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Varekai

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Varekai
CompanyCirque du Soleil
GenreContemporary circus
Show typeTouring show
Date of premiereApril 24, 2002
Creative team
DirectorDominic Champagne
Director of creationAndrew Watson
Set designerStéphane Roy
ComposerViolaine Corradi
Costume designerEiko Ishioka
Lighting designerNol van Genuchten
ChoreographersMichael Montanaro
Bill Shannon
Sound designerFrançois Bergeron
Makeup designerNathalie Gagné
Aerial acts designerAndré Simard
Rigging designerJaque Paquin
Clown act creatorCahal McCrystal
ProjectionsFrancis Laporte
Artistic directorFabrice Lemire
(as of December 2012)
Other information
Preceded byDralion (1999)
Succeeded byZumanity (2003)
Official website

Varekai is a Cirque du Soleil touring production that premiered in Montréal in April 2002.[1] Its title means "wherever" in the Romani language, and the show is an "acrobatic tribute to the nomadic soul".[2]

The show begins with the Greek myth of Icarus, picking up where the myth leaves off, reimagining the story of what happened to Icarus after he flew too close to the sun and fell from the sky. In Varekai, rather than drowning in the sea below him, Icarus lands in a lush forest full of exotic creatures.

Set and technical information

The set, created by Stéphane Roy, includes four major components: the forest, stage, catwalk, and lookout. The forest consists of over 300 "trees",[clarification needed] of which around 20 are climbable. The trees range from 4.5 metres (15 ft) to 10.5 metres (34 ft) in height. The stage is 12.8 metres (42 ft) in diameter and has five trap doors, two turntables, and one elevating platform. The catwalk is 30 metres (98 ft) in length and allows performers to cross over the stage; it ends at a lookout which is 7 square metres (75 sq ft).[1]

Cast and crew

Approximately 100 people travel with the Varekai tour; 60 are employees and the rest are spouses and contractors. The 60 employees who travel with the tour include 30 performers, 2 performance medicine therapists, 1 kitchen manager and 3 cooks. During each engagement in a city, over 150 people are hired locally for temporary jobs at load-in and load-out. The cast and crew is an international one, representing 26 nationalities.[1] Cirque du Soleil's literature names various character roles in the show, including Icarus, La Promise (The Betrothed), the Guide, the Skywatcher, the Limping Angel, La Toupie, and Candide.[1][2][3]

Acts

Varekai's acts range from aerial arts such as straps and hoops, to precision arts such as juggling and icarian games.[1][4]

Permanent Acts

  • Opening : As the show begins, the creatures from the forest come to the stage and the Skywatcher comes out with a soundmachine.
  • Charivari : The characters of Varekai emerge from the forest then the stage lights up and the characters come out and perform an act.
  • Flight of Icarus : Icarus falls from the sky into the forest of Varekai. He rises up and performs an act in an Aerial Net.
  • Icarian Games : Icarian Games is one of the oldest circus arts disciplines. One of the performer lies on his back and flips, twirls and spins another performer on his feet.
  • Aerial Hoop : Suspended high above the stage, a woman performs and contorts in a Aerial Hoop. This act was added as an permanent act in 2013.
  • Clown Magic : Two characters named Mooky and Claudio perform a clown act using magic.
  • Georgian Dance : This act takes its inspiration from the national dance of the Lezgins, popular among many people in the Caucasus Mountains. Several performers in red dance.
  • Slippery Surface : Darting and sliding on a specially designed surface, the artists fling and catch each other, creating an illusion of skating.
  • Ne Me Quitte Pas : The clown named Claudio lipsyncs a song while trying to chase the spotlight.
  • Solo on Crutches : Like a jointed puppet, the Limping Angel performs on crutches, sliding around the stage.
One of the characters in the show. Picture taken in Melbourne.
  • Aerial Straps : Two performers fly above the stage, suspended by aerial straps.
  • Juggling : A juggler handles & manipulates large juggling balls, clubs, hats and ping-pong balls, manipulating them using his hands, feet, head and even his mouth.
  • Lightbulb : The Skywatcher spots Le Guide in despair, due to his lightbulb turning off. The Skywatcher tries to replace his lightbulb with a new one.
  • Handbalancing on Canes : La Promise performs an act contorting and spinning gracefully on canes.
  • The Wedding : As Icarus finally meets up with La Promise, they perform a short aerial strap duo and then get married.
  • Russian Swing : Acrobatics fly up into the air and down onto a net, being propelled by two Russian Swings. The performers flip, jump and glide into the net, as well as jumping onto the performers shoulders, as well as jumping from one russian swing to another.

Rotational Acts

Retired Acts

  • Acrobatic Pas de Deux : Two lovers dance and perform acrobatic stunts, showing their love, trust, and respect for each other. This act played from 2002 to 2003.
  • Water Meteors : Three young acrobatics perform an act using water meteors, spinning and juggling them. This act played from 2002 to 2013.
  • Triple Trapeze : Four young women perform an act on a suspended Triple Trapeze. This act played from 2002 to 2013. Stella Umeh was one of the trapeze artists and is now still performing with Varekai, in other acts.[5] Other accomplished gymnasts and artists such as Susanna Defraia who was also one of the co choreographers and original performers of this act along with Stella Umeh, Helen Ball.
  • Aerial Hoop, Rotation : The Aerial Hoop act was a rotational act from 2004 to 2013.

Costumes

Varekai's costume designer, Eiko Ishioka, set out to design the costumes to heighten the sense of risk and danger the artists face while performing their acts. The designs are an approach to give the traditional leotard a new shape. Eiko drew inspiration from the natural world: plant life, reptiles, land animals, marine life, wind water, fire and wood.[2] While there are over 130 costumes in the entire collection, over 600 elements combine to make the entire wardrobe of costumes, shoes, hats, and accessories. During the tour it takes a 250 hours a week to keep the costumes in a state usable for performance. This includes repairs, cleaning, pressing, repainting (shoes), ironing, and other related tasks.[1]

One of the primary materials used throughout the wardrobe is lycra, primarily for its ease of care, suppleness, and elasticity. Other materials used throughout include titanium rods, nylon sponge and other types of fire-retardant materials. La Toupie's costume, for example, is made from lycra, and the tentacles are made from polystyrene foam. In addition to textures and structures being created for the costumes, digital screen-printing was utilized for some pieces. The costumes for the Russian swing act were inspired by volcanic eruptions. Pictures were taken, scanned, processed and then digitally screen-printed to give the characters their bright red, explosive appearance. The foliage seen on the heads and backs of some characters is made from crinyl and cristalette, which are both extremely light-weight materials. Some of the translucent carapaces seen on some performers, including La Promise, are made from stretch netting mounted on a structure made of boning.[2]

Music

The live music is performed by seven musicians and two singers. Composed by Violaine Corradi and directed by the bandleader/keyboard player, the music features many different genres and energies. Violaine combined the sounds of Hawaiian rituals, 11th-century French troubadour songs, traditional Armenian melodies and gospel music with contemporary arrangements to create the sound of Varekai. While some songs are quiet and sorrowful, others are more upbeat and exciting.[1][6]

The only remaining original musician and the only cast/crew member to perform in every one of Varekai's 4,000 shows without missing a single performance is drummer Paul J. Bannerman.

Instruments used in the show include keyboards, bass, drums, percussion, violin, and various wind instruments. There are numerous instrumental solos, with the violin, flute, and accordion among the instruments heard. When these occur, the musician comes into view, still hidden in the trees but slightly visible to the audience.[6]

There are two distinct voices in the musical score. Their role is to link the story together, sometimes predicting the future, at other times, propelling the story forward. The female singer called " The Muse " (currently played by Isabelle Corradi) and the male singer called the " Patriarch " (currently played by Craig Jennings) each share the songs alternating between solos with harmonies and duos. The Muse, dressed in white & purple and The Patriarch, dressed in purple and black emerge from the forest throughout the show.

Album

Returning from her work with Cirque du Soleil's Dralion, Violaine Corradi wrote the Varekai score, which was released as a CD album on January 7, 2003. Rather than creating a literal soundtrack, Cirque du Soleil collaborated with Nitin Sawhney to produce a CD with themes and sounds from Varekai but quite differently arranged. The CD features the vocals of the two original singers of Varekai, Zara Tellander and Mathieu Lavoie; the soundtrack also includes the vocals of world music artists Natacha Atlas and Tina Grace, who were not in the production, simply featured on the album. Many of the CD tracks are dramatically different from their live counterparts.

In late 2003 Cirque du Soleil created an 'Exclusive Premium Edition' CD, which featured the original CD as well as a bonus CD and DVD containing 6 live tracks, two remixes, and 2 music videos.

The revised album artwork of Varekai, 2013

Track listing:

  1. Aureus (Spoken Word, 2002 - Present)
  2. Rain One (Interlude, 2002 - Present)
  3. Le Rêveur (Solo on Crutches, 2002 - Present)
  4. Vocea (Flight of Icarus, 2002 - Present)
  5. Moon Licht (Handbalancing on Canes, 2002 - Present)
  6. Rubeus (Spoken Word, 2002 - Present)
  7. Patzivota (Setup to Russian Swing, 2002 - Present)
  8. El Péndulo (Aerial Straps, 2002 - Present)
  9. Gitans (Opening, 2002 - Present)
  10. Kèro Hiréyo
    • Triple Trapeze (2002 - 2013)
    • Aerial Hoop (2013 - Present)
    • Solo Trapeze (Rotation, 2014 - Present)
  11. Infinitus (Spoken Word, 2002 - Present)
  12. Lubia Dobarstan
    • Water Meteors (2002 - 2013)
    • Twirling Baton (Rotation, 2013 - Present)
  13. Emballa (Juggling, 2002 - Present)
  14. Oscillum (Russian Swing, 2002 - Present)
  15. Funambul (Cloud Interlude, 2002 - Present)
  16. Resolution (Not in Show)

Below are the live tracks, in order as they appear on the Exclusive Premium Edition bonus CD. Listed after each track title is the act associated with the track.

  1. Célébration de l'Errance (Opening Dance and Finale, 2002 - Present)
  2. Trasparenza
    • Acrobatic Pas de Deux (2002 - 2003)
    • Aerial Hoop (Rotation, 2004 - 2013)
  3. Euphoria (Icarian Games, 2002 - Present)
  4. Sun Drum Fun (Body Skating, 2002 - Present)
  5. Mutationis (Handbalancing on Canes, 2002 - Present)
  6. Movimento (Georgian Dance, 2002 - Present)

The bonus CD also contains two tracks that are remixed versions of "El Péndulo" and "Emballa". In addition, the DVD features two videos with nature and recording footage, set to the CD version of "Patzivota" and "Moon Licht".

Further information: Cirque du Soleil discography

Vocalists

Here is a list of all of the singers in Varekai, since its premiere in 2002.

Female Singers
Zara Tellander: From 24 April 2002 (Montréal) to 11 July 2004 (Denver)
Currently Performing: Isabelle Corradi: From 25 July 2004 (Boston) to Present

Male Singers
Mathieu Lavoie: From 24 April 2002 (Montréal) to 23 November 2003 (Los Angeles)
Currently Performing: Craig Jennings: From 5 December 2003 (Pomona) to Present

Filmography

The experiences of the initial cast during the creation of the show were portrayed in the television series Fire Within (featured on the Bravo Network). Fire Within won the 2003 Emmy Award in the "Outstanding Non-Fiction Program" (Alternative) category.[1]

Cirque du Soleil released a film adaptation of Varekai on June 14, 2003, directed by Dominic Champagne and Nick Morris. The filming took place in Toronto during the show's tour and the vocalists in the filming were Zara Tellander and Mathieu Lavoie with Anton Tchelnokov as Icarus, Olga Pikhienko as La Promise/The Betrothed and John Gilkey as The Skywatcher.[7]

Tour

Varekai completed its first North American tour in Vancouver, Canada on July 23, 2006. It debuted in Australia in August 2006 and arrived in New Zealand in early 2007. Later that year, Varekai finished its Australian tour in Perth, and moved on to its first European tour. At the end of 2007 the show had its European premiere in Antwerp, Belgium. It had its UK premiere in 2008 at London's Royal Albert Hall and again on 5 January 2010, marking the 25th anniversary of Cirque du Soleil. Varekai got transferred to an Arena format in December 2013, its first stop being Bossier City, LA. The logo was changed from red-text to golden-text for the Arena format.

Varekai has been seen by more than 6 million spectators around the world, and has reached many milestones to accomplish this.[1]

  • 1000th performance in Dallas, Texas, in 2004
  • 1500th performance in Seattle, Washington, in 2006
  • 2000th performance in Perth, Australia, in 2007
  • 2500th performance in Seville, Spain, in February 2009
  • 3000th performance in Ostend, Belgium, in August 2010
  • 3500th performance in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in February 2012

Varekai has been to many different regions, here is the list of all of them.

  • North American Tour - [2002 - 2006]
  • Australian Tour - [2006 - 2007]
  • European Tour - [2007 - 2011]
  • Asia & Pacific Tour - [2011]
  • South American Tour - [2011 - 2013]
  • North American Tour II - [2013 - Present]

Since Varekai's premiere in 2002, it has had an extensive touring history, as detailed below.[8][9]

Varekai's last Grand Chapiteau tour was in Mexico City, MX and it was transferred to an Arena format, with its first stop being Bossier City, LA.

The following colorboxes indicate the region of each performance:
 EU   Europe  NA   North America  SA   South and Central Americas  AP   Asia/Pacific  OC   Oceania

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Arena Tour

2008, 2010, 2013

2008 schedule

2010 schedule

2013 schedule

  •  NA   Bossier City, LA - CenturyLink Center - From 13 Dec 2013 to 14 Dec 2013
  •  NA   Montréal, QC - Bell Centre - From 20 Dec 2013 to 30 Dec 2013

2014 schedule

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Grand Chapiteau Tour

2002 schedule

  •  NA   Montréal, QC - From 24 Apr 2002 to 16 Jun 2002 (Show Première)
  •  NA   Québec, QC - From 27 Jun 2002 to 21 Jul 2002
  •  NA   Toronto, ON - From 1 Aug 2002 to 8 Sep 2002
  •  NA   Philadelphia, PA - From 19 Sep 2002 to 20 Oct 2002
  •  NA   San Francisco, CA - From 7 Nov 2002 to 29 Dec 2002
2003 - 2013

2003 schedule

  •  NA   San Jose, CA - From 16 Jan 2003 to 23 Feb 2003
  •  NA   Atlanta, GA - From 6 Mar 2003 to 13 Apr 2003
  •  NA   New York, NY - From 24 Apr 2003 to 6 Jul 2003
  •  NA   Chicago, IL - From 17 Jul 2003 to 31 Aug 2003
  •  NA   Los Angeles, CA - From 12 Sep 2003 to 23 Nov 2003
  •  NA   Pomona, CA - From 4 Dec 2003 to 28 Dec 2003

2004 schedule

  •  NA   Costa Mesa, CA - From 16 Jan 2004 to 7 Mar 2004
  •  NA   San Diego, CA - From 18 Mar 2004 to 18 Apr 2004
  •  NA   Phoenix, AZ - From 29 Apr 2004 to 23 May 2004
  •  NA   Denver, CO - From 3 Jun 2004 to 11 Jul 2004
  •  NA   Boston, MA - From 25 Jul 2004 to 5 Sep 2004
  •  NA   Washington, DC - From 16 Sep 2004 to 24 Oct 2004
  •  NA   Dallas, TX - From 4 Nov 2004 to 12 Dec 2004

2005 schedule

  •  NA   Houston, TX - From 6 Jan 2005 to 13 Feb 2005
  •  NA   Austin, TX - From 24 Feb 2005 to 27 Mar 2005
  •  NA   Pittsburgh, PA - From 9 Apr 2005 to 8 May 2005
  •  NA   Baltimore, MD - From 19 May 2005 to 19 Jun 2005
  •  NA   East Rutherford, NJ - From 30 Jun 2005 to 31 Jul 2005
  •  NA   Columbus, OH - From 11 Aug 2005 to 11 Sep 2005
  •  NA   Hartford, CT - From 22 Sep 2005 to 16 Oct 2005
  •  NA   Charlotte, NC - From 27 Oct 2005 to 20 Nov 2005
  •  NA   St. Petersburg, FL - From 1 Dec 2005 to 31 Dec 2005

2006 schedule

  •  NA   Miami, FL - From 20 Jan 2006 to 26 Feb 2006
  •  NA   Portland, OR - From 14 Mar 2006 to 23 Apr 2006
  •  NA   Seattle, WA - From 4 May 2006 to 11 Jun 2006
  •  NA   Vancouver, BC - From 22 Jun 2006 to 23 Jul 2006
  •  OC   Sydney, AU - From 10 Aug 2006 to 29 Oct 2006
  •  OC   Brisbane, AU - From 9 Nov 2006 to 16 Dec 2006

2007 schedule

  •  OC   Auckland, NZ - From 5 Jan 2007 to 18 Feb 2007
  •  OC   Canberra, AU - From 15 Mar 2007 to 8 Apr 2007
  •  OC   Melbourne, AU - From 19 Apr 2007 to 24 Jun 2007
  •  OC   Adelaide, AU - From 5 Jul 2007 to 4 Aug 2007
  •  OC   Perth, AU - From 17 Aug 2007 to 7 Oct 2007
  •  EU   Antwerp, BE - From 25 Oct 2007 to 16 Dec 2007

2008 schedule

(Varekai played in the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK during this time)
  •  EU   Amsterdam, NL - From 29 Feb 2008 to 25 May 2008
  •  EU   Berlin, DE - From 6 Jun 2008 to 20 Jul 2008
  •  EU   Oberhausen, DE - From 31 Jul 2008 to 7 Sep 2008
  •  EU   Vienna, AT - From 18 Sep 2008 to 26 Oct 2008
  •  EU   Madrid, ES - From 13 Nov 2008 to 4 Jan 2009

2009 schedule

  •  EU   Seville, ES - From 29 Jan 2009 to 15 Mar 2009
  •  EU   Bilbao, ES - From 26 Mar 2009 to 3 May 2009
  •  EU   Lisbon, PT - From 15 May 2009 to 28 Jun 2009
  •  EU   Gijon, ES - From 9 Jul 2009 to 16 Aug 2009
  •  EU   Hamburg, DE - From 28 Aug 2009 to 4 Oct 2009
  •  EU   Moscow, RU - From 23 Oct 2009 to 13 Dec 2009

2010 schedule

(Varekai played in the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK during this time)
  •  EU   Manchester, UK - From 25 Feb 2010 to 21 Mar 2010
  •  EU   Munich, DE - From 1 Apr 2010 to 2 May 2010
  •  EU   Cologne, DE - From 13 May 2010 to 6 Jun 2010
  •  EU   Frankfurt, DE - From 17 Jun 2010 to 18 Jul 2010
  •  EU   Oostende, BE - From 29 Jul 2010 to 29 Aug 2010
  •  EU   Zurich, CH - From 17 Sep 2010 to 24 Oct 2010
  •  EU   Barcelona, ES - From 5 Nov 2010 to 2 Jan 2011

2011 schedule

  •  AP   Taipei, TW - From 20 Jan 2011 to 6 Mar 2011
  •  AP   Seoul, KR - From 6 Apr 2011 to 29 May 2011
  •  AP   Manila, PH - From 22 Jun 2011 to 24 Jul 2011
  •  SA   São Paulo, BR - From 15 Sep 2011 to 27 Nov 2011
  •  SA   Rio de Janeiro, BR - From 8 Dec 2011 to 8 Jan 2012

2012 schedule

  •  SA   Belo Horizonte, BR - From 19 Jan 2012 to 12 Feb 2012
  •  SA   Brasília, BR - From 23 Feb 2012 to 18 Mar 2012
  •  SA   Recife, BR - From 30 Mar 2012 to 22 Apr 2012
  •  SA   Salvador, BR - From 3 May 2012 to 3 Jun 2012
  •  SA   Curitiba, BR - From 15 Jun 2012 to 15 Jul 2012
  •  SA   Porto Alegre, BR - From 26 Jul 2012 to 26 Aug 2012
  •  SA   Buenos Aires, AR - From 7 Sep 2012 to 21 Oct 2012
  •  SA   Santiago, CL - From 13 Nov 2012 to 28 Dec 2012

2013 schedule

  •  SA   Lima, PE - From 17 Jan 2013 to 24 Feb 2013
  •  SA   Bogota, CO - From 21 Mar 2013 to 5 May 2013
  •  SA   San Jose, CR - From 31 May 2013 to 30 Jun 2013
  •  NA   Guadalajara, MX - From 14 Aug 2013 to 8 Sep 2013
  •  NA   Mexico City, MX - From 19 Sep 2013 to 24 Nov 2013

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References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Varekai: Press Kit" (PDF). Cirque du Soleil (Press Kit). Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  2. ^ a b c d Clément, Ronald (2009). Cirque du Soleil 25 Years of Costumes (in CN, English, French, and JP). Canada: Dépôt légal, Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. pp. 68–73. ISBN 978-2-9803493-4-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  3. ^ "Varekai: Characters". Cirque du Soleil. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  4. ^ "Varekai Acts". Cirque Tribune. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  5. ^ Stella Umeh
  6. ^ a b "Varekai Music" (PDF). Cirque du Soleil. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  7. ^ "Cirque du Soleil: Varekai". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  8. ^ "Varekai: Tickets". Cirque du Soleil. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  9. ^ "Varekai (Tour Schedule)". Cirque Tribune. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
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