I saw iD, Cirque Éloize's newest creation tonight as it finished up a run as the first show to open up the renovated Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.
Having fallen deeply in love with the previous three Cirque Éloize shows I've seen; Nomade, Rain and Nebbia, all directed by Éloize's previous director Daniele Finzi Pasca as part of his "Sky Trilogy", I was taken aback when I saw the first promo videos of their new show iD. The images of Bboys dancing in front of graffiti-laden cityscapes to electronic music couldn't be a further departure from the languid, old-world romanticism that defined Finzi-Pasca's Sky Trilogy. I had some reservations going into the show. Done poorly a "young and urban" approach to nouveau cirque could be a tacky disaster. Happily, this is not the case.
Sure, iD is a huge departure for Éloize but while the style of the show is completely different, the performance quality, the artistic direction and the sheer talent and energy of the company remain at the same consistently high level. iD is a stunning, energetic tour-de-force. It is an exhilarating meeting of urban dance and circus framed in a simple but effectively drawn-out through-line of a rivalry between two street gangs. The show sizzles with youthful, exuberant energy, it's gritty and sexy and thrilling.
As is always the case in Cirque Éloize shows the cast consists of several talented, multi-disciplinary full-fledged and learned circus artists.
iD features a hand-to-hand act, it is the first act after the opening of the show which features characters hurriedly walking about the stage to create a bustling urban street scene, a chance encounter between a man and a woman leads to a beautifully-choreographed hand-to-hand number.
The juggling act takes place on a construction site. It's the kind of contrived scenario that could easily come off as hokey if done poorly but somehow director Jeannot Painchaud is able to focus the staging of the act and the construction worker characters on the stage so that it works as a clever context for the jugglers.
The contortion in iD is performed as a pas de deux between the contortionist (Leilani Franco) and a Bboy, in the loose storyline they are from rival gangs so there is a "forbidden love" pre-text to the act. Throughout their dance they mirror each others' moves in their own unique styles, they come together and create a beautiful, tender moment in the show. The act is original and cleverly staged, it presents contortion in a new context audiences have never seen. The two performers have great chemistry and performance quality and the act works brilliantly.
Urban dance plays a huge part in iD. There are several featured Bboy soloists but group dance numbers are infused throughout the show during the different numbers and really serve as the pulse that connects the show together. Too often urban dance isn't incorporated well into choreography and it just looks like a bunch of competing solos. This isn't the case with iD. Though the choreography isn't anything avant-garde, the dance is presented organically, the ensemble radiates energy and the choreography flows and makes sense with the presentation.
Other stand-out acts of the evening included a breathtaking dance-trapeze act by Evelyne Lamontagne and an interesting mixed-discipline pas-de-deux which Cirque Éloize does often. This time it's a dance between an aerial silks artist and a roller blader and made for another gorgeous moment in the show.
The set features a blank outline of a cityscape which is filled in with different projections during the show. The use of projections was very well-done and enabled the setting to keep up with the dynamic pace of the show. The projections were especially effective during the trampoline-wall finale. The backdrop is constantly shifting, windows open, ledges slide in and out, walls are rotated into place. The act is well-paced and builds to an ovation-inducing climax.
I guess you can pretty much gather that I really enjoyed iD and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. It's not my favourite Cirque Éloize show (a battle between Rain and Nebbia) and it certainly doesn't have the deep layers of emotion and soulfulness that the previous Éloize shows have but what it lacks in depth and subtlety it makes up for in style and energy and is well worth going to see.
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