“Ovo,” Cirque du Soleil’s newest tent show to visit Los Angeles, eavesdrops on the insect world and a tug of war over an egg. A rock-climbing wall incorporated into the earthy set provides hand- and footholds for costumed performer Nadine Louis. Cirque du Soleil has erected its blue-and-yellow big top at the Santa Monica Pier. Tickets are on sale through March 11. (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)
Karl L’Ecuyer lends some character to one of the acrobatic insects in Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo.” (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)
Contortionist Ganchimeg Oyunchimeg is a particularly supple spider Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo.” (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)
Precision, balance and flexibility are but a few of the skills on display as acrobat ants foot-juggle disks adorned to look like kiwifruit slices. Cirque du Soleil’s traveling show “Ovo” is making a wintertime stop at Santa Monica Pier. (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)
Ganchimeg Oyunchimeg’s spider character emerges from darkness. Her contortion routine is part of Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo.” (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)
Volodymyr Hrynchenko, dressed as a dragonfly, balances on a vine-like perch in Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo.” (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)
Li Wei performs a slack-wire acrobatic routine in Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo.” (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)
Night descends on the feisty, amorous insect population of Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo.” (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)
