Cirque du Soleil bringing new show to CN Centre
Cirque du Soleil is coming back to Prince George. It was a reward, said CN Centre manager Glen Mikkelsen, for the hearty embrace this city gave Cirque last time they brought us one of their cutting edge acrobat shows. No two Cirque shows are ever the same, and the one-time circus company from Quebec has shattered creative expectations across a number of performance genres during their colourful history.
They have used water, horses, all kinds of mechanics and music to stun the world with the capabilities of humans. Prince George is one of the first locations to see their latest accomplishment: acrobatics on ice.
The show coming to Prince George is entitled Crystal. Kurt Browning was one of the special guest consultants during the creation of this boundary-breaking production. And it slashes across CN Centre ice from April 25 to 29.
“It is a truly brand-new kind of performance,” said Mikkelsen on Wednesday at a special ceremony held at the Prince George Playhouse to reveal the big announcement. “Prince George is one of the first cities on the planet to host this show, and we are the only B.C. city announced so far.”
Cirque is a global force in the entertainment industry.
The company is one of the most lauded exports of Canadian culture in the history of the nation, and the single most successful circus-based performance com- pany in world history.
The reason they put Prince George so high on their agenda for Crystal was sheer P.G. mutual response. Ticket sales were strong for their 2014-15 Dralion visit, and their interactions with local goods and services providers was also positive.
So positive, in fact, that a senior Cirque du Soleil executive wrote a glowing report on the abilities and efforts of the staff of CN Centre, calling them one of the top facility crews he’d ever encountered anywhere in the world. The review was so clear and unequivocal that Mikkelsen choked up as he read the words. His pride in his team radiated.
“We have something special in Prince George and we are eager to share it with guests from around the world,” he said.
The incoming Cirque cast and crew totals more than 100 people and requires 23 trucks of gear to set up for Crystal. That’s an economic impact by itself, then the audience also has to be considered. Fans from all over the northern B.C. region come to CN Centre for even the most basic of shows on that stage.
For Cirque, expect visitors to attend from all over Western Canada, the American Northwest, and even farther afield.
Tourism Prince George CEO Erica Hummel said that according to her agency’s research, this performance will bring in about 5,000 guests to the city’s hospitality sector and “it’s happening in the shoulder season when (hotels and restaurants) needs it the most,” she said.
The incoming cash would likely total about $1.5-million for the local economy, Hummel added, “but the benefit to Prince George goes beyond just dollars and cents.” The kind of visceral experience people have when they personally visit our city would have a positive impact on the Prince George reputation, show of the Prince George character, and inform people’s decisions on where to visit “and see that it’s a great place to live, as well.”
According to Mikkelsen, Crystal will present “gymnasts and skaters perform acrobatics on the ice and in the air, seamlessly combining multiple disciplines for a world class audience experience. Synchronized skating, freestyles figures, and extreme skating are featured alongside traditional circus disciplines such as swinging trapeze, aerial traps and hand-tohand. The result is an adrenalinepacked show for the whole family that pushes the boundaries and surpasses all expectations.”
Tickets for the Prince George visit of Crystal go on sale Oct. 27. For members of Cirque Club (available on the Cirque du Soleil website), tickets can be obtained as of 10 a.m. Monday.
Seven performances are so far scheduled for CN Centre.
Prince George is one of the first cities on the planet to host this show, and we are the only B.C. city announced so far.
— Glen Mikkelsen