Back in 2014, Cirque du Soleil's TOTEM came, and I loved it so much that I was very keen to watch KOOZÅ this year!
Unfortunately I think Totem was better, but if you are a fan of circuses and performances, then I would still definitely recommend this, because the acts are jaw-dropping.
I dug up my Totem tickets and they were $94, compared to the $145 tickets were paid for Koozå. Granted, they had concession prices back then, and the seats were in an awkward position where one of the pillars blocked a part of the stage, so I think in the end it turns out to be roughly similar pricing (maybe $10 more expensive this time around).
But since I'm working now and have more money to spend, I think the tickets were a decent price. We sat in row R, seat 12 and 13, which was facing the stage front on and while we were in the second last row, the tent is not like a huge stadium so we were still relatively close to the stage. In fact, I think we were closer to the stage than we were at the Aladdin Musical.
So while the pricing of the seats was okay, the downside to Koozå for me was that I really did not like the theme of it.
The theme of Totem was evolution, but this year, the theme of Koozå is the humble clown. I thought there would be more to do with clowns, since the whole point of the show was to make them centre stage rather than just side acts, but I still felt like they were just side acts that detracted from the magnificence of the main acts. There wasn't much storyline here, and the theme wasn't really tied together very well. On the other hand, Totem's theme of evolution went down to the set pieces and even the costuming, with costumes evolving into a newer period with every sequential act.
This clown is called The Innocent, and he gets sucked into a world of magic and awe through The Trickster, a powerful clown with great powers.
Double High Wire
These guys are crazy. There are two high wires, one on top of the other, and two men on each wire. They start off just running across, acting as if they are going to fall but not actually falling (of course). Then they start building up, hopping over each other on the wires, skipping rope across the wires, even sword fighting on their backs along the wire... then the crazy finale starts to happen.
They start off slowly, just cycling across the wire on their own, then it starts to get crazy when you see another person bringing out his bike. Oh no, you groan, wanting to cover your eyes but still being fixated on them. They whip out something to rest on their shoulders to keep them the same distance apart and to provide another beam for the third acrobat. He stands on the back cyclist's shoulders. Another groan. Then he walks out onto the beam. Someone places a chair on the wire, you picture him falling to his death even though there's a net at the bottom. He sits down, lifts up his legs, and the crowd cheers. Then he slowly climbs up on the chair and slowly, ever so slowly, stands up. He jumps back to safety on the beam between the two cyclists, the chair drops down to the net, and the crowd goes wild.
Wheel of Death
These guys are on a different level of crazy. The High Wire dudes were slow, calculated movements, but these Wheel of Death guys were fast-paced adrenaline with no time to catch your breath. The wheel rotates around but they can easily shift their balance to slow it down, speed it up, balance vertically, balance horizontally, etc.
Not only that, but they run on the outside of the circles, they jump right at the apex, so that they have to fall a greater distance before landing, they skip rope on these things... I could go on and on. It was all really fun and exciting.
Contortionists
I would not be surprised if an X-ray revealed that these ladies had no bones. They are so super flexible, just constantly bending over their legs and placing them in places they should not be, walking around on their arms while their legs are over horizontally over their heads... it's insane.
They first came out looking like a large box or package, and I was like, hmm that looks like there's two girls there or something... and then they all just unfolded to reveal three girls, and I heard other people in the audience gasp and mutter to themselves and their neighbours, "Three!"
Chair Balancing Act
That's eight chairs that he's balancing on.
Dance of the Dead
Best costuming goes to this act here, although they didn't do much except dance to distract us while the Wheel of Death was being lowered.
Once again, I bought the program, which was $20. For $5 extra you can also get it with the CD of the soundtrack as well as this recycled bag. Since my mum is kind of a sucker for these things, she went and got that. She also got another recycled bag for $8, which I thought looked cooler anyway. They had lots of cool things, such as umbrellas, masks of death, etc.
My mum bought a tee for $40 I think, and she bought me a bag as well for $80 (it was supposed to be my "early birthday present").
The stuff is pricey, but they look like pretty good quality, and after all my mum bought it so I'm definitely not complaining!
In the end, this was an alright experience. I think I would only recommend it to people who are big fans of circuses and performances such as these, since it is pricey and ther eare better Cirque du Soleil shows out there.
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