The opening night of the ten-day run of the street dance-inspired, contemporary circus production iD brought back the inner child in me. Their refreshingly modern and high-energy performances transport audiences into a world where anything is possible – making one forget all problems no matter how bad one’s day was.
Performed by the Montreal-based circus company Cirque Eloize, the nightly shows at Dubai World Trade Centre are a visual celebration of performing arts, blending all forms of dance and physical flexibility using genres of street-dance, hip-hop and acrobatics.
iD features acrobats, break dancers, contortionists, jugglers, a biker – fourteen artists and 13 circus disciplines in all. The artists are dressed in stylised versions of street punk, the backdrop is awesome, the music an atmosphere-enhancing mix of rock, electronica, house and hip-hop. Adding a touch of magic to the show was the delightful light projection, which really did a great job in complementing the artists’ performances.
The pole dancing act at the top of the show certainly got me excited from the outset. In this opening act, the artist scales the pole several feet high with great ease it looks to me as if there was some invisible hand pushing him up. He then free-falls down the pole head first, stopping just inches from the ground.
As one of the artists said during an earlier interview with Gulf News, the show is all about youth, fun, being cocky, being arrogant. Other performances that I really liked included the hand-balancing pas de deux, spiralling revolutions in the Cyr Wheel (sort of like a giant hula hoop), a balancing act on top of several chairs mounted on top of one another, the bicycle rider jumping over different objects including an audience member, and the energetic trampoline. For me, among the best were the performances by the contortionists.
There were a few fumbles, to be sure, but one that really caused the crowd to collectively gasp was when the artist who was balancing on top of the stacked chairs lost balance for a split second, resulting in a wobble that sent many in the audience to the edge of their seats. Thankfully, the artist regained control and went on to complete his performance.
I must say that my favourite part of all was the ‘trampowall’, which served as a great finale. This closing act was an exuberant celebration of the human form and a light show extravaganza that evoked a happier version of the trippy psychedelic finery of another wall (the movie version of Pink Floyd’s 1979 masterpiece).
Watching the artists of Cirque Eloize bounce off the trampowall will make you feel like you can fly.
