Matt Beard Photography
Cirque du Soleil returns to the Milwaukee area with its coolest arena show yet, Crystal—A Breakthrough Ice Experience, which fuses circus arts and the world of ice skating in a stunning new production that will take the audience on a journey into a surreal world where figure skating blends with acrobatics and aerial feats.
Crystal will mark Cirque du Soleil’s eighth Milwaukee appearance since 2006, and the production is excited to bring this first-of-a-kind show to Milwaukee’s newest large-scale venue. The show features world-class ice skaters and acrobats exploring their new frozen playground with speed and fluidity as they challenge the laws of gravity with newly created acrobatics. It showcases synchronized, freestyle and extreme skating alongside circus disciplines such as swinging trapeze, aerial straps and hand-to-hand.
Crystal’s artistic director is Fabrice Lemire. Trained in dance in Paris and rewarded first prize for male dance from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, Lemire performed for many years as a principal dancer and a guest artist in various productions touring North America, Europe, northern Africa and Asia; he joined Cirque du Soleil in 2008 and was appointed this show’s artistic director last June.
Asked about the challenges of doing an acrobatic show on (and high above) a sheet of ice, Lemire explains that “safety is, and will always be, our main priority. There is a lot of training involved prior to trying something new. We conducted workshops prior to the start of Crystal’s creation to see what opportunities would come from a slippery surface like ice. There is a risk factor to what everyone does, and for this reason we had our artists train with acrobatic coaches and skating experts. The element of risk is always a part of the circus, but everything is assessed and well-trained-for prior to being presented in front of an audience.”
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Cirque du Soleil had to acquire special coaches, trainers and cast members for Crystal given the ice-show aspects of the production. “When the idea of creating this show came up, we went into a phase of research and development to find talent that had expertise in the world of ice skating. Skating experts such as Kurt Browning, Ben Agosto and Marilyn Langlois were a part of this process and led exploration workshops in the months leading up to the cast arriving in Montréal, Canada, for the beginning of creation,” Lemire explains. “We have 18 skaters in Crystal from different backgrounds.” These include pair and solo figure skaters; a freestyle skater whose style is influenced by hip hop, martial arts and breakdancing; and extreme skaters who come from the world of inline and ice-cross skating and racing.
As for what Crystal is about, Lemire says that the show’s title character is “a teenager who is looking for her purpose in life,” whom the audience will “follow as she falls through ice into a world that she creates.” There, “she meets her Reflection, who guides her through this adventure, whereby she comes to realize that she has the strength within herself to be who she wants to be: curious, confident and creative.” Young Crystal’s story is told through narrative, projections on the ice, stunning acrobatics and unique skating segments.
As for the show’s soundtrack (always a major element of Cirque du Soleil productions), Lemire says that “the music’s composer, Maxime Lepage, was given the opportunity to write music that would guide the audience and connect the story together—a little bit like a movie soundtrack. Crystal is performed in arenas, which are big facilities, and the songs that were chosen are related to where Crystal is in her journey, but they also create a connection with the audience as the pop songs are widely familiar.”
“We are very excited to offer the first Cirque du Soleil production to perform in the new Fiserv Forum and to participate in the growth of Downtown Milwaukee,” says Lemire.
Crystal runs Jan. 30-Feb. 3 (seven shows) at the Fiserv Forum, 1111 Vel R. Phillips Ave. For tickets, call 414-227-0511 or visit fiservforum.com.
