Tales Of The Forest: Cirque Du Soleil’s Varekai

As many of you know, I’m a Cirque Du Soliel fanatic (just watched my 13th performance) so I was super sad when I missed Varekai when it came to Toronto in 2002. Fortunately, the show is back in town for a short stint (Sept 2-6th) and I had the opportunity to attend opening night at the Air Canada Centre. Although Varekai didn’t leave me as awestruck as Kurios did last year, there were some incredible acts sprinkled throughout the show. Here are my faves…

Icarus – The opening scene had me in tears. As the wounded Icarus slowly fell from the sky, I found myself being pulled into another realm – something Cirque is a master at doing. Everything – from the lighting to the music – evoked deep emotion. And when Icarus returned to the stage in a net for a performance filled with dives and contortions, I was again left breathless; the piece was vulnerable, creative and unbelievably moving.

Balancing On Canes – There are just some performers that you can’t keep your eyes off: this young lady held my attention from the moment she stepped foot on stage (the dazzling costume definitely helped). Her intricate movements, grace and flexibility had me mesmerized.

Russian Swings – This is the kind of heart-stopping act that brings me back to Cirque time and time again. To be honest, I wish there was a lot more of it in Varekai! The acrobats propelled from one swing to another demonstrating incredible athleticism, strength and precision. There were a couple of times that I actually jumped out of my seat as the performers flew across backwards and barely landed on the moving target.

Single Point Trapeze – In my opinion, this act stole the show. I couldn’t believe how effortlessly the performer moved on the trapeze as she dangled mid-air. Her flexibility was only surpassed by her strength.

And as always, the music was exceptional (you can listen to all the tracks here). The musicians in the live band blew me away; I was particularly impressed by the violinist and the lead male vocalist who I deemed the human didgeridoo — I’m not quite sure how he made the sounds he did, but he was unbelievable. Hope you guys get a chance to see Varekai yourselves – after Toronto the show is headed to Berlin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLRZs78vqCQ

Special thanks to Cirque du Soleil for hosting us. As always, all reviews and opinions are entirely my own.