Cirque du Soleil Brings Saltimbanco to Casablanca

Saltimbanco is a Cirque du Soleil signature show inspired by the urban fabric of the metropolis and its colourful inhabitants. Decidedly baroque in its visual vocabulary, the show's eclectic cast of characters draws spectators into a fanciful, dreamlike world, an imaginary city where diversity is a cause for hope. Saltimbanco in Casablanca opens on April 06, at the Complexe Mohammed V (Salle couverte).

Saltimbanco is the oldest major touring show of Cirque du Soleil that remains active in some form. Saltimbanco ran from 1992 to 2006 in its original form, performed under a large circus tent called the Grand Chapiteau; its last performance in that form was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 10, 2006. A new adaptation of the show started touring North America on July 31, 2007, with its first stop in London, Ontario, Canada. The current version is staged in arenas, with shorter stops in each city it visits.

The show is described by Cirque du Soleil as a celebration of life. Its creators say they developed it as an antidote to the violence and despair prevalent in the 20th century.

English has lost the word 'saltimbank' from current usage; but it is still familiar in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian as 'saltimbanco', and in French as 'saltimbanque', meaning 'street acrobat' or 'entertainer'.

Pablo Picasso  Family of Saltimbanques, 1905

This scene of fairground performers was Picasso's most significant work at the time. The name of the painting comes from the Italian words saltare, meaning "to leap," and banco, "bench," which refers to the stage on which the acrobats usually performed. Saltimbanques were the lowest order of acrobats; Picasso pictured them as vagabonds with simple props in an empty, desertlike landscape. He was familiar with earlier representations of clowns and harlequins from eighteenth-century art, which frequently included figures from the commedia dell'arte, a popular theatrical form featuring stock characters and their antics.

The Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco takes spectators on an allegorical and acrobatic journey into the heart of the city.

Saltimbanco is inspired by the urban fabric of the metropolis and its colourful inhabitants. Decidedly baroque in its visual vocabulary, the show's eclectic cast of characters draws spectators into a fanciful, dreamlike world, an imaginary city where diversity is a cause for hope.

The show is only one of numerous that Cirque du Soleil has on tour at any given time -- is glitzy and illuminated with colourful bursts of light and the performers are costumed with a similar explosion of hues. Anyone familiar with Pablo Picasso's painting of saltimbanques will think it feels familiar, but with the saturation boosted.

The show is not recommended for children under 5 years old and a word of warning - enjoyment can be marred by the loud volume of the live band that performs throughout the show.

For information and booking (essential), visit the Saltimbanco website.

SHARE THIS!