Dralion
I commented in my last review of this company that I thought the chances of seeing them in Scotland were slim. Evidently, what was missing was a suitable venue, which we now appear to have in the form of the relatively new SSE Hydro Arena (to give it its current proper name), because here was Cirque du Soleil, with a different show from the one I saw in March, so I thought I'd take this in too.
Dralion is a slightly more recent show than Quidam (although there's only three or four years in it), but the style is quite different, with a much stronger oriental aspect, particularly in the actual acts. The presentation revolves around four elemental spirits, linked by Time and Harmony, and the acts' costumes, for the most part, indicate affiliations, through colour, to one of the elements. There's a substantial dance constituent, focused around the elements. The clowns - three hobos and an audience 'plant' - are a disruptive factor, seemingly completely out of place, though towards the end they come on in an outright parody of the main acts.
Again, I found the balance of the show a little out of kilter. The first half built up to a really impressive trampoline number, which used the backdrop as a vertical platform/diving board to remarkable effect, and it ended with a delightful "lion-taming" number, in which Fire was directing the "dralions" - those adorably shaggy Chinese lion-dragons you see in parades - part tumbling, part dancing. The second half seemed less structured, however, and I thought the Jumping Ropes was a somewhat weak finish. The ropes are never my favourite type of number anyway, even with pyramid jumps, and I thought the similar number from Quidam was more playful. I can see that you want a number which incorporates a large number of the troupe to finish, but the hoop diving we had seen a little earlier impressed me more. The highlights of the second half for me were the two aerial acts, the Cerceau (an aerial hoop), and a lovely, languid pas de deux for Air and her partner, using the silks.
I've come to the conclusion that I'm not especially susceptible to the so-called 'magic' of the circus. There's little illusion here, for me, but a lot of appreciably hard work. However, the technique is undeniably very striking. I was seated much closer this time, and it was really quite astonishing how silent all these performers were. When you have a dozen people skipping ropes simultaneously, you'd expect to hear a certain amount of thumping, even through the music, or a few puffs of effort as acrobats hurtle through hoops in rapid succession, but there was no such thing, they barely seemed to touch ground. The springs of the trampolines were silent as bodies bounced off them to spin and twist in the air, and the only conscious noises were the odd "hup" of encouragement, and the babble of the clowns. That, in itself, was a form of magic.
[Next : 10th May]
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