Cirque du Soleil's® Quidam™ opens in Dubai

Special guests, VIP's and dignitaries from around the Middle East will join senior Cirque du Soleil tomorrow night at the exclusive invitation-only premiere of Quidam, which will be performed for a limited season under the trademark blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai.

"This is truly the day we've all been waiting for - the premiere of Quidam in the Middle East and on behalf of the performers and crew, I'd just like to say that we are delighted to be here and cannot wait to entertain the residents of this city with the magic, imagination and beauty of Cirque," said Rob Mackenzie, Tour Manager, Quidam.

Quidam, pronounced "key-dam," is a Latin word for an anonymous passerby, a solitary figure lingering on a street corner, a person rushing past, living lost amidst the crowd. Directed by Franco Dragone, Quidam transforms an anonymous world into a place of hope and connection.

Presented under a state-of-the-art Grand Chapiteau that seats more than 2,500, Quidam turns gravity on its head. One of the production's most spectacular features is a 120-foot overhead conveyor whose five imposing rails take up the entire interior surface of the Grand Chapiteau. This system is used to bring artists onto the stage and to create a multitude of special effects.

With more than 50 performers from 13 different countries, the production is a thrilling combination of acrobatic artistry, technical expertise, extravagant design and exceptional musical inspiration, woven into a seamless whole by an emotional dramatic thread. Quidam features the German wheel, banquine, Spanish webs, diabolos, aerial contortion in silk, and of course the acclaimed crazy clowns. A haunting live score draws from a wealth of eclectic cultural blends, classical strings and synthesizers, samplers and guitars.

Quidam is the vision of the same creative team that conceived Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas-based "O"™ and Mystère™, La Nouba™ at Walt Disney World in Orlando, and the award-winning Alegría and Saltimbanco. Led by Director Franco Dragone, the team includes Gilles Ste-Croix (director of creation), Dominique Lemieux (costumes), Michel Crête (set design), Debra Brown (choreography), François Bergeron (sound design), Luc Lafortune (lighting design), Benoit Jutras (musical director and composer) and Serge Roy (artistic director).