Sneak Peek: Behind the Scenes of Cirque du Soleil's Toruk at Verizon Arena, Feb. 19-21
Acrobatics, puppetry and stagecraft, immersive scenery—one of the most distinctive qualities about a Cirque du Soleil production is its ability to pull the audience into another world. And Little Rock Family got a behind-the-scenes sneak peek into the newest realm brought to life by the world-famous company!
"Toruk: The First Flight" is Cirque du Soleil's 37th production to hit arenas around the world. The show premiered in December 2015 making Little Rock one of the first cities to enjoy the production.
Fans of James Cameron's mega movie, "Avatar," will surely recognize the inspiration behind "Toruk"—the show will bring the world of "Avatar," called Pandora, to life. Narrated by a "Na’vi Storyteller," the audience will hear the mythical tale that takes place thousands of years before the events depicted in the film and long before any humans ever set foot on Pandora.
When a natural catastrophe threatens to destroy the sacred Tree of Souls, two Omaticaya boys fearlessly decide to take matters into their own hands. Upon learning that Toruk—the great leonopteryx, the mighty red and orange predator that rules the Pandoran sky—can help them save the Tree of Souls, they set out with their newfound friend Tsyal, on a quest high up in the Floating Mountains to find the predator.
Little Rock Family got a close-up look of the "Toruk" rehearsals at Verizon Arena. Below, you can scope out some of the props, costumes, performers and set pieces we saw! For videos and more behind-the-scenes footage, check out @LRFamily on Instagram.
Cirque du Soleil will present "Toruk: The First Flight" at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Feb. 19-21. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19, 4 & 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20, 1:30 p.m. Feb. 21. Ticket prices range from $37.50-$132.50.
For more info, visit VerizonArena.com or CirqueDuSoleil.com/Toruk.