Culver City Observer -

Cirque du Soleil's "Luzia" had its opening night under their famous big-top tent on Parking Lot 1 at Dodger Stadium and did not disappoint.

It was a visually pleasing, Mexican-themed production that has continued to take the standard circus idea to the next level by incorporating astonishing feats of strength, agility, phantasmagorical theatrics, and side-splitting comedy. The Cirque creators out-did themselves with creative, colorful set designs. costumes, and festive music rooted in the cultures of Mexico. The dialogue and lyrics of songs are all spoken and sung in spanish.

The show begins with frontman, comedian Eric Koller freefalling while skydiving to the Mexico destination. As he lands, he encounters a giant, colorful monarch butterfly flapping her gigantic wings in a rainforest and then a gaggle of hummingbird people jump through hoops - a traditional circus discipline from China - displaying great acrobatics. It's a waking dream that transports the audience members to an imaginary Mexico.

Then a parade of creative and fascinating characters appeared, including the fish-headed men as water creatively cascaded from the ceiling in swirling pulsations. In one humorous scene, funnyman Koller attempted to fill up his canteen with the raining water, but the water moved from one side of the stage to the other, and then stopped and started to fool him. The world of Luzia is also populated by surrealistic animals of all sizes.

There is a small, brilliantly blue-lit pool in the center of the round stage that is utilized for certain acts too. One seductive male performer was using an aerial rope to lower himself into the water and then rise above it while twisting and turning.

In one scene, an acrobatic, strongman lifeguard is doing a death-defying balancing act while blowing kisses and winking at all the ladies in the front row. In another scene, a contortionist is contorting his body into jaw-dropping positions that one only dreams of being able to perform. It is out of this world.

Since Cirque arrived in Los Angeles thirty years ago with their now-famous blue and yellow big-top tent, angelenos have been wowed by how this Montreal-based organization who has rocketed the idea of the circus to the next dimension. And Luzia carries the torch in fine fashion.

The show runs through February 11.