Meet Parisian Abou Traore, who’s originally from Guinea and one of the footballers in Cirque du Soleil’s “Luzia – A Waking Dream of Mexico,” which is currently on an U.S. tour.
Traore shared, “I grew up in Paris and love the sport, soccer. I started playing when I was young. I am living a dream with Cirque du Soleil and am very happy to be here.”
According to curators, through a series of grand visual surprises and breathtaking acrobatic performances, “Luzia” takes audiences on a surrealistic journey filled with wonders, playfulness and striking artistry. Smoothly passing from an old movie set, to the ocean, to a smoky dance hall or an arid desert, “Luzia” cleverly brings to the stage multiple places, faces and sounds of Mexico taken from both tradition and modernity. Rich in awe-inspiring moments, “Luzia” enchants by incorporating rain into acrobatic and artistic scenes, a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring production.
Traore was 21 when he started playing “fútbol freestyle.” His interest was piqued when he watched the Cirque performers on TV and YouTube doing “amazing acrobatics.”
“I started training hard and said one day, I will be here,” he explained.
When he heard there was a need for a soccer player, Traore sent his video to casting.
“It was like a dream when I got a call back. Five years ago, I was playing on the street and the work pays,” he said.
Gracie Valdez, “Luzia’s” artistic director chimed in, “We introduced ‘Luzia’ in 2016. It’s a new show. It’s written and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, who spent over 10 years in his life living and traveling in Mexico. He was so inspired by everything he saw, the culture, the sounds, the sights, the smells, that he wanted to write something to pay tribute to … an ode to Mexico. Cirque du Soleil has a show that is running in Mexico called ‘Joya’ and when our creation team was developing that show, they also fell in love with Mexico. It was like a dream partnership to work with Daniele.”
With mesmerizing and refreshing acrobatic performances, “Luzia” brings traditional and contemporary circus disciplines to a whole new artistic and acrobatic level. Cyr Wheel artists perform the unprecedented feat of rolling and spinning under the rain, while an aerialist suspended from a Trapeze flies and twirls through pouring showers. Hoop Diving is taken onto gigantic treadmills, expanding exponentially the speed and amount of daring leaps executed. Jaw-dropping highlights include a Guinness World Record holder juggling seven pins at breakneck speeds, a male contortionist skillfully twisting his body in the world’s most unimaginable positions, a powerful aerial straps specialist defying the laws of gravity at the center of cenote (natural sinkhole), and two football (soccer) freestylers deftly mixing street dance with mind-blowing ball manipulations.
Santa Monica, California-reared Valdez is a dancer by trade, who participated in music and sports including gymnastics and ballet growing up. She joined Cirque du Soleil as a stage manager and was mentored into the position. She has been with the company for 10 years.
Valdez added, “This show is completely unique. There are acrobatics and clowning that are classic to Cirque. There’s brand new music but with a new twist. There is new technology that we integrate into the show. We challenge ourselves with every new creation we make.”
More than 40 percent of Cirque performers have a sports background.
“A lot of Cirque du Soleil’s casting and talent pool are powerful [athletes]. We have swimming and diving,” Valdez closed.
