DVD Review: Cirque Du Soleil; Verakai

If you're not familiar with Cirque Du Soleil, you should be...and soon.  Cirque Du Soleil means "Circus of the Sun" and is a Canadian performance troop combining circus, acrobatics, drama, with vibrant color, flair and music.  They are mesmerizing. I've never made it to a live performance (perhaps they will send me free tickets to a performance in Portland, Oregon so I can blog about that experience).  For now, I'll have to settle for renting their many videos through Netflix.

Most recently, we rented Varekai (which means "wherever" in Romani).  It is based" loosely on the on the Greek myth of Icarus, who melts his wings after flying too close to the sun. Rather than drowning in the sea below him, in Varekai Icarus lands inside a lush forest, in which the creatures teach him how to fly again.".  Honestly?  I had to look that up to figure out the story line.  I was trying to figure it out, and had a vague sense that they were trying to actually tell a story, but the closest I got was this interpretations:  It's about a guy who has his wings stolen by some dark, nasty forces.  He tries to find places to fit in and find love but it's hard.  Other beings show up to demonstrate to him that there are other ways to move and get around besides flying with wings.  I think I flunked.

But as I said, it's is mesmerizing.  Never any down time, never a dull moment.  The costuming is out of this world creative.  I enjoyed the music and especially the phenomenal skill of this troop.  More often than not, when the camera pans out into the audience, you see expressions of rapt attention and jaws slack or dropped completely open.

With the next ones I rent, we'll try harder to figure out the plot. Our interpretations might be additional entertainment for you.


And hang in there on this one for the amazing net routine by the aerialist (who looks like my nephew).