#cirque du soleil quidam

[aquilas-designs]

Quidam

This is a very experimental style that I've never used before, so I'd like to know what everyone thinks of it. I wanted something that encompassed the eeriness of the show itself, and I think I managed to get it!

Quidam is such a beautiful show! It somehow manages to make something really eerie and unsettling that's also wondrous and fantastic!

And the titular character, Quidam, caught my eye immediately! It's fascinating how they can give a character with no face so much personality. I guess it helps that he's taller than any of the other characters, so his presence is always strongly felt.

I don't often draw humans because I just can't get the faces to look right. I clearly didn't have that problem with Quidam, though! 😅 If I'm able to figure out faces, I'd love to draw Target next.

~Please Reblog!~

[aquilacalvitium]

In all forms except physical I am here

[moratoirenoir]

[wuwmmdraws]

The Huevember 2024 wheel!!

Shout out to all of my friends who answered my Discord polls that determined most of these characters; I appreciate the help!

Individual wedges under the cut:

Red: Georgian dancer from Varekai Orange: Eel contortionist from Kurios

Yellow: The Gold King from Vitori Green: Diabolo girl from La Nouba

Cyan: Nymph from the original Alegria Blue: Madame Corporation from Nouvelle Expérience

Purple: Victorino from Corteo Pink: Zoe from Quidam

[sweepseven]

Top 5 favorite cirque shows? 🎪

5. Alegría - The original. IANL is fantastaic because this one was fantastic first. The White Singer was such an icon of my earliest Cirque fandom years and finally seeing her live felt like a dream came true. Now every year I adore it all the more for it's place in CdS history. What a daring production, and what a snapshot of its era. Though it's not my ultimate forever favorite, I do think Alegría is the pinnacle of classic, true Cirque du Soleil.

4. Varekai - What a lush and splendid show. After the structure and relative severity of Alegría and Quidam, out bursts Varekai with a completely different world, completely different take on costumes, and completely different energy. It's an interesting one too because on the scale of "shit's just happening" to "actual plot," Varekai leans more towards plot in a specific balance I don't think we've seen from Cirque before or since. There are plenty of things in this show that just are, but because the world is so beautifully fleshed out it doesn't distract us from the uncommonly specific plot: boy falls into a forest, he loses his wings and can't walk, he falls in love, his love is kidnapped, his love returns transformed, and he heals and gets married. That's a lot of detail compared to an O, Mystere, or La Nouba, considerably less compared to a Volta, Corteo, or Ka, yet it leaves room for an inexplicable underwater number. And it all still makes sense! Now that's worldbuilding, baby.

3. Kà - SPEAKING OF WORLDBUILDING. I have enumerated on my love for this show for thousands upon thousands of words so I won't spend too long on it now. But something I don't mention often is that I saw Ka because I kind of felt like I had to, not because I specifically wanted to. I was in Vegas for the first time, could only pick two shows, and went with the classic O/Ka spectacle split of artistry vs. technology. There was nothing else to the decision. And since then I haven't stopped thinking about Ka - nor stopped writing about it - for over seven years straight. This is the best plot-driven CdS show in company history by leagues. From setting to music to spectacle to characters Ka is a ten out of ten. It has given me more as a person and writer than I can go into here, and I'm endlessly grateful to it. For fun here is the first post I made shortly after seeing it:

I knew myself well enough to know he'd be a problem but not well enough to think I'd still be on my bullshit for eight years. God damn. What Ka does to me. And I'll thank it every time 🥹

2. Kooza - Everything I say about Kooza makes it sound like it was my very first show, but the real one was La Nouba lol. This is another one I've gone on and on and on about to bear repeating now, but every time I say Kooza changed my life, I mean it. It inspired me to try flying trapeze, and in 2024 I crossed my fifteenth year of training without even noticing. It has become such an ingrained part of my life, all because I saw one trapeze act in one circus show at a pivotal time in my life. So much of my late teens is tied up in Kooza emotions, obsession, and just straight up magic. There have been more complex and effective shows in Cirque history, and this was truest around when I saw it for the first time. But since then I have had the immense pleasure of watching a show grow into exactly what it's been to me since the very start. It's like a real first love. I just feel like the luckiest girl in the world for having met this show.

1. Quidam - Quidam is categorically the best Cirque show of all time. It's that simple. I genuinely think anyone that disagrees just doesn't have an informed enough opinion to weigh in appropriately. It might not be everyone's active favorite, but it is the objective best. The depth and soul of this show is unmatched. There is symbolism with tangible weight - not just motifs, not just weird for weird's sake, but real repeated and deliberate decisions that firmly say something about the characters, world, and plot in a way that even O and Alegría cannot match. This is peak Franco Dragone, this is peak Benoit Jutras, this is peak everything about golden era Cirque du Soleil wrapped up in a setting so sharp and melancholic that whether you are, were, or have never even been a lonely young girl, you now know exactly what it feels like. I have threatened to write so much meta and I really need to sit down and just get it done. I can't think about this show without looking like that poetic cinema meme. Quidam is my top favorite, and it's also everyone's top best whether they know it or not.

Ask me my top 5 anything!

[kirua9]

OK so cirque du soleil and 12 oz mouse are my new hyperfixations

[orbital-olivine]

Handbalancing on Canes - QUIDAM

[rebeyes]

Quidam by Cirque du Soleil (2014/12)

[pinksilvace]

what is this funny circus thing you keep posting about. it has captivated me

RUBS MY HANDS TOGETHER IN A VERY EXCITED MANNER LIKE A FLY WHO HAS DISCOVERED STRAWBERRIES

Cirque du Soleil ("circus of the sun") is a Montreal-based company that's been producing animal-less circus shows since 1984 (you may recall a joke about this from Madagascar 3 lol). Most follow a very basic plot of "[character] gets isekai'd for approximately 1h38m then goes home" but it's honestly so much more fun to make up stories one one's own imho. They're also usually composed in Grommelot, an invented language that's usually a mix of multiple languages and gibberish - i.e., it's not supposed to be understood.

A little-known fact about me is that I grew up watching recordings of these shows (because ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE HAS A PROSHOT 🙏) and love them to bits. I've seen Alegria (pre-revival), Kooza, and Kurios live as well.

The official CdS youtube channel has been uploading tons of compilations since 2020. This year, to celebrate the company's 40th anniversary, they've also been releasing a bunch of abridged versions of their shows, which you can view on youtube here.

I'm going to yammer on about my 3 favorites under the cut now :))))

1: Varekai

oghhghgh my gosh I love this show. so much. absolutely devastated it's not touring anymore :(. If they ever bring it back then I NEED to see it. You understand

This has one of the more plotty premises: rather than falling to the sea and dying, it begins with Icarus falling into a strange land and healing through the power of... love? Communal support? It doesn't really matter because the MUSIC and the STAGING and the COSTUMES oh my GOD the COSTUMES. It's such a bright and fun time with good vibes all around and I cannot recommend it enough. Bonus for Greek mythology references. Did I mention the COSTUMES

2: Quidam (2 and 3 are interchangeable for me, depends on my mood)

CdS claims that this show isn't about much. This is a lie. I could write SO MANY ESSAYS on the symbolism in Quidam and all the different interpretations people have about it. Its soundtrack is also an absolute banger that I love listening to on my own time.

The only thing to be aware of before going into Quidam is that it's a bit of a downer. I think it's the most somber of any CdS show I know of.

3: Alegria (original)

Possibly the most well-known CdS show. No joke, I think I've been watching this proshot for my entire life. I think I saw this proshot before I ever saw a cartoon.

Another great soundtrack - I like the original 1994 recording the best. Francesca Gagnon is ICONIC as the singer in white.

This is one of the few non-isekai shows out there; it depicts a kingdon that has just lost its king and shows a brewing tension between the "old birds" in the aristocracy and the young upstarts who hope for structural change.

Mystère may have been the show that solidified the CdS format, but Alegria is so ridiculously well-known and unforgettable that it's always struck me as the cirque show. It makes for a great entry point.

[cirque-coral]

just some old fan art of the main character and singer from the cirque du soleil show "Quidam" 

[aquilacalvitium]

Inside Out 2 if it was filmed inside my head

[moratoirenoir]

[wuwmmdraws]

Redrawtober Day 19: "Under Wraps" - the contortion in silks act of Quidam

[sweepseven]

[storyweaverofgondor]

Most written theater on AO3

I got bored and did this. Since AO3 separates these alphabetically and by numbers, each is the most written for of their section. I ordered them according to number of fics. This is accurate as of 4/15/2023 at 10:12 am. Beyond that? Probs not! FYI This is nonsense made out of curiosity. Again i was just super bored and made a list.

Les Miserables - 24861

Hamilton – 20337

Be More Chill – 7525

Newsies – 6389

Dear Even Hanson – 5672

Phantom of the Opera – 4947

SHAKESPERE William – Works – 4903

Romeo and Juliet - 2366

Cats – 1449

Wicked - 1444

In The Heights – 918

The Prom - 855

Anastasia – 676

Elizabeth – 548

Jesus Christ Superstar – 509

Love Never Dies – 441

Tanz Der Vampire – 379

Kuroshitsuji – 238

A Very Potter Musical Series- 180

Orthello – 172

9 to 5 – 88 (I counted all the numbers as a single section)

Ghost Quartet – 85

The Magic Flute -  39

Urinetown – 20

YANK! - 14

Quidam – 7

Xanadu & Xi Tai Trilogy - 2 (There is only two productions in this section and they tied)

According to this, Les Mis and Hamilton fans are extremely productive. Most theater works on AO3 is you guys, hands down! Also, HEY, CIRQUE DU SOLEIL! I SEE YOU, QUIDAM, SQUEEZING IN AT THE BOTTOM THERE, MY LOVELY! AND CATS, MY BELOVED! Sneaking into the top 10 and beating Wicked by five. Good for you, Cats Fandom!