To see a slideshow featuring behind the scenes images and further pictures of this performance, click here.

A spokesperson for Cirque du Soleil: Dralion Julie Desmarais describes the show as a celebration. The St. Louis community will be given the opportunity to join the celebration Jan. 19-23 at Chaifetz Arena. 

Dralion opened at Chaifetz on Jan. 20. The show will be running seven performances at Chaifetz through Jan. 23.

“It’s a passionate, colorful, positive and fun show,” Desmarais said.

Dralion was created as a fusion of “Chinese circus traditions and the avant-garde style of Cirque du Soleil,” Desmaraus said.

The show draws inspiration from Eastern philosophy and its quest for harmony between humans and nature.

“The show’s name is derived from its two emblematic creatures: the dragon, symbolizing the East, and the lion, symbolizing the West,” Desmarais said.

Entering the back stage of Dralion is like entering a dream-like wonderland where one can encounter surreal costumes, giant drums and performers practicing acts that appear to be beyond human capabilities.

This show took two years to create. According to Desmarais, “The show was originally created by Guy Caron who has a lot of interest in the Chinese acrobatic and passion for the Chinese culture. Cirque decided to go in China to immerse themselves in that culture and find talent among China’s acrobats.”

Dralion started in 1999in Montreal, Canada under the big top. It ran until 2006 and started up again in October 2010 with a converted format.

“After many years performing under the big top, Dralion is now presented in arenas throughout the United States and Canada, with the same quality performance,” Desmarais said.

Eighty percent of the performers are new. However, there are some veterans among the cast. Marie Eve Bisson worked with Dralion from 2003 to 2006 and returned for the 2010 opening.

“It’s a dream to perform for Cirque,” Bisson said.

Bisson explained that Cirque travels to a new city every week. Usually they travel on Sunday and take some time to see the city the first few days of the week they arrive, but after that, it is all practice. The performers practice several hours throughout the week, and they also train with personal trainers.

The crowd at opening night was ecstatic over Bisson’s aerial hoop performance. She did risky acrobatic moves that involved contorting and threading her body through a hoop while this hoop twirled 20 feet in the air. The musical performance contributed by the band helped in making these acrobatic acts a sensual and artistic display that electrified.

Bisson did not deliver the only impressive performance of the night. The clowns were remarkably hilarious. The clowns of Dralion are not like the clowns you would see in a typical American circus performance. These clowns are stylish and dapper in ill-fitting tuxedos. This look is complimented by their French accents. They taunt the audience and perform physical comedy reminiscent of the Three Stooges. That is, if the Three Stooges were French Canadian.

After a comical performance by the clowns, the show opened with an overture depicting the elements fire, air, earth and water, each performed by a member of the cast. Each element is represented by a color: fire is red, air is blue, earth is ochre and water is green.

Air, “Azala,” was depicted by a beautiful ballet style dance and acrobatic performance by Amanda Orozco. Water, “Oceane,” was demonstrated by an East Asian style rhythmic dance performed by Tara Catherine Pandeya, which gave the overture an alluring harmonious quality. Yi-Chun “Billy” Chang’s performance of Fire, “Yao,” and Henriette Gbou’s performance of Earth, “Gaya,” carried a solid energy that created the heartbeat for the show.

The first half of the show included a strong-hand balancing performance by Han Yuzen. She demonstrated great physical agility and skill. The act started with a one handed handstand on a post that was about seven feet high. After holding still without so much as a tremble, she hand-hopped to the other hand. It was a rousing acrobatic start for the show.

The show closed with an amazing rope skipping act performed by about 14 people from the troupe. This group created a human pyramid three levels high and then jumped rope. It was one of the most remarkable stunts during the night of awe-inspiring performances.

Additional reporting by Ashley Jones.