Last Friday night I had the pleasure of taking my 1st grader to see Cirque’s new show, Totem. And as I predicted, Cirque didn’t disappoint one bit. From the moment we were seated in the grand chapiteau, she gazed around the stage and the audience in such awe and the show hadn’t even begun. The anticipation and excitement in the air was simply electrifying! A few minutes later the show commenced with this reflective, glittering creature; covered in mirror fragments and crystals from head to toe. Against the backdrop of ritualistic, tribal beats, and chants, he slowly descends from the roof as his spinning body uncurls, and smoothly shifts into graceful extensions. Through an enormous bone-framed shell on the ground, he joins these vibrant amphibian characters clad in lycra costumes, and adorned with crystals and fluorescent pigments. Ah, yes…the feast for the senses had begun and I just knew we were in for another original, awe-inspiring performance.
While I found all of the acts to be highly entertaining, it wouldn’t be a Cirque performance without some particularly stunning displays of gravity defying, jaw dropping athleticism, effortlessly blended with elegance . Those vignettes that stand out the most in my mind are the ring trio, the foot juggling pair, the fixed trapeze duo and the roller skating pair. I don’t want to give away all the details so I will post some scene pictures as soon as I resolve some tech issues.
My first grader seemed to thoroughly appreciate the shifts from drama to comedy as her gasps switched to belly laughs throughout the show. The eclectically ordered time lines that illustrated a conceptual walk through evolution was superbly reflected by the musical components thanks to composers Dubuc and Lessard. This multi-culti experience included rhythms from around the world; with predominant elements from Bollywood, Native American and Flamenco music.
Perhaps, for me, the most dynamic component of the set on stage was the application of an interactive projection system. I was instantly drawn-in to the kinetic images of nature projected onto an elevated backdrop, and marveled as it appeared to be highly interactive with the artists’ movements throughout the performance. Such scenes like the amphibians darting across a shore to avoid the crashing waves as they disappeared into the marsh reeds in the distance. Another very memorable projection was a series of pre-recorded sequences of the amphibians swimming and as each of them reached land, their bodies seamlessly appeared onto the stage.
Our night began on a high note of excitement and ended on an even higher note… I couldn’t wait to attend another show. Fortunately for me, a dear friend whom I hadn’t seen in 18 years, just happened to be visiting from Russia and he made it a priority to see Totem with me. To my surprise (though I really shouldn’t have been…), I enjoyed Totem even more the second time around. I think much of this enhanced perspective was due to the fact that my first viewing was from seats way back in the theatre. At the time I thought my visibility was fantastic but then my friend got us premium tickets for the lower section, close to the stage, and I was absolutely blown-away by the number of details that I just couldn’t perceive from those seats further back. Now I’m thinking that I wish I had another opportunity to see the show once more…I bet I’d enjoy it even more because I would notice and appreciate even more.
