OVO Cirque du Soleil arrives in Nottingham and casts a spell on the local audience

Have you ever experienced a circus performance before? If your answer is no, then there’s no time to waste. Everyone should go to see a circus show at least once in their lives and OVO Cirque du Soleil does a great job bringing the traditional circus show - with a modern and creative twist - to some of the best and biggest arenas in the world.

What do you see when you close your eyes and think ‘circus’? Is it the humongous circus tent , put up by skilful staff in fewer than ten hours (!), is it the clowns who put a smile on everyone’s faces, is it the exceptionally talented trapeze performers who seem to glide through the air without breaking a sweat, or maybe it’s the whole experience and the mystery surrounding it? Whatever it is that you’re thinking about right now, we can all agree that there’s something special about going to see a circus show. It’s an event that will stay alive in your mind for a long time, an event that will inspire, surprise, shock and sometimes even move you to tears – a magical experience for all ages.

Nottingham is one of the nine stops for the OVO Cirque du Soleil’s tour this year, and with its first show yesterday, it’s staying in our great city until Sunday 16th September with one show each day until Friday and two shows on both Saturday and Sunday.

OVO, meaning “egg” in Portuguese, is a colourful celebration of nature and co-existence, acceptance and embracing differences – all those much-needed features in the modern world. The main characters are insects - 17 different species to be exact, who live their lives in communities and experience happiness and heartache just like us.

You’ll be introduced to the colourful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement. When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It is love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.

There are over 10 circus disciplines in the show, including foot juggling & Icarian games, hand balancing, aerial silk, aerial straps, Russian cradle, contortion, diabolo, acro sport, slackwire and more.

The artists are all very diverse and come not only from different countries but backgrounds and training as well. Several performers were professional athletes before working at Cirque du Soleil. Two of the crickets competed against each other in several Tumbling World Championships - in two different national tumbling teams - and now they share the same stage.

Qiu Jiangming (whom we saw during the practice yesterday) – plays the role of the Silver Spider doing slackwire. He grew up in a traditional Chinese circus family. Both his father and grandfather were circus performers and his mother is currently his coach. Two Olympians are also part of the OVO cast. Olga Shcherbatykh competed in gymnastics in Athens in 2004 and Nansy Damianova in Beijing in 2008.

The show is not just a circus performance – it’s much more than that. With a live band, 50 performing artists from 17 countries specialising in many acrobatic acts, and another 50 supporting staff, the spectacle comes to life in the most amazing way.

If you’re not inspired yet, have a look at the below videos we’ve taken during the practice before the show yesterday. They are sure to make you want to get those tickets. Tickets are almost gone though, so hurry!

Find out more about OVO Cirque du Soleil's show in Nottingham and book your tickets here.

~~ Blog written by Kinga Kapias - Marketing Executive at Visit Nottinghamshire