(SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK, MINNEAPOLIS) Cirque du Soleil X: The Land of Fantasy, which officially opened on August 9th, is the company’s new resident show in China and was completed in partnership with Hangzhou Xintiandi CAZ, a Chinese city complex operator. Auerbach Pollock Friedlander provided theatre and audio-video consulting for the Hangzhou Suntiandy Theater which marks the seventh time the firm has collaborated with Cirque du Soleil for a custom, one of a kind venue. The purpose-built theatre, created in collaboration with CUC Architects (the Local Design Institute), has been designed for an immersive experience for 1,500 spectators and blurs the line between performance, spectacle and special effects, quite literally moving the spectators to a different realm.
The audience chamber, the size of a soccer pitch, encompasses two separate seating wagons each of which can revolve 360 degrees and traverse 27.5m, giving rise to two different experiences in one show package. To further enhance the possibilities of the story, the upstage great wall itself is segmented into nine individual moveable parts, which shift during the course of the drama. This regal, but technologically-advanced environment, envisioned by Cirque du Soleil and designed by Auerbach Pollock Friedlander, enriches the acrobatic stunts and re-defines “going to the theatre” for patrons. The show’s press release posted on cirquedusoleil.com describes what the audience can expect from this unusual venue in full detail.
“A combination of 3D props, video mapping, and trap doors from which acrobats seem to ‘disappear’ inside landscapes and return when you least expect it, will allow for artists to perform gravity-defying acrobatic acts; all of which are designed to disorient the senses.”
As the audience watches the stunning digital scenic effects, scenery and show elements deployed on the center stage lifts - which is hidden below the seating wagons - magically arises from the basement on a stage lift measuring 18m x 11m, flanked by two smaller 3.4m x 11m lifts. Once at stage level the 10m turntable, embedded in the large lift, can spin continuously revealing multiple aspects of the scenic elements.
The video projection system allows for complex mapping of virtual scenery and visual effects throughout the stages and auditorium, using 56 high-power laser projectors and a series of special mapping cameras and tracking devices to allow dynamic placement and alignment of the scenic images by the high-tech media server computers. The sound system made use of the latest technology with nearly 1,700 loudspeakers used in this production, under digital control that allows voices, music and effects to be discretely mixed to any combination of loudspeakers, from those rigged above, to those built into scenic elements, to individual loudspeakers built into each of the audience seats. The audience is completely enveloped in an unparalleled visual and sonic environment.
Cirque du Soleil X: The Land of Fantasy promises to bring more tourism to Hangzhou which is already a popular destination for visitors due to its proximity to West Lake, A UNESCO World Heritage site.