Ever since I was a young girl, I found myself captivated by the theatrical magic of Cirque du Soleil. The costumes, the special effects, the music, and the formidable performers, all of them coming together in celebration of circus arts and street performance. VOLTA, Cirque du Soleil’s 41st original production since 1984, and its 18th show presented under the Big Top, is no different. My family and I recently had a chance to see the show here in Toronto and we were all mesmerized.

VOLTA is a story about the freedom to choose and the thrill of blazing your own trail. Featuring a number of thrilling sports including BMX, parkour, shape diving, roller skating, rope skipping and more, VOLTA is inspired in part by the adventurous spirit that fuels the culture of action sports.

In the story, we meet WAZ, a popular gameshow host who has lost touch with his inner self in the pursuit of fame. Enlightened by childhood memories as he encounters FREE SPIRITS, he slowly rediscovers his true colours and embarks on a search for meaning.

VOLTA manages to weave acrobatics, dance and action sports into a visually striking display of talent that is perfectly complemented by a stirring melodic score.

Photo credit: Benoit Z. Leroux

My favourite scene, featured above, took my breath away, it was so stunning. And yes, she really is hanging by her pony tail!

Photo credit: Michael Kass