Expo 2015 has selected the Cirque du Soleil Group, Events and Special Projects, to create an engaging and unique show concept to be presented during the Universal Expo taking place in Milan, Italy from May 1 to October 31, 2015.
The colourful artistic circus will employ their graceful, acrobatic dancers to delve into the deep and complex ties between food and human existence at Expo’s request. The theme of the Universal Exposition that runs from May to October next year is “Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life,” exploring nutrition, food security, sustainable practices and celebrating global cuisines.
More than 50 Italian and international artists will perform in the Allavita! (To life!) in the Open Air Theatre, which goes on stage from May 6 to August 23, 2015.
The 2015 Exhibition theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” embraces culture, tradition, technology, innovation and their relationship with food. The Cirque du Soleil event production will celebrate these elements through the creation of a fascinating tale, interwoven with music and dance with the main inspiration stemming from the deep union between Food and Life.
Allavita! is the evocative title of this new exclusive production that will be presented during the Expo and will include the participation of over 50 Italian and international artists. This performance for the Universal Exposition of Milan 2015 will be set in a spectacular open air theatre from May 6 to August 23, 2015.
The title Allavita! refers to the awareness of the winds that nourish us and the roots that bring our international family together. It is a call to feed our lives with pleasure, spice and passion.
“We are proud of our choice of Cirque du Soleil to represent the universality of the public that will attend Expo Milano 2015. As one of the most renowned international companies of artistic performance, Cirque du Soleil constantly wishes to evoke the unreal, to invoke the senses and provoke the emotions in people from all over the world, using universal languages enjoyed by all,” said Giuseppe Sala, Commissioner of the Government of Italy for Expo Milano 2015 and CEO of Expo 2015 Company.
“We are extremely excited to bring Cirque du Soleil’s creativity to this significant event for Italy and the world,” said Yasmine Khalil, President, Events and Special Projects for The Cirque du Soleil Group. “Allavita! will be a never-before-seen production that will reflect the Expo Milano 2015 theme in an innovative, entertaining and thought-provoking style.”
Cirque du Soleil will collaborate with experts in Italy to create Allavita!, which will include Italian performers who will attend invited audition sessions in Milan. Specialty technical and logistical experts from Italy will be a crucial part of the show’s production team and local providers and suppliers will also assist in diverse areas. “The high-quality expertise available in Italy will be a great benefit to the Cirque du Soleil team,” added Khalil.
Allavita! will allow audiences to “discover the winds that sustain us, and the roots that unite our international family.
An invitation to nourish our lives with pleasure, enthusiasm and passion,” said Yasmine Khalil, event and special projects president for Cirque du Soleil.
“Allavita! will be a never before seen production that will re-propose the Milan Expo 2015 theme in an innovative, entertaining and stimulating way”. Art and food will also co-mingle for Expo in Milano al Bacio (Milan at the kiss), announced this week – a series of initiatives surrounding the celebrated Italian romantic painting, and symbol of the 19th century risorgimento movement that led to national unity, The Kiss, by Francesco Hayez.
The painting represents a dashing young couple from the middle ages in the act of a passionate kiss, using colours and a presentation that made the painting a symbolic, political celebration of the alliance between the Italian patriotic movement and France.
Pastry lessons, but also the creation of 20 different versions of the famous painting by as many art students at the Milanese art school Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera – home to the celebrated masterpiece – will be part of the initiative as will a photographs of people posing like the protagonists of The Kiss.
The students’ paintings will be exhibited during the month of October and then, at the end of Expo, auctioned off to benefit Father Virginio Colmegna’s Charity House Foundation, which supports troubled people in their effort to acquire autonomy. Milano al Bacio is curated by Flavio Maestrini, a journalist at the Rima publishing house and Pietro Pedroni of the advertising agency Temantica.
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Expo Milano 2015 introduces a new model for Universal Expositions in the 21st century through an innovative thematic approach that pervades every aspect of Expo and proposes to tackle the problem of nutrition for humankind, respecting the earth on which we live and from which we draw its exhaustible vital resources. The success of Expo 2015 will depend on the committed engagement of all the participants and their willingness to share their contributions to the theme across a platform that gives a voice to all the players involved. Six months of work, meetings and seminars will help bring out all the know-how needed to optimize the food chain with new perspectives on waste reduction, food security and a greater recovery of the nutritional value of the food.
The Cirque du Soleil Events and Special Projects team is dedicated to designing and producing unique and exquisite experiences that remain etched in the minds of the audience. They have presented exclusive creative content for prestigious international events such as The Super Bowl, FIFA & FiBA, Academy Awards, Eurovision, as well as unforgettable corporate and private celebrations and high-end brand launches.
{ SOURCE: Cirque du Soleil }
