Cirque du Soleil brings 'OVO' to UBS Arena

Welcome to the world of “OVO.” Cirque du Soleil brings the relaunched show to Elmont’s UBS Arena this month with new acts and characters. “OVO” is a colorful intrusion into a new day in the life of insects. Through Cirque’s signature mix of acrobatics, lively visuals and humor, unique personalities and abilities of selected insect species emerge.

“OVO” explores the beauty of biodiversity in all its contrasts and vibrancy. It’s where the every day becomes extraordinary. As told by the creative team: OVO is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement. The insects’ home is a world of beauty filled with noisy action and moments of quiet emotion.

“Imagine you lift up a rock and find a whole habitat underneath it.” says Artistic Director Lydia Harper, who’s been with Cirque du Soleil since 2015.

The spectacle begins as a colony of insects embraces a mysterious egg brought by the Blue Fly. Then the egg disappears.

“It’s such an exciting way to start a show, because then you go, ‘anything can happen,” says Harper.

When that egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It’s love at first sight when a quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye — and the feeling is mutual.

The name “Ovo” means egg in Portuguese. This timeless symbol of the life cycle and birth of numerous insects represents the show’s underlying thread, according to Deborah Colker, the production’s writer, director and choreographer. An homage to her Brazilian heritage, it reflects her background in dance and interest in movement on a large scale.

“It’s a story about falling in love, making friends, meeting strangers, and what adventures they can take you on,” Harper says.
The “colony” of quirky insects each have distinct personalities, fully portrayed by each cast member. The social Ladybug is always clowning around. The cheeky cricket is full of jumping energy. The mysterious spider climbs through her web. With 52 performers, these are only some of the dazzling bugs you’ll meet.
And in true Cirque du Soleil style, the cast’s jaw-dropping acrobatics enhance each insect’s personality.

“There’s an aerial cradle number where we see 12 artists high above the stage. You’ve got humans throwing humans and doing double somersaults. It’s one of those moments where you stop and just go, ‘How are these people capable of this?” Harper says.

Featured as Scarabs in that segment are two gymnasts who competed in the Olympics — Olga Shcherbatykh (in 2004) and Nansy Damianov (in 2008).

The Chinese Pole act, one of the production’s newer showstopping additions, is performed by a formidable “army” of synchronized ants.

“There’s a lot of teamwork, you have them climbing up a pole, all in sync. It’s really beautiful,” Harper adds.

Embodying the characters personalities involves much more than gymnastic aerobatics; it requires careful attention to the show’s theme, along with an understanding of movement and cadence of the insects.

“You take an inspirational source and you go, ‘How can I, as a human, create that so the audience understands who I’m trying to be without just crawling around on all fours pretending to be an ant? You’ve got to find the quality of movement and apply it to choreography or a stylized way of moving,” Harper explains.

Add to that vibrant costumes, tech-driven set design and dynamic music — and the world of bugs transforms into the surreal.

“We have this huge wall that covers the whole back of the stage, and that’s brought to life by video projections. So, we have the ability to make it a very small, intimate moment or bring the whole space to life with projections and lighting,” Harper says.

Naturally, the show wouldn’t be complete without accompaniment of a seven-piece band of musician “bugs.”The score, punctuated with Brazilian-style percussion, was composed by Musical Director Berna Ceppas, who has worked extensively in the film industry.

“We have a singer who sings in a various languages. She’s got a bit of Portuguese in there, sometimes Spanish, with the lyrics influenced by the story,” Harper says.

The spectacle takes a magnifying glass to small moments — on big scale in true Cirque fashion — that represent a heightened world booming with life and beauty.

“I’ve always been so inspired and motivated by the ability to create a world that takes you so far away from reality. It’s escapism in its purest form, while blowing your mind at how humans can do these things,” Harper says.“You get to be transported out of this world, It’s kind of making the impossible possible right in front of your eyes.”