There was acrobatics aplenty in the Save Mart Center while it was occupied with Cirque du Soleil’s show, “Dralion,” Nov. 7-11.
The dralion is a combination of a dragon and a lion, which represent a blend of Eastern and Western acrobatics that the program is based around.
Cirque’s high-flying circus act is the 12th production that has been taken on tour.
The show stars five main characters, four of whom represent the elements of air, earth, water and fire. They play out the story behind “Dralion.”
While some may care little about for story, there was much more than just jumping and rolling. Singers, dressed in elegant white dress, performed while hanging from rafters as a small orchestra played hidden behind the stage.
The impressive acts cycled through at a quick pace, never leaving the stage empty. Even between performances, the stage was anything but dull.
After this year’s election, you would think people would be tired of clowns by now, butthree clowns, reminiscent of “The Three Stooges,” took the spotlight while set changes were taking place behind the scenes to keep the crowd entertained.
These clowns had the audience in stitches throughout the performance with their slapstick-style comedy and strange attire. They were eerily nimble for appearing quite out of shape.
While I have no problems with clowns, I felt like these came on a bit too strong and were on stage a bit too long. Ending their schtick two minutes earlier would have left me feeling much better about the show as a whole.
The show’s main attraction are the acrobatics, however, not the clowns and, boy, did the acrobats bring their “A-game.”
Launching a yo-yo 150 feet in the air is impressive, even if you aren’t able to catch it on a string behind your back, but the women performing this feat did so without so much as a misstep.
The main character, Azala, who represented air, focused her act on twirling through the air tangled in silk hanging from the ceiling. Climbing the fabric by wrapping herself in the silk itself, she swung around the stage nimbly and beautifully before pinwheeling to within inches from the floor.
It was truly one of the most impressive scenes of the night.
Each of the elements had their time on stage performing what looked to be the impossible. Some of the cast joined together in certain scenes, most notably the trampoline act.
Dancers, dressed in silky green and red tights, jumped high in the air and ran up the vertical back of the stage before falling back to Earth to rebound and continue their run up the wall.
This specific Cirque du Soleil performance premiered in April of 1999 and a variety of acts, such as a ballet on the tops of lightbulbs and foot juggling, have been retired from the show.
Throughout the two-and-a-half-hour performance, I felt as if I couldn’t pick my jaw up off the ground. Every act was more impressive than the last. Most of the intermission was spent pondering how in the world someone gets so skilled in bizarre feats of strength and skill.
The colorful acrobats jumped, rolled and flew through the air to create one of the most spectacular shows to ever come to the Save Mart Center. It was truly a magnificent performance. The only word I could mutter when the lights came back on was, “Wow.”
Besides the length of the clown performances, Cirque du Soleil put on a brilliant performance that left my hands swollen and red from the applause.
