BALTIMORE, MD — A holiday show is coming to the Hippodrome!
'Twas the Night Before by Cirque Du Soleil will take the stage beginning November 24th and runs through December 3rd.
WMAR-2 News Photojournalist Kristi Harper got in on rehearsals and learned more about the show
"The show takes a contemporary spin on the famous poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'. Lines from that poem actually inspired all of the acrobatic acts in the show," explains Jen Donohoo Touring Artistic Director.
"It's about a teenage girl, Isabella, who is a bit jaded over the holidays. She doesn't want to hang out with her dad. She'd rather be on TikTok, or Instagram, chatting with her friends, and all her dad is trying to do is connect with her throughout the show. They're pulled into the world of the poem. Along the way, they learn lessons and are eventually reunited at the end, and she rediscovers this joy and magic of the holiday season."
Artists have been working on their show tracks, cues, and choreography to get ready for the stage in Baltimore.
This includes straps artists, Yuliya and Gonatan, "We're doing do straps here in this show. We are snow angels."
"We bring the joy."
"The Christmas joy."
For this duo flying on straps is full of possibilities. They are the perfect match, because, they are a match, "I think we are a good match because we couple in life too. So we already trust each other guy. Now I'm in good hands, and he never let anything happen to me."
"One of the most important things when we get into a new space into a new theater, like the Hippodrome in Baltimore is to make sure that our artists understand the spacing and feel safe."
Moving to a new stage is a process. It takes work to get the artists ready for opening night, "I always find it incredible to see how our artists are able to navigate those changes and be able to adjust depending on the space that we're at."
"We have 26 different artists in the show," explains Donohoo, "and then we also have dancers in the show as well, which is really cool and a little bit unusual for sex. Sometimes they'll have dancers here and there but our dancers for the show are really part of the storytelling."
"Our finale act is with our hoop divers. It's so exciting to the audience. They're kind of on the edge of their seat the whole time when they're watching it. It's so exciting to see it all come together."
'Twas the Night Before by Cirque Du Soleil will take the stage beginning November 24th and runs through December 3rd.