The Lux Traveller

Cirque Du Soleil – Totem Show Is Still Playing In Sydney

Totem is one of the 18 wonderful shows currently performed by the famous Canadian circus company. It is currently touring Australia – the show is in Sydney until 11th of January, followed by Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

VIP Package – VIP Rouge

The Lux Traveller had an opportunity to become Cirque Du Soleil VIP for a night and here is a summary of our experience.

VIP package offers guests red carpet treatment all the way – dedicated and free parking area, separate entrance, mini Chapiteau to enjoy complimentary canapés and drinks before the show and during the interval and of course the best seats in the house, in the centre and close to the stage.

vip-rouge

The Show

Totem is meant to please most of our senses. The costumes are bright and colourful, the music captures the audience attention from the minute the lights get dimmed, and the acts themselves are astounding in skill and variety.

Our favourite acts were the love roller blading couple performing a breathtakingly difficult routine at a speed of light on a small round podium, crystal-covered foot juggler spinning eight bejeweled fabric squares on her arms and legs and trapeze couple performing romantic dance up at the top of the Chapiteau.

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As most Cirque Du Soleil shows Totem has a loose theme that revolves around human evolution and extra terrestrial creatures. The theme is there to mostly inspire the costumes and to keep the show flowing. The theme does not take away from the acts on stage; vice versa keeps the spectators looking forward to what’s next.

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Behind The Scenes

We had a chance to interview one of the performers, Caoliang Wang (high bars performer known as the Crystal Man in Totem) and tour publicist Francis Jalbert.

We learned that the show comprises of 46 acrobats, actors, singers and dancers from 21 different countries and they speak 11 languages. Most performers have a year long contract but can leave the show with a long notice. If that happens, the directors have to train a new team member to take over the act and it can take up to 6 months to bring them up to speed.

With shows on almost every day of the week and daily training to stay in shape, performers have little time to relax at the city they are touring. They definitely don’t drink and eat well at the campus. All meals are provided by the company and carefully prepared by their personal chef who travels the world with them and knows their tastes and needs.

The team lives together in comfortable apartments in Alexandria and functions as a big family.

One of the questions we asked Caoliang Wang , The Crystal Man in the show – was ‘What do you think about when you perform a routine?’

‘We all have our own story we imagine when performing. I still get very excited every time the show starts and I hear the spectators clapping and cheering on. When I perform I imagine that my every move brings them joy and excitement’. A very rewarding and inspiring way to be, isn’t it.

When we were at the Grand Chapiteau we had a look at the costumes and the highlight was the Crystal man costume which is covered with crystals head to tow and weights 5 kilograms.

All In All – Totem is wonderful show performed by a group of inspired professionals whose job is to bring joy and happiness to others. Wonderful experience we recommend to the young and young at heart!

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