Cirque du Soleil's Kooza Extended in Santa Monica

I had the chance to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza in Santa Monica with some other LA bloggers. As many times as I've seen Cirque du Soleil shows, I keep thinking that I'll become blasé. As I felt my jaw drop and my breath expelled in a gasp during the first trio of graceful contortionists, I realized - nope, not going to happen. My sense of wonder is still fully intact and well-exercised by the aah-some spectacle of physical ability and fantasy that is Kooza. That's "Aah-some," as in the audience's collective spontaneous vocalized "Aah!" of disbelief that could be heard throughout the evening.

You can depend on Cirque du Soleil to take the imagination into places you've never dreamed. As you watch human beings perform super-human feats, you wonder, not only, "how do they do that?" but also "how did someone ever have the thought to ride a unicycle while spinning a woman around his neck?"

I picture acrobats challenging each other over a casual game of ping pong in their mobile compound:
"I can catapult higher than you can!"
"I' can to do it backwards and on stilts!"
"Well then, I'll catapult backwards on stilts with a flip!"

Each Cirque du Soleil production has an abstract storyline that loosely ties the aerial and acrobatic acts together. Kooza follows an innocent loner in search of his place in the world, exploring "themes of fear, identity, recognition and power." But you won't need to follow the story line to be highly entertained. Kooza incorporates more dance numbers than other Cirque shows I've seen in LA, but pairs them with bigger, more spectacular circus feats. Unusually, this show doesn't really go out with a bang, but rather winds down slowly in the last half hour.

If you act quickly, Goldstar.com has a limited number of discounted tickets available (free registration required). Stubdog.com also has some reduced price tickets.

When: Oct 16 - Dec 20, 2009 EXTENDED
Where: 350 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA 90401-3128
Cost: Adults $60 - $250, Children 2-12 $42-$175, Seniors 65+ $54-$112, children under 2 free (lap only)
Info: www.cirquedusoleil.com

More:

• Kooza Photo Gallery
• Cirque School and other LA Learning Vacations
• Photos of Cirque du Solel's Corteo
• Photos of Cirque du Soleil's Quidam
• LA's own Cirque Berzerk

Photos by OSA Images, courtesy of Cirque du Soleil