Cirque du Soleil coming to town
The real "Cirque" is coming to town.
"Saltimbanco," Cirque du Soleil's arena-size show, is coming to the Blaisdell Arena in the fall. While ticket prices and specific dates have not been set, "Saltimbanco" is expected to occupy the arena from late October through early November.
Both Cirque's director of marketing services, Rachel Andrews, and Meijeanne Wagner of McNeil Wilson Communications, whose public relations firm will handle the Hawaii dates, said a Honolulu press conference is scheduled for near the end of July that will formally announce the show's run here.
Hawaii audiences have recently seen touring shows labeled "Cirque Eloize" and "Cirque Dreams," and even a local company called "Cirque Hawaii" that occupies the former IMAX theater in Waikiki -- but never a show from the Montreal-based company that started it all.
"Saltimbanco," according to Andrews, has been adapted from its big-top setting for arenas. It is Cirque du Soleil's oldest touring signature show. The colorful acrobatics include Argentine-styled "boleadoras," an aerial ballet using bungee cords, Chinese poles, trapezes, balancing, gymnastics and juggling.
The show's North American tour begins today in Victoria, Canada, and so far is scheduled to run through late September.