Cirque du Soleil has arrived in Bangkok. The legendary circus show — a heady mix of acrobatic artistry, choreography, costume, surrealism and special effects — has performed and impressed over a million people in more than 300 cities since 1984. There's no Big Top of old, but the troupe is prepared to dazzle Bangkok viewers at Impact Area from today until Aug 3.
The show picked for Bangkok is Quidam, which has been played around the world for 20 years. It narrates the story of Zoé, a lonely girl who is ignored by her parents, until she goes down to her dreamscape, an imaginary world where she meets surreal characters and adventures.
Backstage earlier this week, the troupe were getting ready for the 11 shows. Over 40 tonnes of performance equipment were transported by two Boeing 747-400s. The gym area, practice space and wardrobes consists of approximately 250 costumes and 500 costume accessories.
"Quidam is about a true human-being character and a story that we all can identify with. A connection between family, children and imagination — it's like you live in your dream and can go on forever," said Cirque de Soleil's artistic director Marion Van Grunsven.
The venue at Impact Arena is as we know, quite large. So the big difference for the performers is that they have to open up the way they present their acts to accommodate for the space.
The highlight of Quidam is the aerial acts, claimed Marion. The narrative and choreography utilise a specially-designed conveyor called téléphérique that arches over the stage, allowing the performers to glide into different positions. There is also a chapter in the show called Spanish Webs, which was performed at a preview and in which the performers were flying high, climbing up, sliding down and spinning around ropes that are looped around their ankles (called aerial hoops).
As with any acrobatic act, what really makes the show spectacular is that all of the performers are defying gravity and maybe death, as they perform aerial contortions while flying in the air without strings. This high-risk elegance and excitement is achieved through non-stop training every day.
With more than 100 performers from different nationalities, the crew is made up of Olympic athletes or circus school graduates, all having gone through intensive training.
Frangois Gravier, one of the cast, said that the audience will relate to the show and the acrobats as Quidam presents on stage humans who share their real emotions.
"It's always very exciting for us [the performers] to discover a new culture, different people and different reactions. That gives us energy," he said.
Soleil means the Sun, the source of joy. Cirque de Soleil, a Canadian company, is well-known for its dreamy, sometimes darkly fantastic, visuals and movements, a combination of physical strength and cerebral creativity. In their first performance in Thailand, the crew hopes the audience will leave the show feeling exhilarated.
"Leave your life outside the door, come in, open your heart, and be ready to receive and to give back because you will feel the exchange between what's happening on the stage and what's happening in you.
"Don't come with any expectation but come with an empty head and let it all happen," said Marion.
"Cirque Du Soleil Quidam Live In Bangkok 2015" will be held at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani, performs today to Aug 3 for 11 shows. Tickets are at 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 and 5,000 baht. Visit www.thaiticketmajor.com or call 02-262-3838.
A scene from Quidam.
