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Varekai

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Creations


Varekai


Création

Concepteurs
Scénographie
Musique
Personages

Expérience

Charivari
The Fall
Flight of Icarus
The Meeting
Synchro Tumbling
Batons
Solo Trapeze
Clown Magic
Zeppelin (Cloud)
The Kidnapping
Georgian Dance
Fireflies (Gitans)
Slippery Surface
Lounge Singer
Solo on Crutches
Aerial Straps
Cyr Wheel
Lightbulb
Handbalancing
Wedding
Russian Swings

Réserve
Dance Trapeze
Solo Aerial Strap


Retiré
Pas de Deux
Water Meteors
Triple Trapeze
Aerial Hoop
Icarian Games
Juggling
B-Girl

Odyssey

Itinéraire
Visuals
Audio/Visual
Features

 


Deep within a forest, at the summit of a volcano, exists an extraordinary
world where something else is possible. Welcome to the making of an angel.


The word Varekai (pronounced var-ee-'kie) is Romani for “Wherever.” And from that word, an idea: no matter where the wind carries you, you’ll always be home. The creators started with a premise: What if Icarus hadn’t fallen into the sea? What if he had fallen into a mysterious forest inhabited by strange beings? How would his life have changed? As Varekai opens, Icarus falls to Earth. But with his fall comes renaissance – a chance to be born anew. Thus begins a journey of self-realization. Along the path, Icarus meets a bewildering cast of creatures and characters, some of whom oppose his bid for greatness; others guide and support him as he strives once again to reach new heights. In many ways, Varekai is a celebration of our collective desire to rise above – free of our terrestrial ties. Where the myth of Icarus ends, Varekai begins.

In Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of Daedalus, an artisan commissioned by the King of Crete to design a prison for the Minotaur. Daedalus built the Labyrinth. Later, Daedalus helped two other prisoners – Theseus and Ariadne – escape from the Labyrinth and in doing so, betrayed the King. Daedalus and Icarus were imprisoned in a tower on an island from which there was no escape... or so the King thought. Daedalus fashioned two sets of wings from feathers and wax for himself and his son. Before their flight to freedom, Daedalus gave his son a warning: if you fly too close to the sea, your wings will become too heavy for flight; if you fly too close to the sun, the wax will melt. Alas, young Icarus was swept up by his own excitement and pride and he forgot his father’s warning. He flew too close to the sun. The wax melted, his wings came apart, and he fell to his death in the ocean near the Island of Damos. Today, those waters are still known as the Icarian Sea. For people around the world, Icarus is a symbol of youthful insouciance and arrogance, but he also represents courage and our desire to excel.

But, unlike the Icarus of fabled tale the Icarus of Cirque du Soleil falls into a fantastical world of good and evil, a place where he must redeem himself. On this day at the edge of time, in this place of pure and undiluted possibility, begins an inspired incantation to a life rediscovered and to a newly found wonder in the mysteries of the world and the mind. Varekai is a "tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit and art of the circus tradition, and to those who quest with infinite passion." The term is an homage not only the acrobats that push their art to the extreme, but also a reminder to the wanderers of ancient Europe.

 
Premiere: April 24, 2002 (Bigtop)
December 13, 2013 (Arena)
Type: Touring / Arena
Finale: November 24, 2013 (Bigtop)
December 23, 2017 (Arena)
 

Creative Team


Director
Dominic Champagne
Guide
Guy Laliberté
Creation
Andrew Watson
Lighting Designer
Nol Van Genuchten
Composer
Violaine Corradi
Choreographer
Michael Montanaro
Sound Designer
François Bergeron
Projection
Francis Laporte
  Set Designer
Stéphane Roy
Chorepgrapher
Bill Shannon
Costumes
Eiko Ishioka
Rigging
Jaque Paquin
Clown Acts
Cal McCrystal
Makeup
Nathalie Gagné
Aerial Acts
André Simard
 

Audio/Visual


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