Toruk - The First Flight

Toruk - The First Flight
250px Logo for Cirque du Soleil's Toruk - The First Flight
Company	Cirque du Soleil
Genre	Contemporary circus
Show type	Touring show
Date of premiere	November 2015- Bossier City (Soft Opening)
Creative team
Writers and directors	Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon
Creation director	Neilson Vignola
Set designer	Carl Fillion
Composer	Boe & Bill (Guy Dubuc and Marc Lessard)
Costume designer	Kym Barrett
Lighting designer	Alain Lortie
Artistic guide	Guy Laliberté
Sound designer	Jacques Boucher
Makeup designer	Kym Barrett
Rigging and acrobatic equipment designer	Pierre Masse
Acrobatic performance designer	Germain Guillemot
Choreographer	Tuan Le and Tan Loc Nguyen
Puppet designer	Patrick Martel
Other information
Preceded by	Joyà (2014)
Succeeded by	Paramour (2016)
Official website

Toruk - The First Flight is Cirque du Soleil's 2015 touring production, inspired by James Cameron's film Avatar, and will premiere ahead of the release of Avatar 2. It depicts a world before the events depicted in the film. The show began its development in Montreal, Canada, then moved in August 2015 to the CenturyLink Center in Bossier City, Louisiana, where rehearsals took place until the show premiered. The CenturyLink Center was chosen because the massive set of the show did not fit in the Cirque du Soleil studios in Montreal.

Plot

The translation for the official teaser trailer from the constructed Na'vi language is the following: "I am the last living member of the Anurai clan. When I connect with Eywa, I hear the voices of our distant ancestors; I hear the time when their lives were threatened. This is that story."

Toruk is the central character of the show, and will be brought to life as a life-sized puppet, along with Pandoran animals such as the Direhorse, the Austrapede, the Turtapede, and a Viperwolf.

The word 'Toruk', in the Na'vi language, refers to the great leonopteryx that rules over the Pandoran sky. Fundamental in Na'vi lore and culture, this perplexing creature is critical to the Na'vi clans' sense of destiny and interconnectedness with members past and present.

Characters

Cirque released the following information on some of the key characters in the show as part of the media press conference

Ralu: He is a Member of the Omaticaya Clan and is the son of a formidable hunter who taught him exceptional focus and discipline. Ralu is a sensitive and compassionate boy on the brink of adulthood. Although he is only 14 years old (in Earth years), there is a calm and quiet force about him that underscores his carefree attitude. Always on the lookout for his childhood friend and protégé Entu, Ralu is a natural born leader. Whenever the going gets tough, he channels all his energy and skills into the challenge at hand and invariably gets the job done. Just ask Entu, whom Ralu once saved from certain death by luring away a thanator during archery practice deep in the rainforest. No wonder everybody rallies behind Ralu – his is a doer and a thinker with a heart of gold!

Entu: A member of the Omaticaya Clan, he lost both of his parents early in life in a freak attack by a thanator. He is the same age (14 years old in Earth years) as his lifelong friend Ralu – his mentor – with whom he has always engaged in a healthy competition that has definitely kept him on his toes. Spunky and intense, Entu is fully in touch with his emotions and knows to follow and trust his instincts. One day, when a member of his clan ventured too far out on a cliff edge and was left dangling on a limb, Entu instantly concocted an ingenious counterweight device using his pack, a sturdy branch and some vines to lower himself down the mountain face and save the boy, showing total disregard for his own safety. With his quick wit and dauntless spirit, Entu is eager – and ready – to dive headlong into the adventures that lie ahead.

Tsyal: She is a Member of the Tawkami Clan and is the only child of a village chief who lost her mother at a tender age. She was raised by her grandmother with the help of other members of her clan, as is the custom among the Na’vi. Highly proficient in herbal lore, her grandmother was a chemist widely revered among the Tawkami for her unique remedies and concoctions. Tsyal’s clan is renowned throughout the land for their knowledge of chemistry and alchemy, and the abilities she inherited from her grandmother are transmitted every two generations through a special bond among clan members. Spurred by her grandmother’s legacy and wanting to live up to the expectations bestowed upon her, Tsyal has taken great pride in creating innovative mixtures and recipes of her own. True to her clan nestled deep inside the primeval forests of Pandora, this easygoing, sprightly girl with an indomitable spirit has a cheerful nature and loves to play tricks. With a mere seed, she can put the fiercest beast to sleep; with the frailest-looking flower, she can induce the most beautiful dreams or provoke the most terrifying nightmares. Such is the tremendous power of the natural elements that Tsyal and her clan have learned to understand and harness.

The Storyteller: An Anurai, he is one of the last surviving members of this clan. He has been around humans – aka the Sky People – ever since he met a feisty xenobotanist with whom he forged a powerful friendship back in the 2140s. Several years later, the Storyteller witnessed firsthand the last time of Great Sorrow during which the Omaticaya Hometree was destroyed. Distressed by the discord among the clans on his home world, and learning how humans were tearing each other apart in the wake of the great climatic upheavals on Earth, the resilient Storyteller decided to reach out once more to the Sky People who saw him as a kind of translator and a wise go-between. By making humans aware of the bravery, valor and ingenuity of the Na’vi, he seeks above all to avoid history from repeating itself. He also aims to impress upon the Sky People the urgency of preserving their bonds with nature, and the necessity of pulling together to live in unity and peace.

Production

The Pandorian animals will be brought to life through large-scale puppetry. Toruk itself is a 'reverse string puppet' (handled from the base) while the Austrapede, Turtapede and Direhorse are 'lived-in puppets' (someone is inside) and the Viperwolf is an 'in-view puppet' (the lower half of the puppeteer is outside, becoming a part of the puppet, while his/her upper body is inside the puppet).

The set of Toruk is made of inflated rubber and steel, making the huge set easier to transport from city to city.

Album

Toruk - The First Flight
Soundtrack album
Released	February 5, 2016
Label	Cirque du Soleil Musique
ASIN B01A9XS2O8

1. "Omaticaya Clan"
2. "Lu Aw Navi"
3. "Shaman Story"
4. "Tawkami Clan"
5. "The Anurai Clan Sanctuary"
6. "Viperwolves and the Tipani Clan"
7. "Direhorses"
8. "Kekunan Clan"
9. "Hallelujah Mountains"
10. "The Toruk"
11. "Luminous Reunion"

Filming

On 18 January 2016, it was announced via the Toruk Facebook page that filming for an upcoming DVD has been completed and is currently undergoing editing. Details as to when it will be released will be published at a later date.

Tour

Toruk began preview performances on 12 November 2015 in Bossier City, LA before moving on to several other cities in North America. It then had its official premier on 21 December 2015 in Montreal which officially kicked off its North American tour. The show will then transition into an Asian tour in 2017.

On April 15, Cirque du Soleil announced the cancellation of Toruk in Raleigh, North Carolina, citing the recent signing of the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act by North Carolina governor Pat McCrory, the Company announced in a press release that "Cirque du Soleil strongly believes in diversity and equality for every individual and is opposed to discrimination in any form. The new HB2 legislation passed in North Carolina is an important regression to ensuring human rights for all."

The following colorboxes indicate the region of each performance:
 EU   Europe  NA   North America  SA   South and Central Americas  AP   Asia/Pacific  OC   Oceania  AF   Africa

Arena tour

2015 schedule

•  NA   Bossier City, LA - From 12 Nov to 14 Nov 2015 (Soft Opening)
•  NA   Lafayette, LA - From 20 Nov to 22 Nov 2015 (Preview)
•  NA   Richmond, VA - From 27 Nov to 29 Nov 2015 (Preview)
•  NA   Allentown, PA - From 4 Dec to 6 Dec 2015 (Preview)
•  NA   Worcester, MA - From 11 Dec to 13 Dec 2015 (Preview)
•  NA   Montreal, QC - From 21 Dec 2015 to 3 Jan 2016 (Official premiere)

2016 schedule

•  NA   Toronto, ON - From 7 Jan to 10 Jan 2016
•  NA   Quebec, QC - From 14 Jan to 17 Jan 2016
•  NA   Auburn Hills, MI - From 22 Jan to 24 Jan 2016
•  NA   Houston, TX - From 11 Feb to 14 Feb 2016
•  NA   North Little Rock, AR - From 19 Feb to 21 Feb 2016
•  NA   North Charleston, SC - From 26 Feb to 28 Feb 2016
•  NA   Sunrise, FL - From 3 Mar to 6 Mar 2016
•  NA   Miami, FL - From 10 Mar to 13 Mar 2016
•  NA   Tampa, FL - From 17 Mar to 20 Mar 2016
•  NA   Tulsa, OK - From 25 Mar to 27 Mar 2016
•  NA   Kansas City, MO - From 1 Apr to 3 Apr 2016
•  NA   Oklahoma City, OK - From 6 Apr to 10 Apr 2016
•  NA   Louisville, KY - From 29 Apr to 1 May 2016
•  NA   Cincinnati, OH - From 6 May to 8 May 2016
•  NA   Colombus, OH - From 11 May to 15 May 2016
•  NA   Hamilton, ON - From 20 May to 22 May 2016
•  NA   London, ON - From 27 May to 29 May 2016
•  NA   Providence, RI - From 3 Jun to 5 Jun 2016
•  NA   Baltimore, MD - From 8 Jun to 12 Jun 2016
•  NA   Duluth, GA From 15 Jun to 19 Jun 2016
•  NA   Raleigh, NC - From 24 Jun to 26 Jun 2016 (Cancelled)
•  NA   Ottawa, ON - From 30 Jun to 3 Jul 2016
•  NA   Denver, CO - From 21 Jul to 24 Jul 2016
•  NA   Lincoln, NE - From 27 Jul to 31 Jul 2016
•  NA   Chicago, IL - From 3 Aug to 7 Aug 2016
•  NA   Indianapolis, IN - From 10 Aug to 14 Aug 2016
•  NA   Nashville, TN - From 24 Aug to 28 Aug 2016
•  NA   Brooklyn, NY - From 7 Sep to 11 Sep 2016
•  NA   Newark, NJ - From 14 Sep to 18 Sep 2016
•  NA   Milwaukee, WI - From 22 Sep to 25 Sep 2016
•  NA   Minneapolis, MN - From 28 Sep to 2 Oct 2016
•  NA   Winnipeg, MB - From 5 Oct to 9 Oct 2016

2017 schedule

•  AP   China (various cities TBA)

External links

• Official website