Cirque du Soleil's 'Crystal' is touring again

[Sylvia]

Review with photos by WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station:

Cirque du Soleil soars on ice with show 'Crystal'

At the Agganis Arena through June 12, the ice-skating emphasis is a new element for the Montreal-based company. “It was spectacular, and a joy to behold from start to finish,” writes WBUR contributor Jim Sullivan.

www.wbur.org

Excerpts:

This particular show at the Agganis Arena is called “Crystal,” and the ice-skating emphasis is a new element for Bostonians, if not for the Cirque itself. “Crystal” went up four years ago — and took the requisite pandemic hiatus — but made its area debut June 1, the first of 15 performances that run through June 12.
It was spectacular, and a joy to behold from start to finish. And, in many ways, a novel joy. The hitch with Cirque is that, as dazzling as the shows are the first few times you see them — and I’ve seen nearly every one that’s been here — eventually, the bloom falls off the rose. As in, “Wow, that was great, but been there, seen that.” The physicality and artistry may not vary in quality, even if the fantastical “plots” differ, but often the takeaway — expectations met — leads to a curious sort of fantastic-but-meh duality.

One of the figure skaters, Scott Smith, trained at Boston Skating Club when he moved to Boston at age 20. He’s 40 now and is one of the suit-and-tie “businessmen” who try to one-up each other with stunts. “The most dangerous trick I do is I backflip over another person,” he said. “It definitely takes some practice to perform safely over and over again, four weeks.”

Upcoming shows on the tour schedule after Boston are Newark, NJ (June 16-19), Philadelphia (June 24-26), St. Catharines, ON (June 20-July 3), Providence, RI (July 7-10): https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/crystal

 

[orbitz]

Can't believe Scott Smith is 40 year old now. And he's still skating professionally and doing backflip, so good for him.

 

[Jarrett]

I would go in a heartbeat if it was anywhere close to Texas but nope.

 

[barbk]

I would go in a heartbeat if it was anywhere close to Texas but nope.

Nothing in the west, either.

 

[ChillSkate]

Has anyone seen this show? Is it worth it? It has pretty mediocre reviews on Yelp

 

[cygnus]

Has anyone seen this show? Is it worth it? It has pretty mediocre reviews on Yelp

I saw it in Montreal a few years ago- I really enjoyed it, as did my family, but then we all love Cirque. I'd put it middle of the pack for Cirque shows (which is still really good.) Below O, KA and Love, about on par with Allegria, and Zarkana, and above Mystere, RUN and Viva Elvis.

 

[just tuned in]

I saw it a few years ago and LOOOVED it. It had Shawn Sawyer then.

 

[moebius]

I saw it a few years ago and LOOOVED it. It had Shawn Sawyer then.

I liked it. Great choreography combining skating with acrobatics. Don't be expecting difficult jumps and daredevil acrobatics though.

I wish they would bring back Axel as that was cancelled in the middle of the US tour due to the pandemic.

 

[alizadavida]

Wish I would've known - I found out when tickets were too expensive. I live in Boston.

 

[snoopysnake]

Curse you, Red Line construction! We did not know that our subway trip was going to include a shuttle bus detour. As a result, we missed the beginning of the show (probably about 1/3 of it.) I was crying by the time we got there and whenever there was sad music in the show I started crying again.

I really hate the song Chandelier and I hope that no one ever skates to it again, EVER. I wish it had been part of the show that I missed instead of in the part that I saw.

The ramp skating was innovative and this could be a wave of the future for the Winter Olympics. Looks dangerous, but most figure skating is anyway.

I am pretty sure I spotted Scott Smith thanks to an earlier post in this thread but between my eyesight and having no cast list I didn't recognize anyone else in the show. If anyone has a link to a cast list, please share it. Thanks

 

[Sylvia]

The ramp skating was innovative and this could be a wave of the future for the Winter Olympics. Looks dangerous, but most figure skating is anyway.

I am pretty sure I spotted Scott Smith thanks to an earlier post in this thread but between my eyesight and having no cast list I didn't recognize anyone else in the show. If anyone has a link to a cast list, please share it. Thanks

Canada's Hjordis Lee shared this "behind the scenes collage of our practices and rehearsals to get this show up and running" in May: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd8cNb1DSxs/

The adagio pair are Andy Buchanan & Robin Johnstone: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CepAawwjY_c/

 

[4rkidz]

Canada's Hjordis Lee shared this "behind the scenes collage of our practices and rehearsals to get this show up and running" in May: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd8cNb1DSxs/

The adagio pair are Andy Buchanan & Robin Johnstone: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CepAawwjY_c/

Wow that shows a lot of amazing talent. If I wasn’t so restricted at the moment I think I would enjoy that.

 

[Sylvia]

I saw it a few years ago and LOOOVED it. It had Shawn Sawyer then.

Shawn Sawyer is back on this tour - 3 clips of him in the Newark, NJ show: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce9qxxfuIlb/

ETA the link to a Q&A with Michael Helgren (competed at 2008 U.S. Novice Nationals) who does pair skating in the show:

Cirque du Soleil: Crystal with Michael Helgren

Cirque du Soleil continues to innovate with their latest production, "Crystal: A Breakthrough Ice Experience." This one-of-a-kind performance is whimsical.

outinjersey.net

Also: https://www.nj.com/entertainment/20...ce-inside-the-wild-new-show-coming-to-nj.html

 

[Sylvia]

Philly Live video & interview ahead of this weekend's shows:

Cirque Du Soleil Crystal to Sparkle on Ice in Philly This Weekend

Cirque Du Soleil is back in Philadelphia for the first time since 2019. Crystal, the first acrobatic show on ice, comes to Wells Fargo Center this weekend. Christine Achampong joins Philly Live’s Aunyea Lachelle to talk all about it and brings a special juggling guest along.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

Hjordis Lee article to promote Cirque du Soleil's upcoming shows in St. Catharines, ON:

Welland skater featured in Cirque du Soleil's first ice skating show

'Crystal" glides into St. Catharines' Meridian Community Centre June 30

www.niagarafallsreview.ca

Welland’s own Hjordis Lee never in her wildest dreams imagined when she began skating at the age of seven that she would be among those performers, with eight performances lined up between June 30 and July 3 at the Meridian Community Centre.
‘Crystal’ takes audiences on a journey into a whimsical frozen playground where circus art and the world of ice skating intersect with acrobatics and aerial feats.
Starring as the title role Crystal, Lee describes her character as’ a misfit that doesn’t quite fit in and is bullied for being different.
“We are in her mind all the time. One day she runs away because of pure frustration and she comes across this frozen pond and accidentally falls through the ice,” Lee said.
When Crystal falls through the ice, the audience is along for the ride while Crystal goes through a journey of self-discovery.
“I feel like everybody can relate to her in one way or another,” Lee said.

Skating has taken Lee all over the world. Originally from Vancouver, Lee competed for many years nationally and internationally medalling in singles, pairs and ice dance. Throughout her skating career, she also trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz and musical theatre for 10 years.
“I love the creative part of skating. And being on ice adds that extra element of freedom in the way that you move, having the wind the speed and that kind of thrill factor as well because it can be dangerous and we fall; I still fall even to this day and add that kind of danger. It's a little bit of an adrenaline rush,” she said.

 

[Skate Talker]

So I saw Crystal yesterday. The figure skating cast included Shawn Sawyer, Emanuele Proft & Nic Nadeau, who were part of the one-up portion. Emanuele was interviewed as a promo on the local news in the days before the first show.

Of the 5 of us there, I was the only figure-skating fan. (The others are much more into hockey.) We all enjoyed it.

 

[puglover]

I saw it this week and loved it. It was the same night as the US/Canada hockey game but it was still very well attended. There are no programs and no announcements as to who is who and I would have liked to have known who the main characters were. Hjordis Lee skated one summer with my kids years ago. Anyway, I would highly recommend it even if skating wasn't the main draw.

 

[made_in_canada]

We’re taking the kids in a couple of weeks. Little mic actually went when he was 8ish months old last time it toured. I expect he’ll get a bit more out of it this time around