
Audio By Carbonatix
Think the cast of Cirque du Soleil battles urban street dancers and you have Cirque Éloize iD. Contemporary cirque director Jeannot Painchaud brings the production to the Ziff Ballet Opera House starting Tuesday for an unusually long run that lasts until September 4.
Sixteen artists hailing from seven different countries come together to perform hand-to-hand acrobatics, contortion and in-line skating along with hip-hop, modern, and break dancing all to an electronica soundtrack.
Painchaud wanted to pit the circus and urban dance disciplines against
one another after noting similarities he thought would make for an
interesting group dynamic. He decided to mix the two in a storybook
manner featuring a series of acts like a duet with a b-boy and
contortionist.
The “iD” part of the title conveys the overall theme of the show. “We
spy two groups of young people challenging each other with their dancing
and acrobatics to express who they are and their idea to change the
world,” Painchaud says.
That all may be better understood by checking out this video: