#suffolk downs

[boneslikebirds]

“Cos aren't you the one

With your razzmatazz and the

Nights on the town?”

Pulp, Suffolk Downs, 9/13/2025

[delahorserace]

Cigar (1995 Massachusetts Handicap)

[brokehorrorfan]

Event Report: Cirque du Soleil's Luzia

Cirque du Soleil has turned Boston, Massachusetts into a dreamlike vision of Mexico with LUZIA. The show's name is a portmanteau of the Spanish words for light (luz) and rain (lluvia), both of which are integral parts in the show. The performance takes place under the 62-foot high Big Top at Suffolk Downs, which seats more than 2,600 people.

Cirque du Soleil has been dazzling audiences with its unique brand of contemporary, story-driven circus performances since its humble beginnings in 1984, leading it to become the largest theatrical producer in the world. LUZIA, which premiered in April of 2016, is Cirque du Soleil’s 38th original production.

I watched in childlike wonder for the entirety of the show, which runs for two hours with a 25-minute intermission in the middle. The performance includes innovative takes on classic circus acts, including acrobatics, trapeze, dancing, juggling, cyr wheeling, hoop diving, contortion,hand balancing, swings, clown interludes, and more.

Via opulent and inventive set design, audiences are transported from the sky to underwater, from the beach to the desert, from a field of flowers to a dance hall. The scenes are set with vibrant lights, elaborate wardrobes, Latin American-inspired music, and - for the first time in a Cirque du Soleil touring production - rainfall. A total of 1,585 gallons of water is used each night.

Russian contortionist Aleksei Goloborodko, in particular, stands out to me as a horror fan. While watching him twist his body in seemingly impossible configurations, all I could think of was what a great creature performer he'd make in a horror movie; he could give Javier Botet a run for his money. Surreal animal costumes and puppets seen throughout the show also lend themselves to genre imagery.

But the most exciting act of the evening is swing to swing. Appropriately occurring just before the fiesta finale, the death-defying act finds a revolving door of performers launching themselves over three stories into the air as they leap from swing to swing. Did I mention that, in addition to the swings moving back and forth, the stage also rotates? The entire crowd was on the edge of their seats.

LUZIA is directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, in association with Brigitte Poupart. Finzi Pasca also co-wrote the show with Julie Hamelin Finzi. It's a global effort; LUZIA's touring cast and crew employs a total 115 people from 25 countries. The 44 artists that appear on stage come from 19 different nationalities.

The closing of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus last year marked the end of an era, but the tradition lives on through Cirque du Soleil. By modernizing the acts while introducing thematic elements, Cirque du Soleil reinvents the traveling circus in a fresh and exciting way. Fun for audiences all ages, LUZIA left me in awe.

Cirque du Soleil's LUZIA is playing in Boston through July 29, 2018. Tickets are on sale now.

See all of my Cirque du Soleil: Luzia photos here.

[thehorsegodbuilt]

Call First by Marissa Babin

[brokehorrorfan]

Cirque du Soleil has been dazzling audiences with its unique brand of contemporary, story-driven circus performances since its humble beginnings in 1984, leading it to become the largest theatrical producer in the world.

LUZIA, which premiered in April of 2016, is Cirque du Soleil's 38th original production. Described as “a waking dream of Mexico,” the show takes audiences to an imaginary Mexico, where light quenches the spirit and rain soothes the soul.

Cirque du Soleil is bringing LUZIA to Boston from June 27 through July 29. Audiences are invited to escape to a sumptuous world suspended between dreams and reality under the Big Top at Suffolk Downs. Tickets are available now starting at $36.

LUZIA is written and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, in association with Brigitte Poupart. A total 115 people from 25 countries are part of the touring cast and crew. Watch a trailer below.

In a series of grand visual surprises and breathtaking acrobatic performances, LUZIA takes audiences on a surrealistic journey through a vibrant world filled with wonders, playfulness and striking artistry. Smoothly passing from an old movie set to the ocean to a smoky dance hall or an arid desert, LUZIA cleverly brings to the stage multiple places, faces and sounds of Mexico taken from both tradition and modernity. Rich in awe-inspiring moments, LUZIA enchants by incorporating rain into acrobatic and artistic scenes – a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring production.

With mesmerizing and refreshing acrobatic performances, LUZIA brings traditional and contemporary circus disciplines to a whole new level. Cyr Wheel artists perform the unprecedented feat of rolling and spinning under the rain, while an aerialist suspended from a Trapeze flies and twirls through pouring showers. Hoop Diving is taken onto gigantic treadmills, expanding exponentially the speed and amount of daring leaps executed. Jaw-dropping highlights include a male contortionist skillfully twisting his body in the world’s most unimaginable positions, a powerful Aerial Straps specialist defying the laws of gravity at the center of a cenote (natural sinkhole), and two football (soccer) freestylers deftly mixing street dance with mind-blowing ball manipulation.

[avatarsound]

Elaborate Geena (Piermarini, Tammi) by Margo Palmer Via Flickr: SUFFOLK DOWNS - July 7, 2012 - Race 9 MAIDEN CLAIMING - Thoroughbred FOR MAIDENS, FILLIES AND MARES THREE YEARS OLD AND UPWARD. Three Year Olds, 119 lbs.; Older, 124 lbs. Claiming Price $5,000. Claiming Price: $5,000 Six Furlongs On The Dirt Track Record: (Canal - 1:08.20 - May 14, 1966) Purse: $9,000 Weather:Cloudy Track:Fast Off at: 4:07 Start: Good for all 9 - Elaborate Geena (Piermarini, Tammi) 5 - A B Alliebelle (Turner, Natalie) 8 - City by Storm (Yodice, Ashley)

[sshurleyphotography-blog]

Suffolk Downs Wall Damage