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A Big Bang • Tai Yang Ju Tuan
A Cosmic Disturbance • The Big Crunch • Conclusion

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A Big Bang

As for inspiration look no further than Julie Payette, Canadian Astronaut. She’s the astronaut who flew a clown nose from jester Benny LeGrand aboard NASA Space Shuttle Discovery in May 1999. The STS-96 mission was a joint mission between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Astronaut Julie Payette (from Canada) stowed the cargo.

Following a number of follow-up workshops, the show’s concept was presented to Guy Laliberté on November 9, 2006 (see some of that concept below), along with the final set and about 40% of the preliminary costume designs. With “Cosmos” approved, the creative team began to work hard in refining the concept for final form: Cosmos promised to be an innovative show featuring dance (there would be 16 dancers in the cast) and six acrobatic performances: bamboo poles, globes and poles, aerial frame and ladders, a hand-to-hand act, aerial straps and trampolines. But while the show was beginning to come together artistically, real-world problems began to delay the show: the theater wasn’t going to be ready.

Cirque du Soleil expected to welcome the technicians and equipment into the Venetian Macao Theater by November 2007, with previews commencing by May 16, 2008 and holding a Gala premiere on June 15, 2008. But when the Venetian Macau opened its doors to paying customers on August 28, 2007, the theater was not yet ready – the construction company wrangled for six weeks before solving their issues, pushing back the premiere of the new show by little more than a month, but the damage had already been done.

Tai Yang Ju Tuan

“Tai Yang Ju Tuan, meaning ‘the theatre of the sun international Group’, will be the official name of Cirque du Soleil in Asian markets outside of Japan.”



From the moment Cirque du Soleil announced its partnership with the Venetian Macao, the company knew it needed a brand name that accurately reflected what it was and what it did, for although Cirque du Soleil was synonymous throughout North America, Europe and Japan, the Chinese had no such affinity for the artistic company. And aware that the Chinese word for circus referred to the traditional circus with horses, it was essential the company addressed the issue so it could promote itself and the show throughout the Chinese-speaking world (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and of course Macau and Mainland China). The name “Tai Yang Ju Tuan” was already somewhat familiar in some regions of Asia, specifically with the Taiwanese who were already using it to represent Cirque du Soleil; therefore, adopting it made perfect sense. This new brand, according to Cirque, means:

Tuan (international group), carries the meaning of our message that the world is our playing field. It will allow for potential Asian spectators to understand the scope of what we are offering and give an idea as to the scope and stature of the organization.

Ju (theatre), is the most important part of our Chinese name as it describes what we do. This word allows us to stand apart from the traditional Chinese circus. The Chinese word for “theatre” is much richer than it is in English, since this expression represents several art forms such as dance, song, acting and physical performance. And...

Tai Yang (the sun), is who we are, our identity. It was very important for us that this element be present in our Chinese name. Visually, the sun plays a dominant role in our brand identity. This is the element that people around the world recognize and associate with our shows, whether or not they can read our alphabet.

Both the name of the show and Cirque’s brand in simplified Chinese characters were announced on May 29, 2008.

"We are extremely excited to bring this unique show to the Cotaï Strip as our first permanent step in China," said Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO of Cirque du Soleil. "The creative challenge is very interesting for us as this area has yet to be developed for its entertainment offers. Thanks to our partnership with Las Vegas Sands, we are anxious for Asian audiences to discover this Cirque du Soleil production.

"We are both proud and delighted to be partnering with Cirque du Soleil and bringing this internationally acclaimed production to Macau and to its first ever permanent base in Asia," said Mr. Mark Brown, President of Sands Macao and The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. "Cirque du Soleil will surely give the people of this region a chance to experience wholly unique and world-class entertainment, an aim to which we are also committed."

The show launched on July 26, 2008 for previews, later holding a Gala Premiere on August 28, 2008.

A Cosmic Disturbance

ZAIA's initial attendance figures were dismal, atrocious even, to the tune of 20% capacity per show or less. And rumors of its imminent demise were floating around before the cast had 100 performances under its belt. By April 2010, perception regarding the show had soured so much that Cirque du Soleil had to step in for a little damage control and Jerry Nadal, Senior Vice-President for Resident Shows of Cirque du Soleil, had to re-iterate that Cirque du Soleil was at the Venetian Macau for the long haul.

"ZAIA is here to stay, at least for eight more years." No conversation was held between Cirque du Soleil and Venetian about terminating the show before the end of the ten-year contract. That is what the senior vice-president for resident shows of Cirque du Soleil, Jerry Nadal, assured in an exclusive interview to Macau Daily Times. Although he admits the show's occupancy results are far from what were initially expected, he claims that improvements are being made and that numbers are rising every day. And why aren't numbers as high as they'd like?

To answer that question, he says, you have to look at what's going on in Macau as a whole. "When the Venetian was designed and built, it was with the convention business in mind and the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) traffic, rather than the CAT (Casino Tourism) traffic, but that hasn't materialized yet in Macau for a whole host of reasons." Sales and marketing efforts were geared toward a segment that didn't materialize. And since the convention business that the Venetian team was anticipating to materialize did not, hotel occupancy wasn't there and, as a result, it wasn't there in the showroom. This may beg the question: did Cirque need to bring a different product to succeed in Macau?

"ZAIA is the right show for Macau," Nadal said. "When we thought of it, the show was going to be attracting primarily international clientele because of the convention business. That's why we did a show that was very similar to what we would have done. But now that we have a pretty good mix of Mainland Chinese coming in (about 25% to 30%) [...], we have no intention of changing the show."

But changes were afoot.

By the show's second anniversary, the Chinese Poles on Globes and Rola Bola acts were replaced, and a more traditional Asian Lion Dance routine was added. "We're looking at how we can change some acts to get more Chinese appeal to the show and upgrading some of the acts," said Nadal. "That’s part of our on going process - we’re looking at how everything works, what we can improve to make it a little bit better." In early 2011, the Aerial Frame routine was removed all-together but that still didn't do the trick. Cirque du Soleil and Sands Macau went back to the drawing board and decided even more drastic changes had to be made. First, the show would get a new name in China - and a new visual but it would take some time for those to make a public appearance.

Beginning September 1, 2011, ZAIA would feature even more new diversified performances and characters. A dazzling Hand-to-Hand act, a high-level acrobatic element of Roller Skates (a la TOTEM), Juggling, and a Lion Dance performance to give the production more of an Asian element were added. The show now would flow like this: the Opening, Aerial Hammock, Roller Skates, Lion Dance, Juggling, Trapeze, Hand to Hand, Aerial Straps & Hoops, Fire, Dragon, X-Board & Trampoline and the Finale. And Cirque du Soleil's immediate goal? Maintain ZAIA as a flagship showcase in Macau.

"We hope to have three permanent shows in Macau one day and I see a day where we can have a permanent show in big Chinese cities like Shanghai and Beijing and who knows, maybe even India" Lamarre said.

The Big Crunch

Two months later (November 21, 2011) the Macau Daily Times reported ZAIA's losses continued to mount but that Venetian Macau was willing to shoulder them, Sands China president Edward Tracy revealed. "Ticket sales have gone up" with the addition of new Chinese-style elements such as a lion dance performance and a flying dragon, Tracy said. Nonetheless, the Venetian Macau show remains "the only business sector that doesn't make a profit," he added. Criticism from Sands China chairman Sheldon Adelson led to rumors that the 10-year contract of 'Zaia' would be terminated earlier. But Edward Tracy rejected this possibility. "We are prepared to take a loss to provide that kind of entertainment," he stressed.

But less than three months later Sands China and Cirque du Soleil announced they were ending the 10-year contract for ZAIA after just three and a half years, underlining the difficulties in trying to transform the Chinese gambling haven of Macau into an entertainment destination. Average occupancy at the Zaia show in January was just 40%, according to a representative for the Canadian company. "In view of the market trend and customer demand shown in the research we've conducted, the company will again be investing to redesign the theater," said Gus Liem, Vice President of Entertainment at Sands China Ltd.

"[I]t comes down to time, and visitors to Macau seem to have little of it," said the Wall Street Journal. "According to the territory's government, visitors (the overwhelming majority of which come from China) stayed an average of just 1.5 nights during the first 11 months of 2011. The average visitor to Las Vegas stayed 3.6 nights in 2010, according to the most recent statistics available."

ZAIA had its final curtain call on Sunday, February 19th.

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What's next?

Cirque du Soleil has not given up on the Macau market, Guy Laliberté has pledged. Though the show's final performance cut short a 10-year conract, Laliberté was quick to add: "we reached the end of a three-year guaranteed contract." He did admit that the Macau Special Administration Region (MSAR) remained a gaming city with little room for high entertainment. "Macau is still a place mainly for gamblers. It is not yet an international destination. We didn't reach the [attendance] figures we had set as a goal," he said.

According to the Macau Daily Times Cirque du Soleil and Sands China at the time were discussing a variety of options for working together on other projects. They said that "both organizations are excited by what might come next", without disclosing details of any possible new shows. But, Sands announced it would turn the ZAIA theatre into a multi-purpose theatre. Air Cruise Travel executive director, Eric Chang, said: "The show was not doing well enough simply because there was a better option, the House of Dancing Water. In the eyes of (mainland) Chinese visitors, the show (Zaia) was very common and not a big difference from any good show in many theme parks or acrobatic performances in (mainland) China."

OUCH!

Laliberté said the company believed it could still make a return. "It doesn't mean we are writing off Macau, however. It was a special adventure because we were the first to set up a resident show down there. That's life!" he said.

Unfortunately nothing as yet has come to pass.