Varekai - Cirque du Soleil: Lisa is amazed by the performers in the Adelaide City region of South Australia

Welcome to Varekai - the latest creation of Cirque du Soleil - the extraordinary organisation that has taken the concept of the circus to new levels. When you step into the Grand Chapiteau you enter a magical golden forest - a mysterious world of smoking volcanoes, fantastical creatures and explosive acts of acrobatics and drama.

Varekai means "wherever" in the Romany language of the gypsies - the universal wanderers and there's a real feeling of the nomadic spirit of the circus tradition in the performance.

The story is loosely based on the fable of Icarus but according to artistic coordinator, Marc-Anthony Thomas, in Varekai there's a twist.

"This is the story of Icarus, the Greek Myth about a boy that flies too close to the sun and his wings melt and he falls. In that story he falls into the ocean - in this story he falls into a magical forest."

We follow his journey through a mystical colourful world where an amazing cast of creatures and characters teach him how to live, love and fly again.

Behind the scenes, the Varekai village never sleeps. One hundred and thirty five people make up the cast and crew in what is a virtual mini United Nations with eighteen different countries represented.

Fifty-six performers make up the cast and most are from athletic rather than circus backgrounds. For Marc-Anthony Thomas, marrying the physical and artistic elements is sometimes a challenge.

"We have phenomenal athletes and now we're training them to feel the emotions versus just competing. A lot of these people are world champions and Olympians who compete - that's what they do. But what we have to do is to get them to feel - to take some emotions into their direction. It's a little challenging but it's also fun because they are such extraordinary athletes."

Varekai is different to the previous shows Cirque has brought to Adelaide. While audiences will again be dazzled by the amazing feats of jugglers, balancing acts, trapeze artists, clowns and dancers one of the showstoppers is the aerial straps.

Twin brothers Andrew and Kevin Atherton began gymnastics when they were only seven years old. They never dreamed they would end up on - or above the world stage.

"It's difficult because as gymnasts we're always trained to do a specific thing and do it in a specific way," said Kevin. "It's a very disciplined sport. By joining Cirque, all those rules were broken and we had to learn completely different sets of skills - acting, singing, dancing, movement and put all those skills with our acrobatic background on the stage. So it wasn't easy."

The result is simply breathtaking. Held aloft by nothing more than wrist straps, Kevin and Andrew almost become one in a breathtaking performance of aerial acrobatics... as they inspire Icarus to find his wings and his confidence and fly again. The Atherton twins take brotherly love to a whole new height.

"I don't think I would want to work with anyone if it wasn't him," Kevin said of his brother, Andrew. "We do go to extreme heights and it is a relatively dangerous act. You'll see me hanging onto my brother's arm and all we literally have is our own strength and grip. But I always know that Andrew will put my safety even before his. So if it were somebody else I don't know if I'd feel like that."

Varekai opens its limited season at Bonython Park on Port Road on Wednesday, July the 5th. Bookings at Ticketek or online.

Varekai Cirque du Soleil
Bonython Park
Opens July 5
Ticketek 1300 130 300

Published 1st July 2007