Cirque Du Soleil - O

"O," a Cirque du Soleil production is the third Cirque show I have seen. The theatrical production was breathtaking with various acrobat acts and aquatic tapestry. The production resides at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. 

Directed by Franco Dragone and conceived in 1998, O uses one of nature elements in their production - water. The stage is a 25 feet deep pool with lifts that allow performers to do their various acts whether it be in water or on land as the stage transforms into a pool or a dry conventional stage. O follows Guifa who's adventure transports him into another realm where all his dreams comes true where he meets Eugen, the guardian of the theatre, Le Travesti, the Masked Thief, L'Allume, The Zebras, the Comets and Aurora.  The L'Allume is man who seems like he does not care that he is on fire.  Reading through the Cirque guide, Mr. Ray Wold, who portrays the fire starter has been in all 'O' production since Day 1. 

The show is filled with acts from synchronized swimmers to world-class acrobats. Some of the acts include the Aerial Hoops where performers are suspended in air only using circular hoops to do their acrobatic acts over the pool.  Then there was the barge with eight gymnast performing acts that included balancing on each others body parts - I remembered one part of the act where three performers balance each other on each other but in such a way that you thing it was unreal. Then there is the Bateau or an aerial ship that was used for aerial cradle and parallel bars where the performers fly and catch each other. 

Since the production does require time to change stages, O has two clowns who are friends. They started showing up right before the show starts acting out different skits throughout the theater such as pretending its raining and opening an umbrella with a hole. They surely had a comedic act to the show especially when they are floating around in a submerged home. 

Another act that I truly admire was the contortionists and the duo trapeze. But I think the breathtaking act was the High Dive act - jumping as high as the theater down to the pool in precise areas that got the crowd stuck on their seats. 

So if you happen to be in Las Vegas, go and check out Cirque's O and you surely will not be disappointed. 

Cirque du Soleil site

O site

Bellagio Hotel site

Wintuk

Courtesy of Wintuk

Wintuk, a Cirque du Soleil production, is about a boy, Jamie, who was in a quest to find out why snow has not fallen in his city. He would be joined by Shadow Girl, a young girl who first appears a shadow; Shaman, a woman of great powers; Wimpy, a man who is scared of everything including his shadow. Together, they set out on a journey that brings them to Wintuk to find out why snow has not fallen on his city.

This is the second Cirque du Soleil production that I have seen (KA was the first) and I would say that the Cirque never disappoint. And if you have seen a Cirque production, you surely know that acrobatic acts and mind-boggling stunts are part of the show. The show started off with skateboarders, inline skaters and bike riders doing acrobatic twist and turns.

One of the acrobatic acts that I really like was the equilibruist who had to balance himself on a village clothesline in a quest to retrieve his pants back. It sure kept everyone on the edge of their seats as he perform a series of moves and turns that made you think he wouldn't be able to stay on the rope but he did. Another one that I like was the hoops act where the artist performed by combining contortion and hula-hoops moves that would make you think "how did she do that?"

Courtesy of Wintuk 

One of the funny acts was when the two thieves use Swiss balls (yep, those exercise balls) to bounce around with or against each other while pretending to do a classical interpretative dance.

The one that really caught my attention and made me really wonder was the rag doll act. During this act, the businessman and the thief fight over a life-size doll twisting and bending it to like impossible positions. And at the end, to everyone's amazement, the life-size doll was a real person.

Courtesy of Wintuk

The other acts were amazing as well. The juggling act started with four balls and ended up with eight (i think, i lost count). The Cyr wheel act where the artist spin and roll across the stage inside metallic ring should make anyone dizzy if you are doing the act. Then there was the Rola Bola to which the acrobat performs a balancing act using pipes, panels, globes and boards as they try to fix a broken light post. Wow, the last trick he did was just out of this world. And lastly was the Russian bars but with a twist, the bars where supported by the performers as the three acrobat/gymnast maneuver their twist and turns between three bars.

Courtesy of Wintuk

The animatronics was superb - where else can you see four singing light post complete with facial expressions. And the puppetry and costumes were amazing, the dancing dogs, the giant size swan-like birds and the ice monsters clearly capture all our imagination.

The music was live - yup, the band was separated with the strings on the left side of the theater while percussion was on the right. The melody and the tune selections worked really well with the stunts as well as the storyline. The right music always add that 'ump' in any story.

And the finale was just phenomenal. I wont say it here so as not to ruin it for those who are planning to see it but I would give you a clue - it would involve the entire theater.

Wintuk is on its final season this year so this is the last year to catch it before its gone - forever.

Wintuk website

PS. This is part of my Bucket List - watch all Cirque du Soleil production in the US - 2 down (KA and Wintuk), many more to go..