You ready for some LUZIA, people?
I don’t think you are.
Welcome to The World of…
Hola, I’m Matthew Rodrigues.
Every week we are releasing a new episode,
so don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss it.
Today though, we’re heading into the big top
for one of Cirque du Soleil’s newest touring shows,
a surreal journey through the art and soul of Mexico.
Welcome to the world of LUZIA.
LUZIA takes you to an imaginary Mexico,
it’s very much like a walking dream
where light quenches the spirits
and rain soothes the soul.
Through a series of grand visual surprises
and breathtaking acrobatic performances,
LUZIA takes audiences on a surrealistic journey
filled with wonders,
playfulness and striking artistry.
The audience is transported from an old movie set
to the ocean, to a smoky dance hall
and to an arid desert.
This show cleverly brings to the stage multiple places,
faces and sounds of Mexico
taken from both traditional and modern times.
Rich in awe-inspiring moments,
LUZIA enchants by incorporating rain
into acrobatic and artistic scenes,
a first for Cirque du Soleil touring productions.
-Hi Samuel.
- Hey, how are you? - Welcome.
- Thank you. - Happy to have you.
Samuel is in charge of casting LUZIA.
Now before we go any further,
I want to talk about one act—the contortionist—what’s his name?
- Alexey, yeah. - Alexey.
Insane!
This guy can move in ways
I did not know was humanly possible.
Tell us a little bit about his story.
Well, he started when he was very young.
He had a whole process during all his childhood.
And when he was a teenager,
he was training really, really hard to arrive at this level.
And you see it…
When he’s doing these moves in the show,
the whole audience is like “What?”
You must get to know the cast really well.
Does anyone have a fantastic story
of where they came from to getting on the stage at Cirque?
There’s a brother and sister that work together
in the same show.
- Oh. What are the odds there? - Yeah, exactly.
- They work together and they… - They’re in the same act.
Yeah, they’re in the same act.
They used to learn and to go to school together.
What act are they in?
They’re in the Chinese hoop diving on treadmill.
And also their older brother is in another show,
he’s in VOLTA right now.
Where are the mom and dad?
Are they working for you too?
Not even.
Or the parents need to have more kids
so you can have more people in your shows.
You’re not getting out of here
without doing something for me.
Okay.
I’ve heard that you are also a performer.
So you’re gonna juggle for me?
Okay, I will. I will do a little something.
Well… oh!
I’m just gonna get out of here
because this interview seems to be over…
Now it’s time for Fun Facts.
Integrating the element of water inside the Big Top.
represented a huge technical challenge
on several fronts.
The water must be filtered then disinfected
and then maintained at a constant 82 degrees
for the wellbeing of the artists.
All 6,000 litres of water used during the performance
are recycled for the entire duration of the stay
in any given city.
Because we’re green here at Cirque.
The water in the basin is channelled
to an external 2,500-litre tank
where it is treated and then pumped up to a bridge
56 feet above the stage.
Made out of water,
the images and patterns that appear in the rainfall
are generated electronically
by a graphical water display screen.
What the hell that means,
I don’t know—but it’s really cool to look at.
A running woman spreads her butterfly wings
in a tribute to the annual migratory journey
of the monarch butterfly
from southern Canada to central Mexico for the winter.
Each wing is 6 metres long,
is made of silk and requires 40 metres of material.
The magical flower dress
is fitted with 98 white individually programmed flowers,
each one equipped with a small little motor.
Hoop diving is taken onto gigantic treadmills
expanding exponentially the speed and amount
of daring leaps executed.
The two treadmills come from the mining industry
and they weigh over 8,000 pounds apiece
and they’re powered independently
by 28 automobile-like batteries.
For one of the acts, there are these incredible soccer players
and they’re just knocking…
They just keep hitting the ball like…
Ah, damn it.
Oh!
And that’s the one.
Now it’s time for
one of our Favorite Acts.
It is time to say adios amigos.
I’m gonna catch you next week
where we’ll bug out in the world of OVO.
Let me know in the comments
which act impressed you the most from LUZIA.
Is it the strong men?
They impress me.
This guy is a contortionist and he can…
He’s like putting his head like…
Really like…
Urgh! Blablabla!
And it’s like… It’s so good.
It’s amazing.
Just like that.
As always, click here
for the complete list of The World of… series
and check out below for awesome playlists
and more in the description.
I’m Matthew Rodrigues.
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to flip your reality the Cirque Way—
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