SFist’s Matty Matt (is there another Matt there?) reminds us that Cirque du Soleil set up shop at China Basin last week and will run through Jan. 20 with a show called Kooza — and don’t ask what that means. Their website has reviews with more information.

I saw C. du S. once, about 12 years ago, on one of their first visits to the city. Since I used to be a performance artist I might have been expected to love it, but instead I hated it. The worst sort of Euro-twee whimsy, accompanied by cloying music and less plot than a porn film. The performers were talented but the weird mood lighting and overdone costumes and makeup obscured rather than revealed their humanity. The most horrifying part was when a troupe of girl Chinese acrobats cavorted through a series of contortions, juggling acts and human pyramids, all while grinning manically — the feeling I got was that if they dropped a spinning plate, or stopped grinning for one moment, their families back in China would be shot. Now that’s dramatic tension.

But that was then. Perhaps Cirque du Soleil has changed totally — though their description of the show pointedly says that it is “a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil.” Do see for yourself — if you can afford the minimum $55 ticket ($38.50 for children, $49.50 for seniors).