Toruk- The First Flight | |
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General Information | |
Date |
October 28 2015 (media-only premiere)[1] |
Location |
Touring across: |
Running time |
2 hours, including a 20 minute intermission[5] |
Toruk- the First Flight was a touring show performed by Cirque du Soleil between 2015 to 2019. The show had a four year run, ending on June 30, 2019.[6]
It is set thousands of years before the events of the films, detailing the adventures of the first Toruk Makto. Joshua Izzo has stated that the story is considered canon to the Avatar series. In the first film, Neytiri mentioned that Toruk brought the clans together in a time of great sorrow and all Na'vi know the story, and she is presumably referring to the story shown in the show.
A DVD version of the two-hour event, exclusively sold at Toruk tour dates, was released in July 2016.[7] The DVD was also briefly available in December 2019 on the Cirque online store.[8]. The show is also available on Amazon Prime Video through BroadwayHD, either with a BroadwayHD subscription or through a free trial.[9]
Plot[]
The story takes place on Pandora, around 3,000 years prior to the events of the film.[10]
When a natural catastrophe threatens to destroy the sacred Tree of Souls, Ralu and Entu, two Omatikaya boys on the brink of adulthood, fearlessly decide to take matters into their own hands. Upon learning that Toruk can help them save the Tree of Souls, they set out, together with their newfound friend Tsyal, on a quest high up in the Floating Mountains to find the mighty red and orange predator that rules the Pandoran sky. During their journey, the three protagonists explore the lands of the four other Na'vi clans to get special objects to help with their summoning goals. Prophecy is fulfilled when a pure soul rises among the clans to ride Toruk for the first time and save the Na’vi from a terrible fate.[11][12]
Development[]
Talks on the project go back as far as 2009, when Danielle Lamarre, the president of Cirque du Soliel, was invited to Avatar's cutting room floor. James Cameron collaborated with the group in 2012, presenting the video recording of the live show Worlds Away.[13] Toruk was greenlit in May 2014, some five years after those initial talks.[14]
A series of acrobatics tests were done during February 2015,[15] ahead of the official unveiling that May.
The stage show features a degree of puppetry in order to animate the wild and diverse creatures of Pandora. Notably the Toruk will be created using reverse-string puppetry, with the puppeteer beneath the creature. Other creatures include Viperwolves and Direhorses, as well as two creatures new to the franchise- the Austrapede and Turtapede.[16]
Toruk features multimedia integration, one of which is a mobile app that gives showgoers information about the show, the ability to influence visual effects during the performance, and other interactive content. The SAP HANA platform helps feed information back and forth between the audience and the show's visual effects control system, giving spectators a different experience depending on their app interaction and location in the theater.[17]
The Storyteller was originally described as the last of the Anurai Clan in early promotional material. This was later changed to help Raymond O'Neill's connection to the role. The media guide would later be updated to reflect the Storyteller being a member of the Omatikaya clan and the character is listed as such in the show's script.[18][19]
Promotion[]
The musical was unveiled publicly that April. As part of the announcement, a promotional website was launched, featuring a JavaScript-based point and click search game about exploring Pandora. The game revealed more lore and information about the Omatikaya, Tipani, Anurai, Tawkami and Kekunan clans. The website marked the first official appearance of the Kekunan.
That October, a special performance was made ahead of the opening night for the media. Further promotion was made through Facebook and other social media, including a ticket-giveaway quiz in November.[20]
Production Credits[]
The project was handled by an ambitious team of artists from various companies. Notably this included James Cameron, Jon Landau, Kathy Franklin and Richard Baneham from Lightstorm Entertainment.
- Guy Laliberté and Jean-François Bouchard – Creative Guides
- Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon – Show Writers and Directors, Multimedia Directors
- Neilson Vignola – Director of Creation
- Carl Fillion – Set and Props Designer
- Kym Barrett – Costume and Makeup Designer
- Tuan Le and Tan Loc – Choreographers
- Bob & Bill – Composers and Musical Directors
- Jacques Boucher – Sound Designer
- Alain Lortie – Lighting Designer
- Patrick Martel – Puppet Designer
- Germain Guillemot – Acrobatic Performance Designer
- Pierre Masse – Rigging and Acrobatic Equipment Designer
Cast[]
Some characters have multiple actors- this is sometimes done in theater to facilitate speedy costume changes, or in some cases to provide rest breaks for actors performing strenuous acrobatics.
- Gabriel Christo & Jeremiah Hughes as Ralu
- Daniel Crispin & Guillaume Paquin as Entu
- Giulia Piolanti & Zoé Sabattié as Tsyal
- Raymond O'Neill as The Storyteller[21]
- Priscilia Le Foll as The Shaman
Home Media Release[]
Filming for the DVD release was finished at the January 14-17, 2016 shows at the Centre Videotron. The announcement was made via the show's Facebook page the day photography concluded.[22] The DVD was released in July 2016, with the main show footage coming from its Montreal world premiere.[7]
The DVD also includes the Toruk Takes Flight behind-the-scenes documentary, which first premiered in December 2015 on Bell 5 TV's community channel, TV1.[7][23] The DVD is only sold during the show's tour dates.[24] TV1 also aired the show in 4K and HD, with no plans so far to release said versions on home video.[25]
A soundtrack was released on February 5th, 2016; the album became available for preorder on January 22nd.[26]
Both Toruk- The First Flight and the Toruk Takes Flight documentary are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video through BroadwayHD. Both are available through a BroadwayHD subscription or through a free trial of the BroadwayHD service.[9][27]
Touring Locations[]
The tour is composed of several legs. Following a media-only premiere in Omaha, Nebraska, the show began a two year tour across North America. From November 2015 to March 2017, the show was performed at 57 cities in the US, Mexico and Canada. A 2016 performance in Raleigh was cancelled in response to North Carolina's HB2 legislation,[28] which many view as being discriminatory.[29] A number of other events and performances in North Carolina were cancelled by both Cirque and other organizations.
A short second leg from July 2017 through to June 2018 toured Asia and Oceania, visiting 13 cities. This was followed by a lengthier European tour, opening in Cologne that October. The European tour ran until July 2019, concluding in London.
In total, the show was performed in 97 cities, discounting the media-only premiere.
North American tour, 2015-17 | |||
Venue | Country | Opens | Closes |
Omaha, Nebraska | USA | October 28 2015 | (media-only premiere) |
Bossier City, Louisiana | USA | November 12 2015 | November 14 2015 |
Lafayette, Louisiana | USA | November 20 2015 | November 22 2015 |
Richmond, Virginia | USA | November 27 2015 | November 29 2015 |
Allentown, Pennsylvania | USA | December 4 2015 | December 6 2015 |
Worcester, Massachusetts | USA | December 11 2015 | December 13 2015 |
Montreal, Quebec[30] | Canada | December 21 2015 | January 3 2016 |
Toronto, Ontario | Canada | January 7 2016 | January 10 2016 |
Quebec, Quebec | Canada | January 14 2015 | January 17 2015 |
Auburn Hills, Michigan | USA | January 22 2016 | January 24 2016 |
Houston, Texas | USA | February 11 2016 | February 14 2016 |
North Little Rock, Arkansas | USA | February 17 2016 | February 21 2016 |
North Charleston, South Carolina | USA | February 26 2016 | February 28 2016 |
Sunrise, Florida | USA | March 3 2016 | March 6 2016 |
Miami, Florida | USA | March 10 2016 | March 13 2016 |
Tampa, Florida | USA | March 17 2016 | March 20 2016 |
Tulsa, Oklahoma | USA | March 24 2016 | March 27 2016 |
Kansas City, Missouri | USA | March 30 2016 | April 3 2016 |
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | USA | April 6 2016 | April 10 2016 |
Louisville, Kentucky | USA | April 28 2016 | May 1 2016 |
Cincinnati, Ohio | USA | May 4 2016 | May 8 2016 |
Columbus, Ohio | USA | May 11 2016 | May 15 2016 |
Hamilton, Ontario | Canada | May 20 2016 | May 22 2016 |
London, Ontario | Canada | May 25 2016 | May 29 2016 |
Providence, Rhode Island | USA | June 1 2016 | June 5 2016 |
Duluth, Georgia[31] | USA | June 15 2016 | June 19 2016 |
Ottawa, Ontario | Canada | June 30 2016 | July 3 2016 |
Denver, Colorado | USA | July 21 2016 | July 24 2016 |
Lincoln, Nebraska | USA | July 27 2016 | July 31 2016 |
Chicago, Illinois[33] | USA | August 3 2016 | August 7 2016 |
Indianapolis, Indiana | USA | August 10 2016 | August 14 2016 |
Birmingham, Alabama | USA | August 19 2016 | August 21 2016 |
Nashville, Tennessee | USA | August 24 2016 | August 28 2016 |
Evansville, Indiana | USA | September 1 2016 | September 4 2016 |
Brooklyn, New York[30] | USA | September 7 2016 | September 11 2016 |
Newark, New Jersey[30] | USA | September 14 2016 | September 18 2016 |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin | USA | September 22 2016 | September 25 2016 |
Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA | September 28 2016 | October 2 2016 |
Winnipeg, Manitoba | Canada | October 5 2016 | October 9 2016 |
Fresno, California | USA | October 27 2016 | October 30 2016 |
Ontario, California | USA | November 2 2016 | November 6 2016 |
Los Angeles, California | USA | November 11 2016 | November 13 2016 |
Phoenix, Arizona | USA | November 16 2016 | November 20 2016 |
San Diego, California | USA | November 23 2016 | November 27 2016 |
Sacramento, California | USA | November 30 2016 | December 4 2016 |
Portland, Oregon | USA | December 7 2016 | December 11 2016 |
Vancouver, British Columbia | Canada | December 14 2016 | December 18 2016 |
Edmonton, Alberta | Canada | December 22 2016 | December 26 2016 |
Inglewood, California | USA | January 12 2017 | January 15 2017 |
Witchita, Kansas | USA | January 26 2017 | January 29 2017 |
New Orleans, Louisiana | USA | February 1 2017 | February 5 2017 |
Guadalajara | Mexico | February 10 2017 | February 12 2017 |
Mexico City | Mexico | February 16 2017 | February 19 2017 |
Monterrey | Mexico | February 23 2017 | February 25 2017 |
Cleveland, Ohio | USA | March 3 2017 | March 5 2017 |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | USA | March 8 2017 | March 12 2017 |
Hartford, Connecticut | USA | March 15 2017 | March 19 2017 |
Dayton, Ohio | USA | March 22 2017 | March 26 2017 |
Asia and Oceania tour, 2017-18 | |||
Venue | Country | Opens | Closes |
Manila | Philippines | June 23 2017 | July 2 2017 |
Taipei | Taiwan | July 6 2017 | July 18 2017 |
Christchurch | New Zealand | September 1 2017 | September 10 2017 |
Auckland | New Zealand | September 15 2017 | September 24 2017 |
Brisbane[34] | Australia | October 5 2017 | October 15 2017 |
Sydney[35] | Australia | October 19 2017 | October 29 2017 |
Melbourne[36] | Australia | November 2 2017 | November 12 2017 |
Adelaide[37] | Australia | November 16 2017 | November 19 2017 |
Perth[38] | Australia | November 24 2017 | December 3 2017 |
Dubai | UAE | January 4 2018 | January 16 2018 |
Sanya | China | February 1 2018 | May 1 2018 |
Kallang | Singapore | May 24 2018 | June 3 2018 |
Bangkok | Thailand | June 14 2018 | June 24 2018 |
Beijing[39] | China | August 1 2018 | August 12 2018 |
Shanghai[40] | China | August 16 2018 | August 26 2018 |
European tour, 2018-19 | |||
Venue | Country | Opens | Closes |
Cologne | Germany | October 25 2018 | October 28 2018 |
Hamburg | Germany | October 31 2018 | November 4 2018 |
Berlin | Germany | November 7 2018 | November 11 2018 |
Turin | Italy | November 15 2018 | November 18 2018 |
Bologna | Italy | November 22 2018 | November 25 2018 |
Frankfurt | Germany | November 28 2018 | December 2 2018 |
Zagreb | Croatia | December 7 2018 | December 9 2018 |
Barcelona | Spain | January 18 2019 | January 27 2019 |
Madrid | Spain | January 30 2019 | February 3 2019 |
Pamplona | Spain | February 6 2019 | February 10 2019 |
Milan | Italy | February 14 2019 | February 17 2019 |
Lyon | France | February 20 2019 | February 24 2019 |
Bratislava | Slovakia | February 28 2019 | March 3 2019 |
Krakow | Poland | March 6 2019 | March 10 2019 |
Antwerp | Belgium | March 14 2019 | March 17 2019 |
Moscow | Russia | April 19 2019 | May 5 2019 |
Saint Petersburg | Russia | May 8 2019 | May 12 2019 |
Helsinki | Finland | May 15 2019 | May 19 2019 |
Vilnius | Lithuania | May 22 2019 | May 26 2019 |
Prague | Czechia | May 31 2019 | June 2 2019 |
Munich | Germany | June 5 2019 | June 9 2019 |
Zurich | Switzerland | June 12 2019 | June 16 2019 |
Manchester | United Kingdom | June 20 2019 | June 23 2019 |
London | United Kingdom | June 26 2019 | June 30 2019 |
References[]
- ↑ http://www.shreveporttimes.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/2015/10/28/toruk---the-first-flight-media-showing/74776126/
- ↑ https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/toruk/tour-dates?#modal_video
- ↑ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-avatar-cirque-du-soleil-china-20150615-story.html
- ↑ http://www.reviewjournal.com/robin-leach/it-takes-village-move-the-village-cirque-du-soleil-s-touring-toruk-the-first-flight
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/torukthefirstflight/photos/a.1122793164413320.1073741826.1087940301231940/1307397602619541/?type=3&comment_id=1307452079280760&reply_comment_id=1307475525945082&comment_tracking={%22tn%22%3A%22R%22}
- ↑ https://twitter.com/officialavatar/status/1138121359874244609
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 https://www.richasi.com/Cirque/Telemagk/dvd34.htm
- ↑ http://avatarsequels.com/toruk-the-first-flight-dvd-now-available-online-from-cirque/
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 https://www.amazon.com/Cirque-Soleil-TORUK-FIRST-FLIGHT/dp/B07DJ5WTM4
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/torukthefirstflight/videos/1282373775121924/
- ↑ http://www.comingsoon.net/extras/news/627281-cirque-du-soleils-avatar-show-toruk-the-first-flight-starts-its-run
- ↑ https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/on-stage/review-cirque-du-soleil-s-toruk-is-all-heart-1.694423
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1792647/?ref_=nm_flmg_msc_2
- ↑ https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/press/news/2014/avatar-james-cameron-cirque-du-soleil-creative-partnership-29-mai-2014.aspx
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vXLnljpqxc
- ↑ https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/toruk/inside-creators-studio, Exclusive content
- ↑ https://news.sap.com/sap-makes-audience-part-of-cirque-du-soleils-toruk-the-first-flight-with-new-interactive-mobile-experience/
- ↑ http://www.comingsoon.net/extras/news/434501-cirque-du-soleil-reveals-avatar-inspired-touring-show
- ↑ http://avatarsequels.com/thestoryteller/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/torukthefirstflight/posts/1278043138888321
- ↑ https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/toruk/behind-scene/photo/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/torukthefirstflight/photos/a.1122793164413320.1073741826.1087940301231940/1314514921907809/?type=3&theater
- ↑ http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cirque-du-soleil-media-presents-toruk-takes-flight-a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-creation-of-a-multimedia-experience-inspired-by-james-camerons-avatar-and-imagined-by-cirque-du-soleil-only-on-bell-fibe-tv1-2015-12-14
- ↑ [1]https://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=9487
- ↑ https://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=9487
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/torukthefirstflight/photos/a.1122793164413320.1073741826.1087940301231940/1317793048246663/?type=3&theater
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Cirque-Soleil-TORUK-TAKES-FLIGHT/dp/B07DJ3NXM6
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/notes/cirque-du-soleil/cirque-du-soleil-will-not-perform-in-north-carolina/10153690474037675
- ↑ http://gawker.com/logic-and-human-decency-dont-seem-to-matter-much-in-nor-1766888407
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-First-Look-at-Cirque-du-Soleils-New-AVATAR-Inspired-Show-TORUK-20151222
- ↑ http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2015/oct/26/cirque-du-soleil8217s-8216avatar8217-inspired/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/notes/cirque-du-soleil/cirque-du-soleil-will-not-perform-in-north-carolina/10153690474037675
- ↑ http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/news/ct-cirque-du-soleil-avatar-toruk-chicago-story.html
- ↑ https://www.brisbanekids.com.au/cirque-du-soleil-brisbane/
- ↑ http://www.qudosbankarena.com.au/Event_Calendar/Toruk_The_First_Flight.aspx
- ↑ http://www.melhotornot.com/toruk/
- ↑ https://playandgo.com.au/index.php/toruk-first-flight-cirque-du-soleil-adelaide-16-19-nov-2017/
- ↑ https://www.broadsheet.com.au/perth/city-file/article/cirque-du-soleil-returns-perth-toruk
- ↑ http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1105306.shtml
- ↑ http://www.smartshanghai.com/event/52794
See the image gallery for |
Avatar Franchise | ||
---|---|---|
Films | Avatar (2009) · The Way of Water (2022) · Avatar 3 (2025) · Avatar 4 (2029) · Avatar 5 (2031) Unproduced scripts: Prequel (c. 2012) · The High Ground (c. 2013) | |
Comics | Brothers (2017) · Tsu'tey's Path (2019) · The Next Shadow (2021) · Adapt or Die (2022) · The High Ground (2022) · So'lek's Journey (2024) | |
Games | PC/Console: Avatar: The Game (2009: PC/360/PS3 · Demo · Wii/PSP · NDS) · Frontiers of Pandora (2023) iOS/Android: Avatar (2009) · Warrior's Journey (2015) · Pandora Rising (2019) · Project Eden (cancelled) · Reckoning (cancelled) Browser: AVTR Advanced Team (2009) · Pandora ROVR (2009) Other: The Mobile Game (2009)· Pinball (2010) | |
Events | The Exhibition (2011-14) · Toruk - The First Flight (2015-19) · The Exhibition (2016-) · 10 Year Anniversary (2019) | |
Related | Canon · ILM Prototype · Pandora Discovered · Capturing Avatar · A Message from Pandora · Pandora: The World of Avatar (2017-) · Novel Series · Scientific literature · Watch order |