Luzia, Cirque du Soleil’s 38th original production since 1984, comes to Tysons Corner on April 12, bringing with it themes linked to the culture, history and mythology of Mexico, plus a handful of firsts for the performance group.
“Going to see the show is an experience. We take you to a different place as soon as you enter the Big Top,” says Gracie Valdez, the artistic director of Luzia, which originally premiered in April 2016. “We invite you to travel with us and escape reality for a while and see the different sights, sounds, amazing acrobatics and brilliant music.”
A first ever for Cirque, all songs will be sung completely in Spanish in an effort to create an authentic depiction of the country. Specific set designs also nod to real-life Mexican structures and natural elements, among them a field of “cempasuchil” flowers, aka Mexican marigolds, which are the centerpiece of Day of the Dead altars. A great disk towering above the stage represents the sun, the moon and the Aztec calendar, and also alludes to Teotihuacan, an archaeological site near Mexico City.
“Each Cirque show is completely different and original from one to the next, but the content of Luzia is very special as it displays our imaginary Mexico,” Valdez says of the show, which will run through June 17.
In fact, Luzia takes audiences to “a waking dream of Mexico,” where light (or “luz” in Spanish) quenches the spirit and rain (“lluvia”) soothes the soul.
“It has a lot of technological aspects that other shows may not have. We travel with a rain curtain that’s never been used in a Big Top format … We display turn tables and giant apparatuses.” Valdez went on. “The Washington area has been a really valuable market for Cirque du Soleil for the past 17 years. It’s a really important market to maintain and we’re excited to be here.”
