Cirque du Soleil returns to Europe after the pandemic with a light show

Light, energy, magic and emotion is what Cirque du Soleil wants to convey to the public with “Luzia”, the show with which the Canadian circus company returns to Europe after the pandemic and which opens this Thursday in Barcelona.

“Today’s premiere is very important for us, because it means resuming tours of Europe after the very difficult period of COVID,” said the company’s president, Stéphane Lefebvre.

“Luzia” is a circus macro-show, in which more than a hundred people of 25 different nationalities participate, including technicians and artists, which premiered in 2016, but until now it has not been able to reach Spain due to the restrictions of the last two years.

Mexico inspires this show, which will be in Barcelona until May 15 and then will travel to Alicante (eastern Spain) and Madrid.

The show begins with the sound of a plane fading and a skydiver falling into a field of yellow marigolds surrounding a giant metal key.

By turning the key, the traveler begins a magical journey that will take him through jungles, deserts and movie sets, to an idealized Mexico.

“It is wonderful how this show connects with the public after the pandemic. I think it is because it is very bright, as well as surprising and innovative”, Lefebvre reflected.

One of the main innovations is the use of water, which makes its first appearance in the cyr wheel number and the trapeze, in which two women dance with huge hoops while a trapeze artist performs amazing figures, sometimes suspended only by the heel. .

For the rain effect of this number, Cirque du Soleil has built a pond under the stage and water curtains have been created.

Created and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, “Luzia” travels from the water to the mirages of the desert, passing through the set that pays homage to the golden age of Mexican cinema.

In this scene, the scenery evokes the dance hall of the movie “Salón México” and three portores, masters in the art of throwing, throw the acrobat towards the heights so that he executes pirouettes in the air.

“The world of acrobats is like that of athletes, they improve day by day and now they do things that were unimaginable just a few years ago,” said Lefebvre, who believes that the future of the company lies in promoting these spectacular numbers and to increase the connection with the public.

“The pandemic has taught us that contact with the public through social networks is very important -he added-, but also face-to-face interpersonal contact”.

Cirque du Soleil is already working to offer digital content that complements the show, in line with what it did during the pandemic, when they were forced to cancel all tours and the artists connected with the public through social networks and showed how they trained at home and what techniques they used so as not to lose skills during confinement.

“It was a very difficult time – Lefebvre recalled – surely the worst in the entire history of the company, but fortunately we have been able to solve the financial problems and we are back on track”.