''Volta'' was a touring circus show by the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

and was based on

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

; the principal character is a game-show host named Waz. It is the company's 41st production since 1984, and its 18th show presented under the Big Top. The director of creation is Jean Guibert; Bastien Alexandre is writer and director.

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: * Mr. Wow Show:

Rope skipping A skipping rope (British English) or jump rope (American English) is a tool used in the sport of skipping/jump rope where one or more participants jump over a rope swung so that it passes under their feet and over their heads. There are multi ...

(and more) * Precision walk,

roller skates Roller skates, are shoes or bindings that fit onto shoes that are worn to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. The first roller skate was an inline skate design, effectively an ice skate with wheels replacing the blade. Later the "quad ska ...

, and hand to hand on

unicycle A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a bicycle frame, frame with a bicycle saddle, saddle, and has a human-powered vehicle, pedal-driven direct-drive mechanism, direct-drive. A two spee ...

* Acro lamp * Trampowall * Flatland BMX & ballet duo * Swiss rings/bungee * Acrobatic ladders * Shape diving * Hair suspension *

Aerial straps Straps, also known as aerial straps, are a type of aerial apparatus on which various feats of strength and flexibility may be performed, often in the context of a circus performance. It is a cotton or nylon web apparatus that looks like two suspen ...

Contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

* BMX

Acts in rotation

Aerial hoop The aerial hoop (also known as the lyra, aerial ring or cerceau/cerceaux) is a circular steel apparatus (resembling a hula hoop) suspended from the ceiling, on which circus artists may perform aerial acrobatics. It can be used static, spinning, ...

''(in rotation with hair suspension)''

Retired acts

* Rope duo *

Tightwire Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

Trials bike Mountain bike trials, also known as observed trials, is a discipline of mountain biking in which the rider attempts to pass through an obstacle course without setting foot to ground. Derived from motorcycle trials, it originated in Catalonia, S ...

* B-ball *

Parkour Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing a ...

Baton twirling Baton twirling involves using the body to spin a metal rod in a coordinated routine. It is similar to rhythmic gymnastics or color guard. Description Twirling combines dance, agility, coordination and flexibility while manipulating a single bat ...

Music

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

Vocalists

* Darius Harper - From April 2017 (Montreal) to March 8, 2020 (Los Angeles, CA) * Camilla Bäckman - From April 2017 (Montreal) to March 8, 2020 (Los Angeles, CA)

Incidents

Death of Yann Arnaud

On March 17, 2018,

aerialist Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...

Yann Arnaud died of injuries sustained when he fell 20 feet during an

aerial straps Straps, also known as aerial straps, are a type of aerial apparatus on which various feats of strength and flexibility may be performed, often in the context of a circus performance. It is a cotton or nylon web apparatus that looks like two suspen ...

performance in

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Planned performances in Tampa Bay and New Jersey were cancelled.

Tour

The show began its Grand Chapiteau tour in North America in its newly designed white and grey big top designed to help reduce environmental impact by reducing heat penetration into the tent. A show in Redmond was cancelled due to an equipment malfunction.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

On March 2020, Cirque du Soleil suspended all of its 44 active shows worldwide due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, which brought the company into a state of financial collapse with a debt of over $1 billion. 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. ''Volta'' performed its last show in Los Angeles, CA on March 8, 2020.

References

External links

Official site
{{Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil touring shows