I remember the first time I went to a Cirque du Soleil show down in New York. I’ve seen acrobatic shows before, but nothing quite like it. Instead, Cirque du Soleil combined elements from traditional circus with elements drawn from sophisticated theater (Blue ocean strategy, 2004). After taking our seats, the Cirque du Soleil group managed to captivate us from start to finish. We were seated for Zarkana and the animation lit up the stage pulling you into the action. The acrobats did amazing stunts that were specifically formulated so it would look breath-taking no matter where the audience were seated in the room. The animated screen on the back made everything pop outwards toward the audience and made their stunts even more defined. This leads to my discussion on Chapter 3’s topic of Perception and how it correlated and was used by Cirque du Solei during Zarkana.

Perception is how we view objects in front of us. There are objects all around us and based on where we stand or the angle in which we observe it, it changes the perspective. Our brain processes this by using two pathways, the perception and action pathway. Perceptions first step is to identify (Goldstein, 2011) the action or object in front, followed by action. This process is something that is taken into consideration by performers or artists alike. Artists that wish to sketch an object that consists of any sort of volume or dimensions have to formulate and understand how to place it on a flat piece of paper. Acrobatics is also a form of art, and of course physics are also taken into consideration when formulating stunts. For acrobatics this is done by measuring human sensitivity to distortions in angular momentum and take-off angle (Flipping with physics: motion editing for acrobatics, 2007) when formulating different acrobatic maneuvers.

So how does a show like Cirque du Soleil correlate their performance and the audience’s perception during a show? It’s as simple as moving since movement also helps us perceive objects in the environment more accurately (Goldstein, 2011). The performance is visually enhanced perspective-wise just by having the acrobats hovering above you in midair. but then Cirque du Soleil takes it to another level and adds animation to pull you into the action as well. Visual perception has always been used in various forms of art and acrobatic shows prove to be no different. They understand how to keep an audience engaged with music and different stunts that play with perspectives. For example, during Zarkana there’s a trapeze performance where the background is blue with different hues. This almost sucks you in, but then the acrobats come out with this light green outfit which just pops out toward the audience contrasting with the background. Finally, to play with perspectives and make you feel like they’re really close to you, some acrobats are closer to audience while others are more to the back of the stage. This makes you feel that they’re going to flip outward towards you.

And so, even an acrobatic show like Cirque du Soleil takes into consideration perspectives and uses it to their advantage. By using animation, music, and acrobatic maneuvers that entices their audience, they manage to create a visually stimulating choreography which is even more successful due to its play on perspectives. By understanding these physics they’re able to entice people into the act and expand it towards the audience as well.

Works Cited

Goldstein, E. B. (2015,2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience (4th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2004). Blue ocean strategy. If you read nothing else on strategy, read thesebest-selling articles., 71.