Cirque du Soleil has a reputation for being weird, different and experimental, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
Cirque du Soleil is a touring imaginative arts company based in Quebec, Canada that combines traditional circus elements such as fire breathing and acrobatics with expressive dance, wild costumes and involved storytelling. From Nov. 5 to Nov. 9, they're presenting “Varekai," a whimsical adventure through a magical forest into the mythical land of Varekai (meaning "wherever," in the Romany language of the gypsies), at the Colonial Life Arena.
The story begins with the Greek myth of Icarus, and as in the myth, he flies too close to the sun and melts the wax holding his wings together. He then descends into the ocean, but in the Cirque du Soleil version, he is given a second chance in Varekai. He finds himself in this mystical, magical world full of wise and absurd creatures that teach him how to use his legs to pick himself up after he falls down, and that he doesn’t need wings to fly.
“It has this dream-like fantasy-world feel where you feel like you’re escaping reality, and you’re into the story where none of the creatures really talk, but they’re conveying an emotion," said “Varekai” publicist Vanessa Napoli. "And I think what attaches a person to Cirque du Soleil is that emotion that is felt, which is not felt if you just watch a show. If you’re watching a cabaret you’re like ‘wow those things are really great,' but you’re not emotionally tied to it."
Instead of having separate unrelated acts, this circus is presented as a whole, all the better to tell a coherent story. A circus show may seem a difficult platform for character and storytelling, but Cirque du Soleil employs gestures, facial expressions and emotive movements to tell its non-verbal story.
“We’re not a traditional circus, so we don’t have animals in our show. It’s not a cabaret style circus, which is very traditional, which is act after act and applause," Napoli said. "There’s always a theme, there’s always a story, there’s something tying it together, there’s a purpose in why they’re doing the act they’re doing and it all links into the story."
Storytelling is important to a Cirque du Soleil show, but there's plenty of spectacle on display as well. "Varekai" features handbalancing on canes, human juggling and aerial straps, which creates the illusion of flight.
"It’s very theatrical, it has live music, obviously amazing costumes, so you tie all these things together and you get something a little bit more magical ... it feels more like you’re experiencing something then you’re just watching the show,” Napoli said.
The performers, designers and directors that work with Cirque du Soleil are all highly experienced — Dominic Champagne, writer and director of "Varekai," is the Artistic Director of his own theater company, and the rest of the resumes behind "Varekai" are similarly impressive. In a way, Cirque du Soleil is a sport, driven by sweat, commitment and teamwork. Its athletes have a difficult task: they must exemplify grace and beauty in outrageous, conceptual costumes, all while telling a story. Every show is a culmination of vast amounts of experience and dedication.
"There’s definitely something there for everyone. Whether you like theater, whether you like athleticism or acrobatics, whether you come for the amazing costumes or whether you come for the acting — because the acting is phenomenal — you know there’s definitely something there for everyone,” Napoli said.