R.U.N, Cirque’s first live-action thriller, premieres at The Luxor in October. Holiday production ’Twas the Night Before, debuts in Chicago in November before moving to Madison Square Garden. “Ice experience” Axel opens in Quebec and Montreal in December, while a collaboration with Disney premieres at Walt Disney World in April 2020.
The world of Cirque du Soleil is fast-paced and always changing, with new endeavors proceeding with acrobatic precision.
Partnerships are moving forward on creating feature film productions and developing fashion technology that draws on moods, feelings and preferences to create customized designs. Still, the heart of Cirque beats strongest in enduring live productions such as water spectacular “O”, which just celebrated 10,000 shows and observes its 21st anniversary on Oct. 15, and KÀ, which adds a new act at the end of this month that symbolizes how Cirque du Soleil was built on a foundation of acrobatics, dance and athleticism.
The “Icarian Games” act brings new meaning to the word “legwork.” It sounds like it might have originated in Greek mythology or was inspired by a fantasy film franchise, but the first words that are likely come to the minds of many witnesses are “foot juggling.” Audiences that have experienced traveling production Varekai and Mexico’s resident show Joya will recall their “Icarian Games” segments as breathtaking highlights.
For KÀ, an odyssey of royal twins trying to find their way home amid battles between gravity-defying warriors, it expands the human element in a show that is renowned for its stunning production design. Beginning Sept. 30, in the show’s opening “Pageant” scene, two duos from Ethiopia will demonstrate a circus art named for the figure from Greek mythology who perished in the sea after he flew too close to the sun, melting the wax holding his wings together.
These Icarians have no wings, though. One partner, the base, lies on their back to catapult and catch with their hands and feet. The other partner, the flier, is the one who goes airborne in a series of furious flips and light-speed movements that have a lexicon all their own: easy chairs, front hangs, back hangs, foot-to-foot stands, hand-to-foot stands, jackknifes, horizontals and shoulder stands (also known as “candlesticks”).
Although the “Icarian Games” act is considered an ancient acrobatic art, it was popularized in the mid-1800s by Richard “Professor Risley” Carlisle, an American gymnastic performer who specialized in acrobalancing his son. Carlisle, a pioneer in performing arts multiculturalism, brought the act to Japan, and later brought Japanese circus performers to the U.S. It’s now practiced internationally among an elite class of athletes with preternatural reflexes, superlative strength and coordination.
The whirl of spinning arms, legs and torsos is as mesmerizing today as it was in the 1800s, as astonishing as it was when the first ancient acrobats pulled it off successfully. And the only Cirque du Soleil show on the Strip that provides the experience is KÀ.
MGM Grand, 7 & 9:30 p.m. Sat.-Wed., starting at $69 plus tax and fee. 702.531.3826
