HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Cirque Do Soleil…..
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Good weather comes to an end
WORD OF THE DAY: Africa reunion
I woke this morning at 8am with a message from Nancy that she would pick me up from the hotel at 7pm tonight for the Cirque Do Soleil show. I was really looking forward to seeing the show as I haven’t seen any of them. This was going to be Nancy’s 4th show. She also mentioned that she hoped I would have a good day even though it was raining. News to me as I wasn’t even out of bed yet, but opening the curtains it was pouring down rain. I guess the run of extremely good weather had to come to an end at one point. I was planning to walk into the old town today and spend some time down there today, but after checking the weather for the rest of the day, it was going to get worse before it got better, so I decided to have a hotel day, blog day and head out for some lunch. I didn’t feel too bad with this as I had now decided to stay the extra 2 night here now, so it gives me plenty of time now to see what I want to see.
Breakfast wasn’t included in the room rate so there was no need to rush and I spent the morning catching up on y blog. I seem to be 3 days behind again, so I need to get my butt into gear. I was watching the marathon of Criminal Minds and was totally stoked when Zeme came online so we had a chat for a while before he had to go. Considering they are 7 hours in front of us, it is always a nice surprise when we are online at the same time. Man I miss him so much and just need to keep an eye on the prize of seeing him in July. He got the last piece of paperwork from his boss today, so back to the consulate again next week. Dang I hate this bit but it’s something I guess I am going to have to get used to. I also used this time to double check all the train times, flight times and tours and on my way out to lunch I stopped by reception to book in everything. So I added on an additional 2 nights here at the hotel, booked the Quebec tour for tomorrow, the 3 hour city tour on Thursday and I was still a little undecided about Friday and was going to play that one by ear. What a great 3 days ahead!
I headed out for lunch at a café on Saint Catherine Street and watched the people and crowds pass me by. I take my book along with me as well so over lunch I read and people watched the afternoon. It is a tough job but someone has to do it right? I have started to have big lunches and something small for dinner while I have the use of the microwave, so it was a beautiful piece of steak for lunch with veggies, which also came with a soup for starter and chips and dip. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought some more 2 minute noodles, some banana cake slices that will suffice for breakfast, a carton of juice and some cans of coke. I also forgot to tell you that in that little pouch that was lost at Barbados airport were my Katmandu knife, fork and spoon set. So I had to keep this in mind when I was buying food as there is no cutlery in the hotel room. So with my provisions I headed back to the hotel in the afternoon. I got a message from Cheryl, whom I am staying with in Chicago, and she asked if I had seen Jersey Boys the Musical. To which the answer is no, so I’m hoping that that will now be added to our ‘stay-cation’ packed holiday.
I started getting ready for Cirque at 5.30pm. I even washed my hair; blow dried it and applied makeup for the first time in a long time. Man welcome back to western society and actually caring about what you look like. It has been a long time that is for sure and to top it all off I donned the new dress I bought with the girls on the week-end. Oh yes, I felt and looked (I hope) like a lady. The only thing that did bother me was the only jacket I have is red and the dress I had on was purple. Not a colour combination I would normally wear together, but I just didn’t have any choice, so I will just make a very colour statement. But I felt nice. It was nice to feel nice.
I went to reception at 7pm and there was Nancy. It was great to see her and she was also dressed in a very bright orange shirt, so we certainly made a very colorful couple for the evening! We drove in Nance’s car down to the Old Port where the Cirque tent was erected especially for this show. Like any major city, parking was a nightmare, but after driving around for about 10 minutes we found a park in a small side street not far from the venue.
Cirque du Soleil is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier. Initially named Les Échassiers, they toured Quebec in 1980 as a performing troupe and encountered financial hardship that was relieved by a government grant in 1983 as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier's discovery of Canada. Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil was a success in 1984, and after securing a second year of funding, Laliberté hired Guy Caron from the National Circus School to re-create it as a "proper circus". Its theatrical, character-driven approach and the absence of performing animals helped define Cirque du Soleil as the contemporary circus that it remains today.
Each show is a synthesis of circus styles from around the world, with its own central theme and storyline. They draw the audience into the performance through continuous live music, with performers rather than stagehands changing the props. Cirque expanded rapidly through the 1990s and 2000s, going from one show to 19 shows in over 271 cities on every continent except Antarctica. The shows employ approximately 4,000 people from over 40 countries and generate an estimated annual revenue exceeding US$810 million. The multiple permanent Las Vegas shows alone play to more than 9,000 people a night, 5% of the city's visitors, adding to the 90 million people who have experienced Cirque worldwide. In 2000, Laliberté bought out Gauthier, and with 95% ownership, has continued to expand the brand. Several more shows are in development around the world, along with a television deal, women's clothing line and the possible venture into other mediums such as spas, restaurants and nightclubs. Cirque also produces a small number of private and corporate events each year (past clients have been the royal family of Dubai and the 2007 Super Bowl).
Once we got to the entrance of the tent, we were scanned through with the tickets that Amy had printed. We had a quick walk around the outer tent that had food and drink stands and paraphernalia of the show from the good old fashioned programs, to really cool looking face masks (they were 300CAD) keying’s, magnets, hats, shirts etc….. Nancy and I tried on a few of the ‘cheapo’ masks and we were surprised we didn’t get into trouble when we decided to take our own photos with them on. We then made our way into the tent to find our seats. As the ticket man directed us where to go, he saw my camera in my hand and told me that no photos were permitted in the tent at all. Not even then as people were still getting seated. Well that’s a bugger, but after we sat down we saw a lot is people using their phones to snap off photos, so I took a chance and with a look over my shoulder I took one photo of the center stage as it was pretty impressive. There were some character walking around the tent as people took their seats playing and teasing them and as it got close to show time the music began and the wonderful world of Cirque was to consume us for the next 2.5 hours. I had seen a documentary a few years ago on the process of finding new and exciting acts for upcoming shows, so I had seen a little on what they look for but nothing prepares you for what the body can do, what gifts some people have been given and make it all look so effortless. I can’t even give you a number of the WOW’s, shrieks and OMG’s I did during the show. It was like we were transported to the island where the story takes place with all its magic and super human inhabitants.
The show tonight was called Amaluna which premiered in Montréal, Canada, on April 19, 2012. The story takes place on an island governed by goddesses. During a storm, a group of men are washed up on shore. The queen's daughter falls for one of the young men and the trials of their love are the elements composing this production. The title, Amaluna, is the combination of two separate words. "Ama" which refers to mother in many languages, and "luna" which means moon. The moon is a symbol of femininity, which is part of the reason it was chosen for this production.
Some show facts include the center stage in Amaluna has a mechanism allowing it to revolve. Similarly, the carousel suspended above the stage has this capability as well. The set design has very few moving parts, other than those previously stated, and has no visual effects. This decision allows for greater attention to the performers. The stage comprises of 174 branches in 534 sections (90 in the canopy and 84 upstage) making a total of 1.7 kilometers. There are three models of branches in the canopy and 35 in the upstage. The 7.6m diameter carousel weighs 2,700kg. The grid weighs 3,900 kg and includes three acrobatic winches, each able to lift loads up to 180kg at 3m per second. The acrobatic winch in the center of the carousel can lift up to 450kg at 3m per second. The water bowl is 1.65m tall, 2.21m in diameter, and weighs 2,500kg when filled with water. The overall sound of the music in Amaluna is contemporary, which can be seen with the use of guitars. Bass, drums, cello, vocals, keyboards, and percussion support the guitars in delivering a direct music without embellishment. Amaluna is the first Cirque du Soleil show with an all-female group of musicians.
Some of the main highlights for me included the Half-lizard, half-human man. He had a tail that moved and it actually looked real as he walked and sashayed his way around the stage. There were the crowd pleasers who kept the show running as the stages were set up over the course of the evening. The Man Servant and the Nurse, and they were hilarious. It was all spoken in French, but done so that you still had an idea on what was being said. As the lights dimmed, there was a massive red scarf that seemed to just be floating and whipping up and dancing around in the air all on its own. It looked magical and really set the tone for the rest of the show. It was like magic !!! There were two artists that entered on unicycles wearing hoop skirts of gold, weaving in and out of each other’s paths like the wind as they joyfully pirouette and danced. The moves that they did on the unicycles were amazing. There were the Chinese acrobats that sat on the feet of their male counterparts all the while spinning 1m length bits of rope the whole act and throwing them up in the air and catching them. The strength, precision timing and sheer acrobatic skill was incredible. I was on the edge of my seat just hoping that they would be dropped it drop one of the ropes. And all this was done in unison. The water bowl performance was pretty amazing as the female performer dipped and dived into this 3m deep bowl and performed a challenging hand-balancing routine before diving and snaking through the water. The way and angle that her body bended looked painful as her head touched her bottom!!!! The uneven bars were cool and the speed at which they get the sets changed over is so quick. The men on these bars presented a fast-paced theatrical version of the classic gymnastic routine. The young men launch themselves high into the air, twisting and turning over the bars. The Balance Goddess was INCREDIBLE. She started out with one palm leaf rib (looks like a stick) and then created a world in equilibrium with a mobile made of thirteen palm leaf ribs in total. An ode to balance, her movements were slow, deliberate and almost meditative as she concentrates all her attention on this literally breathtaking structure. And then she removes the smallest piece, the original stick and the whole thing fell to the floor. There were four artists that performed a complex and innovative tight wire act. Working simultaneously on four wires they encounter each other headed in opposite directions, dance a tango in the same direction, bounce into the air like trampolinists and even walk the wire in high heels and en pointe in ballet shoes. One guy even did 2 back flips landing back on the wire!!! And last but not least the aerial straps. They flew out over the audience on straps suspended from the Carousel, a rotating set element high above them. This is flight in four dimensions, calling for precision timing in addition to the skills and physical strength it takes to move at high velocity through 360 degrees.
When the show had finished all the performers came out on the stage to take their bows and I had to say I had a tear in my eye as they waved and said their thank you’s to us. They even got a standing ovation and it really was a magical and amazing show. In total the show went for just over 2 hours with a half hour intermission half way through the programme. IT WAS AMAZING and if you get a chance to see any of the Cirque shows then I can highly recommend one. Nancy took me for a quick walk around the Old Montreal all light up at night time, and it was just beautiful and a lovely way to finish a great night.
I was dropped back to my hotel just after 11.30pm and we have arranged to meet up again on Thursday for dinner, which is really nice and I am looking forward to it. It makes a difference to have some-one to chat to and to catch up on things that have happened to us over the last 12 months. Thanks for a great night Nancy and thank-you to Amy for organizing it all and a shame that you weren’t able to make the show this time.
No comments:
Post a Comment