Photograph courtesy of Cirque du SoleilTrampoline cave wall from OVO. February 2010Cirque du Soleil’s Newest Big-Top is DazzlingBy Lori HigaOVO, Cirque due Soliel’s latest offering, is a delicious, delirious, hyper-energetic romp through the world of insects. The show centers on a lighthearted love story between a voluptuous ladybug and a goofy, silly, smitten fly. OVO means “egg” in Portuguese, and symbols the beginning of life that’s the performance’s visual signature. Brazilian Deborah Colker, the first woman to direct a Cirque production – she also wrote and choreographed OVO – has created a fantastical realm populated by crickets, fire ants, spiders, caterpillars, and dragonflies. In addition to Olympiad circus virtuosos – including tightrope, trapeze, juggler and trampoline artists, antipodists and contortionists – OVO is distinguished by stunning music, sets, costumes and lighting. Brazilian musical motifs, from samba-reggae to carimbó, forró and Rio funk, are performed by live singers and musicians under the direction of composer Berna Ceppa. Gringo Cardia's organic stage design and props reflect a kaleidoscope of bewitching and continually morphing set pieces of eerie, colossal, blooming flowers, webs, leaves, nests and caves. Costumes by Liz Vandal are as spectacularly creative and complex as those featured in the holiday movie hit, Avatar. OVO’s cast features 54 performing artists from 13 countries. In one of the most impressive acts, six artists swing from ropes roughly 42 feet above the stage floor; the highest high wire act ever presented under Cirque du Soleil’s Grand Chapiteau. The jaw-dropping finale has 20 performers leaping, somersaulting and bouncing straight up a 24 foot vertical rock-strewn wall. If you missed OVO’s San Francisco run, you can catch the surreal, entymologically-themed extravaganza starting February 4, 2010 at the Taylor Street Bridge, corner of Taylor and Highway 87, in San Jose. Tickets are $55 to $135; $175 to $250 for the VIP package, with discounts for students, seniors, and children. For information call 800.450.1480 or go to www.cirquedesoleil.com.
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