KOOZA – CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

Kooza – Cirque Du Soleil, the Showring at the Entertainment Quarter, 25 August-6 November 2016. Photography by Matt Beard.

By Felicity and James Dayhew

Bring your hula hoops, snazziest costume and best tricks, to Cirque du Soleil – Kooza. Enter the fabulous tent to see gravity-defying flips, jaw-dropping stunts and stunning costumes. Let the show begin!

All of the acts are amazing, thanks to choreographer Clarence Ford. At one point, we’re pretty sure someone has ten hula hoops swivelling around her waist all at once! Some of them are hard to watch, especially the tight-rope walking. Everyone was holding their breath when they crossed the thin wire line, without a net, and if there was no music, you could’ve heard a pin drop. There is a storyline however, unlike previous Cirque Du Soleil’s, this one is much more focused with their circus acts

The storyline is very cute due to writer/director David Shiner. It begins with a young boy (Vladislav Zolotarev) who is given something in the mail. As soon as he opens a large red box, the music swells and dancers and acrobats pour out from the stage. In the background, what was a large form wrapped in cloth is now a building, similar to a lighthouse. After some research, we found that Kooza comes from the word “koza”, meaning treasure or box. Tweaking it slightly, Kooza roughly translates into the idea of “Circus in a box”, hence the package the boy received. 

He is in possession of a “magic wand” so has all the power and with every wave of it, he changes something, or adds someone to the stage. We thought it was a very playful and fun theme.

As with all of the Cirque du Soleil shows the clowns are always there to liven up the crowd. This time (Gordon White, Miguel Berlanga and Michael Garner) started as they always do in the crowd, making jokes and throwing popcorn on unsuspecting guests. One new thing this time was to bring audience members up on stage. It seems no one is safe, they had women, men and even children up there. So watch out or look forward to the fact that the next performer in the circus could be you.

Where we were sitting we had a very cool vantage point. We were right behind the sound guy who controlled all sounds. This is done from what we imagine a major control room in one of the most high tech companies, such as Google, might look like. There are mixing boards, iPads, phones, computers, digital readouts, he could probably launch a space shuttle from there! Cool to watch him work and queue up the sound effects with the Acts.

One thing this performance does show is the performers’ amazing bodies and endurance. We can’t imagine the dedication they’ve put in to get to such peak fitness and perfection. Combine this with state of the art technology and it creates a great show and entertainment. 

One of our favourite performances is the “Wheel of Death” in which a large metal shape with two rings on either side, suspends and spins in mid-air. Two men (Jimmy Ibarra and Ronald Solis) hop inside each hole, and run in and out of them, while the big shape spins around. At one point, both men get on the outside of the shape, and run around it! Gasps can be heard throughout the tent when it starts to move faster and faster. Not only do they run and jump whilst on or in the rings defying gravity, they also skip rope like it’s the easiest thing in the world. All eyes are remain glued on them for the whole performance, completely mesmerising.

What we love the most about the music is the fact you can see the band in the tower as they play. It gave the performance a very “real” feel, as if you were in this different world with the performers. The music definitely helped the mood.

We definitely enjoyed Kooza and the performances, which were just as beautiful and awe-inspiring as previous Cirque Du Soleil productions.  We recommend 6+, because of some scary flashing lights and sounds that could possibly frighten younger kids. Hope you have fun!