Blending circus acts with street music, modern dance, technology and theatre, Cirque Éloize bring their ID Reloaded show to Wales Millennium Centre as part of their UK-wide tour. The show mixes breakdancing, hip hop and other modern dance skills with well-established traditional yet contemporary circus skills such a juggling, trapeze, and trampolining, to mesmerising effect. The show opens with two street gangs scrapping with each other and, although this theme is continued to a certain extent, it appears to dissipate as the show continues, with the acrobatics being the focus rather than any over-riding storyline.
Providing the backdrop is a highly effective video back projection system, which takes the audience through dramatic monochrome cityscapes – interchange flyovers, moving seamlessly and deeper into office buildings, abandoned warehouses, and occasionally into an increasingly cosmic, esoteric world, flooded in more calming blue and purple hues. The lighting also deserves a mention, well selected coloured spotlights frequently matching the colours worn by the performers.
Centre stage, of course, are the nine highly skilled acrobatic performers. Undertaking gravity-defying skills which redefine the term “pole dancing”, leaping around on a bike as easily as on two legs, and balancing rather improbably on 45 degree-angled chairs – just a few of the remarkable feats on display. Personal favourites included the skipping set, at one point combining three ropes-within-ropes jumps, the trampolining and hula-hoop set and, judging by the applause of the audience, I was not alone. Thoughtfully interspersed between these high-octane sets were more contemplative modern dance-meets-acrobatics interludes, providing a welcome reset after much excitement.
The make-up of the audience was interesting. From primary school-aged children to a more mature (and I reluctantly include myself here) punter, it’s clear that this genre of music combined with show-stopping acrobatic performances has a wide-ranging appeal. A thoroughly enjoyable show.
Gwyneth Stroud