Volta Under the Big Top - September 3, 2018

Chances are that even if you haven’t attended a Cirque du Soleil show, you’ve heard about their shows.  A golden opportunity to experience the excitement of Cirque de Soleil close to home is only days away!
 
The company started in 1984 with their first production and since then more than 180 million spectators have seen a Cirque du Soleil show.  In 2017, close to 10 million spectators alone attended!  Not only that, but the company (headquartered in Montreal) employees 4,000 people worldwide that represent more than 50 nationalities and speak 25 different languages. 
 
Las Vegas is likely the easiest place to catch a Cirque du Soleil show with seven currently playing at various hotels on the strip.  But fortunately here for us on the Eastside, there are touring shows and “Volta” happens to be starting this weekend at Marymoor Park.
 
Putting together a show of the scale and magnitude of Volta and setting up the “Big Top” and Cirque du Soleil village is no easy task.  Just to begin to set up at a show site, 72 trailer trucks carry close to 2,000 tons of equipment.
 
Erecting the Big Top alone took 60 men and women pushing more than 100 supporting poles to raise the canvas in place last week.  The results can be seen from a distance with the Volta Big Top being able to seat more than 2,500 people.  Furthermore, it is anchored in place by 500 or so stakes and can withstand winds up to 75 mph (120 km). 
 
The show itself, as do most Cirque du Soleil productions, follows an elaborate and mysterious storyline with incredible acrobats performing amazing feats of strength and flexibility coupled with a musical score than enhances every move on stage.  Moments of “wow” and “oh my gosh” from the audience replace normal dialog for the night.
 
The storyline for Volta is described as follows: 
VOLTA is a story of transformation. It is about being true to oneself, fulfilling one’s true potential, and recognizing one’s own power to make it possible. Ultimate freedom comes with self-acceptance, and with the liberation of the judgment of others.
Waz, a gameshow contestant that has lost touch with himself. He’s ashamed of who he is because of his difference. Follow him as he enters the show in search of fame, thinking that this will bring him love and acceptance from others. What he will find is something else. That fame is not the answer. If fame doesn’t provide freedom and acceptance, then what does? Will WAZ reconnect with his true self – and stand up for all that makes him truly unique? Will he realize that his difference is what makes him extraordinary?
 
Having attended many Cirque du Soleil shows over the years, I am looking forward to being amazed yet again!
 
Volta - Under the Big Top King County’s Marymoor Park
(6046 West Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE, Redmond, WA 98052)
Volta runs from September 7, 2018 - November 4, 2018
Tickets start at $39
https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/volta

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