SUMMER | REVIEW
“BlackTrax dynamically
follows the acrobats’
movements, projecting
video vapour trails
behind them.”
“A wave of lava billows
out from underneath the
narrator’s feet, and washes
over the first few rows of
the audience.”
point, the light of phone screens
in the audience become part of a
starry night projected onto the
floor and ceiling, to create the
illusion of a 360-degree sky.
in what look like blue fireflies
– ‘bioluminescence’, as Mallet
calls it. Acrobats appear, and
BlackTrax dynamically follows
their movements, projecting
video vapour trails behind them.
Wherever they go on stage,
the technology is able to react,
meaning no two Toruk shows are
ever identical.
The focus, however, is still
very much on the choreography.
Acrobat Lydia Harper says: “We
work closely in tandem with the
technology, but the performance
comes first. The early stages
of the show’s creation were
about figuring out the physical
movement, then mapping the tech
to work alongside it.”
The interaction with technology
extends to the audience, too.
Toruk makes use of an app which
attendees are encouraged to
download before the show starts,
allowing them to interact in
various ways. During the firefly
scene above, shaking or tapping
the screen will attract the lights
on stage to your phone. At another
Breaking new ground
It seems fitting that Toruk,
much like Avatar a decade ago, is
pushing the boundaries of how
technology can augment physical
performance. Cameron’s original
film pioneered new motion
capture technology and visual
effects, while Cirque du Soleil’s
prequel is experimenting with new
developments in lighting and 3D
puppetry.
As the show comes to the
conclusion of its four-year run,
the spotlight now shifts to Avatar
2, scheduled for release in 2021.
Although it’s a little way off,
Access can tell you one thing with
certainty – it definitely won’t have
as many backflips.
History of
Cirque du Soleil
1984 - Founded by
street performers
Guy Laliberte and
Gilles Ste-Croix, after
receiving a $1.5m
grant by the Quebec
government to stage a
celebration of Jacques
Cartier’s discovery of
Canada
1987 - Le Cirque
Réinventé at the Los
Angeles Arts Festivals
saves the company
from severe financial
difficulty
1990s – Cirque
du Soleil expands
internationally
following widespread
critical and commercial
success
2004 – After buying
out his partner Daniel
Gauthier’s share of
the business, Guy
Laliberte appears on
the Forbes
Billionaire’s List
17