A few nights ago I was fortunate enough to take my eight year old daughter to her first Cirque du Soleil performance in our city. Varekai is currently on tour across Canada and I thought it was a great time to introduce her to Cirque du Soleil.
My daughter can be quite anxious with new experiences so I was a little nervous about taking her to Varekai. I wanted her to experience Cirque du Soleil, so I took the chance and brought her. We arrived to the stadium early, took our seats and were immediately transported in an erie forest setting. My daughter was a little frightened at first of the darkness of the set and the music. I reassured her that she would enjoy the show and that I was there to comfort her if needed.
I was relieved to see the show started with two clowns – Joanna and Steven. These two funny characters put my daughter at ease right away. We laughed so hard we forgot about the dark trees on the stage and music. The man and woman (pretending to be ushers at the show) joked around with several people sitting near the stage.
Once their skit ended, the real show began. During the first act we saw every character in their costumes and anticipated a great show.
There are several acts in Varekai and they are all amazing. My daughter and I had our favourites.
Our top favourites were:
1 – Single Point Trapeze – This act was amazing. A single woman flew high above us on a trapeze. Her movements and tricks were surprising and seamless.
2 – Georgian Dance – This dance was incredible. I loved how fast the men in dance moved. Their feet, their spins and their precision was impressive.
3 – Handbalancing on Canes – This act blew me away. I have no idea how a person can balance on canes like this performer did. I loved this performers costume and how she continued to contort herself in different positions as the stage moved.
4 – Slippery Surface – Both my daughter and I loved this act right after intermission. The costumes were colourful and the performers did all kinds of flips and tricks. The music was also very fun and exciting.
5 – The Russian Swing – This was the final number of Varekai. It really had us on the edge of our seat. In this act acrobats are propelled off two russian swings and perform flips high in the air only to land in a canvas. This act is fast paced and will have you on the edge of your seat.
6 – Last but not least, we are brought back to the clowns. My daughter’s absolute favourite part of the show was when Steven came out to sing a solo. He wanted to be in the spotlight but someone kept moving it from one spot to another. This was hilarious. We loved how he ran up in the audience, climbed tree branches and more.
Varekai is an amazing show. You will leave feeling inspired.
In the end, my anxious little girl was bouncing off the walls and asked me to sign her up for gymnastics camp this summer. She also told me she wants to go to every Cirque du Soleil show.
