Group Preserves Circus Performance

Although the circus is losing popularity nowadays, as people have become more interested in alternative forms of entertainment, a group is sustaining public interest in the show in Europe. Circus Du Soleil brought wonders and delights to over two thousand spectators in Berlin, Germany, when it premiered its new show, ‘Varekai’. The group which has grown from 20 street performers in Quebec, Canada, has now developed into a big company with over 4,000 employees from 40 different countries providing high-quality artistic entertainment. When the group hit the streets of Berlin, spectators largely made up of big shots in the entertainment industry trouped in their numbers to the venue where the company had mounted its white tents.   At about 8.00pm, contrary to the traditional circus performance where a ringmaster who has a role similar to that of a Master of Ceremonies, there was no ringmaster to present the performers or speak to the audience; but the performers kept the show moving. And for more than two hours, except for a five-minute break, members of the audience were glued to their seats with their eyes fixed on the ring-stage as the story of Varekai unfolded.   The performance takes the audience out of the real world to an extraordinary one where something else is possible: A world called Varekai. The word Varekai means “wherever” in the Roman language of the gypsies, who are universal wanderers. Deep within a forest, from the sky, falls a solitary young man, parachuted into the shadows of a magical forest- a kaleidoscopic world populated by fantastical creatures. This young man sets off on an adventure both absurd and extraordinary. On this day at the edge of time, in this place of all possibilities, he begins an inspired incantation to life rediscovered. The innocent and vulnerable finds himself wounded in an unknown world. His desire to live and overcome his fears drives him to new heights and an eventual rebirth. He meets an exotic creature who enraptures him with her sensual beauty and tribulations. But a circus can not be complete without acrobatics, choreography and magic. With agility, deftness and sensitivity, flyers suspended by wrist straps glide gracefully above the stage, performing breathtaking acrobatic in addition to the absurdity of two clowns who amused the audience with their acts that came with magic. In the end the audience could not help but give the cast who lined up on the ring stage a standing ovation amidst clapping. Circus du soliel founded by Guy Laliberté, now has its international headquarters in Montreal, Canada. It brings entertainment to close to 80 million spectators in over 200 cities on five continents. This year, Cirque du Soleil is presenting 18 shows simultaneously throughout the world. The director or Varekai, Dominic Champagne said, “I think that artists have the responsibility to ask questions about the world around them and to celebrate new worlds.