OP_112719

OPPrairiedaily.com life & Arts
the orland park prairie | November 27, 2019 | 17
Cirque Italia sets sail again at Orland Square
Laurie Fanelli
Freelance Reporter
7
Folks who stopped by
the white and blue big top
in the east parking lot of
Orland Square between
Nov. 14 and 17 were transported
to Italy through the
wonder of Cirque Italia.
Since 2012, Cirque Italia
has brought its animalfree
traveling water circus
to towns across the United
States, and this year’s Orland
Park stop found the
performance stage transformed
into a large ship.
Contortion, magic, archery,
aerial performances
and much more were highlighted
by the show, which
also featured a unique,
35,000-gallon water stage.
“The stage rises up for
certain acts, and it will
form a water curtain that
marries the sounds with
the music, light and the
performer,” explained
Sarah Kessler, public relations
and media representative
for Cirque Italia. “It
really adds an extra visual
that you won’t get in other
circus shows. There are
only two other stages like
it in the world. One is in
Dubai and the other is in
Las Vegas, but they’re not
mobile, so Cirque Italia
is the only one that has a
traveling water stage.”
Even before the 1:30
p.m. Sunday matinee began,
the Kinnane family,
of Hoffman Estates, were
already enjoying the carnival
atmosphere, which
included festival food staples
such as corn dogs and
funnel cakes, as well as
vendors selling a variety
of light-up toys. Ten-yearold
Kristin Kinnane’s first
stop was to the face-painting
booth, so she could get
into the Cirque Italia spirit.
Samantha Kulimski performs in an aerial lyra on Nov. 17 during a Cirque Italia
performance outside of Orland Square. Photos by Laurie Fanelli/22nd Century Media
“I feel like if you do face
painting, it makes you feel
more excited and pretty,”
Kristin said.
Her 11-year-old brother,
Kevin, added he was excited
to witness the deathdefying
show in action.
“I like the stuff in the air,
because it looks cool and
it looks hard, so it’s more
impressive,” Kevin said.
Clown Rafinha opened
the show with a bit of humor,
and he and an opera
singer kept the audience
entertained in between airborne
performances.
“Each act has a tie to a
certain port in Italy, and
the performers have costumes
that go along with
that,” Kessler said. “There
are group dances, a clown
— who serves as a ringmaster
to tie all of the acts
together — and you’ll see
all kinds of other performances.”
While Italy was the setting
for the show, performers
hailed from a variety of
countries.
“We have performers
from all over the world —
from Mexico, Cuba, Bolivia,”
Kessler said. “It’s
very cultural and a different
experience to see. We
also have new performers,
eighth-generation circus
performers, as well as
those who ran away and
joined the circus.”
Kessler added that many
of the performers also help
to make the show a success
behind the scenes as
managers, members of the
tent crew, face-painters
and more.
Cirque Italia featured
aerial acts, an archery segment
and a juggler early on
in the show. During a brief
intermission, Amaris Talley,
9, of Chicago, shared
some of her favorite moments
from the first half
while she waited in line to
get her face painted purple.
“My favorite part was
when they were doing the
shots at the balloons and
when she was hanging
from a little Hula-Hoop,
because I really like action
things,” Talley said. “I like
action movies a lot.”
Following the run at Orland
Square, Cirque Italia
had dates slated for West
Dundee, Bridgeview and
Peoria. More information
about Cirque Italia can be
found at www.cirqueitalia.
com.
Fernanda Evans hangs by her hair during the
performance.
Elizabeth Vizuet is part of a crossbow performance
during the event.