Review: Cirque du Soleil at Alexandra Park

Single-hand balancing artist Wang Junru entertains during a dress rehearsal for Dralion. Photo / Dean Purcell

It's easy to be complacent about Cirque du Soleil. The French-Canadian circus troupe may be the biggest and the best, but it is no longer novel. Aucklanders are used to seeing the Grand Chapiteau's yellow tent in their midst. Even if only on TV, most of us have watched the lithe acrobats tumbling through the air in silk ribbons, faces painted to look like wild animals.

But it's just as easy to forget how good it is. You still get the otherworldly athleticism and visual artistry expected in view of the steep ticket prices, and Dralion, the latest in its touring repertoire to reach New Zealand, has plenty of surprises. With a versatile set and clever choreography, the performers turn from masterful gymnasts to insects stuck on a car grill, birds soaring through the sky or spiders dangling from the rafters.

Traditional circus acts get a surreal spin, whether in the mind-boggling feats of a dancing juggler, the muscle-straining balance of troupe of young Chinese women or the human pyramid jump-rope team. Set in the future, the world of Dralion bridges lions and dragons. With its focus on the elements - earth, air, water, fire - its cast creates an every-culture, a hybrid theme of Beyond the Thunderdome, Peter Gabriel and new-age spirituality. It has been touring internationally for 10 years, but Dralion still casts a spell, blending blazing Chinese lanterns, Thai mysticism and Aboriginal walkabout with plenty of old-fashioned pot-bellied clowning. At times the futuristic theme feels a little dated, not helped by a soundtrack that veers between world music, 80s glam-rock and dance beats. But as each act sweeps quickly into the next, the unbelievable talents and professionalism of its young cast burn the show into the memory.

The costumes, the dance, the exotic, gypsy spirit are enough to transport the audience into a world where everything feels as a circus should - mysterious, spectacular and verging on freakish.