rollanh I watched Varekai in Dubai in September 2016. It was good but definitely not up to the Cirque Du Soleil standards (it is my 3rd one that I watch). I liked mainly the costumes and there were some nice inspirational scenes but unfortunately the noisy boring clowns and the unpleasant music ruined the whole atmosphere. The last show with the double seesaw was impressive but other than that, it was deja vu in other circuses and shows. It would have been a good idea to take advantage of the theme to point out the deforestation and to drag the attention of the public and mainly the children on this essential matter. At some point we thought that Cirque du Soleil did another show in Dubai than the one in US and Canada, but after checking Varekai reviews, it turned out that many viewers were disappointed by the lack of creativity... Next time I will definitely think twice before attending a Cirque du Soleil show...

Kevbo7 The DVD is based upon the live act, which is constantly on tour. Because of that the DVD will always be great. Unfortunately, the live show took a turn for the worse today. I just saw the last show in Seattle, and tomorrow they head for Vancouver, B.C.Normally I love the Cirque, but today they made a big mistake. They have replaced their lead character Icarius, previously played by Anton Tchelnokov. I don't know yet if they have found a permanent replacement, but I do hope that it will not be the guy that they had as a stand-in for Anton today. He is dismally lacking the graceful naiveté that made Anton so believable as Icarius.The show is still an awesome experience... especially Kevin and Andrew Atherton's strap act, and the big finale with all of those incredible athletes performing on the Russian Swings. But for anyone who has seen Anton as the original Icarius, any show in the future will always be lacking something: a Russian kid named Anton who was born to play that role.Kevin L ([email protected])

LBytes This isn't the first circus with a story I've seen, but its the best. No animal acts, clowns in minicars or individual stand alone performances, this sort of circus is highly stylized with a usually vague story, singing and music to blend one act after another.Some of the performers come from long lines of family acts, but there's also a fair number of Olympic caliber athletes looking to work their talent outside of competition. The acts are not all great, but are at least good and a few are exceptional. I thought it was pretty amazing that they are all done flawlessly in front of a live audience: Not one dropped prop, clumsy trip, dorky fall or wardrobe malfunction.I'm not often drawn to the artsy/pouffy sort of humor. It tends to be too French for me, and it just doesn't appeal. Not all things French, just their humor. Any sound effects resembling gastrointestinal activity are apparently the ultimate comedy. The least appealing parts of Varekai involved that same French humor, and knocks the score down a little. I enjoyed the other comic acts in the show, whether they were French or not.You can't beat a live circus show, but there are some advantages with watching this one on a widescreen. It was shot in HD format so it naturally takes in wider shots, and there's many angle shots, overheads and closeups that the live audience would never see. Colors are almost oversaturated but thats because so much of the circus is in bright primary colors. Varekai even has a DTS soundtrack and employs all the 5.1 system to good effect. The 2nd disc has some bio info on the performers and a short on getting selected and training for a live performance. The DVD set comes in a foldout box within a box, and gets an 8/10.

Mystere9890 I saw the entire DVD -AND- I saw it live. Meaning I attend to the theater and saw it live. It's a show more than a movie. It's so amazing too. It's a lot different than the DVD, it's much better live. So, for advice, you shouldn't say you hate it until you've seen the real thing. The acts are very clever and amazing, it nearly defies gravity! Completely AWESOME. The clown acts are funny, too. If it comes to your town, go and see it! You don't have to get front row either, because the theater is somewhat small (unless you are seeing it in Montreal, Quebec.) Unlike other Cirque du Soleil shows, this one REALLY has a story to it, and it's brought out very well. One of the best, a must see!