Latest news with #Kooza
Tatler Asia
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
Defying gravity and death: Cirque du Soleil's chief show operations officer on bringing ‘Kooza' back to Hong Kong
Above An aerial silk performance at 'Kooza' (Photo: courtesy of Cirque du Soleil) Among Cirque du Soleil's celebrated repertoire, Kooza holds a particularly cherished place for Fisher. 'It's our most circus of circuses,' he says, referring to how the show comprises classic acts by gold medal winners from the biggest circus festivals: highwire, aerial silk performances, duo unicycling, the wheel of death, teeterboard, contortion, chair balancing and more. 'It has traditional circus that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I was an acrobat in my younger years, so I'm partial to those acrobatic elements that Kooza has.' This is a far cry from the family circuses in the US that he was part of in his earlier years. 'Circus was lions and tigers and bears and spit and sawdust,' he says. 'Cirque du Soleil reinvented the circus to be theatre, dance, music and everything that goes along with it. It created its own thing; the 'cirque' is now a thing.' While many companies attempt their brand of 'cirque' productions, Cirque du Soleil stays ahead of the game by raising the bar of their incredible human performances and creating original shows. Don't miss: Weightlessness meets dance in Rachid Ouramdane's 'Corps extrêmes' Above A contortion performance at 'Kooza' (Photo: courtesy of Cirque du Soleil) The current Hong Kong engagement of Kooza introduces captivating new elements. While the awe-inspiring acrobatics remain, the production features three new clowns with refreshed routines, a new hula hoop artist seamlessly incorporating contortion and dance, and a powerful aerial act from Japan that embodies what Fisher describes as 'real strong girl power'. All these elements come together to tell 'an incredible story of a child who is drawn into an imaginary world that's full of these incredible characters who do all these amazing things,' he says, adding that one of the charming aspects of Kooza is how it brings everyone together in a moment of wonder. 'The production doesn't have a rigid storyline. Rather, it creates worlds for individual interpretation,' he says. 'Whatever you interpret for you is right; whatever I interpret for me is also right.' Above 'Double Highwire' at 'Kooza' (Photo: courtesy of Cirque du Soleil) Amy Lo, the chairman of UBS global wealth management Asia and head and chief executive of UBS Hong Kong, which is the title sponsor for Cirque du Soleil, articulates her immense enthusiasm for the show's arrival. 'We've been working with Cirque du Soleil for several years, but because of the pandemic, they weren't able to come,' she says. 'Now, it will bring the joy back to our clients and also to the community.' Lo believes that a spectacle of Kooza 's calibre can impart considerable cultural and artistic resonance within the city, drawing both international visitors and local aficionados. She further highlights that Cirque du Soleil distinguishes itself among other cultural initiatives sponsored by UBS due to its unique entertainment style. Having previously captivated over a million guests worldwide in past engagements, Cirque du Soleil's return is warmly welcomed by many who have experienced its magic in other global cities. Lo, who is witnessing the show for the first time, expresses her admiration for Cirque du Soleil's ability to perfect the 'art of performance'. Above Middle: Duncan Fisher and Amy Lo (Photo: courtesy of Cirque du Soleil) Looking ahead, Fisher confidently affirms that while new technologies will be embraced to enhance performances, the fundamental essence of human performance will always remain paramount. He recalls a compelling conversation with Avatar (2009) and Titanic (1997) director James Cameron, who attended one of Cirque du Soleil's shows in Los Angeles. '[Cameron] said to me, 'I love what I do. I make these movies with these incredible technologies, but I have no idea what technology I'll be using five years from now, because it evolves so quickly. But 1,000 years from now, I could come and watch your show and still be amazed because of the incredible human performance that people come to see.'' 'People don't come to see us for the lights, the screens, the augmented reality and the VR. They come to see the guy on the wheel of death, whom they think is gonna die. We will embrace new technology, and we will use it, but we're never going to get away from the fact that we are going to present incredible human performance.'
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Why Cirque du Soleil circus show Kooza, back in Hong Kong, is ‘edge-of-your-seat stuff'
It has been seven years since Cirque du Soleil last graced Hong Kong with its stunning acrobatic acts, cheeky clowns and death-defying stunts. This month the global entertainment company is back with its circus production Kooza. Advertisement Running until July 13 – the family-friendly show has extended its stay in Hong Kong from its original end date of June 22 – Kooza will be presented at the Central Harbourfront Event Space, where the Cirque team has set up its signature big top. The show tells the story of the Innocent, a clown pulled into the zany, dynamic world of the Trickster. Thus begins a two-hour spectacle of gravity- and death-defying acts. Duncan Fisher, the chief show operations officer at Cirque du Soleil, calls Kooza 'the most 'circus' of all our circuses'. Duncan Fisher with a performer at the Central Harbourfront Event Space in Central, Hong Kong, where Cirque du Soleil will be performing Kooza until July 13. Photo: Sam Tsang Sante D'Amours Fortunato performs a hoop manipulation routine from Kooza. Photo: Sam Tsang
South China Morning Post
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong first stop on Cirque do Soleil's Kooza Asia tour
Seven years since it last came to town, Cirque du Soleil's Kooza is returning to Hong Kong from May 21 to June 22. This marks the first stop of the troupe's Asia tour, bringing its signature Big Top tent to the Central Harbourfront Event Space with a 54-strong cast from around the world. Advertisement Premiered in 2007, Kooza was written and directed by American clown David Shiner. Unlike Cirque's more abstract shows, the show leans into the traditions of classic circus, with plenty of slapstick humour. There are clowns, acrobats and a live six-piece band playing an original score by Jean-François Côté drawing on jazz, funk and Western pop alongside traditional Indian music. At Kooza's core is a story about the Innocent, a naive dreamer in search of meaning who stumbles into a surreal world populated by comedic characters including the King, the Trickster, the Clowns and the playful Mad Dog. It's a world brought to life through elaborate costumes created by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt and a fantastical set designed by Stéphane Roy. Cirque du Soleil performers on a high wire during the Kooza show. Photo: Jocelyn Tam 'Kooza is about the human experience,' says artistic director Jamieson Lindenberg. 'It's about duality, the good, the bad, yin yang, the things that make us all complete. It explores all kinds of tones, from innocence to death, scary, exciting. 'It's meant to evoke the senses. It's meant to provoke ideas. It's got a huge heart.' But in many ways, the narrative is secondary. It's the physical feats, from the twin high-wire act, contortionists and gravity-defying teeterboard artists to the fearless duo on the Wheel of Death, that are the main attraction. You'll find yourself holding your breath as an artist climbs a seven-metre tower of chairs only to balance one-handed on top, or acrobats propel each other through the air with their feet in the Icarian Games. A circular stage with 260-degree sight lines means it's hard to find a bad seat in the house. Advertisement 'My job as an artistic director is to continue to evolve the shows, and not just artistically, but with how society evolves as well,' says Lindenberg. Still, he assures us there will be 'the sparkle and the incredible acrobatics that we are known for. That is still the same and at the heart of Kooza'.
South China Morning Post
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Cirque du Soleil's Kooza comes to Hong Kong
It's a rare sunny afternoon in Seattle, in the United States, and Angelo Lyerzkysky Rodriguez is parked on the pavement in a camping chair, shirt off, eyes half-closed behind sunglasses, peacefully soaking up the warmth. It's a striking contrast to how I saw the 37-year-old Colombian circus performer the night before: also shirtless, but mid-flight, hurtling through the air to great dramatic effect as part of Kooza's Wheel of Death – a high-stakes, high-speed act that elicits gasps of disbelief from the audience. Advertisement The Wheel is one of several acts in Cirque du Soleil's Kooza , a production that trades the Canadian circus company's signature dreamlike abstraction for physical thrills. 'Kooza is an homage. It's a nod to traditional circus,' says artistic director Jamieson Lindenberg. 'We're definitely known for death-defying acts.' That includes balancing towers of chairs seven metres high, bicycles on tightropes, and teeterboards that launch performers in perfect arcs across the stage – all set to live music and slapstick clowning. Cirque du Soleil's Kooza in Seattle, in the United States. Photo: Jocelyn Tam We're catching the tail end of the show's US run, spending two days behind the scenes with the cast and crew before Kooza heads to Hong Kong. It will be the show's first international stop since its post-pandemic relaunch, and its first time back in the city since its 2018 Hong Kong debut Behind the spectacle are the people who bring Kooza to life every night. Many come from a long line of circus performers, such as Rodriguez, who is fifth-generation, while others are following a childhood dream, like aerialist Mizuki Shinagawa. There's 63-year-old Vicente Quirós and his 55-year-old brother, Roberto, both high-wire veterans, and New Yorker Mark Gindick, a film student turned clown. Offstage in the wardrobe department, Alexandra Mancini helps maintain the show's 175 handmade looks. Here are their stories. Vicente Quirós, high-wire act Vicente and Roberto Quirós performing as part of the high-wire act. Photo: Jocelyn Tam My brother Roberto and I were born in Madrid, Spain. We are a sixth-generation circus family. My grandfather did head-balancing, my father did trapeze and Rolla Bolla (balancing boards), my mother was a singer and Spanish flamenco dancer. As kids, we were in school but every summer, Easter or Christmas we would go to see our family at the circus. And we started to love the circus because of family, because of tradition.
Vancouver Sun
04-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
A family, a festival and how unfathomable tragedy occurred at Vancouver's Lapu Lapu Day
Article content In January last year, Cirque du Soleil usher Alexander Lo made his final public post on his Facebook timeline, promoting the circus' Kooza show. Article content Article content Four days later, his brother responded. 'Brother, we will get to see this together sometime,' wrote Adam Kai-Ji Lo. Article content But he knew it wasn't to be. Article content Alexander Lo had already been found dead in an East Vancouver home on Jan. 28, 2024, the day after his Facebook post, police said. Dwight William Kematch was promptly arrested and charged with second-degree murder, in a case that is the subject of a publication ban. Article content Article content The killing was part of a series of tumultuous events that upended the Lo family, culminating last weekend with Adam Lo's arrest on murder charges after the Lapu Lapu Day festival tragedy that killed 11 people in Vancouver, less than three kilometres from the family home. Article content Article content Documents, interviews, social media posts and other accounts show the family was wracked by Alexander Lo's killing, financial battles, what Adam Lo called a suicide attempt by their mother, and his own descent into mental illness that included time in involuntary treatment. Festival patrons and vendors, meanwhile, described how a day of celebration and joy for the Filipino community was transformed into a barely imaginable scene of tragedy. Article content Hanging over the Lo family was the death of David Lo on Dec. 31, 2001. Social media posts showed Alexander and Adam Lo continued to mourn their father. Article content Article content 'Dad I miss you everyday there's no one day that I don't think about you,' Alexander posted around the 22nd anniversary of his father's death. Article content Article content A month later, with Alexander dead too, Adam Lo wrote on the post: 'Brother, you always mentioned about Dad. Now that you are gone, I will do my best to make sure you are close to him. You will be close to him, where he is resting now. Be at peace together.' Article content The killing was Vancouver's first homicide of 2024, and Adam Lo launched a GoFundMe fundraiser that raised more than $90,000 to cover funeral costs. Article content 'Our reality has abruptly shifted. Despite our disagreements, the harsh truth that he's no longer with us hits me with an overwhelming force,' Adam Lo wrote. Article content He said he was 'burdened with remorse' and that his mother, Lisa Lo, carried 'indescribable sorrow for a son she brought into this world, only to see him depart so suddenly.'
