Cirque du Soleil made its first visit to Miami more than 20 years ago. This year, Cirque du Soleil brings its critically acclaimed new Big Top production Kooza to Miami, the last stop of its North American Tour.
Presented by iShares, Kooza will premiere on Friday, Nov. 12, for a limited engagement under the trademark blue and yellow Grand Chapiteau (big top) at Bicentennial Park. It’s your last chance to see Kooza in North America before it heads to Japan.
Tickets are now available online at <www.cirquedusoleil.com/kooza> or 1-800-450-1480. A VIP Tapis Rouge package also is available and includes one of the best seats in the house, and access to the VIP Suite one hour before the show and during intermission.
The name Kooza is inspired by the Sanskrit word “koza,” which means “box,” “chest” or “treasure,” and was chosen because one of the underlying concepts of the production is the idea of a “circus in a box.”
The show Kooza is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil that combines two circus traditions — acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor.
“Kooza is about human connection and the world of duality, good and bad,” said David Shiner, the show’s writer and director. “The tone is fun and funny, light and open. The show doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it’s very much about ideas, too.”
The show starts with the Trickster bursting onto the scene like a jack-in-a-box right in front of the Innocent, and that is just the first of many surprises to follow. The Innocent’s journey brings him into contact with panoply of comic characters such as the King, the Trickster, the Heimloss, the Pickpocket, the Obnoxious Tourist and his Bad Dog.
Several of the 53 performing artists in the show have received awards from important circus arts competitions. The show presents an unprecedented approach to the High Wire and a breathtaking Wheel of Death — an act that Cirque du Soleil has never before presented under the big top.
The show brings together the following team of 13 Creators, several of whom are working with Cirque for the first time: David Shiner, writer and director; Serge Roym director of creation; Stéphane Roy, set designer; Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt, costume designer; Jean-François Côté, composer; Clarence Ford, choreographer; Martin Labrecque, lighting designer; Jonathan Deans, co-sound designer; Leon Rothenberg, co-sound designer; Rogé Francoeur, props designer; Danny Zen, acrobatic equipment and rigging designer; André Simard, acrobatic performance designer, and Florence Cornet, makeup designer.
iShares is Presenting Sponsor of the U.S. Tour as well as CGI, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Infiniti, Sun Life Financials and American Express as the Official Sponsors.
For more information about Cirque du Soleil, visit online at www.cirquedusoleil.com.
