Nouvelle Expérience was Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...

's fourth touring circus show, which premiered in 1990. The show's tour ended in 1993 in The Mirage

The Mirage

The Mirage is a 3,044 room hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States.The Mirage is connected by a free tram to Treasure Island. The marquee in front of the Mirage is the largest free standing marquee in the world.-History:The Mirage was built by...

 parking lot in Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

. Over 1.3 million people saw the production during its 3½-year run.

Cast

• Flounes: The fallen angels. Dressed in browns and ochres.
• Devils: The spirits of disobedience. Dressed in reds.
• Corporation: The slaves of the world. Dressed in blue.
• Madame Corporation/Enterprise: Queen of the Flounes, and along with the Great Chamberlain, ruler of the Corporation.
• Great Chamberlain (aka Ringmaster): Madame Corporation's right-hand man.
• Everyman: Dressed in a brown suit, he represents all of us.

Acts

The acts of Nouvelle Expérience blend theatre, music, circus arts and dance.

• Contortion
  Contortion
  thumb|upright|Contortionist performingContortion is an unusual form of physical display which involves the dramatic bending and flexing of the human body. Contortion is often part of acrobatics and circus acts...
  
  : Four women, clad in pink, take to a suspended platform. The four twist and bend themselves into unbelievable positions. (Performed to "Meandres" on the soundtrack)
• Korean plank: Madame and the Corporation approach a seesaw-like object in the middle of the stage. They begin to jump on the ends, bouncing the opposite performer into the air. Soon, they begin performing twists and spins, and even form towers by flipping acrobats onto other acrobats' shoulders. (Performed to "Bascule" on the soundtrack.)
• Solo trapeze
  Trapeze
  A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances...
  
  : An odd introduction happens between one of the Flounes and the Everyman. Afterwards, a woman takes to the stage, and is lifted towards a trapeze. She begins a beautiful number above, while flounes and devils watch from below. (Performed to "Fixe", "Ballant", and "Baleines" on the soundtrack)
• Fil de fer
  Tightrope walking
  Tightrope walking is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope, usually at a great height. One or more artists performs in front of an audience or as a publicity stunt...
  
  : One of the flounes moves about on a wooden ball. He spins, dances, and jumps until the Everyman enters the stage. At this point, the Everyman and the Floune try to shake hands again, but this attempt is successful. They begin to dance until the four other flounes enter near backstage. They take the fifth floune's ball, do a little trick with a quilt, and it reveals a tightrope walker. The man jumps up onto his tightrope (which is five or so feet high) and begins to perform many tricks. The ringmaster gives it a try and fails miserably. The two switch off, and the ringmaster gets better and better until the two are performing together.
• Fanfare: A little parade led by Madame Corporation introduces the next act. (Performed to "Fanfare" on the soundtrack)
• Aerial straps
  Aerial straps
  Straps, also known as aerial straps, are a type of aerial apparatus on which various feats of strength and flexibility may be performed, often in the context of a circus performance. It is a cotton or nylon web apparatus that looks like two suspended ribbons...
  
  : A muscular man approaches two leather straps hanging from the ceiling. He takes to the straps and takes flight. He spins, flips, and hangs to a lyrical cello piece entitled "L'oiseau".
• Trapeze
  Trapeze
  A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances...
  
  : Six figures climb three rope ladders up to an unusual flying trapeze
  Flying Trapeze
  The flying trapeze is a specific form of the trapeze in which a performer jumps from a platform with the trapeze so that gravity makes the trapeze swing....
  
   apparatus. There is one regular trapeze, a two-layered trapeze, and a Russian trapeze. They swing back and forth between the three, performing daring tricks. (Performed to "Azimut" and "Sanza" on the soundtrack)
• Foot juggling: Two beautiful oriental women take to the stage. First, one begins to spin umbrellas on her feet and hands. Soon, she is juggling the other girl, and the other girl is spinning cloths on her feet. (Performed to "Suite Chinoise" on the soundtrack)
• Russian bar
  Russian Bar
  The Russian bar is a circus act which combines the gymnastic skills of the balance beam, the rebound tempo skills of trampoline and the swing handstands skills of the uneven bars and the parallel bars...
  
  /Trampoline
  Trampoline
  A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a steel frame using many coiled springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes....
  
  /Korean cradle
  Cradle (circus act)
  The cradle is a type of aerial circus act in which a performer hangs by his or her knees from a large rectangular frame and swings, tosses, and catches another performer. The aerialist being swung is referred to as a flyer, while the one doing the tossing and catching is referred to as a catcher...
  
  : Three acts are combined into one (Performed to "Eclipsé" on the soundtrack):
  • Russian bar – A 5-inch-wide bar held by two men across their shoulders, while a third bounces on it.
  • Trampoline
  • Korean cradle – Two men are strapped in on platforms, and take women by their hands to swing and flip them between one another.
• Balancing on chairs
  Chair (acrobatics)
  The use of chairs as props in acrobatic activities falls into three broad categories: balancing, vaulting and contortion.-Balancing: In chair balance acrobatics one or more acrobats balance on one or more chairs...
  
  : A man dressed in white takes to the stage, a few chairs in his hands. He begins to stack the chairs and balance on them, along with a flaming birthday cake. (Performed to "Havi Vahila" on the soundtrack)

Costumes

The costumes of Nouvelle Expérience were designed to complement the wood theme of the set. Dominique Lemieux, costume designer, combined many different styles for the highly theatrical costumes, which makes it difficult to pin them down to any specific period. Surprisingly, some of the costumes worn are lined with upholstery material which make them very heavy. For example. the Flounes' medieval-esque costumes, made of a mix of lycra, velvet, and satin, weigh over 9 kilograms (19.8 lb).

Music

The show's original score was composed by René Dupéré

René Dupéré

René Dupéré is a Québécois composer from Mont-Joli, Québec, Canada.- Biography :Dupéré is best known as the composer and arranger of music for contemporary circus productions by the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil...

 and performed live by five musicians. A studio album of the music was released in 1990 and again in 1993. The tracks of which are listed below.

1. Fanfare
2. Méandres
3. Boléro
4. Bascule
5. Fixe
6. Ballant
7. Baleines
8. Havi Vahlia
9. Suite Chinoise
10. Éclipse
11. L'Oiseau
12. Azimut
13. Sanza
14. Grosse Femme