The Save Mart Center hosted “Corteo” by Cirque du Soleil on Sept. 20, 21 and 22, captivating the audience members with performances that ranged from intricate choreographs to flying acrobats that left people on the edge of their seats.
Taking place in a carnival atmosphere during the 1920’s in Italy, the show’s storyline follows a clown who dreams of his funeral and the celebration of his time on earth.
“Corteo” first premiered at Montreal, Canada in 2005 under the big top and has traveled through more than 60 cities in 19 different countries.
Several years later in 2016, the show was reimagined and transitioned to an arena show. This new product developed into what Fresno audience members were able to witness at Save Mart Center.
Cirque du Soleil’s mission is “to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions of people around the world.” They surely accomplished this with their 16 acts, which included jugglers, aerialists, dancers and much more.
The show’s development out of Montreal brings no surprise to the fact that the cast is international, representing 15 different nationalities.
A performer, Johan Juslin, is a juggler in the show from Finland. Juslin started juggling at the age of 10 and was involved with a youth circus school for 11 years. He then attended and graduated from The National Circus School in Montreal and soon after signed on with Cirque du Soleil, which helped give him the opportunity to join “Corteo” in 2017.
“Everyone in the show is constantly practicing and pushing themselves to enhance their craft,” Juslin said.
Backstage, the performers were either napping, rehearsing or working out. The commitment they all had transitioned over to their performances and kept the audience entranced throughout the entire night.
From humorous actors, death-defying aerialists and mesmerizing vocalists, Fresno found a little piece of magic after seeing the wonders of Cirque du Soleil.
