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Cirque du Soleil are bringing not only a spectacular new show to Australia, but also a revolutionary online ticketing system, writes Katrina Fox.
Advance sales for Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion, which comes to Sydney in July, have already exceeded expectations. It’s the fifth show the company has brought to Australia, with previous performances in the Big Top dazzling audiences with highly skilled acrobatics and a theatrical extravaganza that’s in a league of its own.
Now audiences can have almost as much fun booking their tickets, thanks to a new 3D interface system that allows you to purchase directly from the company’s website.
“Imagine entering the Big Top through a web interface and being able pick your seat and know exactly what view of the stage you’ll have … That’s what we offer,” Katie Ladbury, Marketing Manager for Cirque du Soleil – Asia Pacific, tells SX.
“The purchase process is very quick as well and clients can print their own tickets at home, just as they do when they book a flight on the internet. It’s easy and there’s no more waiting for the tickets to arrive in the mail or in the queue at the box office.”
The system was created specifically for Cirque du Soleil by Montreal-based Outbox Technology to offer a unique booking experience.
“As is the case in other industries, more and more people are buying tickets for our shows online,” Ladbury says. “We wanted to develop a system where our customers could choose their own seats and where the whole process would be user-friendly.”
General sales have now opened for Dralion, which is “a celebration of life using the balance and harmony of the four elements: water, earth, fire and air”, according to Gemma Degarra, the show’s tour publicist. “The name of the show is a combination of the dragon that represents east and the lion that represents west.”
While the show features 73 artists from 19 different countries, the core group of performers comes from China. “Guy Caron, the director of the show, was inspired by the traditional acrobatics in Chinese circus and decided to make a tribute to these performers’ unbelievable artistic skills,” Degarra says.
So what are the main themes of Dralion? “There are lots of symbols in the show,” she notes. “We have the four elements bringing harmony to the world of Dralion. The singers represent the fifth element or the higher being inside every human being: the soul. And the little Buddha is the chosen child, who has power over time.
There are a few circles in the set representing power and harmony. The colours in the show are related to different characters and each of them has a meaning. For example, air is blue, water is green for fluidity and femininity, fire is red for strength and power, and earth is orange and brown.”
If you’ve never experienced a Cirque du Soleil show, prepare for your senses and emotions to be assaulted (in a good way!). “Dralion is a show with no beginning or end,” says Degarra. “It’s a perfect cycle. There are acts with high energy and power such as trampoline or hoop diving, romance (pas de deux), and humour with the clowns. A whole range of different emotions can be experienced.”
Cirque du Soleil runs July 17 – August 17 at The Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park. Bookings: Ph 1300 130 300 or online at cirquedusoleil.com.
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