A Choreographers’ Showcase

Ahhhh! What a great event! Do you ever have those moments when you feel culturally and artistically fulfilled? That’s how I felt leaving A Choreographer’s Showcase.
First: the venue. The Cirque du Soleil theater was big enough to feel grand, but the seats wrapped around the stage in a way that made every seat in the theater feel very close to the dancers. Very interesting design that helped create an intimate feel to the show.
Next: the dancing. Wow. These dancers are powerful, graceful, passionate, gentle, moving, and sometimes a little silly, and that’s what made this show so special. The choreography went from dark and spooky, to flirtatious and whimsical. I was very impressed. Oh, and don’t get me started on the amazing dancer bodies. Seriously, don’t get me started!
Last: the acrobatics. The silk rope work literally took my breath away, both from fear and from amazement of the beautiful movements. Even at such heights, the performers made their silk rope performances look effortless and fluid. I was mesmerized by it. One of the final performances that ended with the rope performer lifting one of the ballerinas into the air was spectacular. What a treat.
Overall, it was an amazing show, filled with talented dancers and acrobats, and an enthusiastic crowd. Now if only there were drinks, it would have been beyond perfect!

5 Stars for a local collaboration that will turn any Scrooge into a dance aficionado!
Cirque. Orlando Ballet. Né’er has there been a more blissful union. We’re talking two groups of extreme athletes coming together and trying on each others’ hats (or tights, whatev.) for a night. This is an annual event that takes place for one night only at La Nouba’s theater in Downtown Disney. I think we may forget how lucky we are to see this collaboration as only a handful of cities have both a professional ballet company AND a permanent Cirque group and only one other actually pulls off this type of show.
My favorite part of the night was watching the ballerinas get to experiment with acrobatics and watching the acrobats play with more traditional dance. They are incredible athletes and blended the styles of performance in a really fascinating way — one that made it hard to blink for fear of missing something magical.
Obviously the theater is a huge plus as it is smaller than you’d imagine and feels quite intimate. The only thing I might add for next time is to sell drinks at the show! Even if they’re donation-​based, this would be a great way for attendees to keep supporting the ballet and not rush to get drinks elsewhere. Also– if they had a table with someone selling season tix on the spot I think they would have a bunch of new season ticket holders! The show was THAT good!
Overall a killer union with a ton of varied performances of different genres of dance and movement that I wish could have gone on all night! Bravo!

Imagine this equation:
Some Orlando Ballet Dancers + Some Cirque du Soleil performers = STUNNING!
It’s a yearly event that happens for one night only. All of these performers come together and take over the Downtown Disney Cirque du Soleil stage. What a perfect, intimate setting for this special evening.
For a little over an hour you get an array of enlightening artistic performances. Each year, team members from each company offer up their time for free and get creative reign over what they would like to perform. Fully put together by the performers from the music to the moves. You get to see what their passion is plus what their creative take is on everything. It was the perfect blend of of acrobatics and ballet. You get a taste of the fluidity of the Orlando Ballet plus the astonishing skills of the Cirque performers.
The stage and props were simple — the performances brought the emotion. The musical choices were great and everyone in the crowd was left speechless. Make sure you show your support and appreciation for such an artistic collaboration in Orlando!
The only small change I would ask is that they had some concession stands open, even to purchase water. I know it’s a dark night for Cirque but would be nice for attendees.