The Holiday and Travel Magazine: Cirque du Soleil - Zarkana - a visually stunning acrobatic spectacular

Tuesday 18 March 2014

Cirque du Soleil - Zarkana - a visually stunning acrobatic spectacular

What does a person do in Las Vegas? Visit the casinos, shop, eat out at restaurants and of course see a show. Las Vegas is blessed to have 8 Cirque du Soleil shows to choose from. I chose to see Zarkana, which is presented in the large theatre in the ARIA Resort and Casino.

The theatre was near full, but people were quickly shown to their seats. What great seats to see this stunning theatre spectacular! Section 103 Row F Seat 4 - right in the front middle for a perfect view of all action on the stage.

Before the show started the circus performers dressed in their stage costumes mingled with the audience. This gave an opportunity to see the costumes close up. They were all mainly white with accents of color.

The Zarkana show tells a loose story of how an old dilapidated circus comes to life. It features an international cast of 70 world class acrobats, aerialists, jugglers, high wire and trapeze artists. They were all amazing on, around and above the stage. Each one highlighted a different skill of the performers and were all breathtaking to see. During scene changes clowns entertained the audience with their antics.

Then 90 minute show went quickly and it was obvious all the audience were thrilled with what they saw. The lighting highlighted the performers, the video special effects were awesome, the sets stunning, the music was loud and boppy.

Outside the theatre was a Zarkana shop that sold souvenirs and clothing from the show. The shop mannequins modelled some of the costumes from the show.

Chocolate creation

A nearby window featured a Jovian character from Zarkana. This display was created by the Jean Philippe Patisserie. Featured in Zarkana’s act “Third Kind” the Jovian characters are extraterrestrial that perform a group number with Cyr wheels on the stage while others perform in the air, twisting and turning in hoops – creating a dizzying tableau filling the stage. The visually stunning chocolate creation is created from:

99 lbs 3 oz of chocolate for the Jovian,
77 lbs 2.6 oz of chocolate for the snake (25,000 little chips),
77lbs 2.6 oz of rolling fondant, and
837 lbs 12.1 oz of sugar to crystallise the eyeballs.

This was my first Cirque du Soleil I have ever seen. It has wet my appetite to see some of others. Touring Cirque du Soleil shows often come to Australia, so I must make the effort to see the next one when it comes here.

The other Cirque du Soleil shows to see in Las Vegas are:

CRISS ANGEL, at the Luxor
KA, at the MGM Grand
The Beatles LOVE, at The Mirage
Mystere, at Treasure Island
“O”, at Bellagio
Michael Jackson ONE, Mandalay Bay
Zumanity, at New York Hotel

Performances

Zarkana performances are held Friday through Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
There are no performances on Wednesdays and Thursday. (Yes, performers need to have a break.)