Cirque Du Soleil: Saltimbanco Review
By: Aimee Walker and Dominika Polak
The worlds most well know Circus Company is back in town for a couple of weeks performing their long standing show, Saltimbanco. Saltimbanco is Cirque du Soleil’s first show to tour internationally and has been around for almost 20 years and you can see why they have a massive fan-base to date and is suitable and great for the whole family to enjoy together.
Saltimbanco was a great show! It was very entertaining with awesome bright colours, the music was beautiful and the characters were playful and funny. Regardless, I wouldn’t sit in the front row unless you want to be part of the show. The performers pick audience members from the front to make interact with. It was funny for the audience but probably not for the participants, but heck it’s part of the package; so if you dare to sit front and centre, then you’ve been warned!!
At the onset, there is a psychedelic display of colour with one of the acts reminiscent of sherbet straws that you would eat as a kid. Throughout the show performance of the Baroques, Eddie and the Dreamer (clowns) are woven throughout to offer a humorous side and interact with the crowd. The performance of the clowns was a definite highlight, but it was the acrobatics that were MUST SEE. The performers make it all look so easy, giving you the impression that anyone can do it…until they flip not once, twice but five graceful times off of a Russian swing onto a mattress. Another act that will keep you on the edge of your seat is the two young girls on the trapeze. The swing and perform outrageous acts like catching each other with their own feet without any harness.
For those that have been to a Cirque du Soleil show you won’t be disappointed. For those that haven’t been before, expect not just a show but the entire package. There is both humour and stomach churning acrobatics. You can admire the talent and physique of the acrobatics along with the music and side performers that bring the show together. The Vector Arena is not as intimate a setting as a classic circus tent, but this is a worthy exchange for extra leg room and much more comfortable chairs.
Saltimbanco will be at Vector arena until 4th September. You can buy tickets from www.ticketmaster.co.nz do not miss it.
4/5 Stars for Saltimbanco!!