Dreams can be difficult to recall, no matter how wild they are. But audiences will be sure to remember Cirque Dreams, the cirque-style acrobatic musical coming to Baton Rouge.
The 16-person show will perform at the Baton Rouge River Center at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18.
Neil Goldberg, who moved to South Florida and created Cirque Productions in 1993 after working on Broadway in New York City, created the show.
The company’s events are cirque-style shows featuring music, dancing and acrobatics, said Heather Hoffman, assistant artistic director for Cirque Productions.
“The word ‘cirque’ describes a genre – it’s a theatrical style of circus,” Hoffman said. “There are human acts in a theatrical setting.”
The company uses performers from the Mongolian School of Contortion, The Acrobatic Training Center of Beijing China, The Sports Acrobatic Association of Poland, The Moscow Circus and more.
“In Russia and Europe they have acrobatic and circus schools,” Hoffman said. “They’ve all started as children.”
The show has a loose storyline, based on a character’s dream, but the show’s music and acrobatics are its main attractions, Hoffman said.
“There’s a vocalist singing in an imaginary language,” she said.
Erin Brooks said she plays the “Dream Songstress,” the show’s vocalist.
“I’m this magical, mystical character that controls what happens in the show,” Brooks said.
She said the show’s international cast includes contortionists, aerialists and strongmen.
“They really push the human body and its limits,” Brooks said. “We’ve taken the traditional circus out of the big tent and … made it much more theatrical.”
“There’s a lot of audience interaction and that’s what makes it fun for us as performers,” Brooks said.
Hoffman said the main character comes out of the audience in the beginning of the show, and the audience gets involved in other ways.
“In our pre-show, there are ‘tricksters’ who pull people out of the audience,” she said.
Hoffman said the show usually draws in a wide range of people.
“There are definitely a lot of families, and it’s a fabulous date,” she said. “Older couples are entertained because they’ve never seen anything like it.”
The show’s unique nature guarantees audience satisfaction, she said.
“It’s not going to be like anything they’ve ever seen,” Hoffman said. “They will be on the edge of their seats.”