Unique Circus Still Bright Spot : A Fantasy World Is Brought to Life Under the Big Top

Spectacular. Ingenius. Unbelievable. Inhuman. These are the sorts of words that jump out in response to Cirque du Soleil’s “Nouvelle Experience,” an eye-opening, jaw-dropping circus event playing outside San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, through Feb. 10.

Underneath its trademark blue-and-yellow big top, Cirque du Soleil performers defy gravity just as the show’s designers defy convention, integrating theatrical elements into a world of human spectacle. Yes, clowns fool around on stage during this circus, just as contortionists bend and acrobats soar easily through the air. Still, Cirque du Soleil presents amazing performance after amazing performance as little more than a starting point, a springboard from which the real show begins.

Cirque du Soleil (Circus of the Sun) pitched its tent in Balboa Park 3 1/2 years ago and wowed San Diego audiences with its unique, animal-less circus. By injecting elements of an actual story line, dance choreography, laser technology and stage theatrics, Cirque du Soleil succeeded in creating a new genre, a one-of-a-kind event. On Saturday, le cirque returned to San Diego with “Nouvelle Experience,” an all-new show that struck the same successful balance between physical feats and design spectacle.

Cirque du Soleil’s “Flounes”--four maniacal, bird-like clowns--introduce the action on stage. Dressed in Dominique Lemieux’s colorful, otherworldly costumes, the “Flounes” take physical comedy to a new level, inciting uproarious laughter as they embark on the simple, yet somehow dangerous journey from upstage curtain to downstage platform. The “Flounes” serve as a binder throughout the evening, providing welcome distraction between routines and outlining a loose narrative subplot as the hapless fools struggle to communicate with an outcast “human” clown.

“Nouvelle Experience” features two solo routines by yet another clown, English-born Geoff Hoyle. The multitalented Hoyle has appeared in front of San Diego audiences before, acting in three La Jolla Playhouse productions, including a starring role in last year’s “Don Quixote de La Jolla.” Hoyle’s performances proved uneven Saturday night. His first piece, an audience-participation act entitled “Mr. Sniff,” seemed a bit contrived and the show dragged perceptibly as Hoyle worked his way through a series of Ed Norton-esque comedy bits. Hoyle returned after intermission, however, with a wonderful, show-stopping three-legged man routine. Alone on stage with his five limbs, Hoyle danced with himself and captivated the sold-out audience of 2,500 with an imaginative demonstration of wit and physical prowess.

Throughout the evening, Cirque du Soleil director and artistic director Franco Dragone took conventional circus acts and added something--anything--in order to make stunts seem fresh. Cirque du Soleil’s female contortionists, four Quebecers aged 12 to 14, danced their way through a series of impossible postures, turning a rather commonplace sideshow act into a slick, choreographed routine. Similarly, Russian-born acrobat Vassiliy Demenchoukov revived a tired circus standard, climbing his way atop a stack of eight chairs--carrying a birthday cake with lighted candles.

Vladimir Kehkaial’s “Aerial Straps” routine proved to be the most bizarre, most incongruous segment of “Nouvelle Experience.” The scantily-clad Kehkaial looked like a perfume-ad model--an unlikely meeting between Tarzan and Vidal Sasson--as he flew across the stage suspended by arm straps. Unlike most Cirque du Soleil performers, Kehkaial seemed to bask in his abilities, drawing attention to himself with a pained expression on his face and an overly romanticized manner to his movements. The vast majority of Cirque performers demonstrated one expression--glee--as they performed throughout the evening.

Lighting designer Luc Lafortune and set designer Michael Crete succeeded in creating a dramatic, versatile environ for the show. Lafortune, in particular, made his presence felt in “Nouvelle Experience. “ During the more straightforward circus acts, such as Anne Lepage’s solo trapeze work and the ensemble’s “Korean Plank” routine, the big top glowed with appropriate glamour and flash. For the more stylized numbers--Kehkaial’s aerial routine, for instance--Lafortune used soft, diffused light to create an entirely distinct playing space, a perfect look for the ethereal performance.

At its inception seven years ago, Cirque du Soleil founders coined a phrase that captures the essence of this circus company: “Behind each perilous leap, there is a purpose, an intention, an individual, an emotion.” The troupe remains true to that vision today.