The latest issue of Fascination! the Unofficial Cirque du Soleil Newsletter is here!
We’ve come to the end of another year here at Fascination and while we’d normally be settling in for some time with family and friends, for Cirque du Soleil they’re still hard at work. Case in point: the announcements just keep on coming!
Last month we were introduced to three new and interesting concepts: “Allavita”, a unique show concept by Cirque’s Events and Projects team to be presented during the Universal Expo in Milan next year. Saban Brands and Cirque finally unveiled their first collaborative effort since joining forces last year – a TV co-production called “Luna Petunia”, a pre-school series inspired by the Cirque. And then came “Creactive”, a partnership with Club Med to dream up the ultimate circus-inspired playground in Punta Cana, featuring unique activities inspired by the wondrous and unexpected world of Cirque du Soleil. This on top of earlier news that Cirque and Director James Cameron were working to bring his film/world AVATAR to arenas world-wide.
Well, we have one more to add to that – and it’s a doozy.
On November 12th, Cirque and partner Grupo Vidanta announced plans for a first-of-its-kind immersive experience in Nuevo Vallarta… A CIRQUE DU SOLEIL THEME PARK! The park, which is still in development, looks to include a water park, a nature center, and various outdoor venues for Cirque-branded performances. (Could we see ZED, ZAIA, or IRIS return here?) The Park announcement came on the eve of the launch of JOYÀ, the intimate and immersive theatrical and culinary experience developed by Cirque and Grupo Vidanta for the Riviera Maya. I almost hate to ask what’s next!
But what’s next appears to be perforance changes to some of Cirque’s veteran shows in Las Vegas.
According to the press in Las Vegas, Zumanity is getting a massive overhaul come January 3rd: all of its dance cast has been rumored to have been given pink slips. Only the buxom Botero Sisters, Eddie (the host), the sex straps solo act, and the comedy duo will remain with the show. And over at LOVE, the show’s “Soundscape” is under review. Giles Martin, the son of Beatles producer George Martin, is being re-recruited to update the music of the show. Whether or not this update will include “Girls” and “Fool on the Hill”, which were released as special edition tracks on iTunes when the LOVE CD was released there, is as yet unknown. Cirque also appears to be changing up many of its resident shows schedules. At present time, Mystère, “O”, La Nouba and Zarkana will retain their current performance schedules (show times, days, and dark dates will remain the same in 2015 as seen in 2014); however, there are changes afoot for Zumanity, KÀ, LOVE, Criss Angel BELIEVE, and Michael Jackson ONE.
Dark Dates for 2015 and Added Performances have also been included in this issue – see the Itinéraire section of this issue for further detailed information on these changes.
Also inside this month we have the first part of a conversation with Fabrice Lemire, Varekai’s current Artistic Director. He was tasked with converting and adapting the show from the Grand Chapiteau into the Arena version we see today. He fantastically takes us through the process he went through to keep Varekai on the road. Next, although many of us weren’t at JOYÀ’s premiere (in fact none of us from Fascination could make the journey), thanks to Cirque du Soleil we catch a glimpse of what makes the show tick in “An Inside Look at JOYÀ, The Pearl in a Mangrove Jungle”, which collects a couple of their Press Room documents (and other releases) for your reading pleasure. There’s also a small preview of the 30th Anniversary Concert planned for the second-half of December – if you’re in Montreal be sure to catch it!
And in cooperation and in partnership with The Chapiteau, we proudly present The Chapiteau-Fascination Magazine, a graphical fanzine for hardcore Cirque fans to keep up with the latest and greatest from the Cirque du Soleil fandom! Don’t miss all the Cirque du Soleil news from the month of October – in a graphical format – as well as our exclusive features: KÀ at 10: The Original Creator’s Notebook and The Chapiteau’s interview with Lindsey Bruck-Ayotte, Amaluna’s Uneven Bars Captain! Visit http://www.CirqueFanzine.com/ to read or download our second issue now!
As always we’ve got the latest news items posted to Fascination! Web, the posts made to CirqueClub’s pages and Cirque’s Facebook links, and, of course, updates to Cirque’s tour schedule.
WEB — https://www.cirquefascination.com/
RSS FEED — https://www.cirquefascination.com/?feed=rss2
TEXT FILE — https://www.cirquefascination.com/Issues/Issue131.txt
