Pirates ahoy!

French illusionist Max Stevenson, dressed in swashbuckling pirate gear, foxed me from the start. Accompanied by suspense-building music and clouds of dramatic smoke, the illusionist enthralled the audience by making several small women ‘disappear’ repeatedly.

Although I was in the VIP section at the Pirates of the Dolphinarium show and close enough to watch every move, there was not a trace of them. While I imagine Harry Houdini and David Copperfield would say “It’s all done with smoke and mirrors”, it’s really hard to fathom how Stevenson does it.

Complete with the pyrotechnics and fairy-tale action from the rest of the cast, the show introduces children to the wacky world of theatre.

Stealing the limelight, of course, was the live dolphin and seal show. Three of the Dolphinarium’s five bottlenose dolphins, Fekla, Tetka and Jerry, sped across the water like excited schoolchildren to be greeted by trainers Katia and Alexi at the poolside. Tetka and Jerry juggle with balls, Fekla dances, and I cannot remember which one produced a watercolour painting, which was promptly auctioned to the highest bidder.

These social dolphins have a unique rapport with their trainers, who have worked with the mammals for more than 20 years — since their birth at the Karadag Biostation in Crimea, Ukraine.

As Trail Stocker, Educator at Dubai Dolphinarium, says, “Working with dolphins is a passion — it’s essential that we become an extension of their group. If you don’t have a good relationship with them, they won’t work for you, it’s as simple as that.”