Music, dance, contortionists, trapeze artists and tumblers all will be part of “RAIN,” performed Oct. 23 and 24 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Music, dance, contortionists, trapeze artists and tumblers all will be part of “RAIN,” performed Oct. 23 and 24 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Canada’s Cirque Éloize will perform the theatrical work at 7:30 p.m. both nights in the Beasley-Curtis Auditorium of Memorial Hall.
“Carolina Performing Arts is delighted to present this exuberant reminder of the carefree nature of childhood,” said Emil Kang, UNC’s executive director for the arts. “The show’s performers and thematic journey provide for a great experience. They’re dazzling – a lot of fun to watch.”
Daniele Finzi Pasca, the creator and director of “RAIN,” said his show was inspired by his love of frolicking in rainstorms as a child.
“When I was little, when the first summer storm came, I was allowed to go out in the garden and play in the rain and get soaked to the skin,” he said. “I still love that feeling of freedom – shoes full of water, clothes drenched, hair dripping. ‘Let it rain,’ we’d say. It was as if we welcomed whatever came from the sky, sun or rain, we didn’t care.
“Unexpected things can come from the sky: messages, signs, promises. On our stage, not only rain will fall. Surprises will pour down as well.”
Among the leaders of the contemporary circus movement, Cirque Éloize has produced five original works and staged more than 3,000 shows in 20 countries in the last 13 years.
Tickets for “RAIN” are available online at www.carolinaperformingarts.org, by calling (919) 843-3333 or at the Memorial Hall Box Office on Cameron Avenue, open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Prices range from $50 to $24. Tickets for Carolina students are $10. Tickets for all other performances in the 2007-08 Carolina Performing Arts season also are on sale.
“RAIN” is among special events in Carolina Performing Arts’ 2007-2008 season, which also will include performances by Brazilian vocalist Caetano Veloso (Nov. 7), soprano Kathleen Battle (Nov. 26), Carolina Ballet (“Nutcracker,” Nov. 30-Dec. 2), Yo-Yo Ma and Friends (sold out, Feb. 27), k.d. lang (March 5) and STOMP (April 8-9).
Cirque Éloize Web site: http://www.cirque-eloize.com/en/index.htm
Carolina Performing Arts contact: Harry Kaplowitz, (919) 843-3119, hkaplowitz@unc.edu
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589