Fantastic creatures (and where to find them)

Watching Cirque du Soleil’s new show at Mall of Asia Arena, Toruk: The First Flight, inspired by James Cameron’s Avatar, you may find yourself facing a conundrum: do I keep taking pictures, or fire up my cell phone app to interact with the show, or just sit in my seat, agog at all that’s going on?

Toruk is a large-scale production, spreading across 20,000 feet of the Mall of Asia Arena with a light show involving 40 projectors, constantly morphing the surroundings and floor space into different contours and shapes; the projections cover as much space as five IMAX screens, crawling up to the mountains of Pandora in the background, as acrobats twirl and gyrate from drop ropes nearer the front of stage. For this show, developed over five years between Cameron and Cirque directors Michael Lemieux and Victor Pilon, Cirque has placed greater emphasis on its fluid, ever-changing set — everything from flowing streams and molten lava to colorful rainforest flora — while adding new bows to its acrobatic quiver: Parkour, martial arts, archery, boomerangs, fire dancing and puppetry.

But beyond that, Toruk tells a story. Fans of Avatar already know a little about these blue folk called the Na’vi, living in a pre-colonial land called Pandora. Toruk is basically a prequel chapter to Avatar, following the Na’vi peoples’ efforts to save the “Tree of Souls” from nature’s destructive force, eventually enlisting the aid of the Toruk, a large dragon-like creature that Sam Worthington memorably rides in the movie.

Taking us through the story is a narrator, functioning a little like a ringmaster in explaining the (pre-language) actions of these blue people: there’s an initiation rite, the threat to the Tree of Souls, the quest for five items obtained from other Na’vi clans, and the goal to tame the Toruk in order to save their people.

But, if like us, you couldn’t keep up with the story because you were busy fidgeting with cameras and iPhone apps (the “Toruk” app lets you flash colored lights and send out clouds of fireflies from your seats), then you might have to rely on your gadget-free daughter to explain the plot later.

And if you’re really just in it for the spectacle of yet another superbly crafted Cirque du Soleil, you could just sit back and be amazed — wrapped up in the pure eye candy of multicolored hothouse flowers bursting into bloom and waving in the air as vaguely pan-ethnic music (by Boe & Bill) pounds through the Arena sound system; you will see clouds of wheeling birds (actually puppets) widening in the gyre all around you as the Na’vi perform various rites of passage; watch blue performers tilting and contorting on a rotating skeletal seesaw; and follow the story of brothers Entu (lead performer Daniel Crispin) and Ralu, who leave their tribe on the Toruk quest, encountering female Tsyal from a neighboring clan who joins them in various bits of acrobatics along the way.

Broken into two acts, Toruk conjures up the world of Pandora not only through its set design, but in the movements and varied skill sets of its performers. Trained by Avatar movement specialist Julene Renee, the actors learned to crouch, tilt their heads inquisitively, and even master the Na’vi language (yes, there is such a thing; ask the geek fans who go ballistic when the Toruk actors slip up a line). In addition to that, you’ll see archery work, martial arts scuffling, fire-twirling and the sight of various large-scale puppets — packs of green-eyed Viperwolves, Dodo-like birds, and of course the main leonopteryx, Toruk — taking the stage.

The spectacle comes to a breathtaking conclusion as hundreds of jellyfish-like creatures descend from the skies, bathing the Tree of Souls in an otherworldly glow. The music swells, and you might find yourself gulping back a sob.

As astounding a technical achievement as Toruk: The First Flight is, though, you’re tempted to ask: where’s all the high-rise acrobatic work that Cirque is known for? There’s less of it in Toruk, as the focus is spread across a storyline that is more character-centered than typical shows. Entu emerges as a hero; Ralu and Tsyal find love, apparently; but other than a bit of high-altitude twirling, there’s not a lot of the daredevil feats that mark earlier Cirque outings.

Nonetheless, you will be swept up in the staging and high-stakes choreography, such as when Na’vi people scamper up a mountainside in an attempt to release dam waters to douse lava flow threatening Pandora; you’ll watch in amazement as a Na’vi warrior twirls down a silk rope descending from what looks like a huge hothouse orchid; even though this isn’t Vegas, you’ll probably trip on the psychedelic hues of the multicolored skies and surrounding flora; and you’ll gaze hypnotized as the performers mount that rotating skeleton, even if you can’t quite figure out what it all means. Art, after all, is allowed to be both beautiful and meaningless at times.

One minor gripe we shared was that we expected more of a How to Train Your Dragon episode between Entu and Toruk. Instead, most of that Na’vi-Toruk bonding takes place offstage. Indeed, we first glimpse Toruk as a looming shadow crossing the stage above our heads, and that alone is quite effective; when Toruk actually does arrive, it’s a little bitin. We wanted to know more about how Entu managed to tame the dragon. (Yes, we know there’s a horn, an amulet, some herbs, a shield and a visor involved, but still.)

None of this takes away from the reason people will come to and enjoy Toruk, which is a combination of a) they’re Avatar fans and b) it’s a Cirque du Soleil show, so it’s guaranteed to light up your eyes, as well as your cell phones.

* * *

Cirque du Soleil’s Toruk: The First Flight is finishing its Manila run today with shows at 1 and 5 p.m. at SM Mall of Asia Arena. Tickets run from P1,500 to P7,368 and can be purchased at www.smtickets, call 470-2222 or visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/toruk.