things that she is doing that you would think a contortionist would have to do, or a trained magicians assistant," Alonzo said. "But because...she's a dancer, it really makes sense to put her in the magic, and it works and she's really really good at it."

"Some of it's pretty scary but she gets right in there with no reservations," he added.

Alonzo wouldn't divulge which Spears tunes would be accompanying his mini magic show, but—news flash—he did assure us that the overall show will feature "the best music of Britney that people have loved over the years and of course brand new favorites from the new album."

And, like us, Alonzo has only seen Spears in warm-up clothes and sneakers during rehearsals, although she has been testing out different pairs of heels here and there.

The three-ring circus-inspired set is "exactly what you would see in a big giant Vegas production show, but it's going to be on the road," he said, and anywhere from 75 to 100 crew members and performers are usually around at any given time.

"It's going to be an amazing concert for people to watch," he said. "It's like watching a big Cirque du Soleil high-tech circus but with a really focused star in the middle of all of this."

Source: E! Online