Cirque Hawaii!

Acrobats Grace Waikiki Stage
Terry Hunter – thunter@kgmb9.com
http://kgmb9.com/kgmb/display.cfm?storyID=6814

Waikiki’s newest entertainment attraction is a modern circus in an unusual setting. “Cirque Hawaii” brings 35 international acrobats into what used to be the IMAX Theater on Seaside Avenue.

The exuberant young performers of “Cirque Hawaii” are hard at work practicing their acrobatic feats. Soon they’ll be entertaining audiences twice every night with their dazzling one hour and fifteen minute show.

Their skills are simply jaw dropping.

“They do what humans aren’t supposed to do. When you see it you will understand,” said Vital, Cirque Hawaii choreographer. “We don’t want to give a good production; we want to give a phenomenal production.”

Both the creative director and the choreographer of this new show used to perform with Cirque du Soleil. Most of their acrobats are from eastern Europe.

They’re doing tricks that I haven’t seen at Cirque du Soleil,” said Mathieu Laplante, Cirque Hawaii creative director. “I was a performer and I see them doing some tricks and I say wow, these guys are good.”

Local dancer Corrina Brillon choreographed the Hawaiian piece that opens the show.

“It’s a little bit of hula, Tahitian and jazz and acrobats kind of all in one dance,” Brillon said.

Nine different acts make up the evening’s entertainment with the help of state-of-the-art lighting, sound and special effects. A storyline about a character who’s just arrived in the islands links the acts together.

The show has been constructed around the not-very-circus-like dimensions of the IMAX Theater stage, but that appears to be no handicap.

“It is small, but if we use it right, we’ll make it big,” Laplante said.

The shows’ producers hope “Cirque Hawaii” will be a Waikiki attraction for years to come.

The showings are as follows:

Saturday, 7 PM
Sunday, 7 PM
Monday, 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM
Tuesday, 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM

*There are 475 seats in theater
Price: $65.00