Cirque du Soleil Keeps Its Unique Place in the Sun : Big Top: Colorful antics and superb showmanship abound at this one-ring circus. There aren’t any animals, but the two-legged variety keep the audience more than entertained.

Dazzling, astounding, fantastic, brilliant and sensational are just some of the superlatives being bandied about to describe the colorful antics of the Cirque du Soleil.

You may want to add a few high-powered adjectives of your own when you see this non-traditional circus troupe in action during its two-week stay in Balboa Park. The Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil set up its inviting yellow-and-blue tent in the park for the second time in as many years Tuesday night and bewitched a capacity crowd with a near-steady stream of showstoppers. It will continue to enchant the young at heart until Dec. 3.

Cirque du Soleil means Circus of the Sun, and this lovable show lives up to its name. With zany irreverence, it turns the age-old circus experience right on its ear.

Forget the animal acts that have been a mainstay since the days of ancient Rome. This Canadian company sports only the two-legged variety. And, despite the breathtaking displays of feline grace and unbridled animal vigor that permeate the performance, these frisky players all belong to the human race.

Cirque du Soleil may take place in an old-fashioned circus ring beneath the Big Top, but the production is as much avant garde--and high-tech wizardry--as it is traditional circus.

A continuous thread of a story line drives the show and provides thematic structure. This circus is not just a succession of unrelated acts, although the simple plot is just another clever bit of theatrical trickery in this one-ring spectacle.

The show gets off to a surreal start when a genie appears from a puff of smoke to conjure up the fantasy. It’s the realization of everyone’s childhood dream--to join the circus--and the device draws you in like a magnet. The story comes full circle when Mr. Everyman (and the audience) return to reality for the close.

Like traditional circuses, this one has a ringmaster, but he’s definitely not the common garden variety. The genie selects a befuddled businessman and transforms him into the big man of the Big Top. His frumpy companions find a niche in the show as well.

The Cirque du Soleil is completely choreographed (kudos to Debra Brown for making the right moves in this department). As a result, there are no interruptions for scene changes. The performers clown through those interludes and make the setup time almost as much fun as the main attractions in this crafty circus.

A pair of clowns (not your run-of-the-mill buffoons, of course) play a continuing part in the mayhem. Another makes merry with a member of the audience in the Cirque’s version of a lion-taming act.

The costumes are another strong suit. These elaborate concoctions are eye-popping enough to put Barnum & Bailey and most Broadway shows to shame, with some recalling Picasso’s cubist paintings.

Sophisticated lighting designs and skillful stagecraft create magic of their own. A slick Vegas veneer pervades the show, but it is tempered with the best traditions of commedia dell’arte and the sly spontaneity of a street performance.

No less than 90% of the cast has turned over since this circus came to town in 1987, which gives a new look to the bubbling brouhaha, even though the basic show hasn’t changed much.

The biggest news is the addition of the Shandong Troupe of China, a group of youngsters (13 to 15 years old) who perform the famous “Rola Bola” balancing act.

These poised young acrobats are the first Chinese performers to appear outside of the Chinese circus, so getting them was quite a coup for the Canadians. The fantastic four have exceptional equilibrium and dexterity, and, when they pile up in a human pyramid, they create a sensation with the audience.

A French import named Pasqualina makes walking the tightrope something of a mini-ballet. After a few hair-raising maneuvers in traditional soft-shoe, she changes to balletic pointe shoes and picks her way across the wire on her toes in what must surely be a one-of-a-kind performance.

One of the return acts, the French hand-balancing duo of Amelie Demay and Eric Varelas, is still the biggest rafter-raiser. Its feats of superhuman strength and derring-do would be mind-boggling even if they did not keep perfect tango time with the music. This twosome not only stopped the show, it earned the loudest standing ovation of the evening.

The acrobats who form a balancing tower from piles of teetering chairs, and the 13-man pyramid (circling the stage perched on a single bicycle) still knock ‘em dead. Ditto for the juggler and contortionist, Frederic Zipperlin, who literally bursts out of a bubble for his thrilling entrance.

Much of the music that accompanies this assortment of acrobats, aerialists, bicyclists, jugglers, gymnasts and clowns is original, and it is performed live by a rock band from the sidelines. The Cirque sells the sound tracks at the souvenir stand. Not your typical circus by a long shot.

Any circus worth its salt brings out the kid in each of us. Cirque du Soleil takes our adult side along for the ride. And what a ride it is!