RAISING THE ROOF
Friday, October 9, 2009 at 02:48PM
Fabian Lewkowicz

Crew from Cirque du Soleil  raises its trademark blue and yellow 'Grand Chapiteau' (big top) at the Santa Monica Pier on Friday, October 9, 2009, in anticipation of the Santa Monica Premiere of KOOZA, a Cirque du Soleil big top touring show.
 
The Grand Chapiteau stands 66 feet high, 167 feet in diameter and is supported by four masts, each 80 feet tall. The Big Top seats 2,555 people in a climate-controlled  environment. The Big Top raising requires a team of approximately 80  people. The entire site set-up takes seven days and includes the installation of the Tapis Rouge VIP tent, entrance and rehearsal tents, box office, administrative offices, and a kitchen and dining area for cast and crew. The “village” is transported from city to city in 50  tractor trailers.
 
KOOZA will have its private preview on Thursday, October 15 and will   perform through Sunday, November 29, 2009 at the Santa Monica Pier.

KOOZA tells the story of The Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world.

KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil: It combines two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor.

The Innocent's journey brings him into contact with a panoply of comic characters such as the King, the Trickster, the Pickpocket, and the Obnoxious Tourist and his Bad Dog.

Between strength and fragility, laughter and smiles, turmoil and harmony, KOOZA explores themes of fear, identity, recognition and power. The show is set in an electrifying and exotic visual world full of surprises, thrills, chills, audacity and total involvement.

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