Alegria

Published Monday 9 January 2006 at 12:35 by Liz Arratoon

As gorgeous as ever, Cirque du Soleil’s masterpiece, Alegria, is back. Devised by Cirque’s original creative team, the ideas are less forced than in later shows - the genius simply flows.

Rather than any laboured storyline it has an unparalleled parade of top acts.

On Michel Crete’s innovative set, which slides apart to reveal the x-shaped fast track for the brilliant trampolinists, or the revolving platform for serpentine contortionists Ulziibuyan Mergen and Oyun-Erdene Senge - one highlight follows another.

Fire jugglers Malli Sumeo and Karl Sanft literally light up the stage, Aleksandr Dobrynin soars like an angel on aerial/bungee straps and Tuuli Pauliina Rasanen and Gaston Elie look exquisite on synchronised swinging trapeze.

One of the new acts since Alegria was last here in 1999 is hand-balancer Denys Tolstov, who performs a ‘ballet on canes’, holding anatomically excruciating positions with astonishing skill and without a hint of a tremor. The Russian bar routine is stunning as artists fly between three bars and the reckless daring of the honed boys on high bar, 40 feet up, turns your blood to ice. In contrast, Masha Silaeva is an ethereal nymph whose mix of rhythmic gymnastics, contortion and dance is as delicate as it is devastating.

Often criticised for its clowns, Cirque has even got these right with Yuri Medvedev, Anton Valen and Marcos de Oliveira Casuo, whose japes easily raise laughs.

Updating the full-on musical style would make this show perfect but, that said, Alegria, now 12 years old, has barely aged and its undiminished beauty will still break the hardest heart.