'Cirquing of entertainment'
Theme park shows reflect influence of the groundbreaking Canadian circus
The dolphins leave the stadium, and the red-winged actress rises from the stage. Exotically costumed acrobats dangle and dance on swings, dive and tumble off high platforms and twist and plunge on elastic cords. Macaws and other birds swoop through -- and for 10 minutes they are the only animals in sight.
This is a dolphin show?
Whatever people call it, Blue Horizons, the extravaganza that debuted last May, has become SeaWorld Orlando's biggest current hit, packing and wowing the Whale and Dolphin Stadium for virtually every performance.
Now there's no going back, said Dave Goodman, SeaWorld's vice president for entertainment. There's no more simply having a trainer in a wet suit lead a dolphin through leaps and somersaults, then expect an audience to erupt into satisfied applause.
Not in the 21st century.
Not now that Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian circus company with 12 shows worldwide including La Nouba at Downtown Disney, has redefined live entertainment.
Theme parks like SeaWorld are taking notice.
"Cirque has set the bar, and now everyone is trying to do a Cirque-like show," said Steve Baker, president of the Orlando-based consultant Baker Leisure Group.
The 'wow factor'
Cirque-like. The term is heard frequently in the show production crowd.
It might refer to unexpected costuming and makeup, flying acrobatics, dreamlike story lines, high-tech lighting and sound, bold colors and fabrics, or frenzied, choreographed pace.
Or, Goodman said, it might be the scope and the nontraditional mix of entertainment. He said that helps characterize the quantum leap Cirque du Soleil made in redefining the circus for modern audiences. SeaWorld's not copying, Goodman said, just inspired.
"We love the Cirque product. . . . The secret of their success is the reinvention of the circus," Goodman said. "With Blue Horizons we weren't so interested in necessarily trying to mimic Cirque du Soleil as we were interested in trying to make that same quantum leap."
Blue Horizons isn't SeaWorld's first Cirque-inspired show and won't be the last. Acrobats in bold costumes have starred in SeaWorld's Odyssea show for years. On the park's biggest scale yet, the new Shamu killer whale show, Believe, will have its Orlando debut this summer, following the same ambitions Goodman credited to Cirque du Soleil.
Others also are re-evaluating their shows, said Joyce Arbucias, partner in JBP Entertainment Group of Orlando, which creates shows for theme parks and other venues. Her firm is currently working on shows for Disney Cruise Lines, Disneyland Tokyo and Universal Studios Japan, among others.
"Absolutely Cirque du Soleil is influencing what we do," Arbucias said. "It was oftentimes coming from our clients. Our clients are coming to us and saying, 'I want something Cirque-like.' I hear that quote constantly. 'I want something like Cirque. I want to wow the audience.' Once a client sees a Cirque show you can't offer them a juggling clown. You have to offer them something that gives them the same wow factor they just experienced."
Influencing Disney
Arbucias cited Busch Gardens' big hit KaTonga as Cirque-like, and others at overseas parks.
Universal Orlando has little Cirque-flavored now, but something's in the works, said spokeswoman Cindy Gordon.
She declined details, but said, "We know guests want over-the-top stunning entertainment that leaves them awe-struck. We do have something planned."
Arbucias and others say they expect Walt Disney World's upcoming Nemo show at Animal Kingdom to be Cirque influenced, though Disney won't talk about the show.
Disney officials avoid any talk of Cirque influences, though spokesman Rick Sylvain said they draw inspiration "from all over."
"While we have our own unique creative vision, we certainly work in partnership with Cirque, are great admirers of Cirque, which is why we are happy to have them at Walt Disney World resort," he said.
However, Ron Logan and others note Cirque influences in such shows as Festival of the Lion King, one of Disney's biggest hits, and the Tapestry of Nations parade, which closed two years ago. Logan is retired executive vice president of Walt Disney Entertainment and now a professor at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
Logan said he wasn't specifically thinking "Cirque" when Disney created elements such as the Lion King show's bird flight and fire sequences, or the Tapestry parade's costuming and makeup, but he conceded their Cirque-like qualities.
They're "certainly influenced by, but not borrowed from," Cirque, he said.
Spectacular price tag
If anything, Cirque raised the stakes for others' live shows, Logan said, especially for shows he calls "spectaculars," designed to draw people into the theme parks. Bigger, louder, bolder -- and more expensive.
"Cirque du Soleil is certainly the most influential entertainment genre out there in regard to show production," Logan said.
When Logan headed up Walt Disney World Entertainment prior to retiring in 2001 his maximum budget for a spectacular was $30 million, an amount expected to cover a new theater if necessary as well as the show.
Many shows he oversaw cost between $10 million and $20 million to produce -- a price tag Logan said can be worth it if they draw guests into the parks. Such shows are cheaper than a big new ride, he said, and they're easier to close if they don't work.
"My definition of a spectacular is something that can draw capacity, a lot of capacity," Logan said. "That is something that you want to market in order to draw that capacity, and because of that you're able to spend more money on it."
Cirque is simply flattered, spokeswoman Renee-Claude Menard said.
"I would say in the last five or six years we've seen a definite increase in Cirque-feel or Cirque-like. Does it surprise us? I don't think so," she said. "Does that mean that we've done our job well? Like I said, it's a tribute."
It's not just theme parks, she said; half-time shows, Olympic ceremonies, parades, concerts and theater have adapted Cirque-like themes.
Sometimes there's little wonder. The live-show production community is a relatively small crowd, especially at the top, she and others said. Everybody knows one another. Everybody checks out one another's shows. It's hard to ignore what works. Many consultants and creators move around, picking up ideas here, transporting them there.
And quite a few are former Cirque people, Menard said, including producers who went on to create the Winter Olympics closing ceremonies last month.
Other Cirque alumni went on to produce shows at Walt Disney Studios Paris and Tokyo Disneyland Park, said Arbucias of JBP Entertainment.
Shows tell stories
The creators of Blue Horizons and Believe for SeaWorld may have Hollywood, Broadway and Super Bowl work on their resumes, but no Cirque. And since the shows center on animals, SeaWorld's curators and trainers played major creative roles, Goodman said.
Still, old-style dolphin and whale shows, with their themes of humans training animals, are out, he said. The new shows tell stories -- through actors, animals, music and atmosphere.
Believe (which debuted in the San Antonio SeaWorld last week) tells the story of Shamu. The show features platform diving, trainers' costumes that Goodman calls "stunning but not theatrical," a huge set and an elaborate sound system with more than 100 speakers playing dramatic music.
Yet it has fewer Cirque-like aspects than Blue Horizons, he said. Whales, while more majestic, are less theatrical than dolphins, and so is the show.
"Blue Horizons tells the story about a girl who wants to swim in all the oceans like dolphins and fly like a bird. We had to deliver that through some technologies that were maybe recognizable as Cirque-like," he said. "We had to be able to fly people. We had to have acrobats. We had to have people diving off really high platforms.
"So we bring in Hollywood music scorers, we bring in Broadway costume designers, and we bring in world-class divers, Olympic divers. The expectation is to make that quantum leap," Goodman said. "The Cirquing of entertainment, you've got to take that extra step."
Scott Powers can be reached at spowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441.
Theme park shows reflect influence of the groundbreaking Canadian circus
The dolphins leave the stadium, and the red-winged actress rises from the stage. Exotically costumed acrobats dangle and dance on swings, dive and tumble off high platforms and twist and plunge on elastic cords. Macaws and other birds swoop through -- and for 10 minutes they are the only animals in sight.
This is a dolphin show?
Whatever people call it, Blue Horizons, the extravaganza that debuted last May, has become SeaWorld Orlando's biggest current hit, packing and wowing the Whale and Dolphin Stadium for virtually every performance.
Now there's no going back, said Dave Goodman, SeaWorld's vice president for entertainment. There's no more simply having a trainer in a wet suit lead a dolphin through leaps and somersaults, then expect an audience to erupt into satisfied applause.
Not in the 21st century.
Not now that Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian circus company with 12 shows worldwide including La Nouba at Downtown Disney, has redefined live entertainment.
Theme parks like SeaWorld are taking notice.
"Cirque has set the bar, and now everyone is trying to do a Cirque-like show," said Steve Baker, president of the Orlando-based consultant Baker Leisure Group.
The 'wow factor'
Cirque-like. The term is heard frequently in the show production crowd.
It might refer to unexpected costuming and makeup, flying acrobatics, dreamlike story lines, high-tech lighting and sound, bold colors and fabrics, or frenzied, choreographed pace.
Or, Goodman said, it might be the scope and the nontraditional mix of entertainment. He said that helps characterize the quantum leap Cirque du Soleil made in redefining the circus for modern audiences. SeaWorld's not copying, Goodman said, just inspired.
"We love the Cirque product. . . . The secret of their success is the reinvention of the circus," Goodman said. "With Blue Horizons we weren't so interested in necessarily trying to mimic Cirque du Soleil as we were interested in trying to make that same quantum leap."
Blue Horizons isn't SeaWorld's first Cirque-inspired show and won't be the last. Acrobats in bold costumes have starred in SeaWorld's Odyssea show for years. On the park's biggest scale yet, the new Shamu killer whale show, Believe, will have its Orlando debut this summer, following the same ambitions Goodman credited to Cirque du Soleil.
Others also are re-evaluating their shows, said Joyce Arbucias, partner in JBP Entertainment Group of Orlando, which creates shows for theme parks and other venues. Her firm is currently working on shows for Disney Cruise Lines, Disneyland Tokyo and Universal Studios Japan, among others.
"Absolutely Cirque du Soleil is influencing what we do," Arbucias said. "It was oftentimes coming from our clients. Our clients are coming to us and saying, 'I want something Cirque-like.' I hear that quote constantly. 'I want something like Cirque. I want to wow the audience.' Once a client sees a Cirque show you can't offer them a juggling clown. You have to offer them something that gives them the same wow factor they just experienced."
Influencing Disney
Arbucias cited Busch Gardens' big hit KaTonga as Cirque-like, and others at overseas parks.
Universal Orlando has little Cirque-flavored now, but something's in the works, said spokeswoman Cindy Gordon.
She declined details, but said, "We know guests want over-the-top stunning entertainment that leaves them awe-struck. We do have something planned."
Arbucias and others say they expect Walt Disney World's upcoming Nemo show at Animal Kingdom to be Cirque influenced, though Disney won't talk about the show.
Disney officials avoid any talk of Cirque influences, though spokesman Rick Sylvain said they draw inspiration "from all over."
"While we have our own unique creative vision, we certainly work in partnership with Cirque, are great admirers of Cirque, which is why we are happy to have them at Walt Disney World resort," he said.
However, Ron Logan and others note Cirque influences in such shows as Festival of the Lion King, one of Disney's biggest hits, and the Tapestry of Nations parade, which closed two years ago. Logan is retired executive vice president of Walt Disney Entertainment and now a professor at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
Logan said he wasn't specifically thinking "Cirque" when Disney created elements such as the Lion King show's bird flight and fire sequences, or the Tapestry parade's costuming and makeup, but he conceded their Cirque-like qualities.
They're "certainly influenced by, but not borrowed from," Cirque, he said.
Spectacular price tag
If anything, Cirque raised the stakes for others' live shows, Logan said, especially for shows he calls "spectaculars," designed to draw people into the theme parks. Bigger, louder, bolder -- and more expensive.
"Cirque du Soleil is certainly the most influential entertainment genre out there in regard to show production," Logan said.
When Logan headed up Walt Disney World Entertainment prior to retiring in 2001 his maximum budget for a spectacular was $30 million, an amount expected to cover a new theater if necessary as well as the show.
Many shows he oversaw cost between $10 million and $20 million to produce -- a price tag Logan said can be worth it if they draw guests into the parks. Such shows are cheaper than a big new ride, he said, and they're easier to close if they don't work.
"My definition of a spectacular is something that can draw capacity, a lot of capacity," Logan said. "That is something that you want to market in order to draw that capacity, and because of that you're able to spend more money on it."
Cirque is simply flattered, spokeswoman Renee-Claude Menard said.
"I would say in the last five or six years we've seen a definite increase in Cirque-feel or Cirque-like. Does it surprise us? I don't think so," she said. "Does that mean that we've done our job well? Like I said, it's a tribute."
It's not just theme parks, she said; half-time shows, Olympic ceremonies, parades, concerts and theater have adapted Cirque-like themes.
Sometimes there's little wonder. The live-show production community is a relatively small crowd, especially at the top, she and others said. Everybody knows one another. Everybody checks out one another's shows. It's hard to ignore what works. Many consultants and creators move around, picking up ideas here, transporting them there.
And quite a few are former Cirque people, Menard said, including producers who went on to create the Winter Olympics closing ceremonies last month.
Other Cirque alumni went on to produce shows at Walt Disney Studios Paris and Tokyo Disneyland Park, said Arbucias of JBP Entertainment.
Shows tell stories
The creators of Blue Horizons and Believe for SeaWorld may have Hollywood, Broadway and Super Bowl work on their resumes, but no Cirque. And since the shows center on animals, SeaWorld's curators and trainers played major creative roles, Goodman said.
Still, old-style dolphin and whale shows, with their themes of humans training animals, are out, he said. The new shows tell stories -- through actors, animals, music and atmosphere.
Believe (which debuted in the San Antonio SeaWorld last week) tells the story of Shamu. The show features platform diving, trainers' costumes that Goodman calls "stunning but not theatrical," a huge set and an elaborate sound system with more than 100 speakers playing dramatic music.
Yet it has fewer Cirque-like aspects than Blue Horizons, he said. Whales, while more majestic, are less theatrical than dolphins, and so is the show.
"Blue Horizons tells the story about a girl who wants to swim in all the oceans like dolphins and fly like a bird. We had to deliver that through some technologies that were maybe recognizable as Cirque-like," he said. "We had to be able to fly people. We had to have acrobats. We had to have people diving off really high platforms.
"So we bring in Hollywood music scorers, we bring in Broadway costume designers, and we bring in world-class divers, Olympic divers. The expectation is to make that quantum leap," Goodman said. "The Cirquing of entertainment, you've got to take that extra step."
Scott Powers can be reached at spowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441.
