Fantasies
fulfilled at Cirque's new 'Varekai'
By
Monica Levette Clark
On-line Forty-Niner
For
those of us who followed the behind the
scenes documentary series, "Cirque
du Soleil Fire Within," which aired
on Bravo, then we can bear witness to the
trial and error pursuit of finding a name
for the human circus's newest production.
For
writer, director Dominic Champagne, the
only name suitable for his, and a team of
other creative, entertainment visualists,
could only be "Varekai." And so
it was.
"Varekai" (ver·ay·'kie)
was said to be a word taken from the Romany
language of the gypsies meaning "wherever."
But to say the word in one breath evokes
power that transcends ordinary human boundaries
to leave one breathlessly effervescent.
Men,
women, children, grandparents and grandchildren
alike turned out to experience a beautiful
new view through the eyes of "Varekai,"
which opened Friday under the Grand Chapiteau
at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Electric blue and yellow tents and French-speaking
hosts set the scene for the production held
in one of the centers many parking lots.
"
'Positively elating,' 'undeniably spectacular,'"
read past reviews of Cirque du Soleil's
newest production in major publications
from around the world. Those who attended
the opening event would surely agree that
"Varekai" was nothing short of
phantasmagoric.
Seated
around a lowered, round stage with structures
reaching far into the aerials, the audience
braced themselves for what would be an explosion
of color, fantasy, animated sounds and brilliant
costuming. To set the scene even more, funny
looking creatures crept into the aisles,
eyeing unsuspecting little boys and girls,
who weren't sure if they should be afraid
or amazed.
With
a cast of over 50 artists from 14 countries
including the United States, "Varekai"
was a beautiful melange of cultures and
creeds that melded into one other worldly
tale of love, peace and harmony.
The
story revolved around two young lovers--a
character resembling the fabled Icarus along
with a young female character that seemed
to emerge as a beautiful ice princess near
the story's end.
The
lover's courtship would end in a ball of
a wedding, but not before the journey it
took for them to finally unite. Along this
journey, the audience was introduced to
a vast of characters, including a grumpy
old maestro, three little baton twirlers
of the Orient, four exotic trapeze artists
of the female persuasion, and a handful
of other performance characters with super-human
strength and flexibility, and even more
supernatural talent.
"Varekai"
is altogether a joyous ride with a splash
of color that rushes by so fast that breathing
becomes an afterthought.
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