The Clowns of Cirque Du Soleil

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVwRv7tnRcA

A montage of the clowns of Cirque Du Soleil. I see Dimitri Hatton here from our ZAIA Cirque show doing his Montgolfiere passage and “Mad Conductor” act. I’m sure that Onofrio Colucci is also in this video but I’m not sure which clown he is (formerly with “O” and Zaia, currently with ZED in Tokyo).

You’ll also see Brian Dewhurst from Mystere. I had the chance to see Mystere performed in Vegas several years ago and the pre-show antics of Dewhurst stand out in my memory as one of the highlights of the show. He is SO funny.

TOTEM by Cirque Du Soleil – Trailer

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOA6q88PssE

Official Cirque Du Soleil TOTEM trailer. Opening May 2010.

TOTEM traces the fascinating journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly. The characters evolve on a stage evoking a giant turtle, the symbol of origin for many ancient civilizations.

TOTEM retrace le périple fascinant de lespèce humaine, de son état primitif damphibien jusquà son désir ultime de voler. Ses personnages évoluent sur une piste en forme de tortue géante, symbole dorigine de plusieurs civilisations anciennes.

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/totem

Cirque du Soleil has unveiled details about Totem, its acrobatic show inspired by the founding myths and legends of aboriginal cultures and slated to premiere in Montreal in April 2010.

Continue reading “TOTEM by Cirque Du Soleil – Trailer” →

Cirque says Macau ZAIA here to stay

Jerry Nadal (senior vice-president for resident shows of Cirque du Soleil): ‘We’re here for the long hall’ as reported April 7, 2010 in the Macau Daily Times. Full article posted here with link to original MDT article at end of post.

Continue reading “Cirque says Macau ZAIA here to stay” →

Cirque and Michael Jackson

“Speculation has circulated that Cirque du Soleil would create a Las Vegas show based on Mr. Jackson’s music, as it already has done with Beatles’ music. If it does, a soundtrack album of some kind would likely be part of the deal.”

That is an excerpt from an article released today. A $250 million dollar deal between Sony and the MJ estate.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704588404575124023860735864.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Jackson’s music is very much about love and my experience has been that Cirque shares this vision. Music that “lifts our eyes to the mountains”. It will be exciting to see what happens with this.

Castles Made of Sand

Castles Made of Sand
Music, Lyrics and Vocals by Karin Maria Andersson
Guitar and video by Olivier Milchberg
Macau (SAR) China, January 2010

This video has clips from the Cirque Du Soleil artists of ZAIA starting in Montreal, Canada from January 2008 during training (and lots of snow!) to late 2009 backstage, and during rehearsals for the show at the Venetian in Macau (SAR) China.

For us in the show the video is extremely emotional. Some of the people in this video are no longer with us in Macau. The time of ZAIA is one that all of us will remember and many of us will cherish. The experiences we had in China for many of us were not what we expected – they were experiences and adventures we could have never imagined; many good and some painful for each of us.

I normally don’t get seen in videos or promo photos – so thank you to Olivier for getting me in there several times. Fun to see the musicians and how all of our looks changed from the beginning in Montreal to the journey in China. As our composer told us: “You all look more shiny.” I would agree. Cirque and China have allowed us to shine.

I think this video will give a sense of closure to many of us for a slice of time we spent together – a “castle made of sand”.

I am personally moved by the video in a way beyond words. Thank you to Maria and Olivier for this truly precious gift of song….

*Update: A new audio version of this song:

https://www.last.fm/music/Feather+And+Down/_/Castles+Made+of+Sand

And a note from Olivier on this video:

Hi all my dear friends,
 
Here is a new video on the creation of Zaia. It’s a tribute to Zaia artists, and especially to Maria and the musicians.
 
I asked Maria to compose a song for it, and she did it just before leaving Macau.
These images can seem nostalgic in our situation, but the purpose of this video is only to highlight the strong and moving times we spent together; sharing sorrow and joy, as Maria says.
 
It’s my way to say thank you to all of you, and to express my admiration of the amazing talent of every artist. And let’s remember, even if this adventure stops right now, our talents will continue to shine and spread over the planet.
 
Olivier

Continue reading “Castles Made of Sand” →

ZAIA Band Macau

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ7Hn2CbJys

The ZAiA Band plays live musical accompaniment for Cirque du Soleil’s ZAiA show. ZAiA is a multidisciplinary circus arts show about a young girl who travels through the universe to find love. Come to Macau and dream with us! Now playing at the Venetian Macau Hotel Casino and Resort.

Music by Violaine Corradi
Directed by Gilles Maheu

ZAIA – Aomen TV

Cirque Du Soleil ZAIA on Aomen TV – Macau, China

*Note – Some people from outside Asia have told me the video doesn’t stream well which is too bad. This video is a nice overview of the show with some artist interviews.

ZAIA – 重访梦幻剧团

ZAIA是太阳剧团特地为澳门度身量做的大型汇演，内容是有关一个小女孩在太空发生的故事，自2008年开始，已经演出超过400场。现在请跟着我们走进ZAIA的後台，了解他们鲜为人知的故事，和看看他们自首演以来，经过甚麽样的改变。如此大型的世界级演出又是如何制作出来的呢？很高兴有请到ZAIA的艺术总监和其中两位演员跟我们分享他们在ZAIA的经历。