Cirque du Soleil is back - but with one important difference. It’s now being performed on ice.
Now on in Christchurch, Cirque du Soleil Crystal is a totally new production that combines the show's favourite acrobatic skills and theatre with the speed and glamour of ice skating.
With more than 3500 performances to date, Cirque du Soleil Crystal promises to be a slick event.
“This is Cirque du Soleil's first and only show on Ice. It's the acrobatics that you know and love from Cirque du Soleil, but with a slippery floor surface where it is exploring new creative territory," publicist Christine Achampong says.
"And the ice really adds an element of speed and beauty and grace to this Cirque du Soleil show."
"We put computerised lighting into the ceiling in the arenas we go to because our artists move way too quickly for manually operated spotlights to follow.”
Cirque du Soleil Crystal tells the story of a young girl who abandons her family in a search to make sense of her world and of herself.
It's a journey of whimsy and wonder, combined with the exhilaration of speed and edge-of-your-seat acrobatics.
“Circus is inherently dangerous. And I guess adding ice components to it is again adding on top of that danger. It's like, the danger is what draws you to it," says acrobat Nathan Boyle, who plays Crystal’s father in the show.
Lee says playing Crystal is an emotional roller coaster.
"Because first she's quite sad and feels distant and almost a bit rejected. And then she has fun going through her imagination and discovering herself, and then at the end she... it's about survival and fighting for her life. So it's quite emotional for me.”
The ice show experience has proved incredibly popular, prompting promoters to add three extra performances to an already busy schedule.
Cirque du Soleil Crystal runs for the next two weeks in Christchurch, before moving on to Auckland in early July.
- By John Spurdle
Public Interest Journalism Fund
