Cirque du Soleil ECHO tells the age-old story of a girl and her dog heading into new territories on an adventure they’ll never forget! FUTURE and EWAI, our main protagonists, must bring back balance to the natural world.
Introduction to ECHO
In Cirque du Soleil ECHO, you will journey alongside FUTURE and the Ewai The DOG on their quest to restore the balance of the world we inhabit, for humans’ and animals’ sake.
Discover ECHO – An Enigmatic Journey About the Connection We Share
In this unique show, Cirque du Soleil explores the symbiotic connection between humans and the natural world. When stumbling upon an enigmatic CUBE, FUTURE sets in motion a journey of life, discovery, hope, and connection.
Who Populates the World of ECHO?
The realm of ECHO is home to a wide array of unique characters. Having a variety of distinct personalities and attributes is a keystone of world-building. A vibrant cast of characters helps tremendously when fleshing out a universe and makes it more captivating to the audience.
In the case of ECHO, human characters exist alongside anthropomorphic animals, dressed head-to-toe in white, creating an ecosystem like no other. These characters are used to illustrate the delicate balance between people and the natural world that we inhabit.
The protagonists’ journey, as they learn from their meetings along the way, leads them to find how to reinstate balance, and restore the CUBE to its former state. As the characters of the show come together, in a symbiotic union, they will be able to protect the home they share; Earth.
The Enigmatic Characters of ECHO
FUTURE shines as a beacon of hope in ECHO, embodying the endless energy and awareness of today’s youth. With an aura of brilliance, FUTURE invites the audience to dream big alongside her and embrace the unknown. This character's radiant energy and idealistic spirit light up the stage, inspiring everyone to imagine a brighter tomorrow. With her playful companion, EWAI, she wanders upon an enigmatic CUBE, setting in motion a journey of life, discovery, hope, and connection.
Ewai The DOG brings heartwarming joy to the stage with boundless energy in motion and infectious playfulness. This loyal companion is full of surprises, always ready to leap into action with a wagging tail and a big heart. EWAI's mischievous charm and curiosity make every moment on stage a delight.
THE PAPER ANIMALS, anthropomorphic representation of Earth’s biodiversity, flutter to life in ECHO with delicate grace and whimsy. Their intricate designs and gentle movements captivate the audience, creating a world of imagination in motion and wonder. All clad in white, these fragile yet resilient creatures enchant all.
THE CARTOGRAPHER is a wise figure, master of exploration, that guides FUTURE on her journey with his immense knowledge. With maps in hand and a spirit of adventure, this character charts new paths and influences the world.
DOUBLE TROUBLE acts as both the comedic relief and the representation of industrialization in the show. They electrify the stage with their synchronized energy and dynamic demeanors. This duo is a whirlwind of fun, bouncing off each other with perfect timing and endless enthusiasm. Their playful rivalry and knee-slapping antics bring a burst of excitement that keeps the audience entertained. Their goal revolves around the boxes they carry around and chase during the show, until they eventually set their eyes on the boxes forming the CUBE…
Many more creatures and characters inhabit the world of ECHO, such as THE FIREFLIES, THE FOSSORIAL and THE COLOR PAPER PEOPLE – see them in action, under the Big Top, and prepare yourself to be amazed by their dizzying performances.
Signature Acts in ECHO
A Closer Look at ECHO's Performances
The acrodance act in ECHO is, you guessed it, a mesmerizing blend of dance and acrobatics, where fluid movements and graceful lifts create a stunning visual. Performers open the show with this first act, moving in perfect harmony. This mid-air act is a festive celebration of agility, leaving the audience awestruck by its elegance.
The Bungee Straps in ECHO is a thrilling aerial act, where THE CARTOGRAPHER soars and dives with breathtaking speed. Suspended high above, he defies gravity, twisting and flipping with exhilarating freedom, hung by the wrists to strong elastic straps, allowing for superhuman jumps.
Besides Bungee Straps, other acrobatic aerial acts like the Washington trapeze and flying poles can be seen in the show. Hair Suspension, a true display of the human body’s limits, is a dazzling display of strength and grace. Performers float effortlessly, suspended by their hair, weaving with elegance. Combined with the dynamic energy of aerial straps, this act is a captivating blend of beauty, courage, and mind-boggling aerial artistry.
The Banquine and Human Cradle act in ECHO is a masterclass in teamwork and trust. The tight-knit group of performers launch into the air, caught with perfect timing in a human cradle. This dynamic act showcases incredible strength and precision, as they create towering human structures, thrilling the audience with every daring leap.
Contortion and Dislocation push the boundaries of human flexibility in an extraordinary display of physicality. THE FOSSORIAL twists and bends in impossible ways, creating beautiful, surreal shapes. This act is a celebration of the body’s incredible capabilities, leaving the audience both amazed, entranced, and sometimes light-headed!
The Double Slackwire act is a daring display of skill and balance. Performers gracefully perform acrobatics on slack lines, one above the other. With every step and trick, they defy gravity and logic, creating a heart-pounding, eerie spectacle that leaves the audience breathless.
Artistic Elements and Innovations in ECHO
Innovative Stage Design
What the artists perform on is just as important as the acts themselves. ECHO aimed to reinvent the way Cirque’s stage design was done previously. A more mobile and versatile prop, that is center to the story, was the way to go.
The mysterious CUBE at the heart of the show, that is essentially the size of a 2-story apartment building, rotates on its central pivot, and moves from upstage to downstage, looking like it’s floating above the stage.
Discover the Magic
Want to dive deeper? Explore exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and more about ECHO!
The imaginative set design revolves around this transforming CUBE, a simple yet profound set piece that blends a spectacular range of audio, visual, and tactile media. Measuring 23’ x 23’ (7 m x 7 m), the CUBE accommodates a wide range of acrobatics and theatrics. At different points, the CUBE evolves – it may be dismantled, stripped, and rebuilt, scaled by animals, swung from by artists, and used as a mesmerizing projection surface.
Surrounded by a stage that resembles water in a lake, every interaction with the CUBE during the spectacular performance creates a unique effect that ripples into the future.
Explorations in Costume for ECHO
In ECHO, Costume Designer Nicolas Vaudelet and his team masterfully created unique textiles and vibrant colors to create a striking contrast between animals and humans. The show features more than two dozen white animal heads alongside 26 brightly colored outfits for the human characters.
For THE PAPER ANIMALS and THE COLOR PAPER PEOPLE, Vaudelet has designed white fabric costumes that resemble crumpled paper, giving the impression that these characters' lives are still in the process of being crafted and they were pulled right out of a story book.
While THE PAPER ANIMALS are dressed entirely in white and THE COLOR PAPER PEOPLE wear white suits adorned with a rainbow of colors, FUTURE and EWAI are dressed head to toe in sky blue, adorned with a cloud motif. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice that all these performers, despite their colorful variations, wear the same style of suit and masks, further emphasizing the unity within the diversity of the characters.
The Soundscape of ECHO
Cirque du Soleil shows are known for their live soundtrack. ECHO is the first ever Cirque du Soleil show to feature as many as six live vocalists, with most of the musicians also singing at some part in the show.
Music and sound play a key role in driving the emotional arc of ECHO. Featuring 14 eclectic show tracks inspired by a mix of pop, electronic, vocal, and classical stylings, the music of ECHO defies any single genre. It is uniquely layered with depth and textures inspired by our relationship to the natural world.
As Band Leader, Michael Lieberman describes it, “Our most natural instrument is the human voice, and so it makes sense conceptually to use vocals to establish a symbiotic relationship between humanity and the environment.” This is followed closely by strings and percussion, which represent the sounds, rhythms, and beating heart of nature.
As one might expect from a show titled ECHO, each performance builds on a repetition of sound effects, but with a slightly different intention depending on the emotional curve in the show. Taken together, these unique sounds have a huge effect on the storytelling and audio experience for the audience.
Lighting Magic on ECHO
ECHO uses an impressive 10 video projectors to cover the mysterious CUBE, the stage, and the artists, which marks the most ever for a Cirque du Soleil Big Top show. These projectors can create astounding lights all over the stage and create 3D effects on the surface of the CUBE. It’s a key component in bridging the gap between reality and the universe of ECHO.
To ensure so many projectors could meet the mobility demands of a Big Top show, Cirque technical teams had to design a special self-standing infrastructure just for this equipment.
Behind-the-Scenes of ECHO
The Creative Vision Behind ECHO
Show creators Chantal Tremblay and Mukhtar Omar Sharif Mukhtar were set on making this new creation something that would stand out amongst its predecessors. Their grandiose vision took years of meticulous work and lots of time to bring to fruition. This true Cirque du Soleil creation is brought to life by intriguing characters, drawing the audience into their realm.
The Making of ECHO: From Concept to Reality
If you know a lot about Cirque du Soleil, you will already know that ECHO has a long history. This show was the first Big Top production after the post-COVID relaunch. Since the creative process of a Cirque show is a lengthy affair, it started well before the pandemic.
Formerly known as “Under the Same Sky”, prior to taking a production break, the project found a new direction and with that a new name. ECHO also kept the same central theme: it stayed a story of connection between humans and their natural world that needs protection.
The creative journey of ECHO was the subject of a web-series produced internally. It retells the creation of the show, from an embryo of an idea to the finalized version you can see on stage today, all while navigating the confusing post-COVID world, following Cirque du Soleil’s relaunch in 2021.
Planning Your Visit to ECHO
Ticketing and Venue Information for ECHO
ECHO is a touring show, presented under the Big Top, performs up to 10 shows a week, and visits approximately 6 different cities per year. If you’d like to attend the show, visit the Cirque du Soleil website and check out where it’ll be performing next. Who knows, maybe your city is next on the map! Plan your experience at ECHO and get ready for an unforgettable show.