Review: Cirque du Soleil’s “KÔ soars, even if it seems incoherent

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Video: The Slave Cage in motion during a scene from “KÔ by Cirque du Soleil.

Acrobatics and artistry combine for a dazzling, if not altogether coherent, spectacle in “KÃ.” The Cirque du Soleil show runs nightly at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Note: Tickets were supplied to BlogWorld attendees, including this writer, in exchange for reviews.

Some interesting contrasts are woven into the show. Familiar sights include baton twirling, slapstick and an old circus favorite of mine, the rings of death. Those rings — connected by a long frame — rotate vertically, powered by human hamsters who tumble and even jump rope at the apex.

But as with most Cirque performances, the familiar gives way to the exotic and the dazzling. The factions at war evoke ancient Asia and tribal Africa. We see a ship and its passengers tossed wildly about on stormy seas, a snake slither its way down the tallest tree, and an eye-popping display of lances dancing and spinning from soldier to soldier.

“KÔ also shows remarkable confidence in both epic scenes and more intimate ones. We kind of expect to see a giant acrobat-powered bird take flight. But when two once-opposing warriors settle in for a duet of handmade shadow puppets, that’s true showmanship.

Perhaps the largest player in the diverse cast is the flat rectangular stage, which at times impersonates a boat, a beach, an ice wall and a mountain. It even exhibits some serious Cirque dexterity — at least, for a giant slab — with spins and poses of its own.

The plot, for those who require one, centers on royal siblings separated by war and circumstance but reunited in time to defeat a greater enemy. That’s as much as we gleaned from the opening narration. We freely admit that the storyline went right over our heads.

The scenes, while often immersive, shed little light as to why our heroes and their allies and antagonists are at war. It reminded us of the trip to Pandora in “Avatar,” only with more choreography and less plot.

But, no one goes to Cirque du Soleil for a morality play; they go to lose themselves in a highly imaginative world of breathtaking stunts and extreme flair. And in that sense, “KÔ succeeds.

Tickets, $69 to $150 and $34.50 to $75 for age 5 to 12, are available online.

Cirque du Soleil - KÀ

If the boat’s a rockin’ … the performers in “KÀ” hang on or risk falling overboard.

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