Friday, January 7, 2011

Cirque du Soleil's 'Totem' astounds the senses.
REVIEWS JANUARY 7, 2011.
'Totem' Should Top the Polls
By PAUL LEVY LONDON—Since 1984 the French-Canadian "Cirque du Soleil" has dazzled audiences all over the world with its classy take on traditional circus skills, minus the animal acts. Its current show, "Totem," written and directed by the avant-garde Canadian Robert Lepage is almost beyond praise, and certainly defies description.
It would need thousands of words to begin to detail the act involving five Chinese girls riding stilt-high unicycles, who do amazing things involving light metal bowls of various sizes carried on their heads. While they pedal with one foot, the other one kicks the bowls, sometimes backwards, into the air. The website (which I'd consult before seeing the show) explains: "The abundance of fall is represented by the harvest colours and details of the costumes as five unicyclists juggle metal bowls in an astounding display of agility, balance, synchronized control and physical grace, tossing the bowls with their feet—sometimes over their shoulders—and catching them on their heads without using their hands."

Tribal "Native Americans" manipulate hoops in mind-boggling combinations.
It would need thousands of words to begin to detail the act involving five Chinese girls riding stilt-high unicycles, who do amazing things involving light metal bowls of various sizes carried on their heads. While they pedal with one foot, the other one kicks the bowls, sometimes backwards, into the air. The website (which I'd consult before seeing the show) explains: "The abundance of fall is represented by the harvest colours and details of the costumes as five unicyclists juggle metal bowls in an astounding display of agility, balance, synchronized control and physical grace, tossing the bowls with their feet—sometimes over their shoulders—and catching them on their heads without using their hands."
And this tells you nothing about Kym Barrett's costumes or Nathalie J. Simard's astonishingly elaborate makeup. Says the small print of the website: "Each unicyclist has her own look, but together they form an integrated unit. The base costumes are printed in earth tones, with small details sewn onto them—including bolts and screws as well as feathers and insects. The line of the costumes and the stylized tutus create flirty ballerina silhouettes."
read more at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703909904576052082546141002.html


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