Cirque Montage at Jesse Auditorium – 4 out of 5 stars
Imagine a typical Cirque du Soleil show, and then peel away the excess. Remove most of the scenery and the backup performers. Place the spotlight on one performer at a time. You have now entered the world of Cirque Montage.
The show, which came to Jesse Hall on March 22, highlighted the individual talents of performers in extraordinary acts from acrobatics to contortionism. Each performer was given their own act, able to showcase their talents without any distractions in the background. They proved to be incredible at what they did - able to leave the audience in awe at what seemed like impossible stunts.
Between the acrobatics, there was a somewhat unclear story about a fame-seeking bird named Raven and a Ringmaster who wanted to direct a movie. While the two characters were highly entertaining and gained the love of the audience, it was unclear how this fit in with the other performers.
Much of the show focused on audience interaction. Performers brought audience members on stage, came out into the audience between acts and stayed after to take pictures and sign autographs. This was especially exciting when the Ringmaster brought up audience members to act in his movie, allowing them to become a large part of the show.
The highlight of the show was a contortionist, who throughout her two acts was able to bend her body in ways that most think are not humanly possible. Her tricks were incredible from the start and only escalated throughout the entire scene.
However, most of the production was scaled down not just in size, but also with concerns to the abilities of the performers. It appeared to be a tease of what a Cirque style show could be. The acts would often go on too long. The performers spent too much time on basic skills and made the audience bored of the act by the time they got to their most incredible stunts.
While the production might have not lived up to the hopes of those who have seen similar shows beforehand, the performers’ talents were still able to leave the audience in absolute awe.