This weekend Nine has a Cirque du Soleil special that is worth checking out.
Australian actor and presenter Luke Jacobz hosts this one hour special which traces the once-in-a-lifetime journey of four young Australian circus artists through the backstage world of Cirque du Soleilfrom Australia, to Buenos Aires and Montreal.
For the first time ever, Cirque du Soleil held open-call auditions in Australia to find unique homegrown talent with dreams of running away with the circus.
From this audition process, four lucky candidates are selected to fly to Buenos Aires to experienceCirque du Soleil’s spectacular show Kooza, which will soon be opening in Australia. There they have the opportunity to see what it is really like to be a Cirque du Soleil performer by training with the artists and experiencing Kooza from every angle.
The stakes are high when the four Australian performers audition for Kooza’s artistic team but only two finalists are selected to travel on to Cirque du Soleil’s incredible international headquarters in Montreal, the Emerald City of the circus world.
At the final audition in Montreal, one winner will be selected as having the most potential to eventually become a Cirque du Soleil artist. Their prize is a unique scholarship training program with the company.
The four competing Australian circus artists are hula hoopist Mieke Lizotte (Melbourne), bounce juggler Odette Robbins (Melbourne), cyr wheel performer Daniel Price (Melbourne), and acrobatic dancer Zachary Smith (Sydney).
Australia has had a love affair with Cirque du Soleil since it first toured here in 1999. Screening on the eve of the company’s eighth Big Top tour of the country with Kooza, this television special allows us to experience the fascinating world of Cirque du Soleil through the eyes of four young and aspiring Australian circus artists.
Cirque du Soleil employs 4,000 people, including more than 1,300 artists, from more than 50 different countries. The company’s shows have delighted a combined audience of 155 million people in more than 300 cities in over forty countries on six continents.
Kooza by Cirque du Soleil plays under the Big Top in Sydney from 25 August, followed by seasons in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth
Run Away With Cirque Du Soleil on Saturday, August 20 at 7pm on Nine
