DidyaKnow? – Dralion’s Costumes and Props

By
Richasi
Published: May 18, 2007Posted in: DidYaKnow?Tags:

For this edition of DidyaKnow we’ve rummaged through Fascination’s archives to pull together a few interesting tidbits about Dralion’s costumes and props:

COSTUMES

  • Working closely with the Director and drawing his inspiration from the mythical fantasy world of Dralion, François Barbeau set out to create costumes that reflect the distinctive features of the four elements and the families of associated charters.
  • The colours of Dralion- Each of the four elements and its associated family is represented by its own unique colour. Blue is identified with air, green symbolizes water, red is for fire, and ochre represents the earth.
  • Over 5,000 metres of fabric were used in creating the costumes.
  • Natural and synthetic fabrics such as silk, lycra, velvet, leather and cotton blend together harmoniously in Dralion’s costumes. Marrying a wide variety of fabrics helps ensure that the artists’ specific costume needs can be met.
  • The fabrics come from regions around the globe, including China, the United States, Italy, France, England and Quebec.
  • Materials that might be considered somewhat unusual were used in accessories and to add finishing touches to costumes: horse hair, raffia, metal, window screen, emu feathers, crystal, styrofoam, plastic, fun fur, springs and even hardware!
  • The artisans of Cirque du Soleil’s costume workshop worked for over three months making all the costumes, hats, wigs and footwear required for Dralion to the specifications of the Costume Designer.

PROPS

  • In Dralion, 18 rings are used in the hoop diving act.
  • The bamboo poles used in Dralion are 16 feet long (the height of a two-story building) and weigh 16 pounds each.
  • The Dralion trapeze is set up by the artists themselves. Once they’ve carried it from the wing to the stage, it is ready for use in two minutes’ time.
  • The light bulbs used in the balancing platform on Dralion are custom-made in China.
  • In Dralion, the band of blue cloth used in the pas de deux act is 60 feet long.

{SOURCE: CirqueClub & Cirque du Soleil Press Room}