The words Cirque du Soleil, especially in Cirque-centric Las Vegas, is certainly not a new scene to anyone who loves a good show. With seven separate productions filling various Strip showrooms, a mere mention of this show conjures up a jovial atmosphere of lights, colors and above all, an awesome show. As die-hard Cirque fanatics, 702 ENT obviously wanted to find out more about Cirque Musica…
Produced by Texas-based TCG Entertainment, the Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular will be performing circus acts with a musical accompaniment. As of this coming Wednesday, though, there’s a different Cirque in town: Cirque Musica, which checks into Orleans Arena for a one-night-only performance.
At face value, this is nothing novel, yet in Cirque Musica shows, music is played by local symphony orchestras — including 45 members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, who will accompany acrobats, aerialists and other circus performers while they display their skills.
It’s a hectic time for Philharmonic musicians, who played holiday concerts earlier this month. The Cirque Musica show marks the second time in two years that orchestra members have played Orleans Arena, succeeding last year’s Mannheim Steamroller concert.
Philharmonic musicians will be playing classic Christmas carols for the concert, with arrangements to complement the acrobats. According to Cirque Musica creator and producer Stephen Cook, there will also be a few light classics added to the musical fusion. What’s more, Broadway veteran Eric LaJuan Summers, will be leading the show’s vocal lineup.
Cook notes, that although the holiday spectacular marks Cirque Musica’s Las Vegas inauguration, “half my cast is from Las Vegas,” this includes the Senchihina Twins duo trapeze act who previously featured in Cirque du Soleil’s “O” and even the Sandou Trio, a Russian bar act that competed on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”
But conceivably, “flying violinist” Veronica Gan truly illustrates Cirque Musica’s mix of music and acrobatics. “She comes out and plays ‘Silent Night’ and rises up in the air like an angel,” Cook says of Gan’s act.
Although not a typical act an avid Cirque patron might expect, the fact that Gan had gone skydiving — and had performed 60 feet in the air, in a chandelier, during Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ 70th birthday party at his football team’s stadium — proved Gan’s adventurous side.
For circus veteran Ashley Winn, the existence of a symphony orchestra throughout Cirque Musica represents “just a whole different world” than the typical circus.
Winn notes how many circuses no longer have live music, and in the ones that do, “with a live band, the show plays to you” — the musicians actually react to the performers. Yet Cirque Musica is the opposite she continues.
Performing to full orchestral accompaniment is “an awesome feeling, because it’s so powerful,” Winn perceives, who does an aerial act to “O Holy Night” and a hoops routine to “Winter Wonderland.”
According to Cook, who spent 25 years in marketing with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, notwithstanding Cirque Musica’s musical focus, the circus part of the show came first.
Six years ago, Cirque Musica unveiled their performance with the San Diego Symphony and “5,000 people were cheering and clapping during the piece,” Cook recalls. “Kids were laughing. That’s what we want.”
Indeed, Cirque Musica’s North American tours did so well that it has extended from theaters into arenas, he explains: “The holiday show started a few years ago and really exploded,” with two units “crisscrossing the U.S. and Canada.”
Totalling to approximately two hours, the show is “really, really family-friendly. It’s made for kids, made for families.” Including his own, Cook says.
We’re pretty sure you want to be a part of this exciting performance. To be sure to join this fun and entertaining show, we suggest you contact us. Remember, 702 ENT is a reliable Concierge Service that will help you out when planning and booking events and excursions in Las Vegas.
