Saturday, October 5, 2013

Cirque du Soleil sparkles and shines with #Amaluna and you're invited! #CirqueduSoleil


Disclaimer: I was provided complementary media passes to attend Amaluna. No other form of compensation was received. Opinions expressed belong to Whirlwind of Surprises and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view my full disclosure, TOS, and privacy policy.
Cirque du soleil in Minneapolis
I have never been to a live performance of Cirque du Soleil before but it has always been something I wanted to do. As a child, I loved acrobatics. I always dreamed of soaring in the air and the freedom of feeling the air beneath my feet. It was part of the reason I found trapeze shows so much fun! Then I heard Cirque du Soleil's Amaluna was coming to down and guess who got ahold of tickets? How could I possibly not go?

I had no idea what the storyline would be when I walked into the yellow and blue top. Instead, I was awed by the complexity of the set up. Even from afar, I could see the massive site that amazingly takes 8 days to set up and 3 days to take apart. The scale of this is just beyond me. Can you believe it takes a total of 65 trucks to transport close to 2,000 tons of equipment for Amaluna? The Big Top itself seats more than 2,600 people and takes a team of about 85 people to raise it.

Proceeding through the Big Top, you arrive at the actual Amaluna set and seating. Nearly all of the tent serves as part of the set and contributes to the effects during the show. Each piece is either there for a functional or decorational purpose, sometimes both. It was really rather awe-inspiring.

The theme of the show appeared to mark the strength of women and highlight a love story of trials and eventually triumph. Infused within the scenes were live music, acrobatics, and theatrics. My favorite parts were probably the acrobatics and when they get to fly through the skies.

I have to admit, it's pretty impressive and jaw dropping to see how flexible and steady these women were. It's almost like a scene out of those horror movies...you know, the contortionist-like twisting of the bodies. The intricacies of the balancing act was so enthralling that it made the entire big top go silent.

The whole time though, I couldn't figure out who the lizard? dinosaur? was. Then I read the storyline and it's "Cali", the half-lizard, half-human, who's in love with our main female lead and jealous that she's found Prince Romeo.

Interestingly, this is the first time Cirque du Soleil has used a 70% female cast and a 100% female band, 100%. Girl power to the max! Gotta love it.

Alright, now that I've gone on forever, here's a basic run down of the show. It lasts about 2 hours, there's 1 intermission. Ama (mother) and luna (moon -a symbol of femininity) is meant to symbolize a mother-daughter relationship and the goddess/protector of the planet. From that name, our island Amaluna is born. It is an island governed by Goddesses and guided by the cycles of the moon.
Cirque du soleil Amaluna review
Prospera (queen of the island) directs her daughter’s (Miranda) coming-of-age ceremony in a rite that honors femininity, renewal, rebirth and balance.
In the wake of a storm caused by Prospera, a group of young men lands on the island, triggering an epic, emotional story of love between Prospera’s daughter and a brave young suitor. But theirs is a love that will be put to the test. The couple must face numerous demanding trials and overcome daunting setbacks before they can achieve mutual trust, faith and harmony.
Pretty awesome, right? Check out Amaluna, in town until October 20, 2013 before they move on to other cities. Enter on the giveaway tools form below to win a family 4 pack of tickets to watch Amaluna in Minnesota. I'll be offering $340 worth of tickets to the October 17th 8PM show at the Mall of America (MOA, Minneapolis, MN). Open to US. Please take the time to enter my other giveaways while you're here.

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                                                         Until next time,