Gilles Ste Croix

Now that Cirque du Soleil is in the process of launching its latest dancing, trampolining extravaganza, "Viva Elvis," at the Aria Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, the Montreal-based company is looking ahead to one of its next opening nights: at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland in 2011. In an interview last week in Las Vegas, Gilles Ste-Croix, Cirque's senior vice president of creative content and new projects development, and Stéphane Mongeau, executive producer of "Viva Elvis," confirmed that Cirque is on track to bring a $100-million Hollywood-themed show to the 3,400-seat theater that hosts the annual Oscars ceremony.

Now that Cirque du Soleil is in the process of launching its latest dancing, trampolining extravaganza, "Viva Elvis," at the Aria Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, the Montreal-based company is looking ahead to one of its next opening nights: at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland in 2011. In an interview last week in Las Vegas, Gilles Ste-Croix, Cirque's senior vice president of creative content and new projects development, and Stéphane Mongeau, executive producer of "Viva Elvis," confirmed that Cirque is on track to bring a $100-million Hollywood-themed show to the 3,400-seat theater that hosts the annual Oscars ceremony.

When Cirque du Soleil emerged, the concept of "a circus without animals" was the hook that grabbed attention. Now that the concept is no longer novel, the creators of "Cavalia" have invested in the idea of "a cirque with animals" -- horses, to be precise. The Southland premiere of "Cavalia" in Glendale on Tuesday unveiled a panoramic display of gorgeous horses, lithe human acrobats and different ways in which the two species intersect.

Forget the iconic white jumpsuit, the caricature of gilded celebrity and the gossipy whispers that attended a dispirited legend's final bow. Forget -- heaven help us -- the peanut butter and fried banana sandwiches. That's not what "Viva Elvis," Cirque du Soleil's latest acrobatic-musical extravaganza, is about. Rather, Gilles Ste-Croix and Stéphane Mongeau were saying the other day, it's about evoking an extraordinary man and his shape-shifting times. It's about honoring a musician who unified the once-segregated genres of pop, gospel, country and blues into the mongrel art form known as rock 'n' roll, and ushered American pop culture into the frenetic, youth-centric Atomic Age. It's about celebrating a prodigiously charismatic performer whose insistence on pleasing his audience helped resurrect a culturally moribund desert metropolis founded on sand and mob money.

This is the Year of the Horse, according to the Chinese calendar, a designation that will be underlined this week when Gilles Ste-Croix's "Cheval" gallops into Costa Mesa. A new touring production, "Cheval," which means "horse" in French, mixes four-footed and two-footed performers with elaborate sets, costumes, lights and a bit of a story line into a form of in-the-round entertainment that's unusual, at least in North America.

Forget the iconic white jumpsuit, the caricature of gilded celebrity and the gossipy whispers that attended a dispirited legend's final bow. Forget -- heaven help us -- the peanut butter and fried banana sandwiches. That's not what "Viva Elvis," Cirque du Soleil's latest acrobatic-musical extravaganza, is about. Rather, Gilles Ste-Croix and Stéphane Mongeau were saying the other day, it's about evoking an extraordinary man and his shape-shifting times. It's about honoring a musician who unified the once-segregated genres of pop, gospel, country and blues into the mongrel art form known as rock 'n' roll, and ushered American pop culture into the frenetic, youth-centric Atomic Age. It's about celebrating a prodigiously charismatic performer whose insistence on pleasing his audience helped resurrect a culturally moribund desert metropolis founded on sand and mob money.

When Gilles Ste. Croix, a street performer in Montreal, became one of the founding members of Cirque du Soleil, the last thing he would have imagined was that someday he would find himself sitting in a Santa Monica hotel talking about a $100-million industry forging mega-deals with Las Vegas hotels, European real estate developers and 30,000-acre theme parks. But that's exactly what he's doing--and he doesn't want to. Ste.

Cirque's New Show: "Saltimbanco," an Italian word that loosely refers to skilled street performers, is the title of an all-new Cirque du Soleil show that will begin Oct. 8 in Santa Monica. Gilles Ste-Croix, creative director of the show, says the name evokes "a return to the roots and to the privileged relationship performers develop with their audience." The U.S. "Saltimbanco" tour, which is sponsored by AT&T, will reach Costa Mesa next January. Tickets for both engagements go on sale Sunday.

Cirque du Soleil will mount a Las Vegas production based on Beatles music, replacing the Siegfried & Roy show at the Mirage hotel and casino in 2006, the partners in the project announced Thursday. Beatles producer George Martin will oversee the music. Neither of the surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, will perform, but they issued statements supporting the project, as did Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison.

Two equestrian ballets will be coming to Southern California in 2002: Cheval, a Montreal-based troupe, and France's renowned Theatre Zingaro. Cheval will visit Los Angeles from Jan. 30 to March 10 and then Costa Mesa from March 20 to April 21 as part of a three-year North American tour. The exact Southland locations are to be announced. The troupe, founded this year by Gilles Ste.

When Cirque du Soleil emerged, the concept of "a circus without animals" was the hook that grabbed attention. Now that the concept is no longer novel, the creators of "Cavalia" have invested in the idea of "a cirque with animals" -- horses, to be precise. The Southland premiere of "Cavalia" in Glendale on Tuesday unveiled a panoramic display of gorgeous horses, lithe human acrobats and different ways in which the two species intersect.

This is the Year of the Horse, according to the Chinese calendar, a designation that will be underlined this week when Gilles Ste-Croix's "Cheval" gallops into Costa Mesa. A new touring production, "Cheval," which means "horse" in French, mixes four-footed and two-footed performers with elaborate sets, costumes, lights and a bit of a story line into a form of in-the-round entertainment that's unusual, at least in North America.

When Gilles Ste. Croix, a street performer in Montreal, became one of the founding members of Cirque du Soleil, the last thing he would have imagined was that someday he would find himself sitting in a Santa Monica hotel talking about a $100-million industry forging mega-deals with Las Vegas hotels, European real estate developers and 30,000-acre theme parks. But that's exactly what he's doing--and he doesn't want to. Ste.

Cirque du Soleil's blue and yellow striped big-top is back in Orange County and underneath it is a feast for the eyes with its new non-circus circus, "Dralion." The show kicks off Thursday at the Irvine Spectrum Center and runs through Jan. 16. "Dralion" marries East (the dragon) with West (the lion) in a cacophony of images that blend the traditional acrobatics of a Chinese circus with the avant-garde theatricality that has become Cirque's trademark.