Cirque du Soleil reinvented the "circus" as a celebration of human movement in stylized new and old circus arts
"La Nouba" Show - Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil -- like another experience available in Orlando, Blue Man Group -- is an utterly unique type of performance; you can't really describe it, or get a sense of it when others describe it; but once seen, the very words become a shorthand for a whole type of experience.
I might tell you that Cirque du Soleil is a kind of circus without animals, that it's a show with acrobatics, music, dancers, mimes, cyclists, trapeze artists; but you'd still have to actually see a performance, to understand.
And fortunately Orlando (--as if the place didn't have enough going on!--) provides a permanent, five-days-a-week opportunity to do just that.
See La Nouba in Orlando
Cirque du Soleil has a permanent theater in Downtown Disney, an imaginative structure with 1671 seats that's home to continuous performances of "La Nouba", a show uniquely created for this venue.
About.com's Guide for Orlando has all the details about the Cirque du Soleil La Nouba show, types of performers, different acts, etc.; photos too. At time of writing, La Nouba is presented in two evening performances from Tuesday through Saturday, with occasional skipped dates; always check the La Nouba page for latest info.
Price and Tips for Families: Ticket prices are in the range you'd expect for high-quality live performances: a substantial cost for a family, but children's pricing gives some relief; also, in this theater you will have a fine view even from the less expensive seats. There are no age restrictions for La Nouba, but very young kids may get fidgety and there is no intermission in the performance; so you may want to wait until an age when your kids will fully enjoy the show.
Downtown Disney: this dining, shopping, and entertainment zone is part of Walt Disney World, that giant destination the size of Boston with its four theme parks, two water parks, multiple resorts from value to luxury, and much more. Downtown Disney is freely open to any visitor, and is quite a distance from any of the theme parks.
Guests at Disney World Resorts can take one of the ubiquitous Disney buses to and from Downtown Disney; guests at the Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa can walk to Downtown Disney in less than ten minutes.
Cirque du Soleil - Background
Just who or what is this imaginative -- and globally successful-- entity, Cirque du Soleil?
The origins of Cirque du Soleil -- "Circus of the Sun"-- go back to a small band of young street performances in the town of Baie-Saint-Paul, in the French-speaking province of Quebec in Canada. They were stilt-walkers, jugglers, fire-eaters.... and they had the idea of organizing a festival of such entertainers. This took the form of the first Cirquu de Soleil in 1984, with the same magic elements we see today: a creation of circus arts and street entertainment, with wildly imaginative costumes, feats of movement to take your breath away -- an artsy sort of "circus" with not an animal to be found but plenty of fantastic creatures and characters.(Read more about Cirque du Soleil history.)
Cirque du Soleil now has many touring shows and also permanent shows in Las Vegas and two cities in Asia - check the Cirque du Soleil web site for where and when to find performances. Families will be especially interested in a Holiday Season show in New York City called Wintuk.
