Showing posts with label ovo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ovo. Show all posts

Cirque du Soleil: Behind the Scenes at Ovo!

Cirque has had a rough visit in Cincinnati, with the rain closing them down for the past week-- they've had to reschedule 15 shows and clean up quite a mess over at Coney Island. The're pushing through, though and last night they were back on stage!

While we were lucky enough to be invited to the dress rehearsal for Ovo back in April, we were also invited for a behind-the-scenes tour, which we took yesterday before their big return.

Here's the link to Dan's full Flickr set of our incredible tour.








Our contact at Cirque talked us through so many aspects of the show for over half an hour... from what the performers eat to where they lodge to how they practice to how Cirque finds their talent. We were able to tour the makeup and dressing room, the practice mats, the stage and more. We learned that some of the Cirque performers are ex-Olympians, that each costume is cleaned in Cirque's own washing machine every night, and that there are teachers that travel with the cast to teach Quebecois curriculum to Cirque cast and family members. We saw cast members warming up, rehearsing, putting on makeup and playing chess on an iPad. How... freaking... amazing.

(We want to give an absolutely huge thank you to Darcy at Vehr Communications, and Marie-Claude at Cirque! This was the chance of a lifetime for us!)

Cirque's Ovo website: http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/ovo/tickets/cincinnati.aspx

Cirque du Soleil: Ovo

Phew! Dan and I had a great time last night at Cirque du Soleil's show Ovo (disclosure: we were given free preview night tickets but reviews were not required). If you read many Cincinnati blogs I'm sure you're seeing a flurry of Cirque-related activity-- seems like everyone was at preview night!

I hope all that blogger/Yelper outreach pays off for them, because Ovo is a great show. I've seen several Cirque shows, but Dan had never seen one, so it was interesting to get dual perspectives.

For me, all the undeniably Cirque elements were present: a fun theme that permeates the entire show (insects!); unbelievable feats of strength, agility and creativity; ethereal live music; jaw-dropping costumes. Dan, on the other hand, didn't really know what to expect, and felt it was more of a circus than he'd come to expect-- he was worried it would be too "weird and artsy," but says it felt very accessible. I think that's a misconception that a lot of people have regarding Cirque-- that it's esoteric, bizarre, not fun. Certainly not the case with Ovo.

I can't tell you my favorite parts because I don't want to spoil the show. There's a magic in never knowing what will come next, and there are definitely some big surprises in Ovo. (I'll say this: the scenery itself is its own character. Holy moly.)

(Sorry for the lack of show-related pictures. Flash photography blinds the trapeze artists, know what I'm sayin'?)

Cirque opens for realsies tomorrow night, and runs through May 8th.
Cirque's Ovo website: http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/ovo/tickets/cincinnati.aspx