DISQUS

abbashaiderali · 1 year ago

I've long been a huge fan of the Cirque shows and catch local ones on all my trips. Seen all of them in Vegas, except for O which I hear is actually on the best but since I always get tickets last minute, it's been sold out :P

I like the community interest that they are showing as well and noted their activity on Twitter during BWE08.

Abbas.

Randy Ksar · 1 year ago

very interesting and great post. Any industry can benefit from social media.

Laurie/Halo Secretarial · 1 year ago

Love Cirque and so impressed by how they got involved in BWE - way to go Cirque! I hope I can see another of their shows soon - next time I make it to Vegas I guess!

Tim Jahn · 1 year ago

I saw Delirium a few years ago and it was absolutely stunning. Like you said, there's really no way to describe it other than to say "go see it!".

I think they are such a unique operation with a unique experience to share with everyone. Glad to see them making use of social media in a positive way!

Andrew · 1 year ago

Abbas,

I've seen O - very dark (at least the original incarnation was) and disturbing. The actual athleticism was amazing - but the overall feeling was just depressing.
you're not missing much

Love totally rocks!

Gopal Shenoy · 1 year ago

Hi Chris,

I saw their La Nouba show in Orlando couple of years back. It wasmy first and only Cirque show that I have been to and hence did not know what to expect. It was nothing but spectacular.

My kids still love to go to the old fashioned circus while I sit there bored to death. I would go to another Cirque's show in a heart beat. They were successful because they came and occupied the space that was not being filled by anyone - the space for entertainment once kids grew out of the old fashioned circus shows - and their product is nothing but fabulous.

Gopal

Walt Ribeiro · 1 year ago

Cirque is visually stunning and I'm not surprised that they understand Web 2.0 and its importance. Great post Chris!

Avi Kaplan · 1 year ago

I hadn't realized how attuned Cirque is too social media, but it doesn't surprise me. I saw O a few years a go and aside from the "oh geez!" moments, Cirque was great at bringing the audience into the performance- the clowns pulling audience members to the stage to soak them in good fun being the most obvious example. Right on Cirque!

Ari Herzog · 1 year ago

My experience with Cirque is with two recent traveling shows to the Boston area: Varekai and Corteo. I'd like to see more; some friends have seen Kooza recently, maybe I can snag a ticket.

Michael Lindsay · 1 year ago

We have seen a couple of the Cirque shows. La Rev was the most incredible show I have ever seen. I look forward to seeing another show next time we are in Vegas or Orlando. Glad to see they are involved in the Social Media area. I will have to check out there group in Facebook.

Michael

Carlos Anguizola · 1 year ago

Eight years ago, I saw "Alegria". It was magical, no way to describe it.

I am a Beatle fan myself, being from Panama Republic I went to England to see a Paul McCartney concert. I bought the Love album produced Sir George Martin, great album, and I am looking forward to see the show someday in Vegas.

Thanks for the post, really enjoy it.

jennifly · 1 year ago

I was in Vegas a year ago...I had the time of my life... and lucky to see two Cirque Du Soleil shows.

"O"is absolutely breathtaking. I was holding my breath completely amazed and transfixed, going 'wow...ooh....omg!...how did they....' Its a mix of Aerial Acrobatics and syncronized swimming. The stage is amazing, mix of dry and wet and rising floors. The dancers train for 2 years in Montreal before they actually do a show. The dancers are precise and totally focused. I also saw LOVE too, loved it very good, but after seeing "O" you cannot compare the them. It was the best show ever.

The story of the owner Gee is also interesting. He started out as a street juggler....see dreams can come through.

mousewords · 1 year ago

"The bloggers are coming, the bloggers are coming."

Lol :-D

Paul DeLuca · 1 year ago

I worked in telecom with MCI and Cable & Wireless and used to attend Networld/InterOp in Vegas every year. C&W had a specially design booth one year where Cirque put on a show every hour or so. It was amazing. Seeing the performers up close was a special treat that I'll never forget. I'm not surprised that they "get" social media; it's a carryover from their shows. They understand that their shows aren't watched, they are experienced.

David Murray · 1 year ago

Its great to see Cirque embrace social media and how the management at Revolution recognized the value of bloggers.

My wife and I have enjoyed just about all their shows. As a penny pincher by trade I can honestly say that I have never walked away from one of their shows wondering why I had spent so much on their tickets.

We've seen Love twice, enjoyed O, and currently our favorite is KA which is completely amazing!!

We have to return in November to see Chris Angel's new show with Cirque and Mystere - then I think we can finally give Vegas a rest! :)

Mark Logan · 1 year ago

Looks like I went to the wrong conference in Vegas last week. Shop.org was great, but I didn't get feted by Cirque du Soleil!

GeekMommy · 1 year ago

The Cirque folks (Jessica Berlin rocks!) rose to the occasion in a huge way!

I wondered how we hand ended up at Revolution that night - but was very glad to be there. Dan was the nicest guy.

That said - I've been to several traveling CdS shows - including Qidam (my favorite still) and Dralion - but O at the Bellagio is by far my best Vegas experience ever.
I'm suprised you had time to fit Love in, but how cool that you did! :)

Jessica Berlin · 1 year ago

Thank you Chris for the glowing blog post. I'm lucky to work for a brand that so many people have a strong emotional connection to (myself included). The Cirque du Soleil social media channels have quickly become a really fun and important way to communicate directly with our great asset, our fans.

Endless thank yous,
Jessica
@cirquelasvegas
@jessberlin

communicatrix · 1 year ago

Not a fan of Cirque's shows (ducks, covers head) but I bow to their masterful production and the exquisite care they put into everything. Run-ins with bloggers inclusive, apparently.

Chacon a son gout, right?

Ryan Hupfer · 1 year ago

Hey Chris, it was great to finally meet you and I'm happy to hear that you got to make it out to Love. I hear that it's pretty amazing. Jessica sent me and my friend to KA and it was definitely something like I've never seen before.

BWE08 was so awesome, but as a tech conference newbie, there were definitely some things that I needed to quickly learn. If you get a chance, check out mt latest post on what I learned from a marketing to bloggers perspective and how I used it to meet some amazing people while in the sin city.

http://blog.hubpages.com/2008/09/its-all-about-...

Thanks for being so approachable, Chris and keep on having fun on the panels. Everything is better with a little bit of comic relief, right?

Qui Diaz · 1 year ago

Chris, big kudos for spotlighting Cirque (and feel my envy pour out from this comment). The Cirque family is my favorite understated, visceral brand. In fact, I am to Cirque as Trekkies are to Star Trek.

Back in the 80's some beloved relative gave me a VHS of their "Reinventing the Circus" show - I was eight, and hooked. Years later, while in college, Cirque re-entered my life and swept me away again. Quidam was the first show I saw live, and I cried afterwards (it's cathartic, people, I swear).

To date I've seen about 10 shows, including O, Mystere, La Nouba, Corteo, Varekai, Dralion, and KA (some more than once). Can't wait to catch Kooza when it's here in DC this fall. I have the programs, soundtracks, DVDs, the keychain. I've even listened to The Spark on CD. There's only one other person in my life that can hang on this level. We are enraptured with the magical, twisted world of Cirque du Soleil and will pay big $$ to be a part of the experience. (We will not, however, by the crazy masks.)

It's possible that - for this brand only - I would be an all star evangelist/ambassador. As Jessica moves Cirque forward through social media, I hope she'll call on big fans. We're here to help suck everyone else in, and already are.

Brandon Carlos · 1 year ago

Am I the only one who see's this as another apalling attempt at corporate blogger relations? The quality of the show aside-- after all, this IS a social media blog, isn't it?-- what Cirque has done here is give VIP status to a group of bloggers who otherwise would have had to wait at the back of the line. It sounds like it's test time, Chris, and you're the nerd that the cool kids are being nice to in exchange for a peek.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, or bottle of bubbly. The term blogger relations is quickly becoming synonymous with bribery. It doesn't take a genius to see right through Cirque motives; apparently it doesn't take a "social media veteran," either.

clara mathews · 1 year ago

@Q Diaz-I too am a "Cirque Geek". At least, that is what my friends call me. I saw Alegria a few years ago when they came to Dallas and I was amazed at what the human body can do. Corteo is my favorite, if I had to chose.

It does not surprise me that you were given VIP treatment in Vegas. The Cirque team excels at customer service. In my dealings with them as a Corporate Concierge, I have had nothing but positive experiences. I don't think it was bribery to hook the bloggers up in the VIP lounge, but good PR.

Mike · 1 year ago

I paid $120 on Friday night (Sep 19) to see "Ka" at the MGM Grand in Vegas. I'd seen Dralion a few years back here in DC, and I thought it ran the gamut from thrilling to a bit dull. Ka ran the same gamut - although at a vastly larger scale. All told, I got $120 worth of wonder and entertainment out of it. I think overall that Cirque does incredible stuff, mixing artistry with acrobatics in an exciting way. When it comes to story, however, things get muddled. Ka had a story, but I knew enough not to try and follow it; I approached the performance as a dream of massive images, and just let it all wash into my mind. Cirque flirts with dullness at times, and I every so often in Ka my brain wandered, especially when things got intimate between actors onstage. Since I didn't have a grasp of their characters (a vital part of any story), it was hard for me to focus down on the minute. But then the massive stage tilted and 3,000 tons of sand spilled off into the depths of the stage, a giant sea turtle affected a rapper's pose, or acrobats fell from great heights as a gigantic monolith tilted and spun, and I was mesmerized. If they could just engage me at the story level, the way great movies do...

Stephanie Skordas · 1 year ago

Chris,
I'm a Cirque fan and got to see Dralion when it came to NC a few years ago. Before that, I would obsessively watch the videos on A&E when they'd run those marathon weekends. Great on TV, PHENOMENAL in person.

From what I've read about Cirque, they seem to be one of the organizations that "get it". Whether "it" is creating a wonderful experience for their guests or reaching out in a new way (like the reality show they did a few years ago) they seem very interested in experimenting and trying new things instead of resting on their laurels.

Carlos Hernandez · 1 year ago

I have not been a huge fan of Cirque de Soleil as I have seen three of their other Vegas shows.

But I loved "LOVE"!

I was "wow'd" by the Beatles' music, and Cirque's colorful characters, especially the beautiful woman in red!

Thanks to CdS for their hospitality at "Revolution" and to Chris for spreading the word via Twitter!! I was in "Love" and learned about our "T-NClub" meetup.

Scott · 1 year ago

I just saw my first show: "Kooza" in Boston yesterday. Incredible ! The best live performance of any kind that I've ever seen in my 38-years here on the planet. I cried at the end, as if I had become "The Innocent". Mind you, on any other Sunday I'd be drinking beer and watching the Patriots game, so consider the power of that... I cried at the end.

Kudos to the musicians, as well ! It's almost impossible to put the experience into words. Go see it !

Angie A. Swartz · 1 year ago

Hey Chris, Thanks to you for explaining why my evening turned out so great and thanks to Cirque for the hospitality. Revolution was a super fun evening (even though I did have to reintroduce myself to you the next day when I could see a little better). The Blog World Expo '08 Conference was full of great surprises, super growth opportunities and most importantly uber-authentic people. Thank YOU for being one of them. I am still so inspired by you crazy blog leaders. See my blogpost "What can a Blogger Teach You?" at http://www.sixfiguremomsclub.com/2008/09/blog-w...
and about Copyblogger http://www.sixfiguremomsclub.com/2008/09/copybl...

I feel lucky to have attended this great conference and can't wait until BWE'09!

Please let me know if I can ever help you!
Warmly,
Angie

Annalie Killian · 1 year ago

The best book I read this past year is The Spark by past Director of Creative content at Cirque, Lyn Heward
(http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pper...) Every person in mid-career who wonders what happened to their creative spark, and questions the meaning of life and work, would benefit from reading it.

Have recommended to our CIO & CEO to give a copy to everyone to read over the forthcoming Christmas break because in these horrid financial times, having an internal spark to keep your hope alive and well is essential for maintaining a strong and confident corporation. Have also invited Lyn Heward to come and share stories of her own sparks and the flames of creative fires that she's fuelled at AMPLIFY-our Innovation & Thought Leadership Festival in Sydney 2009.

Carsten Cumbrowski · 1 year ago

I stumbled across this post because of a link in a post at Lee Odden's blog from a few weeks ago. Now I know why I couldn't get a hold of Jessica during Blog World Expo :)

Anyway, yeah, I am kind of a fan, you could say hehe. It's a personal passion and has nothing to do with online marketing really. Proof:

http://www.youtube.com/CirqueDuSoleilGuru
http://www.roysac.com/cirque
http://www.roysac.com/blog/labels/Cirque%20Du%2...

Regarding the shows that I saw.. mmhh.. could we rephrase the question and ask which show I have seen more than once, just to keep the list shorter? ;)

There are running now six Cirque shows in Las Vegas, Mystere at the Treasure Island, "O" at the Bellagio, "Zumanity" at the New York, New York, "KA" at the MGM Grand, "The Beatles - Love" at the Mirage and "Criss Angel's Believe" at the Luxur. There will be soon a 7th show at the newly built "CityCenter", which has "Elvis Presley" as the main theme. There are rumors about another show for the Mandalay Bay, but those are just rumors at the moment.

If all that is still now enough, check out "Le Reve" at the Wynn. The show is similar in style and design as Cirque du Soleil shows, which should not surprise anymore once you leaned that the creator is former Cirque Du Soleil Director "Franco Dragone", who directed a large chunk of Cirque shows in the past (including "O" and "Mystere").

Soo.. that should be enough, even for the more frequent visitors to Las Vegas ;) For some sneak peeks of the shows, check out my YouTube channel that I referred to above.

Cheers!
Carsten

Paolo · 7 months ago

Very interesting post about social media love. Thanks again. :)