ALLAVITA! A World of Wonders!

On Friday May 15, ALLAVITA!, Cirque du Soleil’s show for EXPO Milano 2015 took to the stage. Created exclusively for the Open Air Theater San Carlo on the Expo site, the show will be performed every Wednesday through Sunday until August 30. As those who attended the full dress rehearsal confirmed, all expectations have been realized, and more! So, what is ALLAVITA! all about?


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ACROBATICS

Combining theater, dance, clowning, and humor, Cirque du Soleil has created an exciting and compelling event, suitable for all ages. ALLAVITA! is keyed on the themes addressed by EXPO Milano 2015, featuring bread, farming, sustainability, and the passage of time, as well as human history and how it has been impacted by, and how it has impacted, the environment. Thus it all begins with the actors handing out seeds to the audience. Then the action moves back to the stage, where a young boy – Leonardo – is given a magic Spelt seed by his grandmother. An imaginary friend – Farro – appears to the boy, from inside the seed, and takes him on a magical journey filled with wonder, courage, and hope, where they encounter hour-glasses, farmers, foreign lands, and women who might be flowers, or vice-versa. All of this is played out on a stage that is ablaze with color, resonating with music and acrobats a-leaping, all designed to conjure the world’s myriad cultures. The show is structured in 14 scenes and blends the marvels of contemporary circus with theater, dance and clownery. All woven together and further energized by original music, astonishing costumes, astounding make-up and multimedia video and lighting effects.


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COSTUMES

Another element that defines the characters in ALLAVITA!, in addition to the make-up explained to us by make-up designer Eve Monnier, is the costumes, whose colors, shapes and fabrics project the characters to the public, helping to characterize personalities and movements. We meet costume designer Marie Chantale Vaillancourt, who takes us inside the wardrobe department of ALLAVITA! Here – surrounded by costume designs, inspirational sketches, colors and fabrics – she tells us how she works and how costumes and accessories have lots of stories to tell.

Clothes and accessories inspired by food and nature reflect the Theme of Expo Milano 2015.


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“I’ve been involved right from the beginning – explains Marie Chantale Vaillancourt – because we had to design costumes that would last all these performances and that would be safe for the performers, so I had to know what kinds of movements and acrobatics each character would be making. We had to think firstly about safety and elasticity, and only afterwards about shape and color. Each color is conceived for the tableaux which make up the show, and here food has been the dominant inspiration: for example, various costumes evoke the shapes and textures of certain vegetables”, she says, showing us her inspirational book and an example of a costume suggesting a red cabbage. As she leafs through her drawings she adds “For some of the hats I took ideas from corn and bread, for others – like these, with long blue tails – I evoked natural elements like water. There are roughly 124 complete costumes for this show, and more than 500 accessories, from shoes to hats. I’m so excited about our first night!”

A WORLD OF WONDERS

The show will run until August 30, from Wednesday to Sunday at 21:30 until the end of July and at 21:15 during August. There are three ticket options, from 25 to 35 Euros, and an entrance ticket to Expo Milano 2015 must also be shown.

Remember, EXPO Milano 2015 is the only place to see ALLAVITA! Ever. So don’t miss this chance!

{ SOURCE: Expo 2015 }