Known for its extravagant costuming and talented performers, Cirque du Soleil has been performing shows in Las Vegas since 1993.
Among some of the newer shows in Las Vegas, is KÀ, which opened Feb. 3, 2005. Former costumer for Cirque du Soleil, Rain Bidleras, talks about her experiences with the show.
“My favorite show that I worked on was KÀ, which was also the first show that I worked on,” said Bidleras. “There’s a visual vocabulary for all Cirque du Soleil shows. You can see a costume and know it’s a Cirque du Soleil costume.”
The costumes are unique, and the style sets itself apart from other performances. “I feel like KÀ was one of the shows where, if you showed me 10 costumes I could easily pick out which ones were meant for KÀ versus costumes for other shows,” said Bidleras.
KÀ has roots in Asian cultures,including Japanese, Korean and Indian influence, seen through the music and costuming. “Collectively, they put you into this world where you’re like, okay, I’m in this country called KÀ, and it’s somewhere in Asia. I might not know where but, I can tell just by being immersed in the costumes that this is the world we are coming from,” said Bidleras.
Even though she no longer works with Cirque du Soileil, Bidleras still has connections and friends among the performers. “I’m still in contact with them (the performers) long after no longer working with Cirque,” said Bidleras. “When you work on a show with someone, they become your closest friends. Some of those friendships last beyond work, and some don’t, and that’s okay. Some friendships are more about while we’re working together.”
Cirque du Soleil’s most recent production in Las Vegas is Mad Apple. The story is much different from the setting of KÀ, and takes place in a more New York style of setting.
“The final battle scene has this moment where there are people drumming, and they’re actually in the audience while they’re drumming, and the lights come up and then there’s the parts that glow, and there’s this low humming noise while they drum, like they’re prepping for battle.That moment makes me cry every time. Something about it is just so beautiful and you can feel the whole weight of them about to go to war,” said Bidleras, describing her favorite point of the show. “Then the whole scene, the stage is vertical and they’re hanging and they’re fighting with the stage vertical. So you’re watching the whole scene as if it’s a battle scene from above,”
Shows for KÀ go Saturday through Wednesday, and Mad Apple Friday through Tuesdays. You can get Tickets for both KÀ and Mad Apple on the Cirque du Soleil website.
An interview between Danica Seitz and Rain Bidleras about KÀ and what going into the show.
