Dralion

Cirque du Soleil

If you’re a fan of PBS or cable networks like Bravo you’ve probably seen at least one of Cirque du Soleil’s many videos and, like me, you’ve probably been impressed by the skill of the performers and the fanciful way the various acts are wrapped up in a unifying theme. Nothing, however, can quite prepare you for the sheer exhilaration of seeing all of this live.

A Cirque du Soleil performance is sui generis – a unique mix of spectacular circus acts, dance, mime, and musical theatre guaranteed to evoke a sense of wonder in all but the most resolutely jaded. It’s the classic one-ring European circus, but elevated to Olympian levels. The “ring”, for example, is a special shock-absorbent stage nearly 42 feet in diameter fitted with numerous traps for magically quick appearances and disappearances as well with as an 18-foot wide high-tech translucent metallic wall that serves as orchestra pit and stage wings. The Grand Chapiteau surrounding all this may technically be a circus tent, but in reality it’s more like a portable theatre complete with its own air-conditioning system, hundreds of comfortable seats (nearly all of them offering a good view of the stage), and state of the art lights and sound. About the only negative thing that you can say about Cirque du Soleil is that the experience is almost too rich. At times there’s so much going on at once – all of it fascinating – that there’s a danger of sensory overload.

The Dralion of the title is a combination Chinese dragon and lion. The titular beasts appear often during the show, which, as you might have guessed, has a decidedly Chinese flavor. It takes two performers to run each dralion, which makes it all the more amazing when they tumble, somersault, and balance on giant wooden balls.

But then, everybody else’s amazing is Cirque du Soleil’s normal. Handstand artist Zhao Yasi, for example, is also an expert contortionist, which means that she can assume poses that make her look more like an extraterrestrial than a human in a body stocking, all while balanced on one hand. Juggler Viktor Kee is also a wonderfully fluid dancer who juggles not just with his hands but also with his entire body, including his feet, head, face and spine.

A gaggle of energetic young Chinese performers dive through hoops large and small, stationary and rotating, singly and in groups, often accompanied by back flips and other acrobatics. Another gaggle (can that be the correct noun?) of Chinese girls perform a breathtaking teeterboard act in which a grown-up version of the teeter-totter is used to propel a flyer into the air, where she performs twists and somersaults before landing on the shoulders of another girl, forming a human column which gets higher – and more dangerous – with each additional flyer; fortunately, they use life lines.

Speaking of things that take place high above the stage, Marie-Ève Bisson soars around the stage on an aerial hoop in a kind of sinuous combination of flight and dance. And the aerial pas de deux of Colette Morrow and Igor Arefiev combines the romanticized eroticism of the adagio dance with the gravity-defying skill of the aerialist as the couple swoops up, down, and around the stage on a single band of blue cloth. It’s magical.

Meanwhile the Cirque band provides non-stop music by house composer Violaine Corradi, including those enigmatic songs with lyrics in Cirque’s own secret language, sung beautifully by Calvin Braxton. And then there are François Barbeau’s colorful costumes based on the traditional elements of earth, air, fire and water. And I mustn’t forget the hilarious antics of the clowns Philippe Aymard, Guta Vasconcelos, Colin Gee and Gonzalo Muñoz-Ferrer, who start the show early by wandering around the audience generating comic chaos. And...

Well, you get the idea. Go see Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion. Take the kids. Take the grandparents. Everybody will have a great time. But hurry; the blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau will be working its wonders on Oakland just west of Forest Park Community College only through September 14th [2003], and then it’s off to Mexico City. Call 1 800 450-1480 for ticket information.

Final note: when you go, allow a little extra time and a few extra bucks for parking. There are plenty of spaces in the college lot next door but the line can be slow going in and it’ll set you back $10 to park there. There are some free spots on Oakland, but you’ll need to get there early to find one and be prepared for a bit of a hike.

Back to the index