Review: Cirque du Soleil Show, Varekai, Takes Stage in Colorado

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHuj6bZPO2k[/youtube]

 

One of the largest traveling Cirque du Soleil shows has come to Colorado, bringing with it 100 people and 60 trucks of props and wild costumes needed to create a fantastical world on stage. The world, and the name of the show, is Varekai. “Varekai” means “wherever” in Romany, the language of the gypsies, and the show follows a young man on a journey to find himself. The audience is transported into an extraordinary place at the summit of a volcano, where this Icarus falls from the sky and sets off on a magical adventure.I went backstage and talked with Alona Zhuravel, the lead female performer who plays The Betrothed, an exotic creature with whom Icarus falls in love. At the young age of 22, Zhuravel is already an extremely talented performer, who at one point during the show balances upside down on canes.

“It just involves a lot of concentration for me,” she explains, when asked if she ever felt fear during these daredevil acts. Zhuravel’s parents were circus performers, and her unconventional journey is just the type that Varekai celebrates, playing tribute to the nomadic soul and the art of the circus tradition.

While the incredible performers make the show, the wardrobe is just as enthralling. Tanya Jacobs, head of wardrobe for Varekai, says she runs a team of four who handle everything from maintenance to adapting costumes to new performer tricks. The most prominent costume in the show, the green caterpillar, is worn by Zhuravel as she goes through a metamorphosis.

Varekai opens at the 1^st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado on May 7^th and then heads to Kansas City on May 14^th. Tickets are available at cirquedusoleil.com.