Luzia is a touring Cirque du Soleil production created and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca. The show is the second show inspired by the richness of the Mexican culture with the first being Joyà. Luzia is also the 38th Cirque du Soleil production since 1984. Luzia premiered on April 21, 2016, in Montreal, QC.
Luzia's name is a fusion of the sounds of luz (light in Spanish) and lluvia (rain), two elements at the core of the show’s creation.[1]
The show had to stop its tour for 683 days during the Covid-19 outbreak. The Covid-19 lockdowns happened during the transit of Luzia from London, UK to Moscow, RU.
Set and Technical Information[]
The set, costumes, performances and the music in Luzia are inspired by the culture, history, and mythology of Mexico. The stage contains two revolving rings and central platter. The central platter can be removed to reveal a water basin and is used during the aerial straps performance.
The Water Curtain[]
The element of water was brought into the overall set design - a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring show. 6,000 liters (1,585 gallons) of water used during each performance and are recycled for the entire duration of a stay in a given city. The water is filtered, disinfected and maintained at 28°C (82°F) for the well-being of the artists. All electronic and metal-based equipment near the water curtain are water protected to prevent electric shock.[2]
To produce the water curtain, A bridge suspended 14 meters (46 feet) above the stage supports a water reserve and the set of 174 nozzles used for the curtain. The structure can rotate 360 degrees. The nozzles of the curtain can be individually controlled to create various images using water droplets and blank spaces. The water in the basin is channeled to an external 2,500-litre (660-gallon) tank where it is treated and pumped up to the bridge 17 meters (56 feet) above the stage. The stage floor has 94,657 holes through which the water drains into a 3,500-litre basin underneath the stage.[2]
During the rainfall sequence, images are made in the rainfall to reflect the mood and story of the show. These images are generated electronically by a graphical water display screen. Some of the patterns are Otomi, flowers, raindrops, and various animal figures displayed in the rainfall.
The Giant Disk and The Blue Box[]
Luzia also has a giant disk for its centerpiece background. It is a symbol of the sun, the moon, and the Aztec Calendar. The disk is 6.9 m in diameter and weighs about 2,000 kg. It is supported by a giant bracket, called the “Cobra”, which functions like a crane. The disk can move over a distance of 5.5 m and can rotate horizontally 360 degrees in both directions. The disk also contains a giant lightbox.[2]
With the different settings, props, and elements used in Luzia, set designer Eugenio Caballero decided to create the stage as a black box theater, a simple empty performance space, dubbed "the Blue Box", so stage elements, props, and elements can be put on stage without it conflicting with the set design. Blue backdrop was used to enhance the various elements that appear on stage.[2]
Cempashchil and The Papel Picado Curtain[]
At the beginning of Luzia, the stage is covered with over 5000 cempasuchil and two treadmills. Also known as the Mexican Marigold and the Aztec Marigold, the cemparuchil is used during The Day of the Dead to be placed on alters.[3] It has also been used for medicine, culinary dyes, and essential oils.[4][5] Two treadmills used for the Running Woman sequence and Hoop Diving weigh 3,630 kg apiece and are powered independently by 28 automobile-type batteries.[2]
At the end of the first act, a Papel Picado curtain as a stage piece to signify the end of the act. The Papel Picado curtain is 11 m high by 30 m wide and 13,000 holes into the surface of the curtain to create the images. The curtain was created by Javier Martínez Pedro and all the images on the curtain were hand-drawn. The curtain's images contain various narrative elements from Luzia such as a horse, a field of flowers, a flock of hummingbirds, a plaza, a cenote, a cave, an underwater world, raindrops, a storm, the sun, a city, and desert cacti.[2]
Costume Design[]
For the costumes of Luzia, costume designer Giovanna Buzzi collaborated with the showrunners of Luzia to discuss costume designs. They wanted to avoid the folkloric aspects of Mexico and Mexican culture and potential clichés when it comes to the color palette of Luzia. Each scene of Luzia has it's own distinct color palette.[2]
Animals are used in the design of the costumes. There are many different types of animal head wears (crocodile, cockroach, grasshopper, armadillo, snake, swordfish, and tuna) and a iguana shall. Some of the parts of the animal props can be used as a puppet. The puppeteers of Luzia wear Guayabera shirts instead of traditional black bodysuits. The Guayabera shirt is a traditional Mexican wedding suit.[2]
For the luchador costume, there are 160 heart-shaped vinyl pieces sewn onto the costume. For the male swimmer costumes during the hand-balancing act, nearly 850 small mirrors are sewn into the costumes. There are 300 mirrors on the female swimmers' costumes.[2]
Characters[]
- The Traveler: A wanderer who parachutes into a field of cemparuchil and unlocks the world of Luzia.
- The Running Woman: Represents the annual Monarch Butterfly Migration from Southern Canada to Central Mexico.[6] Each wing is 6 m long, is made of silk and requires 40 m of material.[2]
- The Crying Woman: The singer of Luzia.
- The Robots: Two NAO Robots tending the field of cemparuchil at the beginning of Luzia.
Acts[]
Act One
- Prologue
- Running Woman
- Hoop Diving
- Adagio
- Trapeze Solo / Cyr Wheel
- Clown Act: Beach Clown
- Hand Balancing
- Fútbol Juggling
- Clown Act: Rain
- Percussion Parade
Act Two
- Pole Dancing / Chinese Pole
- 360 Swing
- Aerial Straps
- Clown Act: Swimming
- Juggling
- Contortion
- Clown Act: Scuba Diving
- Russian Swings
- Fiesta Finale
Music[]
The music used in the Luzia show was composed by Simon Carpentier. A soundtrack inspired by the songs used in Luzia was composed by Bostich and Fussible (Ramón Amezcua and Pepe Mogt) of Nortec Collective. In a Billboard interview, Alain Vinet, Cirque du Soleil's music director, explained about the partnership, "Normally, the albums come out six months down the road, or a year down the road [after the show opens], because when we are in creation, the musicians are really, really busy; it’s impossible for us to take them out of the creation. But the mandate was for us to have the CD for the opening of the show. The only way we could achieve this was to outsource the production of the CD, and that is why we went with Nortec. They have a key component -- excellent Mexican musicians. They know everyone in Mexico as far as musicians are concerned."[7]
The Crying Woman (female singer)[]
- Sofia Montaño : From November 2019 (Vancouver) to February 2020 (London) - January 2022 (London) to February 2022 (London)
- Majo Cornejo: From April 2016 (Montreal) to September 2022 (Zürich) - October 2022 (Zürich) to Present
- Enid Avala Marinez: From September 2022 (Zürich) to October 2022 (Zürich)
Male Singer[]
- Mahesh Vinayakram : From April 2016 (Montreal) to July 2017 (Denver)
For more information on the songs featured in Luzia and the soundtrack, please visit Luzia (Soundtrack).
Filmography[]
A live performance of Luzia was recorded in Montreal, Canada in 2016. It was released on DVD on November 17, 2016.
Cirque du Soleil hosted a Fathom Events showed the filmed version of Luzia. Luzia premiered on October 29, 2019 in select theaters.[8][9]
Touring Schedule[]
A Tapis Rouge Experience for Luzia was introduced during the San Francisco premiere.[10]
The following color boxes indicate the region of each performance:
EU Europe NA North America SA South and Central America AP Asia/Pacific OC Oceania AF Africa
Grand Chapiteau Tour
2016 - 2019 Schedule
2016 Schedule
NA Montreal, QC - From April 21 to July 10, 2016
NA Toronto, ON - From July 28 to October 16, 2016
NA San Francisco, CA - From November 17, 2016 to January 22, 2017
2017 Schedule
NA San Jose, CA - From February 9 to March 19, 2017
NA Seattle, WA - From March 30 to May 21, 2017
NA Denver, CO - From June 1 to July 9, 2017
NA Chicago, IL - From July 21 to September 3, 2017
NA Atlanta, GA - From September 14 to November 19, 2017
NA Los Angeles, CA - From December 8, 2017 to February 11, 2018
2018 Schedule
NA Costa Mesa, CA - From February 21 to March 25, 2018
NA Washington, DC - From April 12 to June 17, 2018
NA Boston, MA - From June 27, 2018 to August 12, 2019
NA Guadalajara, MX - From August 30 to September 23, 2018
NA Monterrey, MX - From October 4 to October 28, 2018
NA Mexico City, MX - From November 8 to December 23, 2018
2019 Schedule
NA Houston, TX - From January 10 to February 24, 2019
NA Orlando, FL - From March 7 to April 21, 2019
NA New York, NY - From May 3 to June 9, 2019
NA Hartford, CT - From June 19 to July 21, 2019
NA Calgary, AB - From August 16 to September 22, 2019
NA Vancouver, BC - From October 3 to December 29, 2019
2020 Schedule
(Luzia is scheduled to play at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK, during this time)
(Luzia is scheduled to play at the Palace of Gymnastics in Moscow, RU, during this time)
AF Meloneras / Gran Canaria, ES - From July 7, 2020 to August 23, 2020- Cancelled
EU Valencia, ES - From September 11 to September 27, 2020- Cancelled
EU Madrid, ES - From October 22, 2020 - November 22, 2020- Cancelled
2021 Schedule
EU Barcelona, ES - From January 21, 2021 - February 21, 2021- Cancelled
2022 Schedule
EU Barcelona, ES - From March 17 2022 - April 10, 2022
EU Geneva, CH - From May 28, 2022 - June 12, 2022
EU Alicante, ES - From July 14 2022 - August 21, 2022
EU Zurich, CH - From September 20, 2022 - October 23, 2022
EU Madrid, ES - From November 5, 2022 - January 8, 2023
2023 Schedule
EU Sevilla, ES - From February 3, 2023 - March 5, 2023
EU Vienna, AT - From April 12, 2023 - May 29, 2023
EU Frankfurt, DE - From June 13, 2023 - July 16, 2023
Arena Tour
2020 Schedule
EU Royal Albert Hall, London, UK - From January 12 to February 16, 2020
EU Palace of Gymnastics, Moscow, RU - From March 19 to May 17, 2020
EU Royal Albert Hall, London, UK - From January 12 to February 12, 2022
Gallery[]
Characters
Performance
Luzia Fathom Event
Videos[]
Trailers
Behind the Scenes
Story of an Encounter Series
LUZIAself Series
References[]
- ↑ Cirque du Soleil. “LUZIA: Touring Show.” Cirque Du Soleil, www.cirquedusoleil.com/luzia.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Cirque du Soleil. “Luzia Press Kit.” Cirque Du Soleil, 2016, www.cirquedusoleil.com/-/media/cds/images/pressroom/presskits/luzia/pdf/luzia_presskit.pdf.
- ↑ Anderson, Maria. “5 Facts About Día De Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead).” Smithsonian Insider, 24 Sept. 2018, insider.si.edu/2016/10/5-facts-dia-de-los-muertos-day-dead/.
- ↑ Hassoun, and Lebas F. “Mexican Marigold (Tagetes Erecta).” Feedipedia, www.feedipedia.org/node/90.
- ↑ Gutiérrez, Pérez, et al. “ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF TAGETES ERECTA ESSENTIAL OIL.” Journal of the Chilean Chemical Society, Sociedad Chilena De Química, scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0717-97072006000200010&script=sci_arttext.
- ↑ “Monarch Butterfly Migration.” Migration, www.monarch-butterfly.com/monarch-migration.html.
- ↑ Cantor-Navas, Judy. “Behind Cirque Du Soleil's Mexican-Inspired Electronic Infused New 'Luzia' Soundtrack.” Billboard, 18 Apr. 2016, www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/7334139/cirque-du-soleil-mexican-inspired-luzia-nortec-collective.
- ↑ Press Releases. Retrieved from https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/press/news/2019/cirque-du-soleil-luzia-coming-to-movie-theaters-october-29
- ↑ Cirque du Soleil in Cinema Presents LUZIA. Retrieved from https://www.fathomevents.com/events/luzia-cirque-du-soleil
- ↑ Soleil, Cirque du. “LUZIA by Cirque Du Soleil - A New VIP Experience.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Oct. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=G91_KcRvdtE.
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