Ovo (Cirque du Soleil)

Ovo
Company	Cirque du Soleil
Genre	Contemporary circus
Show type	Touring show
Date of premiere	April 23, 2009
Creative team
Writer, director, and choreographer	Deborah Colker
Creation director	Chantal Tremblay
Set and props designer	Gringo Cardia
Composer and musical director	Berna Ceppas
Costume designer	Liz Vandal
Lighting designer	Eric Champoux
Artistic guides	Guy Laliberté Gilles Ste-Croix
Sound designer	Jonathan Deans
Makeup designer	Julie Bégin
Rigging and acrobatic equipment designer	Fred Gérard
Acrobatic performance designer	Phillipe Aubertin
Other information
Preceded by	Criss Angel Believe (2008)
Succeeded by	Banana Shpeel (2009)
Official website

Ovo is a touring circus production by Cirque du Soleil and premiered in Montréal, Canada, in 2009. Ovo's creator and director, Deborah Colker, took inspiration from the world of insects. The idea for Ovo was not to be about the acts, nor dancing, nor insects, but about movement.^[1] The movement of life permeates the entire show with creatures flying, leaping, bounding, and crawling. Composer Berna Ceppas brought additional life to Ovo with a score inspired by the music of Brazil. ovo means "egg" in Portuguese and represents the underlying thread through the show. Graphically, inside the logo of Ovo, is an insect. The two O's represent the eyes and the V forms the nose and antennas.^[2]

History

During late April 2011, Ovo had to cancel performances in Ohio due to flooding at Coney Island. The Ohio River began flooding due to heavy rains over the period of a few days. The team had been running pumps, adjusted parking, as well as the show's layout, but finally did have to cancel multiple performances (April 22 - May 1, 2011).^[3][4][5][6]

Set and technical information

The stage and set for Ovo were designed by Gringo Cardio and utilize irregular shapes throughout. The rear wall is 19 metres (62 ft) wide by 8 metres (26 ft) high and is only supported at the sides, thus allowing the trampolines for the final act to slide into place. During it's arena tour, Ovo used the stage from the classic cirque show, Dralion. Ovo's big top stage would later be reused when Corteo premieres it's arena tour in 2017. Inset in the wall are 24 "firefly eggs"; these are moulded fibreglass bulbs fitted with LED bulbs which can produce a full color spectrum of light. The "membranes" seen throughout the performance are quite large in scale, the largest being 24 metres (79 ft) wide by 17 metres (56 ft) high. The egg seen at the beginning of the show is inflated to the size of 8.5 metres (28 ft) wide by 7 metres (23 ft) high.^[1]

Ovo has the largest flying act yet undertaken by Cirque du Soleil, as of 2010. To support the act there are 80 cables which have to be installed during the performance; this requires the assistance of upwards of 40 performers and technicians. The trapeze net itself is 3 metres (9.8 ft) off the ground and spans 30 metres (98 ft) in length and 15 metres (49 ft) in width.^[1]

Cast

Many characters are seen throughout Ovo, three of which are the main characters. The cast of Ovo, as of its premiere, included 54 performing artists from 16 different countries.^[7]

• Master Flipo: The principal character, Master Flipo, keeps everything in this chaotic world in order.
• Foreigner: The Foreigner, another principal character, is a fly from a far-away land who brings with him the mysterious ovo.
• Ladybug: The Ladybug is the third principal who brings life and joy to the world of insects, and also ends up falling for the Foreigner.
• Dragonfly: The dragonfly flits throughout the entire performance and performs the hand balancing act.
• Spiders: Four spiders provide mystery and caution throughout the show. Their acts include contortion and slackwire.
• Fleas: Five spry fleas jump about with flashes of red and yellow as they perform acrosport.
• Ants: The ants carry kiwi and corn with them on their journey as they perform foot juggling.
• Butterflies: The duo butterflies fly through the air in a Spanish web (2009-2015)/Aerial Straps (2016-) duo.
• Firefly: The firefly flits about performing with diabolos.
• Mosquito: The mosquito adds character to the performance while also being part of the powertrack, trampoline, and wall act.
• Scarabs: The strong scarabs fly through the air twisting and spinning in the flying trapeze (2009-2015)/Aerial Cradle (2016-) act.
• Crickets: The 10 crickets jump and leap about in green streaks as they do power track, trampoline, and wall.
• Creatura: A mysterious Creatura brings life to the party with his dancing.
• Cockroaches: The 9 cockroaches are seen singing and playing music throughout the entire performance.

Acts

Ovo has ten acrobatic-related acts, whereas the rest are dancing or supplemental to the storyline.^[7]

• Opening: The exciting and hectic world is portrayed by pounding samba music and bright lights, then a sudden calm, the bright lights change to warm natural light and the heavy samba is changed to a calming guitar song.
• Hand balancing (Dragonfly): A lone dragonfly balances precariously on a high, rotating block.
• Foot juggling and Icarian games (Ants): A group of ants juggle kiwis, corn, eggplant slices as well as other ants, all on their feet.
• Aerial straps (Butterflies): Two butterflies swing soar across the stage, strung on straps from the ceiling.
• Diabolos (Firefly): A firefly manipulates and tosses multiple diabolos at a time.
• Creatura dancing (Creatura): A comic routine involving a giant suit that resembles multiple slinkys.
• Aerial Cradle (Scarabs): Based on Corteo's "Paradise" act, three aerial cradles are spaced diagonally above the stage and fliers are thrown and caught in the arms of catchers in the cradles.
• Contortion (Spiders): One spider uses the same vertical rope as used by the butterflies to create multiple flexible poses, while another on the ground uses handstands to balance while her back and legs contort in multiple positions.
• Acro-trio (Fleas): Two males performers use techniques similar to those in acrobatic gymnastic (acrosport) to toss a female performer in the air.
• Slackwire (Spider): On a loose (and sometimes swinging) wire, a spider balances with their legs and hands, and at one point rides a unicycle.
• "Legs": A unique dance, multiple legs pop up through holes in the stage.
• Powertrack, Trampoline, Wall (Crickets): The crickets bounce on a long trampoline in the floor called a power track, they perform tumbling at an amazing speed. A trampoline is also used by the crickets to jump onto the wall, on the wall the leap of and land on the trampoline.
• Banquete: The finale of the show.

Retired acts

• Volants (Scarabs): Using two trapezes on either side of the stage the scarabs are thrown onto a platform suspended above the centre of the stage where they are caught and thrown in a banquine style discipline. This act was replaced by aerial cradle during the arena conversion in 2015.
• Spanish web duo (Butterflies): Two butterflies swing and twist on a long vertical rope. This act was replaced by aerial straps during the arena conversion in 2015.
• Acrosport (Fleas): A group of 5 male and female fleas use acrobatic gymnastic (acrosport) techniques to toss other fleas in the air as well as create high towers of fleas. This act was replaced by aerial straps during the arena conversion in 2015.

Costumes

Liz Vandal's costumes for Ovo

The costumes of Ovo were designed by Liz Vandal and evoke the appearance of insects.^[8] The costumes were created to have areas that appear as sections to replicate the segmented bodies of insects; this was achieved by using permanent pleating, varying finishes, and coloring methods. To also provide the illusion of exoskeletons, a mixture of fabrics were used to create both hard and soft flexible fabrics, thus providing the look of a hard shell without inhibiting the artists' movements.^[9]

The crickets have detachable legs, which are removed for the powertrack act, to give the sense of an insect with six legs. The legs also provide the illusion the cricket is oversized, aiding the spectator's illusion of being the size of an insect in this world.^[9]

Due to the rigidity of some of the costumes, most characters have two versions of their costume. The first is more lightweight and functional for their acrobatic performance. The second, on the other hand, is more richly detailed and heavier, and worn while not performing their act.^[2]

Music

The show's musical influences stem primarily from Brazilian genres such as samba; both the creator and music director are Brazilian. Additional texture is added by the use of sounds of insects throughout the soundtrack. Below is a list of the tracks featured on the CD, which was released on April 13, 2010.^[10]

1. Brisa Do Mar (Pre-show and opening)
2. Foreigner (Cricket dance)
3. Ants (Foot juggling and Icarian games)
4. Cocoon (Interlude into Spanish Web Duo)
5. Frevo Zumbido (Diabolos)
6. Orvalho (Handbalancing)
7. Carimbo da Creatura (Creatura dancing)
8. Love Duet
   • Spanish Web Duo (2009–2015)
   • Aerial Straps (2016-present)
9. Scarabee
   • Volants (2009–2015)
   • Aerial Cradle (2016–present)
10. Sexy Web (Contortion)
11. Legs (Interlude into Power Track, Trampoline, and Wall)
12. Flea Girls
    • Acrosport (2009-2015)
    • Acro-trio (2016–present)
13. Super Hero (Slackwire)
14. Secret Samba Luv (Clown Act)
15. Parede (Power track, trampoline, wall)
16. Banquete (Banquet and Bows)

Vocalists

• Marie-Claude Marchand - From April 23, 2009 (Montreal) to June 27, 2014 (Tokyo)
• Alexandra Cabanilla - From June 28, 2014 (Tokyo) to June 7, 2015 (Sendai)
• Júlia Tázie - From April 8, 2016 (Lake Charles) to present

Tour

Ovo started touring in April 2009 in Montréal, Canada.^[11][12] They performed their 1000th show on January 29, 2012, while in Santa Monica, California.^[13][14] Now that the Japanese run of Ovo has ended, it has been confirmed that the show will no longer perform under the Grand Chapiteau, instead it will be converted into the arena format for its remaining tours.

On April 8, 2016, OVO began re-premiered in the arena format in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Just one week later, on April 15, Cirque du Soleil announced the cancellation of OVO in both Greensboro and Charlotte, North Carolina citing the recent signing of the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act by North Carolina governor Pat McCrory, the Company announced in a press release that "Cirque du Soleil strongly believes in diversity and equality for every individual and is opposed to discrimination in any form. The new HB2 legislation passed in North Carolina is an important regression to ensuring human rights for all."

The following colorboxes indicate the region of each performance:
 EU   Europe  NA   North America  SA   South and Central Americas  AP   Asia/Pacific  OC   Oceania  AF   Africa

Grand Chapiteau tour

Arena tour

2016 schedule

2017 schedule

References

External links

• Official site
• Ovo photos by Ed Schipul (Creative Commons)