Confessions of a Cirque du Soleil Addict

Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on January 4, 2019.

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My name is Jeremy, and I am a Cirque du Soleil addict.

You've probably heard of Cirque du Soleil.  Maybe even have seen one or two.  But I have a confession to make to everyone here today – I am an addict.

People ask me all the time what it is about Cirque du Soleil that gets me so excited, but I really have a hard time pinpointing it.  For those who are new to the show style, I like to describe it as being loosely inspired by common circus acts, but amplified with the extreme nature of the X-Games.  

A simple tight rope act is taken to the extreme when the participants start to jump rope while balancing on a single line. 

A juggling act goes crazy when the performer begins throwing cowboy hats over the stage in boomerang style. 

A simple trampoline act gets the crowd going when they use existing set designs like a playground, jumping in and out of tiny holes with well timed precision. 

A loose theme ties them all together for a rough story, but you do not see a Cirque du Soleil show for the “plot”, it is entirely for these boundary pushing acts.

How Many Cirque du Soleil Shows?

In Tokyo to See Cirque du Soleil

By my count I've seen fifteen shows, plus two additional shows that I went to a second time because I enjoyed them so much the first time. 

At $50-$100+ per ticket, you could easily say that I've spent more on Cirque du Soleil shows than I have for a long weekend trip to any city in the US. 

What can I say? I am addicted after all.

The following are the shows that I have seen so far, with hopes to hit the rest up in the next few years.  Unfortunately, or with great luck, Cirque du Soleil seems to come out with new shows faster than I can see them, so I am guessing completing the remaining list will be all but impossible.

  1. Ovo
  2. Totem
  3. Quidam
  4. Saltimbanco
  5. Dralion
  6. Alegria
  7. Varekai
  8. La Nouba (twice) – Orlando
  9. LOVE (twice) – Las Vegas
  10. O – Las Vegas
  11. Zarkana – NYC
  12. Zed – Tokyo
  13. Zaia – Macao
  14. Ovo
  15. Crystal

The best part about all of these shows is that they are all amazing in their own way. 

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Sure, you will always have a similar act style common through each performance.  There will almost always be a strong man team with an impressive balancing act, an acrobatic team, and a set of Asian quintuplets doing something crazy with devil wheels or another Asian inspired toy (think tossing them to each other while balancing on one hand and doing Olympic level flips at the same time). 

Even though you know what to expect with a Cirque du Soleil show and its setup, the simple truth of it is that it never gets old.  A crazy act is a crazy act, and I'll gladly see them ten times over because the acts are that out there and equally amazing as they are crazy.

Permanent vs Tent vs Arena Shows

The Best Cirque du Soleil Show in Vegas? Love

For those who are new to Cirque du Soleil, there are many things to consider when going to a show. None of the considerations are bad, but you should know what you are getting yourself into. 

The first has to do with the venue type for the show, as the company uses their custom sets as a way to set the mood for a performance, and the stage type can drastically alter your perception of the experience as a whole.

Typically, Cirque du Soleil shows come in three styles: as a permanent show in a dedicated city, a touring show in a specially designed tent a la the famous three ring circuses, and finally as a touring show in existing arenas throughout the world. 

Each type has its pros and cons and is something a first time Cirque du Soleil visitor should know about when booking a show:

  • Permanent Shows:  The arenas for these shows are built up purposefully for the run of the show.  Cities such as Las Vegas, New York City, Orlando, and others have embraced these permanent shows due to large visitors coming in and out throughout the year.  With more visitors means more performances, and more performances means a larger budget for the set.  You can be sure that nearly every seat will be a good one at the permanent shows and the set design and acts will be extreme and amazing.
  • Touring w/Tent:  Like the permanent shows, the touring shows with the famous circus tent pop up in towns almost overnight.  The small nature of the tent means that a limited number of guests can attend and almost every seat will have a great view.  However, these mobile stages are limited on the amount of technical advancements that can get put into them meaning that some touring shows may have a more reserved set space.  Keep in mind that by Cirque du Soleil standards, a “reserved” set is still pretty out there.  They are, after all, designed purposefully for the show.
  • Arena Shows:  After several years touring with the tent, the more popular Cirque du Soleil shows get rethemed for arenas.  Rather than bringing the stage to you, only the equipment arrives to be built up at an existing arena.  These performances are typically the last few runs of a popular show, and if you miss it at the arena performance it may not come back again.  Depending on the arena, your seat may be incredibly far from the stage and may begin to detract from the experience some.  Seeing an amazing juggling act or acrobat is great, unless you are several hundred feet from the stage such that the performers look like ants.  The perk for these shows is often a significantly reduced ticket price compared to their more elaborate counterparts.

The Best Cirque du Soleil Show?

Zaia Cirque du Soleil

Having seen thirteen shows, some were definitely better than others. Zaia in Macao was easily one of my favorites- although it sadly stopped performances as of 2012.

A close runner up would be LOVE, the best Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas, because how can you go wrong with adding Beatles music plus the amazing feats of Cirque du Soleil? 

Secretly we all know the answer to this is that it could have been a nightmare, as is the case with the poorly reviewed Viva la Elvis and less than inspiring Michael Jackson World Tour – two of the Cirque shows I never wanted to see on principle. 

But LOVE does something that the others cannot. LOVE conveys the Beatles experience while putting out some of the best new takes on the classic music while having the crazy Cirque acts we love.  The music in this one is so good you'll be buying the soundtrack as soon as you leave, guaranteed.

The Worst Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil at Radio City Music Hall

Likewise, after over a dozen shows, some were most definitely worse than others and left us not entirely disappointed, but wanting more. 

Our last show, Zarkana at Radio City Music Hall in NYC, was easily one of my least favorite of the more recent Cirque shows to come out.  As the newer shows often get bigger budgets than the last, especially permanent shows, you can assume it will be awesome.  While the set for Zarkana and the acts met this typical philosophy, the performance did not.

Why?  Well, for one, the show was only an hour and twenty minutes without an intermission; significantly shorter in run time than their standard performances. 

A quick Google search shows that over the period of a year the show was dropped from 2 hours to 1 hours 40 minutes and finally to our current run time of 80 minutes at the end of the show's stay in New York. 

With three acts missing from what was listed online, we felt incredibly snubbed to the point that we both thought “that was it?” as soon as the show was over.

The second complaint on this particular show has nothing to do with Cirque du Soleil and everything to do with the staff at Radio City Music Hall. 

After being told verbally over the phone that we would not be allowed in under any circumstances with an SLR camera, we saw several people in the hall with their cameras taking pictures up to the start of the show. Even worse, the security on-site poked through our bag with a large stick and considerable force, showing little care to our belongings that were inside. 

We've had rude staff at other Cirque shows before where a 3rd party was running the arena, but Radio City Music Hall takes it for being the absolute worst. 

Ignoring your own rules “no tolerance” rules and treating guest's belongings like trash? Not a way to win friends.

You Really Should Check Out Cirque du Soleil

Cirque Japan

Whether you are new to Cirque du Soleil or are going for your 2nd, 3rd, 10th, or 15th show, something new will surprise you with every act.

As new shows come out every year and the company gets a larger audience and repertoire, the boundaries are pushed even further.  The company's CEO, Guy Laliberte, even went so far as spending several million dollars to travel to the international space station in 2009. 

Not only was he Canada's first space tourist, he was also the first self-described clown in space and used the trip to have a “poetic social mission” in space and raise awareness for world water issues through Cirque's corresponding humanitarian foundation (as well as conducting the first poetry sit-in outside of Earth's atmosphere). 

A circus company that pushes the boundaries of the human body, the world around them, and has an equally crazy yet inspired CEO running the whole thing; how can you go wrong?

The answer is you cannot.   The addiction continues.

About Jeremy

Jeremy from Living the Dream

About the Author: Jeremy is a full-time travel writer based in Pittsburgh and primary author of this site. He has been to 70+ countries on five continents and seeks out new food, adventure activities, and off-the-beaten-path experiences wherever he travels.

12 thoughts on “Confessions of a Cirque du Soleil Addict”

  1. Hi there. Love your enthusiasm and passion for Cirque. I am going to be seeing my 27th individual show in a few weeks with Luzia. There are a few I’ve seen multiple times, but not counting those towards that total. I agree with you that Zarkana was one of the worst things they ever did. The screeching of that score and weird attempt at a plot fell so far short of their standard. I’ll also throw it out there that Wintuk, Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour and Delirium were not very good. I liked Zaia a lot too. Not in my top 5, as I tend to like the darker ones, but I wish it had a longer life over there than the few years it had. I never got to see Zed and feel remiss for that.

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    • Oof, that is a hard one. I really liked La Nouba, even though that is no longer playing. I think the music in most all of the shows are all well done!

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  2. I’m glad you brought up Crystal. Considering going. But have heard mixed reviews. We want to take my daughter but I heard it is a glorified Disney on ice. You said it was fun. How would you rank it on Your list?

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    • I would say Crystal isn’t as intense as some other Cirque shows out there. Only so much you can do on ice, but it is a novel idea. Haven’t seen a Disney on Ice to compare but I can’t imagine they do any sort of stunts like Crystal does, but at the end of the day it is still a show on skates, so its limited.

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  3. I saw a lot as well, and I don’t know if you have seen Cortéo yet or not but it’s really creative. I liked a lot of the acts, props, as well as the story line. I saw Varekai when it first came out and I loved it. The original two main characters were amazing. I also saw Zumanity when it first came out and I hated it, but I have heard that it has gotten a lot better. I also thought LOVE was beautiful especially the giant bubble scene.

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  4. We havent been to any Cirque Du Soleil as yet! But would love to go to at least one of there events. Never realised that there was different themes/different events. Can see it be very addictive, especially when there are many different locations/different times/different acts. Great to add to a bucket list ~ bummer about not having your camera and being treated roughly.

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  5. I personally preferred “O” to “Love”, because of the mix of elements (air, ground, water) involved, especially the quick transformation of the stage between pool and solid ground phases.

    The way I usually describe Cirque du Soleil shows are flesh and blood musical fireworks. Because we’re usually like kids watching fireworks: awed and stunned.

    Cirque du Soleil began very humbly as a little public amusement troup in 1984 in Quebec City area. But Laliberté’s vision quickly brought a whole new take to the circus world. Out the animals and in the humain performances. Less than 15 years later, the Cirque was opening its first permanent show in Vegas… where casinos fight over to build billion-dollar venues to host the Cirque.

    Yes, he has spent about $25 millions to go into space… but that was just about 1% of his net worth then. Going to space isn’t like buying a plane ticket… pay and you’re done. He has spent 6 months in StarCity, learned Russian and had a condensed version of the Russian cosmonaut training. He did astonishing photographies out there and raised up awareness and funding for his One Drop foundation.

    Their world headquarters are in Montreal, where every show is created and every athlete is trained. Most touring shows first begin here in Montreal.

    Cirque du Soleil is one of the many cultural wonders that came out of Quebec, just like Celine Dion and Simple Plan to name a few of the most popular one. Not so bad for a small French-speaking population surrounded by 300 million anglophones, who managed to keep its culture for over 250 years now (when we were abandoned by France).

    Reply

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