"Wherever the road may take us, the same desire drives us on: to bring hope to everyone who journeys with us."
These are the words of Guy Laliberte, guide and founder of Cirque du Soleil (which translates to "Circus if the Sun" in English). And it is a goal that was certainly met the night my friends and I watched the show; an astounding production from start to finish, an escape from the real world, a magical experience.
The Cirque du Soleil franchise rose from a troupe of young street performers in Quebec, Canada in 1982. They mixed with the crowd of tourists, artists and collectors in Baie-Saint-Paul, the Mecca for Quebec painters (according to the Varekai Official Programme), walking on stilts and blowing fire. From that moment on, Guy Laliberte, then one of the fire-breathing stilt-walkers, and his contemporaries began the dream of a fantastic journey: to take the Cirque du Soleil troupe around the world.
Since 1985, the troupe began traveling and has performed 28 different themes.
Varekai has been seen by over six million people in over 60 cities in over 12 countries since it's debut in 2002. It is a story about destiny and follows the theme of "Wherever the wind carries you, you'll always be home". The 56 performers come from all over the world, from Georgia to Belarus to Italy.
Through some lucky booking, we attained front row seats. Although they were on the side of the stage, we could see almost everything, from every make-up detail and character expression to the scales on a lizard creature's back. Varekai takes place in a deep, dark forest. A firefly flitters about in the sky and a warm wind blows as the sky begins to open. And then you can feel yourself being swept up into another world of music, magic and mischief, only to wake up when the circus tents lights are turned on at the end of the show.
We were all in awe from the minute the show started. Every costume, prop, movement, dance, magic trick, song, comedic stunt was almost perfect, gravity defying, dream-like. There was something for everyone; from the smallest child to the oldest Korean haloboji (grandfather) to the art critic to the general audience member. There were boys performing with water meteors, young men moving in the air grace personified, acrobats doing quadruple somersaults with no nets, hats being juggled, a young woman who moved in supernatural ways and a romantic plot to boot.
Cirque du Soleil does not use animals in any of their shows, which is entirely refreshing. And the animals are not missed. We could have all watched the show for many more hours. The band must receive special mention for without the wondrous music, the show would have missed the mood and emotion setter. Whether with vocals or only instrumental, the score was hauntingly brilliant.
One of the expressions in the show programme reads: "With a little luck, you won't find what you're looking for." Every single twist in the show was unexpected and better than the scene before.
Dominique Champagne, writer and director of Cirque du Soleil: Varekai, wrote the following in the show's programme, words that have stayed with me since those glorious few hours in May:
"Since these are crazy times and it is our duty not to surrender the world into the hands of fools. May this show be for you as it has been for me, a celebration of the coming together of brothers and sisters and of the joy of challenging limits.
Let yourself be swept away by the courage and beauty of these acrobats, dancers and actors who, every day, wherever the wind may take them, risk their lives trying to attain the sublime, to touch the sky, to defy the law of gravity and to dance in the fires of volcanoes...
So that they can tell the world that something else is possible."
Hope springs eternal, doesn't it just?
