501. Cirque du Soleil - "LUZIA" - A Waking Dream in Mexico

A few nights ago, my mom and I went to watch the new Cirque du Soleil show, LUZIA! LUZIA brings you on a journey between reality and fantasy to explore the rich, vibrant culture of Mexico. The show combines an extraordinary mix of breathtaking visuals and sounds to invoke your imagination and provoke your senses.

I was invited to their special preview night and brought my mom along. We watched it a day before the "official" opening night, and were treated to the ultimate VIP experience. This included premium seats, open food and drinks in the VIP tent before the show and during intermission, private washrooms, a terrace, and more. We had an amazing night and were blown away by the show.

LUZIA is a combination of the words "luz" ("light" in Spanish) and "lluvia" ("rain" in Spanish); two elements at the core of the show. Water was also integrated into the show for the first time. To represent Mexico, the team created a dream woven from memories, experiences and encounters, laden with Mexican culture, history and mythology. The audience was brought on a journey through a series of fragments based on themes of speed, monumentality, rain, animals and fantasy.


I totally thought we got front row at first..but it turns out there was a row AA & BB so we were in third lol.






The food was actually really really good. To be honest, I didn't expect it to be that good because I thought it was one of those events where the focus would be on the show rather than food..but I was wrong. They also served a lot of it so we ate enough for an entire meal. There were things like: curry coconut chicken empanadas, orange and kale salad, slow-cooked chicken skewers, patatas bravas, mackerel escabeche crostinis, carnita tacos, and a LOT more! I loved everything. Everything was inspired by the flavours of Mexico and served with an assortment of premium wines, beers, and soft drinks.

As you can see..there were some extremely dark clouds that evening. We didn't think much of it at first but then literally the minute we were supposed to head over to the main tent for the show to start...it started thunderstorming really badly. It was pouring like crazy and the wind was very extreme..(we found out it knocked over a tree near the entrance as we were leaving). We were all in the VIP Tent still and didn't know how to get to the main tent for the show. It was so scary. I was afraid the tent would collapse because of the winds..and the rain started to come in because the wind was blowing it sideways..so they had to zip up the entrance and exits. The show was delayed a bit because of this. Luckily the wind died down a little bit so they transported us over, one by one, with umbrellas.


The show started off with sounds of a plane fading away as a parachutist free falls from the ceiling. He is a traveller falling into a land of memories. He lands, explores his surroundings and turns a giant key in the ground. This starts the journey as he is transported on a magical journey between fantasy and reality. The running woman with the large butterfly wings was the first scene. So beautiful and captivating..and I loved the metallic horse running behind her. The butterfly wings were a tribute to the annual migratory journey of the monarch butterfly from Southern Canada to Central Mexico.

In this scene, the acrobats were dressed in hummingbird costumes as they leapt through hoops while performing acrobatic moves. A giant treadmill was used to generate speed and agility. The hoops were less than 30" in diameter. The acrobats leapt through sometimes feet first, sometimes backwards, sometimes leapfrogging over each other to jump through.


I LOVED their costumes. In the first photo above there is a beetle walking around (in case you didn't notice)..and the bottom one there are a couple of spearfish and tuna fish. The tuna fish heads were my favourite. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good clear shot.
This scene was inspired by the golden age of Mexican cinema. The three porters would fling the female acrobat above their heads and over to each other, while she performs intricate flips.



In this scene, a lifeguard gradually builds two rows of flexible canes to balance on as he performs different moves; balancing on one hand, doing push ups on them, holding the iron cross position, etc., up to 20 feet high above the stage!




Here is my favourite costume!!



This scene was so beautiful but hard to capture with still photos..much like the whole show I guess. The acrobat represents the demigod of rain, swinging around in a cenote (which I've always wanted to visit in Mexico!) while also interacting with a jaguar. It was a very graceful performance. There was a water hole in the ground as he swung around and whipped his long hair along the surface of the water, creating splashes and incorporating the water into the performance.



The contortionist was a little cringe-worthy at times, but amazing!



I loved watching the swings! There were two giant swings mounted on a turntable, which slowly turned while the acrobats performed, so the entire audience would see the show from all angles. The acrobats were thrown from one swing up to 33 feet in the air as they performed flips before landing on the other swing. Very entertaining to watch.



Luzia is Cirque du Soleil's 38th original production since 1984 and the 17th show to be presented in Toronto under the Big Top. It runs from July 28 to October 16 2016, making it the longest-running Cirque du Soleil show in Toronto so far. I highly recommend it..and would recommend purchasing tickets ASAP as I know a lot of nights are already sold out! Buy your tickets here and be transported to a waking dream of Mexico...


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