The blue-and-white tents of Cirque du Soleil have returned to San Jose, bringing the brand new touring present, “Echo,” to the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds for the following month.
It’s a really Silicon Valley-coded present, with a message about how individuals work together with nature, layered with a sheen of expertise — a 23-foot dice lined in dazzling projection-mapped photos acts as a 3rd lead of the present — and punctuated with the jaw-dropping aerial work, acrobatic stunts and humor which can be Cirque’s logos.
“We don’t create stories; we create worlds,” mentioned Duncan Fisher, Cirque du Soleil’s Chief Present Operations Officer.
And on this case, that world is usually within the type of a two-story excessive dice that’s lined in dazzling projection-mapped photos, undulates as if it had been alive and supplies “Echo” with a focus for each its story and for most of the present’s performers to climb, bounce off and clown round inside.
“The cube is really a character in the show,” Fisher mentioned. “The message is that what gets broken down can be put back together if we all work together.”
A make-up artist applies physique paint to one of many performers within the Cirque du Soleil’s present, “Echo,” earlier than a preview efficiency in San Jose on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Space Information Group)
Kevin Albert, publicist for Cirque du Soleil’s touring present, “Echo,” reveals off the mesh eyes in a lemur masks that enables solid members to see whereas carrying the masks on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Space Information Group)
Forged and crew members of Cirque du Soleil’s present, “Echo,” go to Cubistro, the present’s on-site kitchen and cafe, in San Jose on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Space Information Group)
Animal face masks are saved within the inventive tent for Cirque du Soleil’s present, “Echo,” in San Jose, photographed on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Space Information Group)
Crew members put together the Massive Prime for Cirque du Soleil’s ECHO present on Monday, March 31, 2025, on the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, Calif. The present will run from April 8 to Could 11. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)
The big Massive Prime is erected for the upcoming Cirque du Soleil’s ECHO present on Monday, March 31, 2025, on the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, Calif. The present will run from April 8 to Could 11. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)
Crew members use posts to push up and assist the edges of the big Massive Prime being erected for the upcoming Cirque du Soleil’s ECHO present on Monday, March 31, 2025, on the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, Calif. The present will run from April 8 to Could 11. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)
Crew members use posts to push up and assist the edges of the big Massive Prime being erected for the upcoming Cirque du Soleil’s ECHO present on Monday, March 31, 2025, on the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, Calif. The present will run from April 8 to Could 11. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)
The big Massive Prime is erected for the upcoming Cirque du Soleil’s ECHO present on Monday, March 31, 2025, on the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, Calif. The present will run from April 8 to Could 11. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)
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A make-up artist applies physique paint to one of many performers within the Cirque du Soleil’s present, “Echo,” earlier than a preview efficiency in San Jose on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Space Information Group)
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In comparison with different Cirque reveals, “Echo” has a minimalist set, to the purpose that even the band is standing on stage all through the 2 hour manufacturing. However it’s nonetheless a large manufacturing, requiring tons of of individuals to maintain it operating — together with about 150 to 200 employed domestically to work throughout the present’s run in San Jose. Bringing all the pieces to the Bay Space from the final tour cease in Houston required 80 semi trailers, and it took practically per week to erect the 65-foot excessive Massive Prime and all of the supporting constructions within the fairgrounds car parking zone.
Whereas “Echo” is right here, the 53 performers — together with about 30 members of the family who’re becoming a member of them — are housed in a mixture of extended-stay lodges across the space or company flats. Apart from Mondays and Tuesdays when the present is darkish, performers typically arrive on the Cirque camp round 3 within the afternoon to organize for the night’s efficiency (besides Saturdays when there are three reveals, requiring everybody to be there within the morning).
However dozens of individuals are working all through the day. They’re repairing costumes and animal masks, washing garments, coaching or working in “Cubistro” — the present’s kitchen and cafe, the place the worldwide solid and crew are fed by 5 worldwide government cooks, who work in rotation to organize some 200 to 300 meals a day, sourcing their elements domestically every time they will.
Along with housing costumes, dressing rooms and coaching gear, the inventive tent subsequent to the Massive Prime additionally has a lounge space the place the performers coming off stage can watch the present on a video monitor — and even rewind it again to observe their very own efficiency, identical to a quarterback watching sport movie on the sidelines after a key play.
And even after they’re off, some performers will probably be out in the neighborhood, drumming up curiosity for the present. On Wednesday, juggler Philippe Dupuis, who performs one of many major characters, and contortionist Penelope Elena Scheidler placed on a mini present for greater than 100 elementary college college students who had been visiting the Tech Interactive in downtown San Jose. An look additionally was deliberate on the Youngsters’s Discovery Museum in San Jose and a browsing tour in Santa Cruz is on the books for later this month.
“Echo,” which is able to rejoice its second anniversary on April 27, runs in San Jose by way of Could 11. You may get extra particulars, showtimes and tickets at www.cirquedusoleil.com/echo.
RALLYING POINT: A number of high-powered audio system are anticipated to be at a Save Medicaid Rally on the County Authorities Middle in San Jose on April 17. Congressmembers Zoe Lofgren and Sam Liccardo and Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong are slated to be on the 10:30 a.m. occasion, together with a number of leaders from the nonprofit group who will speak concerning the results federal cuts may have on their shoppers.
The trouble’s being organized by PRx Digital, the San Jose public relations agency based by Brenna Bolger, who has been working for many years with nonprofit teams.
CHEERING SECTION: Former state Sen. Jim Beall, now on the Valley Water board of administrators, was the keynote speaker Thursday at a luncheon in Campbell to rejoice the fiftieth anniversary of the Santa Clara County affiliate of the Nationwide Alliance on Psychological Sickness (NAMI).
The group bought its begin when a dozen dad and mom met in 1975, ensuing within the formation of the Mother and father Alliance for the Mentally Ailing three years later. A number of years (and some title modifications) afterward, the group turned NAMI-Santa Clara County, becoming a member of a nationwide group with the identical goals to supply assist and advocacy for households and people with psychological sickness. About 150 individuals attended the anniversary lunch at Villa Ragusa, which was organized by Kristina Alaniz.
In fact, you don’t must be Dolores Huerta — or Jim Beall — to assist NAMI’s work or make use of their companies. Test them out at namisantaclara.org.
CLASSIC CINEMA: 3Below Theaters in downtown San Jose is marking some particular film milestones this 12 months, beginning with a sixty fifth anniversary screening of Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus” this weekend.
The anniversaries of different fashionable movies from a number of many years will probably be celebrated all year long, together with the twentieth birthday of “The Room” on Could 8, which is able to embrace an look by co-star Greg Sestero; the sixty fifth anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” on Mom’s Day weekend, Could 10-11; a sixtieth birthday singalong for “The Sound of Music” on Could 31-June 1; and “The Empire Strikes Back” will get a fortieth anniversary exhibiting June 28-29.
You may see what different motion pictures have large birthdays arising at 3belowtheaters.com/celebrating-cinema-milestones. And don’t overlook that 3 Under additionally can have a daily slate of recent releases — motion pictures that haven’t even hit their first birthdays but.
