One of the best contortionists I've ever seen is part of Luzia.
Luzia is Cirque's "waking dream of Mexico" and it attempts to encapsulate in a 3 hour period the essence of Mexico. While this is a tall order, it does a pretty great job. The show features live music, crazy costumes and puppets, soccer juggling, virtuosic aerialists, a rotating stage, some funny clowning, and perhaps the best contortionist I've ever seen in my entire life.
It also features some astonishing uses of water as a set piece, including rain that seems to come down on command. (or stop on command as well) The director of the show Daniele Finzi Pasca had directed another show I saw about 10 years ago called Rain by Cirque Eloize, and he's expanded his vocabulary (and my guess is that Cirque has a larger budget to play with) The use of water in this show is phenomenal, and adds to the astonishing aesthetic and virtuosity for which Cirque is known.
Here's an example of some aerial work in the water (I took this at the show I was at on opening night!)
By the way, I haven't seen every Cirque show ever made, but my guess is that I've seen probably 12-15 live, and another 3 or 4 on video. I think this show is in the top 5. It's that good.
This is your last chance to see Luzia in Chicago. It must close on September 3.
Luzia opened on July 21, and it's original run was extended, but we are now near the end of that, and it must close on September 3. As a special offer, Cirque is offering a 30% discount to readers of this blog for remaining performances of Luzia in Chicago.
Don't miss your opportunity to see an amazing show at a discount. You will thank me for it!
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