The Cirque's in town!

And what a spectacle it is all right, surely not to be missed.

At long last, Cirque du Soleil comes to Manila, and no more worthy place of honor hosts the world-famous troupe’s Grand Chapiteau or Big Tent than Rizal Park, at an area between Manila Hotel and the Independence Grandstand.

Here, it took the usual eight days for the especially designed tent with the blue-and-yellow stripes to rise 66 feet from the ground, supported by four masts, each at 80 feet tall. Here, an audience of some 2.500 will sit entranced nightly for the next few weeks, certain to be spellbound by the incomparable magic that is the fusion of theater, song and dance with modernized circus traditions made mythic.

For this Manila performance, Cirque du Soleil has brought in Varekai, which premiered in its home base of Montreal in 2002, and which has been seen by six million people in 55 cities in 12 countries.

Varekai means “wherever” in the Romany language of the gypsies — the universal wanderers. It is written and directed by Dominic Champagne, who had previously made a name for himself in theater and television. He also co-directed Cirque’s Zumanity in 2003, and wrote and directed The Beatles’ LOVE in 2006 — which continues to be a top draw at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

“The Limping Angel” performs a dynamic slithering dance in the “Solo on Crutches” number.

As the program literature has it, “this production pays tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit and art of the circus tradition, and to those who quest with infinite passion along the path that leads to Varekai.”

As with most Cirque productions, the merging of drama and acrobatics is infused with a narrative. A young man, the archetype of the fallen angel, here named Icare (for Icarus) drops by parachute into a magical forest filled with fantastical creatures that help him rediscover his passion for flight.

The narrative is characteristically diffused, however, as snippets of traditional circus acts, however highly stylized, break up any awareness of a developing story. These include jugglers, clown acts, dances, aerialists, acrobats — that attempt to weave into the grand design. The daredevil acts featuring aerial hoops and straps complement that of Icare doing his thing while held captive in a net. 

One still has to rely on the program notes, however, to make sense of all the displays of derring-do as being part of the narrative.

Dergin Tokmak of Germany, the much-applauded “Limping Angel,” proves accommodating to party guests, here posing with food stylist Ditas Antenor

Varekai is also supposed to be a “tribute to the ancient and rare circus traditions of Icarian games, water meteors and Georgian dance. Varekai then catapults to the future with revolutionary twists on such acts as Russian swings, slippery surface and triple trapeze.” 

The Icarian Games are said to be an ancient discipline where “the human body becomes catapult and catcher in an elaborate, explosive and highly choreographed presentation of strength, balance and agility.”

Indeed, captivating spectacle is the result, as when acrobats soar from one seesawing Russian swing to another, or are hurled into a landing canvas. 

To be sure, any first-time Cirque viewer will find it a memorable experience. As we did all of 15 years ago in Hong Kong for Alegria, which proved mesmeric in fusing the philosophies of melancholia and joy in one infinitely riveting evening. LOVE in Vegas we saw a few years back, reigniting our admiration for Cirque’s use of music to enhance one set-piece fable after another. Given the familiar and nostalgic musical material, we were almost in tears, especially when pot-smoking was simulated, inclusive of the heady scent.

But ZAIA in Macau failed to enchant us, and we thought we had grown jaded with the predictable mélange of high-wire acts purporting to help myth-ify yet another story of a quest building upon innocence. Perhaps the proscenium setting at The Venetian fails to engage all the senses as intimately as when inside a tent or sitting around in a circle as in Vegas for LOVE.

Varekai is much better, with even its episodic thrusts presenting fresh novelties. In the “Solo on Crutches” number, the marvelous performer dances around on crutches as “The Limping Angel,” much like a jointed puppet, so that one wonders if he’s truly a performer who has conquered a physical disability.

Later, at the post-show party at Manila Hotel’s Champagne Room, we verify that Dergin Tokmak of Germany had indeed transcended a bout with polio by excelling in breakdancing as a young street performer, until the Cirque discovered and signed him up.

Some performers change from their fabulous stage costumes to no less than distinctive party outfits to mingle with guests in the post-show celebration at Manila Hotel’s Champagne Room

The lovely young trapeze artists were there, too, as well as the tall young man who played Icare — and everyone was accommodating to a fault, all pleasantly in smiles as they were often besieged by requests for the Pinoy circus tradition that is the photo op.

A total of 170 people involved with Varekai will spend over a month in Manila. The cast and crew represent 23 nationalities. Four teachers are part of the group, conducting on-site mentorship for ten students — children of the performers who bring their families along.

It is an immense, fastidiously run operation worldwide. In the Cirque’s international headquarters in Montreal, the Costume workshop alone has 400 employees producing 25,000 wardrobe pieces a year, as well as 3,000 pairs of shoes. Why, we know someone who took years to collect that same number of footwear.

Cirque du Soleil was founded in 1984 by the street performer turned visionary Guy Laliberté of Quebec. In 2004 he was named among the most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

No less accomplished are several others artists involved in this production of Varekai — which is among the Grand Chapiteau “villages-on-wheels” currently touring the world (the others being for the productions Corteo, OVO and Totem).   

 Costume designer Eiko Ishioka has created wardrobes for films, racing uniforms and outerwear for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and outfits for the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

This writer catches up with Icarus for a photo op.

The original music was composed by Violaine Corradi — who also did the haunting score for ZAIA. Here she is said to draw from a vast repertoire of world music, combining Hawaiian ritual sounds, songs of 11th-century troubadours in the south of France, traditional Armenian melodies, even gospel music with contemporary arrangements. At the premiere night last Wednesday, many in the audience certainly recognized what seemed to be the opening notes of Ang Tangi Kong Pag-ibig before it meandered elsewhere, or wherever.

More than 100 million people have seen a Cirque show since 1984 — in 300 cities in five continents. This year alone, 15 million are expected to watch any of several productions among the 19 mounted thus far.

Now it’s the Pinoys’ turn to sit in awe, in their very own country, and be blown away by the sheer artistry ever present — evocative and spellbinding, jaw-dropping, breathtaking — in a Cirque du Soleil performance. Ticket prices may be prohibitive by our standards (we understand that the cheapest seat is at P2,700). But oh, it is marvelous to be a child again and thrill to such a one as Varekai.