Cirque du Soleil aims to surprise its audiences by pushing the boundaries of entertainment and creating productions that are unique and that blend various forms of art. With CRYSTAL, Cirque du Soleil explores the world of ice by combining its renowned acrobatics with skating in a unique way.
Directed by Shana Carroll and Sebastien Soldevila, Crystal, our misfit heroine, takes you on an exhilarating tale of self-discovery as she dives into a world of her own imagination. Feel the adrenaline as she soars through this surreal world to become what she was always destined to be: confident, curious, and creative. CRYSTAL invites you to suspend reality and glide into a world that springs to colorful life with astounding visual projections and a soundtrack that seamlessly blends popular music with the signature sound of Cirque du Soleil.
CRYSTAL tours with 90 people from 22 different nationalities and includes 43 cast members from the worlds of figure skating, inline skating, ice cross downhill, gymnastics, music, and circus. Each had to learn something new to incorporate into their specialty either by learning how to skate (acrobats) or by learning some acrobatics (ice skater) in order to blend the two seamlessly together. One of our skaters, Scott Smith, is excited to return to the area where he trained, coached figure skating in local ice rinks, and learned how to do trapeze at circus school in Salt Lake City. In his 8 years in the city, he has made many long-lasting connections and great friends.
Scott started skating at the age of 7 at Northwest Ice Rink in Baltimore and by the age of 12 he was performing triple Salchows (his favorite jump), triple toe loops and numerous spins. At the age of 13 he was competing at the national and international level. Scott was the U.S. Junior Men's Champion in 1998. The 2001-2002 skating season was a great source of pride for Scott as this is when he began consistently landing quadruple jumps in competition and recorded his first top ten finish at Nationals. At the 2006 Nationals, Scott was the only competitor to successfully land a quadruple jump during his program.
Scott ended his competitive career in 2009 after attending U.S Nationals 13 times and has been in the top ten at the Senior level for seven consecutive years. Now that his competitive career is over, he has kept busy coaching all over the US and performing in skating shows all over the world. During his time in Salt Lake City, he joined the Aerial Arts of Utah for 4 months to study trapeze. It’s Scott’s varied background and experience that led him to Cirque du Soleil newest creation – CRYSTAL.
Scott plays various roles in CRYSTAL but his favorite role is one of the Businessmen in an act called Tap Dance. Scott says: “This is a fun moment for me as I do a backflip over a person. This is also where I wear microphones on my skates - we get to make some noise which is fun because in competition we must be silent. The sound of skating is great and to have this magnified into an arena is really special.”
In CRYSTAL, gymnasts and skaters do acrobatics on the ice and in the air, melding both worlds together. Disciplines such as swinging trapeze, aerial straps, and hand to hand are fused together with disciplines such as synchro, freestyle, figure, and extreme skating on ramps, with a dash of all-out speed skating. Figure skaters learn to be pushers on Chinese poles, while circus artists learned to skate, and extreme skaters learn figure skating moves.
The costumes were designed by Marie Chantale Vaillancourt. All artists (Acrobats and Skaters) wear three to four different costumes for each performance. Many of the artists have quick changes from one costume to the next with the quickest being under a minute. The costumes are equipped with full-length zips that run from ankle to ankle along the inside seam to allow the skaters to change without removing their skates. Magnets have also been used to enable quick changes between scenes. We can’t talk about costumes and skates without mentioning the special shoes created to allow the acrobats to run, tumble and perform their unique stunts on ice. These shoes have approx. 60 crampons each that provide the acrobats with the stability they need to perform on a slippery surface.
The music of CRYSTAL is cinematic in scope while supporting the narrative and rhythm of the action on, “below”, and above the ice. With its sweeping, atmospheric and romantic soundscapes, the score moves from grand orchestral sounds to klezmer-style chamber music to melodic folk and rock-tinged beats.
Scott says: “It will be fun to reunite with friends and connections I created while I lived in Salt Lake City. I am excited to perform in front of them but also to show everyone what CRYSTAL is all about. I hope everyone will enjoy our performance and see how well the circus world and skating blends.”
Not only CRYSTAL is suitable for all ages but it features something for everyone. For more information on the schedule and tickets -https://cirk.me/Crystal_WestValley
More about Cirque du Soleil - CRYSTAL is Cirque du Soleil’s 42nd original production since 1984. The company has brought wonder and delight to more than 180 million spectators in more than 450 cities on six continents. Cirque du Soleil has over 4,000 employees, including 1,300 performing artists from 50 different countries.