Britney Spears kicked off her 40 date Circus tour last night at the New Orleans Arena. I know alot of people were looking forward to seeing Britney come back. It’s been five years since she was first on stage, and through all the things that have happened, she’s back.

The reports coming from the concert were that Britney never really hit her stride and failed to impress.

The circus-themed extravaganza, played out across an adventurous three-ring set, opened with an extended introduction featuring clowns, acrobats and jugglers, making it way too long before Spears finally hit the stage.

Descending from above in a red ringmaster-meets-dominatrix outfit to sing her hit “Circus,” she showed that her body was tight, even if her dancing always wasn’t. Indeed, throughout the show’s four sections, there was a lot more strutting than real choreographic feats from Spears. And there was a decided lack of joy in her performance, which felt labored at times.

And people complained that she didn’t engage with the audience, making it seem like a play more than a concert. But, the visuals were praised, there were illusions, Cirque du Soleil-inspired aerialists and an army of dancers that could take a bit of the pressure off of Britney. The whole show wrapped up in about 90 minutes.

I say that Britney was just a little rusty and nervous. It was her first night. I think she will improve and knock everyone’s socks off.

See the videos from that night at Bumpshack.com>>>

[Images by WENN]

More pictures of the Circus after the jump…

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