Cirque Eloize iD: A Crisp Circus Mashup of West Side Story & Hiphop [Media Preview]

Review: Cirque Eloize iD. A Crisp Circus Mashup of the West Side Story & Hip Hop 

A few weeks ago I was able to squeeze in a night to catch the younger sister of Cirque du Soleil, the Cirque Eloize iD at the Marina Bay Sands. I am a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil as each of their shows are synthesis of circus styles from around the world so I made sure that I won't miss this one. 

Cirque Éloize is a Quebec-based contemporary circus troupe. It was founded in 1993 by Jeannot Painchaud, Daniel Cyr and Julie Hamelin. It returns to Singapore after 5 years, a thrilling night full of impressive feats of human strength, attitude and grace. 15 world-class young stage performers combined with 13 circus disciplines provided a spectacular, high-energy production blending jaw dropping acrobatics, hip hop and street dance into one show called Cirque Éloize - iD. Eloize, (pronounced as eh-loo-ahs according to one of its performers*) ; small cast per se thus it evolves in measuring each performer's breadth of expertise. There is no solid storyline however marrying West Side Story and Hiphop is a brilliant move to provide supreme entertainment. Looking from left to right inside the Mastercard Theater of the Marina Bay Sands, I've seen a few biting their fingernails in suspense. 

Their performers were mostly shirtless - akin to watching an Abercrombie & Fitch Fashion Show! These men are shmexy alright. They effortlessly climb up & down a pole and strut their stuff. Beautiful abs, yes please.

Cirque Eloize, (a much younger sister of Cirque du Soleil) showcases the unique talents of an international troupe of artists, showcasing skills such as juggling, contortion, in-line skating, stilts, Cyr wheel, hand balancing, straps, bike trial, Chinese pole and aerial silks, building to a spectacular finale on the dynamic trampowall. They have successfully blended these 4 elements in one stage: dance, clowning, original music, and theatricality. Cirque Éloize is a relatable experience as it showcased the everyday life in the city. Audience got drowned with a ton of amazing visuals, the vortex scenes, performers walking on air- wow, the ever changing walls are breathtaking.

Director Jeannot Painchaud first started with the music which was originally mixed by his own group of friends called The Beast. The set, costume design, directions and the rest  flowed afterwards more freely. 

Set against an urban backdrop Cirque Eloize iD transports the audience into the vibrant streets at the heart of a big city. The stage comes alive with the boundless energy of acrobats, break dancers, contortionists and a fearless stunt biker who perform against a kaleidoscope of eye-popping multimedia elements drawn from science-fiction films, comic books and graffiti. All this action is accompanied by a rock and electronica inspired soundtrack created by composers Jean-Phi Goncalves and Alex McMahon.

CREDITS TO CIRQUE ELOIZE*

Cirque Eloize iD performers were all crowd-pleasers. Excellent choreography, infused with constant energy and edginess, Cirque Eloize iD housed a troupe of young artists  expressing iDentity and inDividuality in the city of today.

Thanks for looking♡

DISCLAIMER: Author was invited to the press/media preview. All opinions and thoughts expressed in this post are her own and remain 100% uninfluenced. 

Review: Cirque Eloize iD. A Crisp Circus Mashup of the West Side Story & Hip Hop