Toruk: The First Flight at Rogers Place

In the Cirque du Soleil multi-media spectacle Toruk: The First Flight coming to Rogers Place on Dec. 22, there is one person with a special kinship to St. Albert.

Kristi Wade lived in our community for a couple of years working at Barkers Pet Motel as a kennel assistant while training at Edmonton’s Firefly Theatre.

Today she is one of 35 elite circus performers in a show that is chock full of brilliant visuals, pinpoint choreography, stunning puppetry and possibly the most extravagant set seen at Rogers Place to date.

Toruk is a recreation of James Cameron’s breathtaking film Avatar that introduced the moon planet Pandora. On it are the Na’vi, a people who coexist with the natural world in a symbiotic relationship.

In Toruk, multi-media innovators Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon set their story several thousand years prior to human contact.

Narrated by a Na’vi storyteller, the narration begins when a volcanic eruption threatens to destroy the sacred Tree of Souls. A prophecy among Pandora’s five clans states that when a “pure soul rises to ride the predator Toruk for the first time” it will save the Na’vi from a tragic destiny.

Two 14-year-young men, Ralu and his best friend Entu from the Omaticaya tribe, set out on this quest. Along their journey to visit the five clans, they meet Tsyal, a young woman healer and together journey to the Floating mountains to find Toruk.

“Avatar was such an inspiring show. It was a double whammy to join because it was my favourite film. I’m quite a spiritual person and in a way I connected with it the most,” said Wade who is part of the ensemble.

She wears an illuminescent blue body suit that reproduces the look of Na’vi skin. Attached to the body is a “lemur-like tail.”

“They move and walk with purpose and love. They’re powerful, long and lean, almost like a cat.”

The Australian-born aerialist adopts different character roles from each tribe. As part of the Kekuna, a clan that lives in the mountains, Wade flies a kite with a four-metre wingspan representing banshees. On the other hand, as a valiant Tipani she manipulates poles and staffs in ritual battles.

Wade was invited to join Toruk after sending footage to a Cirque casting database. Initial instruction was rigorous with five weeks spent at the French Canadian behemoth’s training centre in Montreal followed by five months of intensive polishing in a Shreveport, Louisiana arena.

“One of the biggest challenges was adapting to the movement and changing the way we did acrobatics. We had to forget everything we were taught and relearn new movement.”

Pandora’s gravity is lighter than Earth’s and the artists needed to exude primal power skilfully blended with a panther-like grace.

“We also have long, blue tails and in drops, I had to figure out how not to get the tail caught.”

Costume designer Kym Barrett’s clan couture included specialized gloves and form-fitting shoes. For an aerial artist used to training with bare hands and feet, this posed a problem.

“I lost my callouses. I had to get used to feeling in a new way and not have the same type of feeling.”

She predicts that audiences will be in awe of Toruk, a giant banshee kite with a 40-foot wingspan that flies over audiences.

“This is a show that comes from love and it tells us that if you follow your own intuition, everything works out. It resonates with everyone.”