Bringing us together
Cirque du Soleil’s “OVO” is all about inclusion.
In the Cirque du Soleil world of up to 19 touring human circuses, “OVO” is pretty special to the Quebec-based company. That’s because the show was created to commemorate Cirque’s 25th anniversary in 2009.
“Theywanted to do something that had to do with environment and nature,” explains Tim Bennett, artistic director for the tour. “We’re an environmentally conscious company, so they wanted to do something that celebrated nature and the Earth.”
After debuting inMontreal in 2009, “OVO” traveled to more than 30 cities in six countries as a bigtop showbefore transforming into an arena showin 2016.
The arena version of “OVO”— which means “egg” in Portuguese— is playing South Florida twice, running July 13-23 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise before appearing July 28-30 to the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.
Here is more about “OVO” fromBennett.
What it is about: “It follows the introduction of this egg to a community of insects, an insular community, very closed-off. And into the community is introduced a foreigner. He is the guardian of the egg. They steal his ovo. They’re sort of mean to him. During the course of the show, the more they learn about him, the more they realize he is more similar than he is different, and they come to love and accept him.”
What it’s really about: “The [egg] is a sign of rebirth and new life and understanding of new worlds. The showis really about inclusion. The message, I believe, is really a representation of what takes place at Cirque du Soleil. We have people from21 different countries, different religions, different colors, andwe all come together to bring the magic to audiences. We have towork with absolute trust … to execute the high-ability acts and maneuvers. The storytelling is really parallel to our story as a team, and it is especially timely right nowconsidering what is happening in theworld.”
How“OVO” is different fromother Cirque shows: “Cirque shows always have a real sense of mystery to them. This one has less of the darker, mysterious themes and more of the goofy and playful themes.”
Howthe showhas changed over the years: “The showstarted as a tent show, we call them a ‘big-top show.’ They sit in an area for a while, whereas the arena shows changes cities everyweek. When ‘OVO’ changed from a big-top showto an arena show, they came in and had the chance to make some changes after years of touring. They moved some acts around, replaced some acts.”
Alittle-knownthing about the show: “I will tell you that the original director, writer and choreographer Deborah Colker, and the composer slash musical director [Berna Ceppas] and, I think, the set designer [GringoCardia] were all Brazilian. So there’s a great Brazilian sensibility in the design and the feel, down to the choice of insects and plants. Brazilian people do recognize that. It’s sort of a little Easter egg for anyone who is Brazilian or South American.”
“OVO” runs July 13-23 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise and July 28-30 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. BB&T Center showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays (5 p.m. Sundays), with matinees 4 p.m. Saturdays and1p.m. Sundays. American Airlines Arena showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday; 11:30, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and1and 5 p.m. Sunday. BB&T Center tickets cost $25-$165. American Airlines Arena tickets cost $25-$192. Ticketmaster.com.
rh ag wood@ south florida .com