Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco

Saltimbanco is the latest evolution of Cirque Du Soleil, currently being performed right in our backyard at the Grandwest Arena. Brought to you by KFM and BigConcerts.

The show elevates traditional human circus acts to new heights of entertainment with the help of music, choreography and showmanship. From the begining to the end the seemingly effortless performances lead you to believe that they are weightless and performing sans gravity.

The stage is based in the arena’s center with complex rigging hanging above it. The seats closest to the stage are worth the R426 as the show is very interactive and many of the people seated there were ushered out of there seats and into the show.

One gentleman stole the show when he was ushered onto the stage by the “naughty” little boy mime and the entire audience errupted with laughter when the two of them had an imaginary show down, ending with elaborate death scenes from both. I do applaud him for being such a great sport, croc sandles and all ;)

The strange brightly coloured characters that run onto the stage are a cross between In the Nightgarden and Terry Prachet characters, the performers in Cirque Du Soleil’s Saltimbanco speak a language of squeeks, giggles and body language. We spent the first few minutes trying to decide what language was being used but gave up and simply enjoyed that it added to the show.

The first half of the show is like a Technicolor dream, complete with a sleeper, a Dr. Seuss like character with a big tummy and long tail that is “born” into the show. Acts include human sculptures, boleadoras in motion, bike acrobatics, a mime and a juggler. The stage is constantly busy and you can develop somewhat of a headache trying to keep up with everything at the same time.

The highlight of the first half, for me, was the drumming act. Something resembling a scene out of “drumline” though much brighter and more colourful with an intermittent rope trick that fools the ears into believing there is a full set of irish dancers infront of you.

The second half of the show is darker and more nightmarish. The costumes change from cute and cuddly to abstract and distorted. Though the acts don’t loose any of their gusto and to prove it four trapeze artists ascend to the heights of the grand areana. They face each other in a circle and, bound up in elastic harnesses, jump and flip about on bungee-like cords.

How they miss each other is beyond me.  

And lets not forget the music, an integral part of the show that I am sure many would disregard. There is a constant female voice and you are led to believe that the majority of the music and singing is recorded and fed through the Arena’s speakers though you are led wrong. Every piece, every song, it’s all live. Not only are you witnessing acrobatic genius but you’re also subject to great musical talents.

If you haven’t yet, get your tickets to Saltimbanco.

It’s truly one of those “not to be missed” events...