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Toronto, Ont. Dec. 20, 2011: Cirque du Soleil kicked off a run of Qidam at Ricoh Coliseum.
Here's my review:
Qidam brings the latest Cirque du Soleil show to Toronto's Ricoh Coliseum for a 10-day run.
At the opening night's performance on Tuesday, I found myself at different times awestruck by the feats performed and wowed by the choreography and showmanship.
There's lots of audience participation. Early on, one of the clowns picked an unsuspecting young man from the audience and brought him up on stage to mock at the audience's expense.
Qidam made good use of the space, with lots of characters being launched high into the air on chairs, hoops or almost invisible strings.
The Russian wheel act was a dazzling display on the stage.
Ricoh's horsey palace is transformed into an intimate Petit Chapiteau tent, with great sight lines from virtually any angle. This was circus like it was meant to be experienced, unlike the Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour abomination that I witnessed at the Air Canada Centre in October.
The next interval in between acrobats and tumblers saw a different clown pull a pretty blonde woman from the audience. What followed had me LOL'ing a lot as he put her through typical first-date shenanigans -- only taking things a little too far. But not in the way you'd expect. Have you ever seen a clown with a foot fetish?
Some of the best Cirque acts involve suspension from above. The act with a red sheet was spellbinding. I had a hard time taking my eyes off this one.
There were lots of other, lesser characters portrayed throughout the two-and-a-quarter-hour show (with 20 minute intermission) for those with shorter attention spans, like kids. It's certainly a show that you can bring your entire family to.
The most astounding of all in Qidam was the Statue act in the second half, which saw a man and a woman balancing on top of and around each other in seemingly impossible configurations.
At the sound of a big BOOM! they further contorted into gravity-defying shapes like rocks set upon one another by that rock-balancing dude. Spellbinding!
Qidam continues at Ricoh Coliseum (100 Princes' Boulevard) until December 30 with 7:30 p.m. showtimes and some 3:30 matinees. Tickets are $40-$115.
Here's my review:
Qidam brings the latest Cirque du Soleil show to Toronto's Ricoh Coliseum for a 10-day run.
At the opening night's performance on Tuesday, I found myself at different times awestruck by the feats performed and wowed by the choreography and showmanship.
There's lots of audience participation. Early on, one of the clowns picked an unsuspecting young man from the audience and brought him up on stage to mock at the audience's expense.
Qidam made good use of the space, with lots of characters being launched high into the air on chairs, hoops or almost invisible strings.
The Russian wheel act was a dazzling display on the stage.
Ricoh's horsey palace is transformed into an intimate Petit Chapiteau tent, with great sight lines from virtually any angle. This was circus like it was meant to be experienced, unlike the Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour abomination that I witnessed at the Air Canada Centre in October.
The next interval in between acrobats and tumblers saw a different clown pull a pretty blonde woman from the audience. What followed had me LOL'ing a lot as he put her through typical first-date shenanigans -- only taking things a little too far. But not in the way you'd expect. Have you ever seen a clown with a foot fetish?
Some of the best Cirque acts involve suspension from above. The act with a red sheet was spellbinding. I had a hard time taking my eyes off this one.
There were lots of other, lesser characters portrayed throughout the two-and-a-quarter-hour show (with 20 minute intermission) for those with shorter attention spans, like kids. It's certainly a show that you can bring your entire family to.
The most astounding of all in Qidam was the Statue act in the second half, which saw a man and a woman balancing on top of and around each other in seemingly impossible configurations.
At the sound of a big BOOM! they further contorted into gravity-defying shapes like rocks set upon one another by that rock-balancing dude. Spellbinding!
Qidam continues at Ricoh Coliseum (100 Princes' Boulevard) until December 30 with 7:30 p.m. showtimes and some 3:30 matinees. Tickets are $40-$115.
© ROGER CULLMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
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