Amazing Cirque Du Soleil returns to NZ

Cirque Du Soleil pays tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit and art of the circus tradition.

The amazing Cirque Du Soleil will be putting up its 2600-capacity grand chapiteau (big top) at the Auckland Showgrounds in January on its third trip to the city.

The show Varekai - pronounced "ver-ay-kie" and meaning "wherever" in the Romany language of the gypsies - follows the previous Cirque tours Alegria in 2001 and Quidam last year which between them played to a total New Zealand audience of 250,000. Varekai's Australasian tour, which begins in Sydney on August 10, is the first time the show has travelled outside North America where it has already played to 3.4 million people.

The production's publicity says the show "pays tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit and art of the circus tradition".

Varekai is based on the Greek myth of Icarus and the traditional Icarian games of circuses of yesteryear, but the acts include Georgian dancers, Russian swings, body-skating, high-flying acrobatics and clowns.

The 180 people on tour, representing 14 nationalities, include 56 artists.

* Tickets for Varekai go on sale on Monday July 10 via by joining Cirque Club online at cirquedusoleil.com.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on August 14 through Ticketek and cirquedusoleil.com.

Prices will range from $70 to $110 for adults and $50 to $90 for children with VIP tickets $240 for adults and $170 for children.

Varekai will have performances at 8pm Tuesday to Friday with extra 4pm shows on Saturday and 1pm and 5pm shows on Sundays.