The first time
my Cirque Du Soleil cherry was popped was a few years ago with the opening
night of OVO. Since then, no circus has been able to compare and often has me
yawning.
That was until I
saw Cirque Du Soleil TOTEM, and my jaw was once again being picked up from the
floor.
From my seat
though it was a little hard to see the entire show as my view was partially
blocked thanks to the big top poles. But none the less I got to see the
majority of the show even if it meant ducking and weaving to each side of the
pole.
Firstly I will
let you know what TOTEM is about and then I will let you know my faves, and
what I thought over all of the show.
About
TOTEM
Written
and directed by Robert Lepage, TOTEM traces the Fascinating journey of the
human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly.
The characters evolve on a stage evoking a giant turtle, the symbol of origin
for many ancient civilisations.
Inspired
by many founding myths, TOTEM illustrates, through a visual and acrobat
language, the evolution progress of the human species. Somewhere between
science and legend, TOTEM explores the ties that bind Man to other species, his
dreams and his infinite potential.
Featuring
a cast of 46 acrobats, actors, musicians and singers, TOTEM is an uplifting
array of athleticism, comedy, heart felt emotions and surprising visual
effects.
STAND
OUT PERFORMANCES
Usually
I would easily be able to pick just the one scene that worked the best for me,
but with Cirque Du Soleil it is all the more harder as all the scenes are
amazing and had me on the edge of my seat.
So
the one I have picked is;
The
Roller skates scene had half of me in complete awe and the other one holding my
breath with hands semi covering my eyes hoping that they would not fall. It was
perfect tying in some beautiful romance like that, and really drawing your
emotions into the show.
This
is what was apart of the show-
Bars
(Carapace)
Jonathan BUESE,
Umihiko MIYA, Roman PONOMAROV, David RESNICK, Caoliang WANG
A fantastic way
to start off the show, which had me instantly on the edge of my seat watching
them spin, twirl, balance and bounce on poles like they were nothing.
Hoop
Dancer (Part 1)
Eric HERNANDEZ
Rings
Trio
Yann ARNAUD,
Vladimir NOVOTNY, Gael OUISSE, Alevtyna TITARENKO, Olli TORKKEL
The upper
strength these three would have to have would just be phenominal! They have the
bodies of Gods/Godesses as well, which had me wanting to secretly become a
rings performer in hope I could have a body like theirs haha.
BAI Xiangjie, HAO
Yuting, HE Xuedi, WU Yurong, YANG Jie
I cant even juggle
bowls when doing the dishes, let alone juggle and throw bowls on a unicycle
(which may I add I cannot ride either haha).
These ladies have
a talent that is out of this world and makes your wonder how on Earth they can
get so damn good.
Clown
(Fisherman)
Philippe
THIBAUDEAU
I think this
would have had to be my favourite “Clown” he was just so adorable and I wanted
to take him home in my bag to entertain me endlessly.
The lighting and
special effects really make this performance work.
Hand
Balancing
Pavel SAPRYKIN
Foot
Juggling (Crystal Ladies)
Marina TSODIKOVA,
Svetlana TSODIKOVA
I have no idea
what these ladies were juggling but they looked like fancy handkerchiefs, that
would have been darn hard to spin and do what they were doing with them.
Monkey
Business (Evolution Walk
Transition)
This was both
Matt and my all time favourite way to introduce the intermission, just
concluded the first half so well.
-
INTERMISSION-
Devil
Sticks/Toreador
Markus FURTNER
Fixed
Trapeze Duo
Guilhem CAUCHOIS,
Sarah TESSIER
This is an act
where you just look and really appreciate the costumes in the entire show. I
realised the hours and hours of work the dressmakers would have put in and the tiny
pieces that would have had to be sewn onto the costumes was extravagant.
Manipulation
Chris CHIAPPINI
Clown
Act (Speed Boat)
Jon MONASTERO,
Philippe THIBAUDEAU
These clowns
honestly make the show, and are very well placed. Although this one did confuse
me a little as to how it fit into the show.. I didn’t really get this one but
never the less it did make me laugh.
Hoop
Dancer (Part 2)
Eric HERNANDEZ,
Shandien LARANCE
Roller
Skates
Denise
GARCIA-SORTA, Massimiliano MEDINI
This is exactly
the act I was talking about as my favourite act!
Dzmitry BARSUKOU,
Aliaksei, BUINIAKOU, Veaceslav CEBANU, Tamir ERDENESAIKHAN, Zhan IORDANOV,
Alexander Laschenko, Aliaksey LIUBEZNY, Alexander Mikhaylov, Alexander MOISEEV,
Nikita MOISEEV
The
clowns are always winners and have everybody in stiches from laughing WAY too
much. I love the clowns (even though they look nothing like traditional clowns,
but I don’t want to give that away; you’ll just have to see the show for
yourself J
OVERALL
OPINION
I
would be more then happy to pay to see this show again and every dollar is
worth it. Even though this show was amazing and really tested the skills of the
entertainers in the show I think I would still have to say OVO is the
favourite.
I
think the next time around, I might take Miss 6 to see the show as I think this
is something she would thoroughly enjoy and then go away wanting to be an
acrobat.
Don’t
ever think of Cirque Du Soleil as being a circus either, as it is far from this
and should be an Olympic sport or something- these performers need and award! I
could only ever imagine the hard work these performers put into putting their
act together as well as they do.
There
is always the thrill factor as the performers aren’t harnessed in and accidents
can easily happen, as we saw on the night. The roller skate performers must
have had something on their platform and the blades got caught and they took a
tumble, it really goes to show they are human and will also make mistakes.
For more information, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/totem
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL - TOTEM –
2015 AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Melbourne – On
now at Flemington Racecourse
and will run until 29th March!
Brisbane - From April 10 2015, Northshore
Hamilton
Adelaide - From June 11 2015, The Plateau in
Tampawardli
Perth - From July 31 2015, Belmont
Racecourse
So what are you waiting for? Head to their site and
purchase tickets NOW before they are gone.
PHOTOS thanks to OSA IMAGES
