Cirque du Soleil is considered a stunning concept in modern performance art and circus craft. There are no dancing bears here, though there are a few clowns. The performers are all human and each exhibits a superhuman ability at acrobatic feats and the ability to spread awe or mirth over the spectators. Quidam is the featured Cirque du Soleil extravaganza in this video.

The show includes a huge, rotating stage and arching trapeze platforms to bring the performers right over the heads in the audience. Quidam has the best music and songs out of all cirque shows. John Gilkey’s performance is also very good. Compared to other cirque shows, it’s got a lot more theatrical aspects than circus so it may seem too slow-paced.

Some of the acts were awesome, such as Banquine and Vice Versa but the rest weren’t too awe-strucking as Dralion or Alegria. Since cirque du soleil evolutionize their shows year by year, the touring Quidam is probably better than the DVD, which came out in 1999. it’s a great DVD for everyone to enjoy especially… (Barnes & Noble)

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When Cirque du Soleil first ventured beyond Canada’s borders, its powerful, singularly ambitious “reinvention of the circus” seemed quixotic. Inspired by European precedents, this was a big top downsized to a more intimate, single ring, as the French-Canadian troupe jettisoned animals, banished the usual fright-wigged clowns in favor of funny folks versed in (gulp) pantomime, and focused on acrobats, contortionists, and illusionists.

Conventional wisdom would have held that such esoterica was doomed, but anyone lucky enough to catch that initial Cirque production (or, for that matter, any of its subsequent offerings) knows just how wrong conventional wisdom can be. Cirque’s creative brain trust, including “guide” Guy Laliberte and director Franco Dragone, have crafted each production as an extended performance piece framed by recurrent characters, unified production design, and underlying themes.

Already mesmerizing visual tableaux and astonishing illusions are given an added poignancy (and, occasionally, true gravity) by the productions’ underlying comments about society, conformity, beauty, and emotion; even without such conscious motifs, however, Cirque’s sheer artistry is never less… (Amazon)