Even by the high standards of Cirque du Soleil,
Varekai is outstanding. While this artsy circus often aspires to weave a narrative through its spectacular events, in
Varekai that story (about a winged boy who falls to earth and falls in love with a caterpillar girl) is as delightful and engaging as the acrobatic feats--which is saying a lot, because these feats will leave you agog. Acrobats juggle each others' bodies with their legs; identical twins spin on aerial straps; a contortionist twists into uncanny pretzel shapes; and much, much more. The elaborate costumes truly do evoke an otherworldly place--one of the clown characters looks like a man's torso emerging from the mouth of a carnivorous plant. Exceptionally well-filmed, and featuring a wealth of extra features about the making of the show,
Varekai is Cirque du Soleil at the peak of its powers: Dizzy, dazzling, and sexy.
--Bret Fetzer
1 Simply one of their best yet
Being a fan for many years, its amazing how the expectation of being further impressed by a new production is met head on.
The photography and editing was very well done and the music was very very strong in this show.
Dominic Champagne directed and did an incredible job pulling in the creative aspect of the story in between the different acts.
You will see several amazing acts. The triple trapeze is a very unique approach that is radically different than the traditional trapeze. If you watched the Cirque / Bravo reality/behind the scenes series "Fire Within" (also recommend), this act stuggled from conception and was on verge of dropping. It then transformed to one of the best acts and features an incredible scoring and vocal background.
Another great and unique act is bringing a skill from old Olympic times called Icarian Games. This is an incredibly tricky and skillfull act of balancing and foot-juggling and twirling. Because of the difficulty, its rarely seen in other circus venues.
Well worth placing in your collection and if you get a chance, see live.
2 Cirque at its finest
All I can say for this one is WOW...never has a Cirque du Soleil show marvelled me as much as Varekai; this spectacular showcase of light, color, acting, music, and the acrobatics Cirque is known for is arguably the best they've ever produced. All these elements, in combination with good editing and camerawork, create simply the most aesthetic experience you are likely to have.
The show was created with a story in mind, specifically, the myth of Icarus, and it's interpreted here in a fantastic way, topped with a whimsical gypsy theme prevalent throughout a lot of it's music, most notably during it's beautiful violin solos performed by Romanian gypsy violinist Carmen Piculeata.
This show is very accessible for any age group because there's really something here for everyone; from the mind-blowing "Icarian Games" majestically performed by the Spanish Rampin Bros. and the Italian Steve Bros., to the beautiful "Handbalancing on Canes" performed by a well known Cirque artist, the Russian contortionist Olga Pikhienko.
The DVDs are full of extras, disc 1 besides having the show (available in 3 types of sound encoding), allows you to watch 3 acts from different angles, and disc 2 is full of additional thingies such as a "Making Of" docummentary, a "Meet the Artists" interactive feature, interviews with some of the performers and more.
This simply is a great package that's not to be missed by anyone who likes true entertainment, buy it if you know Cirque but haven't seen Varekai, and if you've never watched a Cirque show, buy it as well, you won't regret it.
3 Vareki-Austin
This show is still touring and I just recently saw it in Austin, Texas. It is the most awesome show I've ever seen. The story line, the design, the stunts, were all just amazing.
4 Real talent at its best!! Beautiful!!
Absolutely one of the finest displays of human physical ability. Saw this show in person and was mesmorized. The phsical displays of strength and agility were amazing!!
I am not an artsy person and thought I was going to be dissapointed when the show started because of the initial mix of metaphoric artsyness and symbolism. But, as the show went on it was truly one of the best perfomances I have ever seen.
I was sincerely awed! Competitions such as the olympics in which we watch in fascination and marvel at flips and spins on balancing beams seem to pale in comparison to some of the performances performed flawlessy on a daily basis in this Cirque performance (as well as others). With sincerest respect for the Olympics and all the athletes involved, the people who perform in Varekai and other Cirque productions truly reflect some of the finest physical perfomers in the World!!
Great Job Cirque!!
5 Amazing, incredible, breathtaking....
I got this DVD for Christmas and I can't stop watching it. My favorite of any Cirque show I've seen period. It's portrayed amazingly well on DVD, unlike other Cirque shows I've seen through DVD. The show alone would be worth the price of this DVD, but what's awesome about this is you get an entire DVD of extras! In-depth interviews, Meet The Artists, A preview of the Fire Within Series, The documentary "The Making of an Angel"...it's great! I love this show! I'm driving with my parents 11 hours away this January to see Varekai. It's that good and I'm absolutely in love with it. The acts are amazing and I love that it actually has a story line...and the story line is fabulous.
Icarus falls from the sky into the world of Varekai inhabited by strange creatures--some that want to help him on his journey to regaining his mobility and ability to fly again, and some that just want to weigh him down. And, on this Journey, he finds love, a caterpillar girl. But the creatures wanting to cause him harm, take his love away from him and put her in a cocoon. And, at the end, she comes back at the end as a beautiful butterfly and they finally are able to be together.
And, of course, this being Cirque, there are amazing acts to go with the story line:
Flight of Icarus: Beautiful. This is where Icarus struggles in a net that holds him captive. Anton Chelnokov expresses his emotion so well on this act, it's breathtaking. One of favorite acts on in the show. I nearly started crying just watching it on DVD.
Icarian Games-- Amazing! An act where one man juggles another with his feet. This is the first time I've ever seen foot juggling and it's definitely a sight to see. Another one of my favorites.
Water Meteors--Really fun to watch! An act where three young boys do tricks with what is called a water meteor. They're so talented! I can't see how they never hit each other in the head with one of the meteors or drop them. lol A wonderful act.
Triple Trapeze--This is the act where the Caterpillar girl, Olga, Icarus's love, is taken away from him. It's a test of his love for her through the temptation and beauty of these beautiful spider creatures. 4 girls do a sort of ballet dance on a big trapeze with three parts to it, hence "triple trapeze". This act is beautiful. The strength that these girls must have to hold each other like this for that long of time is astounding.
Gorgian Dance-- Three men do a Gorgian dance...a sort of competition. It's really fun to watch and they look like they're having so much fun. Involves dancing, sword fighting, and fire. The boys of the household will like this act. lol
Body Skating-- Acrobatics performed on a slippery surface making it look as if they were 'skating'. This act is so much fun!! It seems like such innocent fun and the outfits are so amazing!! The music of this act is my favorite. Very upbeat and you can tell the singers are having a fun time. I watch this act sometimes just for the music. And when Icarus goes down the "drain"...I love it! LOL
Acrobatic Pas De Deux--A man and woman perform acrobatics with a feel of romanticism. This is an impressive act, but not really my favorite. I usually just skip over this one. The performers do a wonderful job, though!
Solo on Crutches-- A performance of the Limping Angel on crutches, "fighting" what has Icarus's wings and is trying to hurt him. Not my favorite act, but it definitely has a lot of meaning to the story line. Seeing as the Limping Angel is crippled and doing all these things, it inspired Icarus that he can walk again.
Aerial Straps--Two twins perform an aerial act with straps. One of my favorite performances....one of the best performance I've seen from Cirque period, actually. It's amazing how much strength these men have.
Juggling--I love this juggler!!! He has so much energy jumping around and smiling all the time. He juggles everything from pins to vollyballs, to sombrero hats, to ping pong balls with his mouth! I love this act!
Hand balancing on Canes-- This is where Olga, the caterpillar girl, comes out of her cocoon as a butterfly. She hand balances on canes and also does some of her act on the floor. I love this act. It's really sensual and beautiful. Olga Pihkinko expresses emotion of her character so well. This act Icarus's love performs inspires him to walk again. And they finally get together after all the obstacles that were in their way.
Russian Swings--Acrobatics using two Russian swings. This is an awesome act! How high they could go, risking their lives....it's amazing. This act is performed in celebration of Icarus and Olga finally being together and getting married.
An amazing show with amazing music. The costumes and make-up are spectacular, and The characters are wonderful. My favorite would be Icarus, Olga, and The Skywatcher. I have to say, John Gilkey does an amazing job at portraying craziness. lol If I could give this DVD 10,000 stars I would. Buy this DVD! If you love Cirque, I know you'll love this!
6 Varekai burns with tallent and excitement!
I saw Varekair on Bravo, right after the Fire Within series finished. It was the premeir on TV. I have wanted to see the show in person, but the tour passed me by! The DVD is almost as good. With the most interesting compilation of music and unique performances, Varekai is not to be missed!
The plot of Varekai is a myth about a magic bird who falls from the sky and looses the ability to fly. He is helped by some very interesting creatures and animals who inhabit the strange place he has fallen into. The creatures perform different shows for him, but the real interest is in a beautiful caterpillar, who plays the female lead. The two fall in love, but the caterpillar is kiddnapped by the spider/arcrobats on the tripple trapeeze. When she is returned, she has changed into a mystical white caterpilar creature, and she has a wonderful performance for the magic bird before the wedding.
This show is simply amazing, with excellent lighting and cues, music, acting and performances. Don't foget about the "clowns" who are played by a very hunky magician and his assistant who I think are hysterical! One of Cirque's finest shows!
7 Out of this world
The acrobats are amazing, costumes and music make you feel as if you were dreaming. As stunning as this DVD is - it makes you want to see the whole thing live, and as awesome as the entire production of the show, so is the supplementary DVD containing interviews with the artists as well as all the challenges and hard work that went into producing this masterpiece.
The drama of this performance takes place deep within a forest, in an extraordinary world where just about anything is possible. The story begins with the fall of Icarus (from Greek mythology), where a romantic interest develops between him and one of the inhabitants of this world - a caterpillar who by the end of the show turns into a butterfly. While they are attempting to be together, numerous inhabitants of this world attempt to stand in their way, though in the end they manage to get married and there is a big celebration.
The entire production, including all the creative elements is a fruit of teamwork, where each artist contributed not only acrobatic skills, but also creativity.
Beside the extraordinary acrobats, dancers and musicians, from all over the world, there are several humorous and very creative clowns - the one that introduces the show is in a way an overseer of the inhabitants, an inventor, and quite a character.
8 Unbelievable
Cirque du Soleil goes over the top with this offering. I am using this DVD as a a part of a unit on visual musicality with my music classes. Truly spectacular performances abound from the top down (no pun intended.) The comic relief is really comic, the music dazzling and the acrobatics are astounding. I plan to see this show in Pittsburgh this Spring. I can't wait!!! The DVD is worth the price and more!
9 The Best Of Cirque
Having seen Zumanity since I saw Varekei I am reminded again of how much I love this show! Sitting in Reve Rouge the last nite they were in Chicago I held my breath the entire show. So well put together the acts blend toghether seamlessly. I do have to applaud the music which I have been listening to non-stop. It really sets the mood for the beautiful job the artists do. By far the best Cirque show out there, DVD is worth it with all the extras, but the show is best live!
10 Best film of all the touring shows
The lighting is better on this dvd than on most of the cirque recordings. None of them ever capture the magic of the live shows, but this seems to be the best historical record.
The second cd was a nice bonus, and a good supplement to the Bravo show, but they were some technical glitches. Exiting and restarting seemed to take care of the problem.
11 GREAT SHOW
The show is awesome..but like all the shows, you HAVE to see them live. I aggree it doesn't have good editing. I think Alegria had the "best" filming so far...but it would have been nice to see more of the show as well. I hear "La Nouba" had the best fimling yet, since it was filmed by Disney this time, instead of tristar, or whoever it's been.
12 BUY IT HERE CHEAPER
Of course the show is FANTASTIC saw it tonight live in DENVER and the dvd is $35 at the show - so buy it here and save $ - and when you catch your breath - watch it again! The twins are amazing And you wont beleive the ending! I had front row seats and still cant beleive what I saw, felt and heard! This is the way the rainbo was meant to be seen! WOW CIRQUE at its VERY best.
13 the best i've seen
Using everything you have, to give people entertaiment around the world is amazing, and the gift you give to people is even better.The gift u gave to me inspired me to want join the circus and to take french I just sing like that one girl sang,she had a beautiful voice. (...),but i got a lot say about this beautiful circus.It made me cry that is how good it is and to see that girl do what she did on that stand was incredibile. Also the guy doing that net thing was just amazing that is my favorite movie and over summer break i'll watch it everyday.
14 Spastic MTV style camera work renders Varekai unwatchable.
I'm a fan of Cirque du Soleil. I consider the performances to be art and have seen several live.
It is a shame the editing of so many of the Cirque DVD's completely destroy the mood and pace of the show.
Everyone that sees Varekai (DVD)is annoyed by the headache-inducing constant (read every 2 seconds) camera changes, fades,
up angles, down angles,sweeps and slow motion inserts. JUST BACK OFF AND LET US WATCH THE FREAKING SHOW! What a waste.
Buy the Quidam DVD and accept that Cirque once did a good job filming a performance but there were no more to be had.
15 Another wonderful Cirque de Soleil production
This show encompasses all we want from Cirque du Soleil and gives us more as a bonus. Less anguished (or sinister as my 10 year old son puts it) than Quidam, Varekai is a display of color, energy, beauty and sound. To make this better, it is a wonderful display of a multiracial joint venture - successful and peaceful. Cirque du Soleil is able to show the beauty of humanity without disguises. No machinery, no spectacular effects, just unbeliable human acts, one after the other. It is sensual, without a touch of bad taste. And to crown it all, no hint of violence. I can only thank again and again the whole CduS troupe for their shows.
16 Atenci—n MEXICO y LatinoamŽrica
ComprŽ este DVD en una tienda de discos en MŽxico (perd—n Amazon!) y desgraciadamente a la edici—n (R4) para Latinoamerica le faltan 5 de los 8 ¬extra-features¬ que se prometen en la portada de esta edici—n.
Es una verdadera pena que este tipo de espect‡culos se vean empa–ados por una edici—n tan mediocre; la misma no tiene mucha informaci—n tŽcnica, los extras no son buenos.
El Cirque du Soleil sigue tan bueno como siempre pero este no es uno de sus mejores espect‡culos.
Sugiero que compren Saltimbanco, Alegr’a y/— Quidam.
Muy mal por Columbia Video y la producci—n de SONY.
17 EXCELLENT - A MUST BUY & MUST SEE
I saw this show first on the Bravo Channel and then I saw the live show in Pomona. I absolutely HAD to buy the DVD. First of all, the clowns were totally hilarious. My sides were hurting I laughed so hard. The acrobatics, Icarian games, balancing act, trapeze act, and aerial straps were beautiful, amazing, and striking.
The DVD has spectacular footage and great camera angles. The sound is great on the DVD. Maybe even better than at the live show. If people were not getting good sound, they may need to adjust their speakers? There are interviews, the special "Fire Within," and other things on the DVD. 2 Disk Set. Well worth the money.
18 5 Stars for the SHOW - 0 for the sound
I rate the show 5 stars. Probably their best production. As always with Cirque - you need to see it live really. I have seen it twice. I note others who were bored by Mooky (the female clown) and the aerial straps, performed by identical twins formerly in the British gymnastic team... I have to disagree (with the boredom comments) - maybe because I have seen the show live. Mooky is certainly funnier live, and appears a few more times for a couple of seconds. Aerial Straps is one of the highlights in the live show - but it looks far less spectacular on DVD.
HOWEVER: the sound quality on this DVD is appalling. There are constant volume changes (only on the main feature), which really detract from the overall experience. I think they should fix it and offer free replacement to us poor trailblazers who bought the original. Very shabby that they did not do a quality check before releasing the DVD to the unsuspecting public.
19 Cirque du Soleil Varekai
I am obsessed with CdS (Cirque du Soleil) no doubt. I have seen Varekai (Live and not live.), Alergria (not live but I'm going to when it vists NYC), Quidam (Not live.), Cirque Reinvent (not live.), Saltimbanco, O and Mystere this winter, and Dralion (not live).
If I could I would give it 4 and a half stars.
I love it no doubt but there are some problems:
First the sound is horrible. It starts off too soft and all of the sudden it gets so loud it hurts my ears and then gets softer again.
Also there is a half second skip at the end of the Body Skating act but luckly the music is over by the time this happens.
Overall I'd give it 4 and a half stars
20 Unbelievable video, terrible audio drop-out problems
I cannot say enough about how excellent (even beyond most of the other great Cirque DVD shows and products that have been released) this DVD is from a video, showmanship and technical aspects viewpoint. However be warned that this DVD recording either on transfer or in original recording suffers from consistent and annoying audio dropout in several places which will clearly reduce your enjoyment potential if you care about the auditory experience. I bought several of these DVDs from Amazon and another online competitor in an attempt to find a consistent soundtrack. All of the DVD's lose serious audio volume (dropouts) in the same places (at least its a consistent problem). I know the problem isn't my player because it happens in the several machines we have tried it on.
However despite this I still will keep the DVD and recommend it because it is such a greatly produced and otherwise enjoyable video. But be forwarned when you hear the sound quality fade. On audio it gets 1 star and on everything else it gets a 5.
21 I may be the only one, but I was disappointed
Judging from the other reviews, I guess I am alone in saying I didn't like this show all that much; I have all the Cirque DVDs and would rate this below several others in many respects. First, though, I'll say that I loved the DVD from a technical viewpoint. The photography was spectacular and the colors...many times while watching I would just sit back and marvel at the colors, thinking "Wow, is that beautiful!" The sound was also superb, especially in DTS (which I think is definitely superior to Dolby 5.1). The extras were interesting and the mult-angle stuff was well-done. What I really didn't like that much was the show itself. Complaints: too much time devoted to the clowns, whom I didn't find funny; too much emphasis on "drama" and trying to tell a story and not enough circus acts (they shouldn't forget "Cirque" is the first word in their name, which implies circus acts and not acting); and the acts they had were not that good. The juggler and the Icarian games were top-notch and rate with the best, but I too find aerial straps boring (and there were 2 acts like that, by the twins and the girl, and a third that was similar, the 4 girls on the platform), and the rest (balancing, etc.) we've seen before and by more exciting performers. I guess this was just too "artsy" for me; I'd much prefer they get back to presenting the top circus talent in the world, and more of it.
22 IF I COULD, I WOULD GIVE IT 10 STARS
Ever since i saw Allegria live, I have been a huge Cirque fan. I have seen every show expect Mystere and Varekai. I plan on seeing Varekai live when it comes to my city this upcomming summer. I know I may be spoiling the whole thing by buying the DVD but I wanted to see how good it was. I must say that Cirque Du Soleil really did their best work with Varekai. All the acts are amazing. Even the clowns are funny, since they arent wearing lots of clown make-up or have a big red nose. The guy is hilarious.
The acts are the best I have ever seen. In Body Sakting the performers seem to have so much fun.
Icarian Games shows strength, trust and amazing abilities.
Even Cloud caught my attention with the wonderful music.
I own every Cirque CD there is and the music in the DVD is the best of them all.
To finish such a fine show with Russian Swings was the best idea. U can see how much the audience loves every act.
Every act is beyond anything that is amazing. The DVD has such good quality to it, and the extra features are brillent as well.
I advise any Cirque fan to purchase this and go see the show live, believe me it is worth every penny.
23 I give it a 5 because of the DVD features
I have seen all of the Cirque shows- some in person, all on video. Without a doubt, Quidam is my favorite. Varekai comes in a close second, tied with Dralion. Interestingly enough, a LOT of what's in Varekai are acts from Dralion and Quidam.
It's obvious they would put Olga's hand balancing into the show, since that's her forte', but the hand Acrobatic pas de duex- I recognize a lot of those moves right out of Quidam. Just about all Cirque shows have some sort of arial strap act (which honestly bores me), some sort of trapeze act (which I can never get tired of), some sort of hand balancing act, and a juggling number (also love them).
They really did a great job at the music, and the costumes (especially in the body skating) are fantastic.
Regarding the clowns, the guy is really funny, the girl (can't think of her name) brings nothing to the act. Hopefully she'll mold into a more interesting character role later.
Don't get me wrong- the things I pointed out here don't make this less than an excellent show, I'm just pointing them out because this is a review. The acts are flawless and incredible, and the music and costumes are fantastic.
Anyway, I gave this one a 5 because they FINALLY figured out what the DVD format is good for- extras. There's an entire second disc of extras! They packed a lot of great stuff in there- personal interviews with some of the talent (I find it amusing when John Gikley says he doesn't consider himself a clown), and making-of featurettes, multi-angle performances, etc. Bravo on the DVD features!
24 Not the show shown on BRAVO...
This is definitely NOT the show shown on BRAVO, which I did not like. BRAVO edited the footage by taking away a great portion of the show and by croping the image to full screen.
However, the Varekai DVD (which I happen to own) is mindblowing, fantastic, no words, eye candy all the way, the DTS sound is so crisp and powerfull. The images and colors on this DVD are superb...the widescreen anamorphic picture looks absolutely beautiful. Varekai...what a show...
What was shown on BRAVO was garbage...what is contained on this DVD is ART. Thank you Cirque.
If you are new to Cirque du Soleil's DVD's I also recommend Quidam, Dralion, and Alegria (the show not the film). All sound amazing and are presented in widescreen anamorphic. However, if you plan to get Dralion, get the new Superbit version. Even if you already own Dralion on DVD I think that the new Superbit version with DTS is competely worth it. The DTS sound makes the show so much more involving.
25 DETAILED review of what you'll see
If you have never seen Varekai (Cirque Du Soleil's newest world touring show as of Dec '02), let me sum it up for you.
Varekai tells a tale of Icarus, who falls from the sky, to be cofronted by forest creatures who inhabit the place he lands. He looses his wings during the fall. And the whole show there is a theme of survival, and never giving up. There is even a happy ending for Icarus!
Varekai is filled with the most energetic and beautiful tunes. In Cirque Du Soleil tradition another excellent soundtrack put forth for the show. Varekai includes. . .
Icarian Games - men juggle other men on their feet
Triple Trapese - 4 spider like women artistically share one suspended trapese
Juggling - everything from soccerballs to ping pong balls with his mouth!
Water Meteors - 4 Chinesse youths twirl ropes with balls on the end
Flight of Icarus - the opening arial act
Georgian dance - a rousing dance number
body skating - a large group of performers balance and dance around on "ice"
Handbalancing - amazing balancing with one hand, even one leg!
Acrobatic pas de duex - a sensual dance and balancing act by one man and one woman
handbalancing on canes - a dance number on crutches, it symbolizes Icarus' struggle
Areal Straps - 2 male twins fly high about the stage displaying strength and accuracy
I beleive I have covered them all. I was lucky enough to see the show live in Chicago. And there is nothing compared to that. But it seems that this time Cirque has gone the extra yard. Unlike their previous DVDs you will actually get to see some of the pre-show goings on. Each show LIVE there is alot of stuff in the beggining of the show you do not see on the DVD. Like an opening number, interaction with the audience, SOME kind of way to open up the show. Cirque has outdone themselves this time by really giving the at home viewers an even better feeling of the WHOLE show.
All in all, this is a show you can not miss. And you get to see even more than in their past shows on DVD! This is a MUST buy.
26 WOW!!!
I saw Varekai in Chicago, and it was completely mind-blowing!!
My absolute favorite act of all time is Olga's hand balancing routine in Varekai. To describe the current incarnation of the act as merely being flawless would be to insult it. It goes beyond mere performance; it is MAGIC!
The Atherton twins' Aerial Strap act, the Russian Swings act, and the Icarian Games are also quite Spectacular.
I do hope that Bravo releases their reality series "Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within" on DVD. It gives some inkling of the heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears that went into making Varekai.
27 Varekai: one of the better things i have seen
I haven't seen any show live, but i've watched Quidam and Journey of man on DVD, A behind scenes from La Nouba, also Alegria and Dralion in tv... and Varekai by Hbola.
Varekai doesn't seems like a circus, the plot is quite original, the performances are superb: like the aerial straps act by the twin brothers dressed like birds, The Icarian Games, The Triple Trapeze (A new kind of trapeze, it's longer and can suport almost 3 or 4 performers), The juggling act is amazing (The performer can juggle even with golf balls in his mouth, also with mexican hats), The water meteors are three chinese kids that juggle a chain with two metal endings in each side, amazing, The Flight os Icarus (Aerial act, with a net), The hand balancing act by a girl called Olga from Quidam, The clown acts are funny and original (two of them: the first a magic act that goes wrong all the time, and the second the guy trying to sing and search the spotlight that moves constantly)... And the rest of the characters of the forest within occurs the whole history are wonderfully created. The closing act wonderful.
The stage (A forest made with copper pipes and the lightning are wonderful ) and the lightning are amazing.
The Costumes and the Makeup... not seen in other shows.
The music its outstanding (The CD music it's different, not like the show. Some people doesn't like it, but I think it's one of the most fantastic melodies i've ever heard)
Varekai is an excelent show because it has an unique energy, It brings elements of many cultures, is very aesthetic, and compiles amazing acts. This show begins a modern era in Cirque du Soleil.
The best show in my opinion is Varekai and very closely is Quidam.
(I love the Banquine and the Visversa 'statue' act from Quidam)
I recomend you this three DVDs: Varekai, Quidam and Journey of Man.
ÁOjal‡ vinieran por Latinoamerica!
28 Simply Sublime
My sister surprised me with tickets to see "Varekai!" in San Francisco a couple of months ago, and even though I love Cirque du Soleil and have seen many of their shows I was still totally blown away.
"Varekai!" has many of the familiar trademarks of the Cirque; the juggler, the comedy relief, the girl doing insane balancing tricks on some sort of pole/stand/etc. But this time around things are distinctly more colorful. The sets are designed to mimic a tropical rainforest, and the costumes are a cross between the brightest insects and animals of nature and Venice at Carnival time. There is also a heavier emphasis on dancers, particularly Gypsy and Romanian dancing. The results are spectacular.
While the full impact of the show cannot be felt by watching the DVD (there was one stunning sequence involving waltzing fireflies that simply does not come across on video), it is still well worth buying. The comedy is hilarious (we can thank the Cirque for actually making clowns funny instead of vaguely disturbing) and the music several notches above past Cirque endeavors. "Varekai!" is my favorite Cirque show (I've seen all of them except "O") and I highly highly recommend buying the DVD if you can't go see the actual show. Three cheers for a job well done and for a circus that continues to provide innovative and enchanting entertainment.
