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ALEX FIRST: Several years ago. I was fortunate to see Cirque Du
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Soleil O at the Bellagio in Las Vegas with performers excelling
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on in and above a gigantic swimming pool.
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If they can create wonders in water, which they do surely it's
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only a small step to freeze that life source and turn it into
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ice. I say that because the latest soup production to hit
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Australian shores is none other than Crystal, which is indeed
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set on and above the frozen clear stuff.
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CC does nothing by halves. And the first thing to be said is
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that these artists are mighty accomplished skaters who have no
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shortage of sweet moves. They leap, jump somersault back, flip
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and link up with acrobats, overhead figure skating and
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extreme skating prove to be comfortable bed fellows.
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Seven traditional circus acts are incorporated into the two
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hour show. They include trapeze, aerial straps, hand balancing,
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and juggling all of course on ice. Among my favorites is an
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elongated routine involving the performers skating at speed and
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over jumps which ends the first half the pretense is a game of
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ice hockey.
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In fact, there are many high points in Crystal. Among them, a
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death defying routine on a tower of chairs after interval while
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skating prowess is on show throughout one scene in
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particular is devoted to one upmanship.
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In other words, anything you can do I can do better, the aerial
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acts are spectacular. And what would circus be without a
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bumbling clown? Who's an ever present? Force Crystal features
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an outstanding mock ice castle with slides as an entry and exit
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point to the ice rink in the middle of the venue.
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It doubles as a showcase for the evocative and colorful video
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images projected onto it throughout the production with a
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frequently present violinist and guitarist to accompany many of
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the acts. This is also CC's only touring show to incorporate many
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remastered pop songs. They include Beyonce's Halo U Two's
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Beautiful Day, Nina Simone's Cine Man and Sears Chandelier.
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One mustn't overlook some striking costuming another
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Hallmark of CC's cutting edge circus based shows.
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The theme of Crystal is a young girl by that name who's
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disconnected from her family and school and is looking to find
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her own voice. So she skates away and undertakes a series of
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adventures, discovering her true self. In one very clever and
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creative scene. Early on Crystal is confronted by a domestic
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setting, a classroom, a playground and a work
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environment. All are brilliantly conceived and executed created
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in 2017.
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The show has since toured to more than 130 cities now at John
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Cain Arena in Melbourne until the 27th of August. It'll play
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the Adelaide Entertainment Center from the 31st of August
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to the third of September, maintaining its world renowned
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reputation for entertainment par excellence. The tour finishes at
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Perth's R AC Arena between the 15th and 24th of September 2023
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for bookings go to triple W dot ticket dot com dot A U.
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GENERIC: Subscribe to the full podcast at itunes or your
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favorite podcast distributor. This has been another quality
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podcast production from bites dot com.