The only word to describe KOOZA is… AMAZING!!!

I’ve seen several Cirque du Soleil productions and KOOZA was by far, the most physical, high-energy and awe inspiring show of all. 

The audience’s reaction to the gravity defying, body contorting, magical balancing, and fearless performances resulted in at not several, but many moments during the show, of audible group gasps, screams and shrieks. The story, led by a team of very funny clowns made for a slap-stick, party-like feel, intermingled with spectacular circus acts. 

The clowns kept the show funny and moving, allowing people to catch their breathes and slow their pulses between acts.  Be ready for some fun audience participation, but be warned…watch your wallet. 

The show’s opening artistic act, three contortionists, set the stage for the acts to come.  They seemed to made of rubber and virtually boneless as they intertwined and balanced themselves on top of each other.

Just a few of the performances during the 3-hour tightly produced show included a Zen-like performer who balanced himself on a stack of chairs a couple stories into the air while performing unbelievable feats of balance. As he reached the pinnacle of his performance, the audience became memorized into total spellbound silence. 

The double high wire act ended with cheers from the audience as a pyramid of bicycles crossed the tight rope without even a waver of mistake.  At one point, an aerialist leapt over another tight rope walker and just missed his landing, almost falling.  Was it part of the act to build additional tension or was the stunt so challenging that it took two tries to complete? Either way, the crowd applauded loudly when he landed his second attempt. 

The graceful solo trapeze aerialist made the crowd gasp numerous times as she seemed to freefall away from her trapeze, only to catch herself at the last instant.

Other acts included a fast-handed juggler, a game of acrobatic “blanket toss", a duo that tangoed gracefully on a unicycle, and several aerialists being launched high off of a teeter-taughter.  The highlight was watching stilt walkers catapulted skyward and landing on thick mats after completing seemingly impossible twists and flips.

READ MORE AND ABOUT MY PERSONAL FAVORITE ACT—>

For me, the highlight of the show was the Wheel of Death (see photo). Two artists, dressed as devils, ran inside and outside of the spinning stainless steel wheels, at times free falling ten or more feet as gravity took over. this act caused almost continual gasps and shrieks from the audience. It appeared they were just inches away from a misplaced footing or grasp and falling to a possibly death.

The set is a two-story bandstand, draped in richly colored canopies, created a dreamlike experience.  The athletic performers made multiple colorful and artistic costumes changes. throughout the show. The live music was an eclectic blend of new age, pop, jazz, and traditional middle-eastern/sub-continent sounds, led by two female vocalists who were spectacular.  The show’s length, at about 3 hours, seemed to fly by and included a ½-hour intermission.

KOOZA effectively combines slap-stick buffoonery, fast-paced and amazing performances and a live music score that delights. Sir Isaac Newton would have given up on his theory of gravity if he had seen KOOZA.

The show can only be considered the ticket of the season to get in Washington, DC.  I just hope you don’t get the magic seat.

In the next couple days, I’ll be posting on my preshow backstage tour, so stop back for more on KOOZA.

Cirque Du Soleil – KOOZA
Under the Grand Chapiteau at the Plateau
201 Harborview Avenue
National Harbor, MD 20745  (map it)

Dates and Times – October 30 – extended until December 14, 2008, daily, except Mondays. 

Tickets – Adults – $55.00 – $215.00, kids 2-12 – $38.50 – $150.50, Weekday Senior and student discounts available for some shows – $49.50 – $112.50. Tickets available online or by phone at 800-674-5440.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Branch Avenue – Green line, then a 20-minute bus ride (NH-1 Metrobus).

Parking – Event parking is $10.00.

Images – All courtesy of Cirque du Soleil, © Cirque du Soleil 2007 – photos by Olivier Samson Arcand & costumes by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.
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Post from: The DC Traveler

Fast forward 18 years later and he’s directing Cirque du Soleil’s latest production to visit Washington, DC, KOOZA.  He also wrote and created the production, which opens October 30th, 2008 at the new Nation Harbor.

I had a chance recently to chat with David about the upcoming production of KOOZA.

Besides winning a Tony "Live Theatrical Presentation" Award in 1999 for Silent Tongue, David launched the role of the Cat in the Hat, in the Broadway musical Seussica, a musical based on the books by Dr. Seuss. He has also appeared in several movies, including Lorenzo’s Oil and on The Tonight Show.

KOOZA uses the classic Jungian theme, the duality of man — the good and the bad — the light and the dark. The show’s main character, a loner, seeks his place in the world, by exploring a wide range of emotions of the human condition. From power to fear, through solitude to laughter, the characters show us how we are all the same in our hopes, joys and fears.

When asked how long the production took from concept to stage, he related that the show’s concept is based on some of his European clowning and circus experiences, which he described as more classic in their technique and approach. But the show adds in a familiar America style of humor – slapstick, in the forms of the Three Stooges or Laurel and Hardy.

The first six months of development of KOOZA were dedicated to the creation of the concept, followed by another 18 months of production development with his team of over a dozen creative associates. During that period, all aspects of the show were developed, including the music – a key element of the show, as well as the costumes, sets and each performance. But he reminded me that it doesn’t include the years and years performers invest to make any Cirque show look effortless as they seem to defy gravity and much of natural law.

“It the first show where the clown’s performances were created specifically for the show in the studio,” he said. “And KOOZA is one of the most physical Cirque du Soleil shows in years.” A comment such as that is hard to comprehend, as all of the shows I’ve experienced have been exceptionally physical and seemed to push the performances to the limits of physical strength, agility, balance and control.

When asked if he is creating another Cirque show in the future, he hesitated and replied somewhat coyly, “Yes…one for production in 2010”.  Based on his somewhat reluctant answer, it seems he’s like so many other creative types, preferring to hold their work close to the chest until it’s ready for public consumption. 

I asked him what Washington DC audiences should look for, he replied that the audience should leave the performance with a feeling of inspiration and hope. “Hopefully feeling like a kid again.”

Something I suspect we could all use a bit more of these days.

For more details on performances and tickets, check out my original announcement on the KOOZA on The DC Traveler.  The scheduled performance run has been extended another two weeks, now ending on December 14, 2008.

Images – All courtesy of Cirque du Soleil, © Cirque du Soleil 2007 – headshot – by Olivier Samson-Arcand – C2007 Cirque du Soleil Inc.

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Post from: The DC Traveler

Now in it’s 31st season, the Big Apple Circus, when not in New York, travels around delighting children of all ages.

The two-hour show includes all the classic circus acts — high wire, jugglers, clowns, trapeze, horse riding acts,  a fun dog act and more. 

Two of the circus high wire performers set records in 2003 in the Guinness Book of World Records when one skipped a rope over 1300 times on the high wire while another performer spun 99 hula hoops at the same time.

And since this is a smaller, one ring circus, all the seats are within 50 feet of the stage so you can feel on top of the action.

Big Apple Circus   
45630 Dulles Town Center Blvd.
Sterling, VA 20166  (map it)

Dates and Times – Through Monday, October  13, 2008, two show most days.

Tickets – $18.00 – $52.00 and are available online.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Vienna/Fairfax-GMU, Orange line- then a 25 minute cab ride.

Parking – Free

Images – Flickr – acrobat, Ringmaster 

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Post from: The DC Traveler

Opening October 30th, 2008, for a one month run at the National Harbor in Washington, DC, Cirque Du Soleil combines some of the best acrobatic performers in the world, with the art of clowning to create mystifying stories that delights audiences.

Tickets for Cirque’s Middle Eastern inspired show, KOOZA, just went on sale. The show includes high-flying acrobats, amazing gymnastics and dance, high wire and trapeze artists, bicyclists, jugglers, and, as always, a good dose of humor and memorizing live music.  

Cirque du Soleil has reinvented circus performing and taken it to amazing new heights.  That’s why over 80 million people worldwide have seen the magic of Cirque. 

I’ve seen three of their shows and each performance was spectacular and totally entertaining.  After attending any show, there’s always a few acts that leave me asking  “just how did they do that?”

Tickets are now on sale and should go fast, so order soon.

Cirque Du Soleil – KOOZA
Under the Grand Chapiteau at the Plateau
201 Harborview Avenue
National Harbor, MD 20745  (map it)

Dates and Times – October 30 – November 30, 2008, Daily, except Mondays. 

Tickets – Adults – $55.00 – $215.00, kids 2-12 -  $38.50 – $150.50, Weekday Senior and student discounts available for some shows – $49.50 – $112.50. Tickets are on sale now and available online or by phone at 800-674-5440.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Branch Avenue – Green line, then a 20-minute bus ride (NH-1 Metrobus).

Parking – Harbor parking is normally $1.00 per hour ($10 max.), but event parking may be charged.

Images – All courtesy of Cirque du Soleil, © Cirque du Soleil 2007 – Skeleton Dance – photo by Olivier Samson Arcand & costume by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.

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Post from: The DC Traveler

For 138 years, The Greatest Show On Earth has played to audiences around the globe.  Starting in 1871, as P.T. Barnum’s Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Hippodrome show, it eventually merged with several other circuses and became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. 

Ever desire to run away and join the circus? Just step inside the three rings about an hour before show time to visit with circus performers, elephants and dogs. Try on a costume, learn how to juggle or talk about life in the circus.

CIRCUS PARADE UPDATE (3/20/08) – Based on a question about the Circus Parade, I discovered the RB&BB circus parade starts Union Station at around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, March 24th, The parade ends at the Verizon Center.

Dates and Times 

• March 27-30, 2008 at the Verizon Center
  601 F Street, NW, between 6th and 7th Streets, NE
  Washington, DC 20004 (map it)
• April 2-13, 2008, at the Patriot Center at George Mason University
  4500 Patriot Circle
  Fairfax, VA 22030  (map it)

Tickets – $14.00 – $95.00 and are available online.

Nearest Metro Subway Station

• Verizon Center – Gallery Place / Chinatown (the Metro station is part of the Verizon Center) – Red, Yellow and Green lines.
• Patriot Center – Vienna – Orange line, then a 10 minute cab ride.

Parking – Included in the ticket price at the Patriot Center.

Images – Flickr, big top, tigers, elephants, sign 

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Post from: The DC Traveler