Cirque du Soleil fixates on Dallas-Fort Worth market

Bring on the Cirque.

An unprecedented three Cirque du Soleil shows tour through the Dallas area this year. The acrobats and their colorful shows have visited Dallas since 1998, but they're now targeting the DFW market more than ever.

Kooza will be Dallas' first big top show this year.

"Dallas is a great market for Cirque du Soleil," said Émilie Nadeau, senior adviser for big top shows at the Cirque Du Soleil. "The reason why we'll bring three shows this year is because they're very different ... and there's always space in a market like Dallas for that."

In March, Quidam toured through the Frisco area. In June, the Michael Jackson tribute called The Immortal World Tour will be performed at the American Airlines Center. And in September, the new show Kooza hits the stage.

While Quidam was a dark show -- one that Pegasus News gave a relatively harsh review to -- the Michael Jackson tribute and Kooza will be more upbeat. "Kooza, for instance, is pure joy. It's colorful, it's funny," said Nadeau. "You will be brought to a completely different world." Because of the Michael Jackson show's popularity, Cirque opened a second date in Dallas.

Owen Carey

For the first time under the big top, Kooza will feature a new acrobatic performance called the Wheel of Death.

Kooza will be a "big top" show, which is a pop-up arena that will be placed on Memorial Street in Dallas. The big top seats about 2,500 people, and the show runs from September 19 to October 7, as compared to Cirque's one- or two-night shows hosted in an existing arena.

Nadeau wouldn't reveal which show would come to Dallas after Kooza, but she did say that their focus on this region will continue. We could soon see Totem, a science-inspired Cirque show about amphibians' desire to fly, in Dallas. It's currently touring in the U.S.

Nadeau hopes the same people who have seen another Cirque show in DFW continue to come back for new shows. "We don't want people to say, 'Oh, I've seen Cirque du Soleil.' We have 21 different shows."