Ovo (Cirque du Soleil)
Ovo is a touring circus production by Cirque du Soleil that 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. 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.
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, and adjusting parking as well as the show's layout, but finally did have to cancel multiple performances.Set and technical information
The stage and set for Ovo were designed by Gringo Cardia and utilize irregular shapes throughout. The rear wall is wide by high and is only supported at the sides, thus allowing the trampolines for the final act to slide into place. During its arena tour, Ovo used the stage from the classic cirque show, Dralion. 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 wide by high. The egg seen at the beginning of the show is inflated to the size of wide by high.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 off the ground and spans in length and in width.
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.- 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: Three spry fleas jump about with flashes of red and yellow as they perform acro-trio.
- 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 / Aerial Straps 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 / Aerial Cradle act.
- Crickets: The 10 crickets jump and leap about in green streaks as they do air 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
- 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.
- Foot juggling and Icarian games ': A group of ants juggle kiwis, corn, eggplant slices as well as other ants, all on their feet.
- Hand balancing ': A lone dragonfly balances precariously on a high, rotating block.
- Tissue ': Combining agility and grace this soon to be Butterfly performs a solo contortion on aerial silk showcasing her theatrical metamorphosis.
- Duo straps ': Two butterflies swing soar across the stage, strung on straps from the ceiling.
- Diabolos ': A firefly manipulates and tosses multiple diabolos at a time.
- Creatura ': A comic routine involving a giant suit that resembles multiple slinkys.
- Russian Cradle ': 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.
- Web ': 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 ': Two males performers use techniques similar to those in acrobatic gymnastic to toss a female performer in the air.
- Slackwire ': On a loose 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.
- Wall : 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 they leap off and land on the trampoline.
- Banquete: The finale of the show.
Acts in Rotation
- Aerial hoop : Two artists flies over the stage on a hoop suspended in the air in an energetic feat of acrobatics.
Retired acts
- Volants ': 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 ': Two butterflies swing and twist on a long vertical rope. This act was replaced by aerial straps during the arena conversion in 2015.
- Acrosport : A group of 5 male and female fleas use acrobatic gymnastic 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
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.
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.
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.
- Brisa Do Mar '
- Foreigner '
- Ants '
- Cocoon '
- Frevo Zumbido '
- Orvalho '
- Carimbo da Creatura '
- Love Duet
- * Spanish Web Duo
- * Duo Straps
- Scarabee
- * Volants
- * Russian Cradle
- Sexy Web '
- Legs '
- Flea Girls
- * Acrosport
- * Acro trio
- Super Hero '
- Secret Samba Luv '
- Parede '
- Banquete
Vocalists
- Marie-Claude Marchand - From April 23, 2009 to June 27, 2014
- Alexandra Cabanilla - From June 28, 2014 to June 7, 2015
- Júlia Tázie - From April 8, 2016 to Jan 20, 2019
- Lari Finocchiaro - From March 7, 2019
Tour