Cirque du Soleil 

Beatles and Cirque du Soleil 'come together'

IF you've ever wanted to dive into the Octopus's Garden or meet Sgt. Pepper, the creators of "Love," a the new Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil performance, are offering a little help from their friends.

The theatrical interpretation of some 130 songs and song fragments which debuts at The Mirage hotel-casino in Las Vagas next month takes audiences through a dreamlike journey that tracks the Fab Four's career.

Show concept creator Dominic Champagne called the show "a rock 'n' roll poem" that doesn't feature images of the Beatles but attempts through dance and imagery to interpret the lyrics of their songs.

"We dreamed, how would we treat 'Eleanor Rigby'? How would we treat 'Sgt. Pepper'? How would we go into 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds'?" Champagne asked.

"How would we please Beatles fans by doing a show with the Beatles, without the Beatles? And we decided to proceed by evocation."

In "Lucy," a female acrobat dangles from a looped trapeze while tiny firefly-like lights flash in midair.

"Lady Madonna" features a group tap-dancing and shuffling in yellow rain boots, while "Octopus's Garden" figuratively submerges the audience underwater with human-size jellyfish and squid dangling above the stage.

Concept creator Guy Laliberte, who began the project through a personal friendship with George Harrison, said many of the show visuals, just like the Beatles' lyrics, are open to interpretation.

"We're just there to propose many doors of a journey to people, and it's up to the public to decide what they want to live as an experience," he said.

Original Beatles producer Sir George Martin and his son, Giles Martin, pored through hours of original and unheard tracks that had been archived at Abbey Road Studios.

Many of the show's song treatments are subtle musical remixes that only a dedicated Beatles fan might discern.

"It is a puzzle and people can try and figure it out. They won't," George Martin said.

La Nouba, Dralion, Varekai Shows

La Nouba : Since December 23rd 1998, the new release of the Cirque du Soleil belongs to the program of the Walt Disney World Resort, the theatre of the Walt Disney World theme park, in Orlando, Florida where it will be performed permanently. This show was set up by the usual team of creators features 65 artists from around the globe for a new original theatrical experience that goes beyond the imagination limits. We can't tell you more about the show in itself, the Cirque du Soleil being rather discrete about it...

Dralion : It's a mix of the occidental and the oriental circuses, horoscopes and symbols from both worlds, Dralion is a fusion between the dragon and the lion. Among other mixes, the one between man and nature is present. Those two elements have to come to harmony. Another principle of oriental philosophy... All the show is directed by magical laws which invite the audience to a journey through fantastic, allegoric and timeless fields. Music is also a fusion of occidental and oriental inspirations while any element of the set helps the artist to perform one of his show. Among those, a troupe of 35 Chinese artists and some clowns who look to create disorder through the whole show.

Varekai : When a solitary arrives deep within a forest, at the summit of a volcano, the story of Verekai can begin. Bacause the man is in that extraordinary world, where something else is possible, that world called Varekai. The show, that pays tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit and art of the circus tradition, tells the absurd and extraordinary adventures in that place of pure and undiluted possibility imbued with fantastical creatures.

Cirque du Soleil: Mystere, O, & Quidam Shows

Mystère : It's a surrealistic celebration of music, dance, acrobatics and comedy. The audience is brought in a metaphoric journey which starts at the beginning of times. It's art in perpetual transfer shown by performances of Korean boards, Chinese mast, trapeze... This mystical journey's goal is the quest of the impossible by strength, elegance and humor. The troupe of 72 artists from 18 different countries perform its show permanently at the theatre of the Treasure Island hotel and casino in Las Vegas, designed especially for its needs. Is time going forward, or is it biting its tail ? Is this show art or theatre ? Mystery...

O : O, it's the infinite, the perfection, but also... the French translation of water. This show honors the theatre, this place where anything can happen and where occurs the drama of life, while telling it all through the ages. 74 artists perform on an aquatic stage and propose an impressive range of shows. In O, everyone joins the characters for a journey in which dreams are not only suggested but also became real. This show is performed exclusively at the theatre of the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas. It'll bring you through the waters of your imagination.

Quidam : Quidam is a more scripted show; it integrates performance and theatricality. This show offers audiences a variety of acts where high-calibre acrobatic performance goes hand-in-hand with the magnificent beauty of the aerial, high-flying, balancing and manipulation acts. It's a third millennium show where the human being has to adapt himself to new realities. Quidam, an ordinary person, at once confronted to rush, trainspotting, and loneliness : he's a streetwalker, a chap, a "quidam" : he comes, he goes, he lives... This is the story of a little girl who regrets to have seen it all already and makes her little insignificant world explode by her rage. She then finds herself in the Quidam universe, joined by a cheerful guy and another one more mysterious, who will try to woo her by offering her the mysterious, the weird, the scary. A original costume has been created for every of the characters. The music, whose inspiration varies from classic to modern, and keens the mood of the show. The shows include either high acrobatic performances and a great beauty: German wheel, banquine, climbing rope, diabolo, aerial contortion are scheduled. Some funny and infernal point out every kind of cruelty while bringing purity, poetry and tenderness.

Cirque du Soleil: Alegria & Saltimbanco Shows

Alégría : The clowns resisted to the change of time, to politic crisis and to social transformations. This show, which means "joy" in Spanish, features clowns who comment the power and its evolution among historical figures. The set represents the King's court. A dome around the ring protects the artists as the castle used to protect the town. Drawbridges, balconies... and special light effects give the mood of that changing universe to the set. About forty artists from 10 to 45 years old perform in the show. They're from the entire world: from Canada to China, including Belgium, Russia...

Saltimbanco : In that show, the actors, as every human being actually, are born naked : they're the worms. As time goes on, they have to dress to adapt their new environment. They represent different social kinds before eventually getting to the ultimate step, the Baroque cast. Armed with a deeply perceptive vision of the world and sleeping under bridges, the Baroques, throughout the fable, reveal the countless contradictions of our civilization where imagination has not yet taken power. More than 110 costumes made with all kinds of materials (velvet, imitation leather, crystalline, jean...) have been created for the show.