Once the performance started, "La Nouba" was virtually non-stop action and excitement for the next one hour and 40 minutes. La Nouba, which originates from the French phrase "faire la Nouba," means to party and live it up. You will be doing just that as you sit in an amazement watching performers tempt fate in physically demanding routines that appear fraught with danger.
The performance, that includes a cast of nearly one hundred representing 13 countries, reminded me at times of a music concert, with unique pulsing music; a circus, with death defying acts such as the high wire act, and part comedy show, all rolled into one great evening. Two distinctly different entertainment companies collaborated on the La Nouba venture. Cirque Du Soleil, which was founded in Canada in 1984, staged La Nouba and Walt Disney Imagineering was involved in the creation of the Cirque Du Soleil Theater. Since 1984, more than 20 million people from around the world have seen one of Cirque Du Soleil’s productions.
La Nouba's appeal is not limited to adults only, children as young as six years old sat wide-eyed watching the exhibitions of human strength and elaborate costumes. There is no intermission, so plan accordingly. The children I saw were so enthralled that I believe that they wouldn't even think of leaving for a moment.
To set the stage, the unique appearance of the large white structure was designed to convey a sight reminiscent of the Big Top. The 1,671-seat showroom provides great views of all the action, no matter where you sit. Seating surrounds the Elizabethan-style stage while musicians perform on two platforms housed in 75-foot high towers rising on both sides of the stage. The stage's five elevator lifts rise to a maximum height of 16 feet, while the center stage is capable of descending 16 feet below the stage as well.
Each of the acts and performers delighted the crowd, but it was the youngest performers in the show who seemed to draw biggest applause. Holding two sticks linked by a string, the four very young Chinese performers slide, juggle, and toss a musical wooden spool to each other while performing flips in the air. As each performer out did the other, the crowd's applause grew greater.
The Power Track/Trampoline act had the crowd awed as two performers did acrobatics on a trampoline that I am safe to say almost no one has ever seen before. It culminated with the performers jumping off a replica two-story building, bouncing off the trampoline, and in an open window on the equivalent of the second floor of the building.
Other members of the cast of La Nouba include funambulists, dancers, tumblers, trapeze performers, equilibrists, clowns, actors, acrogymnasts, cyclists, musicians, vocalists and circus artists.
Important Information
·Arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start; all seating is reserved.
·Free and convenient parking is available at Downtown Disney.
·Booster seats available for small children – ask the ushers.
·Cirque Du Soleil Store offers music from the performance and other souvenir items for sale.
·Reservations can be made up to six months in advance by calling 407/939-7600.