Neil Goldberg’s Cirque awed Filipino audiences with its artistic and stunning acrobatics.
The production featured highly-acclaimed circus artists from Mongolia, China, United States, Russia, Hungary, Germany, and Canada.
Breaking from the conventional circus production of animal exhibition and magic tricks, Cirque portrayed circus as high theater.
Events producer Goldberg even incorporated broadway-like performances in the circus, complete with its musical scores and grand productions, governed by a narrative about Ringabella, a comic character who sleepwalks his way into a giant grandfather’s clock and is transported into a world of possibilities and dreams.
The production was divided into two acts with six scenes each. The first act started with two lady contortionists performing with utmost grace. It was followed by jugglers and spinners who exhibited mastery and precision in their performances.
After a balancing act on square chairs placed on top of each other, is an aerial show performed with strong agility and aplomb followed. One of the most entertaining parts of the show was when a clown picked some members of the audience and asked them to shake a rattle-like instrument. He then acted as a conductor who surprised and mimicked the “players.”
The second act consisted of more intricate and complicated performances. The aerial shows were very impressive, especially the trapeze act of the three Russian ladies resembling synchronized swimming. Even the balancing act gave a breathtaking performance using a level platform and cylinders of different sizes. The show’s finale was a gravity-defying statue act of Hungarian “golden boys.”
The production design created an expressionistic picture of fantasy with yellow swirling clouds and purple dancing houses. The costumes and props were sleek and creative while the vocal score, sung in imaginative language, was operatic. Myra Jennifer D. Jaud
