Post by ajhuffman219 on Dec 13, 2015 19:16:42 GMT
To celebrate successfully completing my first semester of grad school, I decided to pop over and see La Nouba on Saturday evening. This was my first Cirque show, back in July 2010, and since I have seen it four times. It’s by far my favorite show. I love the music, the immense amount of characters, the theme (which seemed appropriate), and the show has always been represented by unique acts. As we all know, La Nouba is undergoing some drastic changes and I had the pleasure of catching a glimpse of the new “B-Boys” act, better known as breakdancing! Like my previous viewing in 2013, everything seems to be in tip top shape. I especially enjoyed the new clown duo (we recognize them from Alegria); it was nice to genuinely laugh along. There’s so much life breathed into the production and even in an era where Cirque has been chipping away at the smaller details, almost all the ‘background’ that takes place during every act remains. I will say, though, it did feel as if the acts progressed at a much faster pace than I remember. But the show didn’t let out until almost 7:45pm, so perhaps I imagined it. The show is almost 20 years old and yet, it doesn’t feel stale. I think that’s the beauty of why we love Cirque du Soleil.
Opening/B-Boys: Still remains my favorite opening to any Cirque show, save for Dralion perhaps. The slow reveal of the attic’s mysterious inhabitants is wonderful and pure Dragone era Cirque. The new B-Boys act officially debuted last night, which was certainly exciting. I have never seen a break dancing act live before, so I don’t really know how to describe it other than, its break dancing. It reminds me of a very high paced acro-sport, but that’s far from what it actually looks like. Initially, I was apprehensive of this dance style coming into the show, but it fits the “live it up” theme well. It is composed of three male performers and they owned that stage. I wasn’t too fond of the costumes but an act of this nature requires a looser fitting garment. The only odd thing? Four male Urbanites ride around the stage on remote controlled skateboards during the act. Not sure what this represents, but it did add a new dimension to the number.
High Wire: One the best acts in any Cirque show. Everything from the act itself to the park like atmosphere created onstage is sublime. Liama continues to be a standout track and Sellane (sp?) is a phenomenal vocalist! Very happy I was able to see this before they remove it. Hopefully, Cirque will reinvent Liama for the new act, much like they did for B-Boys.
Diablo: Not as exciting as in previous viewings. I believe there is a new group performing because it wasn’t polished. That’s not a criticism since this is a high octane act that requires tons of mastery. I think a few more weeks and they’ll be in tip top shape.
BMX: Another one of my favorites and one we haven’t seen replicated in any other show, to my knowledge. The performer has a new costume which is dark lime and orange-ish in color, with a pair a black shorts worn over the outside. No new stunts here.
Aerial Cradle/Silks: Again, one of my favorite acts in any Cirque show! The staging is magnificent, A Tale is always amazing live (I almost always scream when that slow beat drops), and it’s an all-around sexy act!
Rola-Bola: My very first time seeing this act live and also my very first time hearing A La Lune! LOVED IT! The performer brought the house down!! A real nail-biting combination of juggling and balancing, you can tell the entire cast enjoys this act very much. Le Titan and the Green Bird support throughout.
Flying Trapeze: Flawless. Not much else to say!
PowerTrack/Trampoline: Such an energetic way to end the show. It really encapsulates the “live it up” theme of La Nouba.
Opening/B-Boys: Still remains my favorite opening to any Cirque show, save for Dralion perhaps. The slow reveal of the attic’s mysterious inhabitants is wonderful and pure Dragone era Cirque. The new B-Boys act officially debuted last night, which was certainly exciting. I have never seen a break dancing act live before, so I don’t really know how to describe it other than, its break dancing. It reminds me of a very high paced acro-sport, but that’s far from what it actually looks like. Initially, I was apprehensive of this dance style coming into the show, but it fits the “live it up” theme well. It is composed of three male performers and they owned that stage. I wasn’t too fond of the costumes but an act of this nature requires a looser fitting garment. The only odd thing? Four male Urbanites ride around the stage on remote controlled skateboards during the act. Not sure what this represents, but it did add a new dimension to the number.
High Wire: One the best acts in any Cirque show. Everything from the act itself to the park like atmosphere created onstage is sublime. Liama continues to be a standout track and Sellane (sp?) is a phenomenal vocalist! Very happy I was able to see this before they remove it. Hopefully, Cirque will reinvent Liama for the new act, much like they did for B-Boys.
Diablo: Not as exciting as in previous viewings. I believe there is a new group performing because it wasn’t polished. That’s not a criticism since this is a high octane act that requires tons of mastery. I think a few more weeks and they’ll be in tip top shape.
BMX: Another one of my favorites and one we haven’t seen replicated in any other show, to my knowledge. The performer has a new costume which is dark lime and orange-ish in color, with a pair a black shorts worn over the outside. No new stunts here.
Aerial Cradle/Silks: Again, one of my favorite acts in any Cirque show! The staging is magnificent, A Tale is always amazing live (I almost always scream when that slow beat drops), and it’s an all-around sexy act!
Rola-Bola: My very first time seeing this act live and also my very first time hearing A La Lune! LOVED IT! The performer brought the house down!! A real nail-biting combination of juggling and balancing, you can tell the entire cast enjoys this act very much. Le Titan and the Green Bird support throughout.
Flying Trapeze: Flawless. Not much else to say!
PowerTrack/Trampoline: Such an energetic way to end the show. It really encapsulates the “live it up” theme of La Nouba.
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