Cirque du Soleil skates into town
Cirque show follows woman’s path of self-discovery
The stage is set — and covered with ice — for Cirque du Soleil’s show Crystal in Saskatoon.
Crystal is the first time the Canadian theatre giant has staged a show on ice. The story follows a young woman’s path of self-discovery through her own imagination.
The show’s touring publicist, Julie Desmarais, said a lot of planning has gone into making the venture work, describing a process of around 18 months of creative workshops followed by 15 weeks of putting the show together.
“Cirque do Soleil … is constantly thinking on how we can reinvent ourselves and pushing the boundaries of acrobatics,” she said. “The ice performance is something we’ve been thinking about for several years.”
Crystal’s technicians and crew have transformed the SaskTel Centre arena into a huge ice surface with ramps, lights and projections, and a giant “ice castle” set out on the surface.
Desmarais said Crystal travels to a new venue each week, which gives the crew enough time to prepare the performance surface and the performers enough time to get used to the new space.
“There will be some training ... to validate that all the equipment is okay,” she said. “Even though an arena can be an arena, every space (is) different.”
Even for some of the more experienced acrobats in the show, Desmarais said getting used to being on ice has meant more practice and training for everyone. Wearing skates adds extra weight, which can throw a performer off.
With acrobats spinning over the ice on the trapeze, or flipping through the air holding onto straps, they need to be as comfortable as possible.
A team of more than 100 people helps build the set in each city, and the performers come from around the world. Desmarais said 15 nationalities are represented among the full cast and crew.
She said the story will appeal to all audiences.
“There’s something that speaks to everybody. I think there’s a little bit of Crystal in each of us.”
Crystal by Cirque du Soleil opened Wednesday at SaskTel Centre and continues until Sunday.