Hoop Dreams: Colorful hoop divers are among the many acts that take a cue from the Chinese circus in Cirque du Soleil's newest show, 'Dralion.'
Traveling Canadian circus comes in like a 'Dralion'
Cirque du Soleil wows with variations on time-honored tricks
By Heather Zimmerman
Circuses have always sold amazement. The whole idea is to show the audience something we can scarcely believe--and in that, even in the absence of most traditional circus trappings, Cirque du Soleil is still unrivaled. Aside from its gaudy big-top, the only aspect of the circus that Cirque du Soleil has entirely retained is showmanship. By now it's well known that the Montreal-based company features no animals in its acts, only acrobats, dancers and clowns, performing in high-concept, yet often whimsical, themed shows.
With Cirque du Soleil becoming such a highly successful brand name, it wouldn't have been that surprising if the troupe had offered an experience a little less dazzling than previous productions for its newest touring show, Dralion. If anything, this new show proves that the Cirque continues to excel at the art of creating imaginative spectacles.
Cirque du Soleil shows have always featured a multicultural sensibility, and Dralion builds on that aspect, taking a great deal of inspiration from the Chinese circus tradition, both in the style of the acts and the production design, which also incorporates elements of African and Indian styles. The centerpieces of the show are acrobats, who contort, balance and tumble; even Chinese dragons pull off some pretty agile moves. One team of acrobats uses a teeter board to form impossibly high human towers; another group launches itself through a collection of rotating and stationary hoops.
The show has also re-imagined some of the most familiar circus acts. The trapeze becomes the double trapeze, with two couples performing synchronized acrobatics. Even juggling gets a limber update combined with a contortionist/modern-dance performance. Cirque du Soleil's flair for dramatic presentation truly shows when something as mundane as a juggler adding another ball to his trick is transformed into a celestial event.
The clowns of Cirque du Soleil work on a similar principle, manipulating simple, pedestrian things--but for laughs. One clown's nervous giggling into a bullhorn was somehow hilarious every time he did it. Likewise, his cohort turned an embarrassed tug at the hem of her short skirt into almost an entire routine, and the recurring minor humiliation of a hapless "audience member" became the focus of many of the clowns' scenes, which were interspersed with the serious acts. The clowns do have most of their fun at the expense of the ordinary, but, interestingly, their last scene pokes fun at the Cirque itself.
With Dralion, Cirque du Soleil proves that it can still astound, but even more thrilling is that this troupe still demonstrates such joy in creating that kind of astonishment.
"Dralion" plays at the San Jose Water Company, San Fernando and Delmas streets, San Jose; Thu, 8pm, Fri, 5:30 and 9:30pm, Sat, 4 and 8pm, Sun, 1 and 5pm, Tue-Wed, 8pm. $39-$60 adults/$27.25-$42 children. 800.678.5440.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
