World-renowned contemporary circus act Cirque du Soleil returns to Manila with a new show, “Toruk–The First Flight,” opening on June 25 at Mall of Asia Arena.

 

“Toruk,” inspired by James Cameron’s “Avatar,” is a live immersive multimedia spectacle. Narrated by a “Na’vi Storyteller” and populated by unique characters, the production is a mythical tale set thousands of years before the events depicted in the film “Avatar,” and before any humans ever set foot on Pandora.

 

It is a fusion of cutting-edge visuals, puppetry and stagecraft with a soaring cinematic score.

 

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).

 

“Toruk” began preview performances on Nov. 12 2015 in Bossier City, Los Angeles, before moving on to several other cities in North America.

 

It officially premiered on Dec. 21, 2015 in Montreal.

 

The Manila dates will kick off its Asian tour this year.

 

Cirque du Soleil’s “Toruk–The First Flight” runs June 25-July 2 at SM MOA Arena; tel. 470 2222; log on: smtickets.com