2.25 OVOIf you haven’t seen Cirque du Soleil’s latest show, OVO on the Santa Monica PIer…be sure to buy tickets, during the week of March 19th to 25th, 2012, for a performance scheduled that week. It supports a fabulous organinzation, ONE DROP!

Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil created ONE DROP. Headquartered in Montreal, this international organization has a unique approach focusing on the arts. ONE DROP implements education and adapted solutions for access to healthy water. See below for more info about ONE DROP.

Now lets talk about OVO, which I recently had the chance to see. Being from New York, I wouldn’t normally enjoy a show with a cockroach as the lead character. Just too close to home…However, the show is brilliant and the three main characters, a cockroach, a lady bug and a dragon fly are simply adorable and quite funny. The acrobatics as always are unbelievable and breathtaking.

Spiderman Slackwire 8 PhotoBBenoitFontaine-Costumes LizVandal-2009CirqueduSoleilAlso this production is the first Cirque du Soleil show, to be directed by a female…which I LOVE! Deborah Colker offers a satirical inside look to the insect world where insects interact with each other in hilarious ways.

Performer, Joseph Collard, who plays the cockroach and master of ceremonies, invites the audience into his comedic bits, which adds a new twist to every show. Collard loves his job and has performed with Cirque du Soleil since 2009. He reveals an unexpected audience reaction, “One time a man went on stage and jumped on the Foreigner (the dragonfly). And I had to separate them.”

As with most of the Cirque du Soleil shows, due to improvisation each performance changes based on the audience. Some fans go back two and three times to enjoy the spectacle of this lively often ad-libbed, yet acrobatically brilliant show. So buy tickets….and support a good cause, while you’re having a fantastic time!

Here is a bit more info on ONE DROP and the “7 Days for a Better World” program.

lowresSpider Contortion6 PhotoBOSAImages-CostumesLizVandal-2009CirqueduSoleilSince 1984, Cirque du Soleil has been delighting fans across the world. Dedicated to building a better world, the company and its employees have created “7 Days for a Better World,” an awareness program with a focus on World Water Day (March 22nd).

Selected Cirque du Soleil shows will donate $5.00 to ONE DROP for each ticket purchased from March 19th to 25th, 2012, for a show performance scheduled that week.

ONE DROP’s executive director, Lili-Anna Pereša, explains, “Water is essential to all life. And it starts with just ONE DROP. With access to safe water, communities can learn, build and flourish.”

ONE DROP helps mobilize communities all over the world to access clean water and urges them to adopt sound habits for managing this precious resource for future generations.

Slowres ONEDROP heidi hollingerhe continues, “Worldwide, ONE DROP’s ongoing creative projects also raise awareness about water-related issues and encourage smarter water practices. Together, we have the power and responsibility to take action, in global solidarity.”

“7 days for a better Word” was developed as a source of fundraising for ONE DROP, a crucial activity if it is to realize ONE DROP’s dream of water for all, today and tomorrow.

Lili-Anna Pereša adds, “I am proud to be part of this important mission, and I truly believe that we can achieve it by working all together.”

If you’d like to see OVO and are interested in supporting ONE DROP, be sure to buy tickets, during the week of March 19th to 25th, 2012, for a performance scheduled that week. http://www.onedrop.org/; http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/. Photo HAITI by Heidi Hollinger.