July 7 to 31
The agreement between Cirque Éloize and Shanghai Fresh Vogur was concluded in late January after several months of negotiations. The premiere is planned for Shenzhen on June 24 and will be followed by a series of eight performances in Shanghai, starting July 2.
“China is still an under-exploited market in search of quality international productions. We want to introduce our brand, to move people with our creativity, and to establish a continuous presence in theaters through our touring shows over the next few years. China could become an important market for Cirque Éloize in collaboration with Shanghai Fresh Vogur,” said Cirque Éloize President and Artistic Director, Jeannot Painchaud.
The President of Shanghai Fresh Vogur, Zhou Bin, also welcomed the agreement: “Shanghai Fresh Vogur is delighted to introduce this elegant, artistic masterpiece from Cirque Éloize, one of the leaders in contemporary circus arts, to the Chinese public for the very first time. Shanghai Fresh Vogur is devoted to introducing high quality foreign performance pieces into China. We believe that Cirque Éloize is the perfect introduction to contemporary circus art. At the same time, we see this as an opportunity to strengthen cultural relations between China and Canada.”
A second Cirkopolis in Miami
With this major Chinese tour, Cirque Éloize and its creators are mounting, for the first time, a second production of Cirkopolis, which will be performed simultaneously in July at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. The second troupe will fly down to Florida to present the show from July 7 to 31.
Created in 2012, Cirkopolis has been presented close to 400 times to date, in 85 cities in 23 countries. Staged by Jeannot Painchaud and choreographer Dave St-Pierre, it won the 2014 Unique Theatrical Experience Drama Desk Awards, recognizing the best productions in New York. Cirkopolis is inspired by the aesthetics of Fritz Lang’s movie Metropolis. On stage, with a touch of absurd humour, animated chaos and bursts of colour, 11 artists overcome monotony, reinvent themselves and defy the limits imposed by a dark factory town.
The show is playing at the Capitole in Québec City until March 5 and will come to Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts from April 14 to 16. It recently completed a series of European dates in Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany.
The Chinese tour in numbers:
38 shows confirmed so far, with more to come;
19 cities: Shenzhen, Shanghai, Changzhou, Nanjing, Dalian, Beijing, Henan, Hohhot, Yantai, Qingdao, Chongqing, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Wuhan, Wuxi, Sheng Ling and Shenyang.
From 1 to 8 performances per city;
From June 24 to September 4, 2016.
http://www.cirque-eloize.com/