Kooza Review

“Start the show! Start the show!”

A chant of around 2,500 voices from the crowd rises up to a roar as a clown graces the stage. Smiling giddily, he throws popcorn onto eager audience members sitting in the front row. The clown twirls as he takes his place center stage and waves. The crowd’s cheers amplify in anticipation. The lights go out and you are immersed in total darkness. The show is about to begin.

Photo via The Londonist.

On Wednesday, November 20th, the high school and middle school drama clubs had the opportunity to watch “Kooza” by Cirque du Soleil at the Santa Monica Pier. Cirque du Soleil is known for displaying the limits that humans can push themselves to in terms of flexibility and stunts while still being able to establish a memorable storyline. This show in particular is a traveling show as it is only being performed in Santa Monica from October 19th, 2024 to January 5th, 2025. 

After a quick twenty-minute bus ride with a small detour to the wrong parking lot, students shuffled out of the bus and into the parking lot to eat a quick snack before walking over to the pier. We made our way to the pier, where students from different schools gathered outside the tent, waiting to be let in. We then entered into the tent and to our seats, skipping the concession stand to the dismay of many of the students. We sat to the left of the stage with echoes of side conversations bouncing around the area. Once we all found our designated seats, students were able to go out of the tent to buy food and snacks, including popcorn, cotton candy, and various other types of candy.

The show began with the Innocent wandering around with his kite as he continually tossed it in the air, hoping to watch it fly. After multiple failed attempts, a delivery man enters the stage and gives him a large box. Upon opening the box, a puppet pops out, swaying around like a ragdoll. Suddenly, the performer jumps out of the box and lands in front of the Innocent, revealing himself as the Trickster. Using his wand, the Trickster illuminates the stage and reveals a large, elevated platform behind him, where various other performers march onto stage, dressed in red and gold costumes. The band starts to play as these performers dance across the stage, strategically moving around the Innocent as he watches in awe at what happens around him. This dance number marks the beginning of the story and the acts.

The first act was a trio of contortionists, dressed in golden bodysuits. They moved in perfect harmony as their bodysuits made it seem as if they were a single entity. Moving to the beat of the music, they were able to balance atop one another and move their limbs as if they were able to bend their bones in ways that no one else had ever seen before. They were able to lift themselves and each other up towards the lights as they made themselves into platforms with enough stability to uphold the weight of one another. They were able to move in perfect synchronization and their matching bodysuits made it difficult to remember which performer was just standing up and which ones were supporting the others. 

The Contortionists, photo provided by authors.

During the second part of the show, a single performer came, caped in a flurry of feathers in shades of red and purple. Followed by the Innocent and the Trickster, she made her way to the center of the stage where she took off her cape to reveal a bodysuit covered in purple lace details. She began her act with hula hoops, starting from simply spinning a hoop on her neck to spinning three hula hoops on each limb, allowing each hoop to move in perfect synchronization so that they would narrowly avoid hitting each other. She contorted her body as she spun around, allowing the hula hoops to be transferred and spun around from different parts of the body. The Innocent and the Trickster watched her from the side as the Innocent stood in awe just as much as the audience was. We later found out that the performer portraying the Innocent and the performer using the hula hoops are married in real life, adding a sweet touch to this act of the performance. 

The Hula Hoop performer, photo provided by authors.

Another fan-favorite performance was the Wheel of Death. Two men entered the stage along with a huge contraption. The wheel consisted of two large hoops connected by a bridge of metal. Two performers entered the stage and one of them entered the hoop, walking in it like a hamster to power the wheel. The performer was not connected to the wheel in any way as one wrong step in either direction would lead the performer to fall off completely. Using only the momentum of his body, the performer sped up the contraption until it was time for the other performer to join in. He grabbed the side of the hoop as it swung, gripping onto it with one hand until he swung to the top of the stage, his legs pointed in the air. He swung himself into the wheel and walked along his fellow performer. The crowd cheered with excitement as the performers took turns walking within and around their hoops. One of the performers even started jump roping atop the moving wheel and it felt like the entire audience was holding their breath. This was certainly the most dangerous stunt of the night.

The Wheel of Death, photos provided by authors.

The clear fan favorite of the show was the Trickster. From his first appearance jumping out of the box whilst changing into a new outfit in mid-air, his presence stole the show. In the story, he led The Innocent through his journey of the circus, introducing him to the magic of the circus through the other characters. His overall demeanor made him very eye-catching as, regardless of the crazy stunt that was happening next to him, there seemed to always be something so drawing about his presence. He also had the most extensive wardrobe out of all the characters as he had two costume changes throughout the show. He started in a plain, gray outfit whilst in the box before he lept out and landed in a suit colored with blue, red, and yellow. Later on in the show, he changed into a red and yellow suit, with an elaborate headpiece that looked like fire burning off of the back of his head. Regardless of the outfit he was wearing, he continued to bring so much energy to the stage. Although he was not performing the most dangerous stunts, he walked around as if he was the most important character in the show. He cartwheeled and flipped as he watched his fellow performers with confidence as they danced across the stage. 

Here are the opinions of some of our fellow high school drama club members:

“I thought it was spectacular. I think that it's insane that people can do that with their bodies and literally create art with just their limbs. Whoa, what a show,” stated Lucia Laski.

“There were moments where I thought maybe I could do what they were doing. But then there were other moments where I was like, "’What in the world?!’” Anna Rociszewski exclaimed. 

“I really liked the flipping. I really want to flip. I would love to be able to flip like they flipped,” reflected Chloe Belga.

Two of our fellow students noted that the show was especially hot, you could say.

“It was FIRE,” announced Therina Brutus.

“It was quite fire. I really liked it. My favorite part was the guy on the huge stilettos who did a flip off a catapult,” declared Zofia Rociszewski.

These testimonies confirm it: the show was utterly captivating. The audience – including us – was mesmerized by the sheer talent that all the actors possessed. Student’s mouths were left agape as the performers completed their gravity-defying stunts to stirring music. “Kooza” is not just a regular circus show– it’s a piece of living, breathing art that everyone should go see.