Cirque du Soleil celebrates first anniversary at WDW
La Nouba Celebrates its First Anniversary at Walt Disney World
The Cirque du Soleil production La Nouba swings into its second year at Walt Disney World Resort with more breathtaking maneuvers, gravity-defying spectacles, synchronized movements and graceful athleticism than ever before.
La Nouba celebrates its one-year anniversary with fanfare on Monday, Feb. 28 by giving away a full house to local fans. Celebrities including Barry Gibb and Orlando Magic players John Amaechi, Chucky Atkins and Michael Doleac will also join the festivities. All attendees will be sporting red noses in celebration of the anniversary and will participate in a one-of-a-kind photo opportunity with the more than 70 performers of La Nouba.
The ever-evolving theatrical production has gained international acclaim with its high-energy performances that blend circus and theater arts with extraordinary costumes, live original music and dazzling sets. Since its launch last year, La Nouba has introduced a new act to its incredible entertainment lineup. In the Cycles act, two performers present astonishing stunts such as boomerangs, megaspins, twists, turns and jumps, mesmerizing audience members.
An international cast of more than 70 performers made up of former Olympians, gymnasts, world-class athletes, ballerinas and talented performers meet in a dramatic, 70,000-square-foot theater to stage a perfectly orchestrated original 90-minute production, La Nouba.
La Nouba transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, engaging the imagination from beginning to end with extravagant costumes, brilliant choreography, theatrical lighting and provocative music. Audiences thrill to mesmerizing high wire and flying trapeze, stunning gymnastic performances and other dynamic displays of strength and daring.
"La Nouba comes from the French phrase ‘faire la nouba,’ which means to party, to live it up," said La Nouba Company Manager Richard Dennison. "So it’s natural for us to celebrate our first anniversary with our local fans."
The 1, 671-seat showroom is the first freestanding permanent theater ever built for Cirque du Soleil. Cirque du Soleil set designer Michel Crête, design architect Michel Aubé of Scéno Plus, Walt Disney Imagineering and the Rockwellgroup collaborated to create a dramatic white structure designed to convey elegance and sensuality with the feel of a traditional Big Top.
Founded in 1984 in Quebec, Canada, Cirque du Soleil has become world-renowned for its completely unique brand of theatrical arts presentations. Since its creation, the Montreal-based company has touched over 20 million people worldwide, and currently presents four permanent productions, in Walt Disney World, Las Vegas, and Biloxi; plus three touring shows in North America, Europe, and Asia. On a typical weekend some 50,000 people attend these shows.
La Nouba is performed five days a week, twice daily at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. The theater is dark on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Ticket prices are $62 plus tax, and $38 plus tax, ages 3-9.
For more information, please visit cirquedusoleil.com.
La Nouba credits
Writer & Director: Franco Dragone
Director of Creation: Gilles Ste-Croix
Costume Designer: Dominique Lemieux
Set Designer: Michel Crête
Lighting Designer: Luc Lafortune
Composer and Musical Director: Benoit Jutras
Choreographer: Debra Brown
Sound co-Designers: Jonathan Deans, François Bergeron
-- Posted February 28, 2000
Source: Company Press Release