CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Cirque du Soleil Behind-the-Scenes at 'Amaluna'

Stark Insider: Cirque’s new touring show, Amaluna, is in town. Stark Insider was invited for a behind-the-scenes look at the new production which features a 25-foot evolving center stage (that weighs 6,000 pounds), acrobatic winches and at least one couple hopelessly in love. So I headed to the blue and yellow Big Top (located by AT&T Park). There, in a sprawling micro-village of tents, myriad hallways and energetic artists and staff, I discovered a markedly different kind of Cirque du Soleil show

4 comments:

Unknown said...

The things that they are doing in the video are amazing! It makes me want to run away to be an acrobat... It is interesting how you have to choreograph it just like a musical dance number. The show needs to be flashy enough that the audience has fun and it amazed by it, but it also needs to allow the actors to continue for a long length of time. This is a big factor. My theatre company when we choreograph older members of our community into the show, they go up on the set pieces or out into the audience where they do simpler moves so that they can last the whole song. It is crazy what they do, so it probably takes way more effort for them then it does for us to complete a scene.

Jason Lewis said...

It's great getting to hear a bit more about how the shows are put together and how the director goes about doing their job with such precise skill and very particular performers/performances. It's great to see bits from rehearsal and seeing them progress onto the stage and seeing how such a particular rehearsal process can go from that practice stage to the real life situation in which it will be performed. Cirque always amazes audiences internationally and it's great to see them starting a new show with a large majority of female acrobats. I hope I get the chance to see this show.

AJ C. said...

One thing I think this video does very well is express the art itself. The director of Amaluna expressed perfectly how the trick and amazing athletic feat itself is what should be showcased, and that everything around it frames the trick. As stated, there are always opportunities, and you can accomplish anything you wish, you just need to go about it the right way. As you can see through this video Cirque does just that. Everyone involved is extremely passionate about the art itself. Knowing how to be supportive and obtain your goal and showcase your talent is what needs to be expected of individuals in the arts today. There are amazing shows and talents out there, and we should focus not the creation of them because that is what helps us really understand the art itself.

dharan said...

Wow that's such a beautiful Cirque show. The water scene seems so magical.
A Cirque shows seems hard enough to do in a permanent theater, but having it tour inside a tent seems crazy.
I can't even imagine how much work goes into moving everything each time and how dangerous it is with the rigging because you have to build it from scratch each time.