Volta (Cirque du Soleil)

Volta was a touring circus show by the Cirque du Soleil and was based on extreme sports; the principal character is a game-show host named Waz.^[2][3][4][5]

Volta
Logo for Cirque du Soleil's Volta
Company	Cirque du Soleil
Genre	Contemporary circus
Show type	Touring show
Date of premiere	April 20, 2017 (Montreal)
Final show	March 8th, 2020 (Los Angeles, CA)
Creative team
Writer and Director	Bastien Alexandre
Director of Creation	Jean Guibert
Set Design	Bruce Rodgers
Choreographer	Julie Perron
Lighting Designer	Martin Labrecque
Costume Designer	Zaldy Goco[1]
Composer	M83
Video Content Designer	Thibaut Duverneix
Sound Designer	Jean-Michel Caron
Props Designer	Anne Séguin Poirier
Acrobatic Performance Designer	Philippe Aubertin Rob Bollinger
Acrobatic Equipment and Rigging Designer	Jaque Paquin
Makeup Designer	Eleni Uranis
Character’s guide	Manon Beaudoin[citation needed]
Other information
Preceded by	Séptimo Día - No Descansaré (2017)
Succeeded by	Crystal (2017)
Official website

It is the company's 41st production since 1984, and its 18th show presented under the Big Top.^{[citation needed]} The director of creation is Jean Guibert; Bastien Alexandre is writer and director.^[6]

Story

According to the booklet for the show's soundtrack, Waz is the host of a game show, Quid Pro Quo, where people called Greys compete to become Elites. He lost touch with his inner soul in the pursuit of fame. After meeting Ela, the chief of a group called Free Spirits, Waz sets out on a journey he does not expect. Throughout his adventure, Waz becomes enlightened by memories from his childhood as he encounters the Free Spirits who open the doors to the inner soul that Waz has long kept shut and find his free.

Acts

Acts include:^[7][8]

• Mr. Wow Show: Rope skipping (and more)
• Precision walk, roller skates, and hand to hand on unicycle
• Acro lamp
• Trampowall
• Flatland BMX & ballet duo
• Swiss rings/bungee
• Acrobatic ladders
• Shape diving
• Hair suspension
• Aerial straps
• Contemporary dance
• BMX

Acts in rotation

• Aerial hoop (in rotation with hair suspension)

Retired acts

• Rope duo
• Tightwire
• Trials bike
• B-ball
• Parkour
• Baton twirling

Music

Anthony Gonzalez, from the French music band M83, was asked to write the musical score.^[6] The soundtrack was released on 20 September 2017 in digital format and on streaming services.^[9]

Vocalists

• Darius Harper - From April 2017 (Montreal) to March 8, 2020 (Los Angeles, CA)^[10]
• Camilla Bäckman - From April 2017 (Montreal) to March 8, 2020 (Los Angeles, CA)

Incidents

Death of Yann Arnaud

On March 17, 2018, aerialist Yann Arnaud died of injuries sustained when he fell 20 feet during an aerial straps performance in Tampa Bay, Florida. Planned performances in Tampa Bay and New Jersey were cancelled.^[11][12]

Tour

The show began its Grand Chapiteau tour in North America in its newly designed white and grey big top^[13][14] designed to help reduce environmental impact by reducing heat penetration into the tent.^{[citation needed]}

A show in Redmond was cancelled due to an equipment malfunction.^[15]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

In March 2020, Cirque du Soleil suspended all of its 44 active shows worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought the company into a state of financial collapse with a debt of over $1 billion.^[16][17] Even though the company was able to come back and reopen many of its shows, other shows, including Axel, Totem, and Volta were permanently closed.^[18]

Volta performed its last show in Los Angeles, CA on March 8, 2020.^[19]