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  • Essay / Kooza: Where There's Something More Than Circus

    Kooza was first created in 2007 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where circus conglomerate Cirque du Soleil, the largest producer of theater on this planet, was founded in 1983 as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cariter's trip to Canada. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Define the “new circus” by combining circus styles from around the world, thrills without animals, continuous live music, death-defying stunts and theatricality, Character-driven approach, Cirque du Soleil grew rapidly during the 1990s and 2000s, growing from one show to 19 shows in more than 271 cities in almost every continents, except Antarctica. Accessible, serious, but undeniably clever – these were the Cirque’s trademark qualities. It has become a brand. A brand with multiple incarnations. As brands become larger, financially successful and multi-faceted, expanding one's offering while maintaining vitality and relevance without compromising one's artistic integrity can be a challenge. Your humble narrator has had the pleasure of seeing Cirque du Soleil productions in different locations. More recent shows have been particularly hit-and-miss, especially as shows drifted from the realm of traditional circus traditions: they became bigger, flashier, and sometimes overly balanced and acrobatically underwhelming. “When in doubt, go back to basics” might be a tired and clichéd phrase, but it's certainly true for Cirque du Soleil's Kooza, who is seeing a return to the trademark blue and yellow big top. Kooza reflects Cirque du Soleil's return to more traditional circus arts with clowning and acrobatics: Inspired by the Sanskrit word "koza" – meaning box, chest or treasure, the name KOOZA was chosen because one of the underlying concepts of production is the idea. of a “circus in a box” – quite normal that Kooza starts with the Trickster unleashed like hell in the box to kick off the proceedings. The return to the Big Top creates an intimacy that is vital to the foundation of the Cirque du Soleil experience: Kooza's stage is designed to evoke a public square that transforms into a circus ring. Sightlines offer views of up to 280 degrees and serve as a platform for an international cast of 50 acrobats, musicians, singers and actors performing breathtaking feats and clowning to a live soundtrack merging the jazz, 1970s funk and Bollywood rhythms. from a dominant traveling tower nicknamed the “bataclan”. The structure of the Big Top is always in full view and all aspects of the performance are transparent - the fact that no effort is made to disguise or conceal the performances helps to focus attention on the artists and thus creates an environment where the danger of actions is palpable. The comic book aesthetic of more than 175 complex and tailor-made costumes complements the scenography focused on archetypes and universal characters, drawing on a wide variety of sources of inspiration: paintings by Gustav Klimt, Indian touches and is -European, Mad Max and time travel films mixed with nods to The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. Kooza caters to all levels with its ten acrobatic numbers, complemented by minor burlesque acts that develop the storyline: whether it's the house troupe creating Nutcracker-style human towers inspired by the game Inuit “blanket throw”, prowess of.