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July 12, 2018

PHOTOS: New Cirque du Soleil routine sets the [handle]bar even higher

Performers in Oaks, PA, will launch through the air on BMX bikes

Events Performances
Carroll - Cirque du Soleil Volta rehearsal Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

A BMX rider in Cirque du Soleil's Volta rehearses in Oaks, PA, under the Big Top tent, Wednesday, July 11, 2018.

An almost mountain-like range of tents resembling massive Hershey’s Kisses have popped up adjacent to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. 

That’s Cirque du Soleil’s Big Top tour of "Volta." Performers from around the world will bring the audience on a creative journey of transformation and freedom while incorporating so much of the high-flying acrobatic sequences you’d expect from a Cirque show. Volta also features creative acts of trampoline, shape diving, ladders, rope-skipping, contemporary dance and bungee routines. And for the first time – an impressive BMX routine sends performers launching into the air from massive plexiglass ramps positioned just feet from the audience.  


RELATED CONTENT: The wait is almost over for Cirque du Soleil's 'Volta' | Gallery: Behind the scenes at Cirque du Soleil's 'TORUK - The First Flight' | Photos: Cirque du Soleil performer transforms into other-worldly being 


"[Volta] is about being true to oneself, fulfilling one’s true potential, and recognizing one’s own power to make it possible. Ultimate freedom comes with self-acceptance, and with the liberation of judgement of others," the show is described as in a press release. 

The show premieres today, July 12 and will run through Aug. 19. More information about the ticketing and the performance can be found here

The series of photos below are from one of the final rehearsals before the show opens in the Philadelphia-area.

Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Visible just off of U.S. Route 422, a impressive, almost mountain-like range of tents resembling Hershey's Kisses cover a large footprint of land adjacent to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA.


Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Elisa Murphy, right, and Sue Curcio, local wardrobe employees of IATSE 799, make repairs to a floral unitard that is worn by a female artist in the show.


Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Amber May, a wardrobe fly-in that has worked on Cirque du Soleil shows for years, makes repairs to an artists wig in the backstage area of the venue.


Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Volta is the first Cirque du Soleil show featuring a BMX routine.


Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Feathered wigs set up between fans blow dry following repairs made backstage.


Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

A choreographed BMX routine sends riders soaring high above the audience on a series of custom-made plexiglass quarter pipe ramps.


Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Charlotte Sumian, an acrobat, aerialist and dancer warms up backstage of Cirque du Soleil's Volta, July 11, 2018.


Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

A BMX rider transfers between a series of ramps during a rehearsal routine under the Volta Big Top tent.


Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Road cases filled with costumes line the walkways to the wardrobe room at Cirque du Soleil's Volta. Many of the costumes use the technique of sublimation to dye fabrics in custom patterns.


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