Friday, November 23, 2012

Cirque du Soleil celebrates women with Amaluna (with video)
Show opens in Vancouver Nov. 23
By Denise Ryan, Vancouver Sun
November 23, 2012
Gymnast Summer Hubbard, 24 from Florida talks about what it's like to be part of Cirque du Soleil Amaluna.
Cirque du Soleil is turning the circus concept on its head, again. The traditional big top was historically a male-dominated arena, filled with lion-tamers and strongmen.

But Cirque, the creative outlier that revolutionized circus arts, is taking their revolution even further with Amaluna.

Cirque’s new show, an homage to women, features a cast that is 75-per-cent female, (along with a 100 per cent female band) and celebrates both sexes by finding stunning new ways to demonstrate feats of skill, daring and strength.

The Shakespearean-inspired narrative has hints of the Tempest, and takes place on a goddess-inhabited island where the tranquillity is disrupted when a group of young men wash up on the island after a storm. Amaluna features a dynamic combination of live music, enchanted creatures, strong narrative storytelling, acts of heart-stopping skill and unique staging that includes an act performed in a glowing, 5,500 lb. water bowl.

In order to find female performers tough enough to handle the rigours of the show, Cirque’s famed casting department scouted among the ranks of elite athletes that regularly capture the world’s attention with their feats: gymnasts.

Cirque had something to offer, beyond the lure of running away to join the circus: A chance to leave behind the rigid rules of competition for something completely different. A chance to ditch the stereotype of the female gymnast as an eternal girl-pixie, and explode on a stage that would showcase both their athleticism and love of performance.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Cirque+Soleil+celebrates+women+with+Amaluna+with+video/7590329/story.html#ixzz2D3NdarhU

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