Thursday, September 01, 2005

cirque du soleil

cirque du soleil is coming again!!! wowsers!!! i've been a fervent and dedicated supporter of them ever since i watched their first performance here back in 1999 or so...

"Cirque du Soleil is an international organization founded in Quebec, Canada, dedicated to the creation, production and performance of artistic works. Its mission is to Invoke, Provoke and Evoke the imagination, the senses and the emotions of people around the world. Cirque du Soleil offers theatralized performances that mix the arts of the circus and the street, and features original music, light effects and costumes."

i've watched 2 of them so far...all in singapore. the first one was with kat, my ex-girlfriend no. 2...i was still an undergrad at that time...but she was working already by then, so she bought the most expensive tickets in the house to watch saltimbanco...and we had a wonderful night...it was really a far cry from the old circus acts that i had seen in the states...amazing stunts, stunning contortionists, mindblowing tricks, hilarious clowns...saltimbanco actually means...

"Saltimbanco" is a celebration of life. Conceived as an antidote to the violence and despair so prevalent in the 20th century, this phantasmagoria offers up a new vision of urban life, overflowing with optimism and joy. Saltimbanco is anything but linear; rather, it is a kaleidoscope, a whirlwind, an adventure in which anything can happen. Saltimbanco has its own special language, and its spirit is conveyed through voice, movement and music.


saltimbanco

the second performance that i watched was alegria. i was still an undergrad then, but this time, i caught the performance with mandy, ex-girlgriend no. 4. we were both undergrads, so i remember scrimping and saving every last cent to buy the tickets. luckily food wasn't an issue back then cuz we had our meals provided in the hall...so i managed to squeeze enough money out of my folks (i think i told them i needed more textbooks or something), and bought some pretty decent seats to watch cirque du soleil again (i know, i know...i shouldn't lie...blah blah blah...). the thing about cirque du soleil is that every show is different...it's beyond theatre, it's beyond the circus...it's magical. anyway, alegria means...

"Alegria" is a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means "jubilation" in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegria play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it.


alegria

the third one that coming up is another differently themed cirque du soleil performance. and from the sound of it, quidam will be different...though the first two actually kinda scared me a bit...in a dark way, i think that this upcoming one would really get my old noggin running again. that's the great part about cirque du soleil...other than wowing you with their stunts and whatnots, it makes you think about what they're trying to get across, and what the actions mean...the themes and synopses written will help to stretch your imagination, and make things clearer...in a quirky sorta way...or maybe i'm just a dreamer. muahahaha. quidam is...

"Quidam": a nameless passer-by, a solitary figure lingering on a street corner, a person rushing past. It could be anyone, anybody. Someone coming, going, living in our anonymous society. A member of the crowd, one of the silent majority. The one who cries out, sings and dreams within us all. This is the "quidam" that Cirque du Soleil is celebrating. A young girl fumes; she has already seen everything there is to see, and her world has lost all meaning. Her anger shatters her little world, and she finds herself in the universe of Quidam. She is joined by a joyful companion as well as another character, more mysterious, who will attempt to seduce her with the marvelous, the unsettling, and the terrifying.


quidam

even if all these things that they write in the synopses on their official website is all a build up for the performances, i'd still like to believe that what they're doing is for the betterment of society. besides entertaining the crowds with their acrobatic powers, they provoke thought and imagination...besides doing aforethought-humanly-impossible acts, they motivate and entice the dreamers to come out from within...besides making silly-self-depreciating-universal-language-jokes, they teach us how to laugh at ourselves and our mistakes. sometimes i think that i'd go crazy if i didn't watch these crazy people. don't you? =)

6 comments:

blinkymummy said...

I STIL DUN WANNA WATCH!!
IT'S A HUMAN CIRCUS!!

NAY NAY NEE BOO BOO!!!

Lupin Tan said...

I was about to ask, "Still haven't manage to get BM to go watch with you", but looks like my question is be answered.

haha.

Jo said...

dude, why is this lupin guy so fascinated about BM & you? Is he like jealous or wat?

moby sky said...

lupin..."haha"...yeah...don't you hate it when you can't get what you want? HAHA.

jo...dude, i have no idea...but at least i can understand what he's trying to say this time.

Adrian said...

Lupin: Dude, I'm sure you're really a nice guy deep down inside and all that, but seriously. You really should consider removing head from sphincter before switching on the computer, man.

NK said...

They are setting up right opp my office...