I expected Cirque de Soleil to be dynamic and exciting. This was none of that. Mainly music and people dancing. I was expecting acrobatic stunts and some other crazy shit but I got beat. Suckers. Don't fall for their stylistic nonsense. read more

Varekai, (pronounced ver*ay*'lie), which means " whatever" in gypsies, is a classic Cirque du Soleil. I saw this spectacular performance, at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA ( 2014.) And as any other Cirque du Soleil act it was a jaw-dropping one. I truly enjoyed everything about Varekai from the moment "Icarus" dropped from the sky to the Earth, to the double wrist aerial straps and the wild skywatcher, the Icarian Games, and the Russian swings. I must not forget to mention the pair of hilarious clowns. Four and Half Yelps. read more

Even though I have worked for this show and seen several other shows of CDS this is still my favourite. Personally I prefer the travelling.tent shows as it is a totally different atmosphere compared to any arena tour. The tent opens one hour before the show starts and that is where your magical cirque experience beginsl. Music, lights, costumes, colours immediately transfer you in a different world and there is a lot to discover once you entered the tent. Foodwise you have enough options and knowing from working here the offer changes with the market to meet the local preferences. The big top opens 30 mins before the show starts and I advice not to miss the animation of the clowns. The show starts with the end of a greek myth. Icarus flew to close to the sun, lost his wing and fell from the sky. However, he is not drowning in the sea but landing in Varekai (romanic for 'wherever'), a magic forests full of coloured, exotic creatures. This is the first act, performed as aerial contortion in net. I do believe it's a great start as you can tell it's gonna be a story not just random acts put together as a show. I am not gonna tell the whole story as I beleive everyone alive HAS TO see this show. However, I believe every act is very well performed and entertaining. I advise not just to focus on the main act happening on stage but look around as there is always someone hanging in the air or performing where you don't expect something happening. My favourite act is the very first after intermission called 'slippery surface'. I think the costumes are so nice designed and the whole act is very colourful, bright and happy. The triple trapeze is something I've never seen before and is just breathtaking. Some guests only notice in the end that the music is played life and there is a band touring with the show. If you seen the show and you are more interested in Cirque and what it takes to create and tour with a show like this I advice you the DVD 'Fire within', which shows the process of creating Varekai, casting the team and gives an idea of what it means to work towards the premiere. If you have the chance: GO FOR IT!!!!!!! read more

I was extremely disappointed in varekai after having seen Quidam and Alegria. It was dim, disjointed and very carnivalistic.

I have been to 6 Cirque shows and this was not even close to any of the others. My daughter and myself were nodding off during the 4pm matinee. The costumes were fun and visually appealing and the talent of the performers was still excellent, however the show was simply boring. Even though there were moments of greatness, they were stained by the rest of the drab performance, which was read more

We have been to multiple Cirque Du Soleil shows and it's our third one in Boston. As always, the art, costumes and creativity are all amazing. In terms of the entire show, it wasn't our all time favorite but definitely still in awe of the high caliber of skill needed to do all the scenes. And they moved venues -- to the Agganis Arena -- which is great change. Much better than the tented venue by the Seaport for the last couple of years. Great job! Can't wait to see what show will come to Boston next summer! read more

I first saw Varekai...on TV (Bravo.com) saw the making of and then the actual show. Right from the get go this became my favorite Cirque show and I knew that I had to see it in person. Fast-Forward 10 years later, the opportunity finally came on February 28, 2015. They were playing in San Diego and I knew I had to go. So I got 2 tickets (my mom and I) and drove to San Diego with high expectations. Seeing this show in person was everything I could've asked for and more. I was not disappointed at all. No words can describe the feelings I had while watching the acrobats, clowns, performers and singers. Everything was unreal, felt unreal and if given the chance I would see it again and again and again. read more

I took my best friend to this show, her first Cirque, several years ago. They held it at what use to be the parking lot of the Staples Center, now Nokia. We thoroughly enjoyed the hot bods and leaps and bounds that the acrobats did. ...I would definitely recommend people to see it, if it came around again. -- stars based on category, not food read more

This show wasand is my all-time favorite cirque show and although I have seen many (with the exception "o" which I plan to see soon) if you get that chance to see this one, GO FOR IT! read more

My least favorite Cirque show. First and foremost, these performers are incredibly talented. What they can do physically is mind blowing. Now for the actual review: The choreography was all over the place. I never knew which person I should be focusing on. The story line didn't make sense to me. The majority of the acts were mediocre. More comedy fluff that in my option, is never that funny. I understand all these shows have them but this particular show had more than the usual. I don't attend Cirque shows to watch comedy acts. I feel sorry for the performers. Whoever directed and produced this didn't do the best job. read more

First half was standard circus quality with good music. Second half was worthy of the name Cirque. Worth about half the $100 price. read more

I'm a big fan of cirque du soleil and i visited all the shows in Amsterdam for the past 20 years. Yesterday we went to see Varekai, but what a huge dissapointment!! The arena (ziggo dome was way to big and unpersonal), so never a show other then in the grand chapiteau for me. Besides that the show it self was boring and had not in the least the wow factor and high level acts and atletes i'm used to. Only the last five minutes with the swings were impressive and cirque du soleil worthy. I know they can do way better, but if this was my first show i never buy another ticket again. read more

This was my 5th show and what a disappointment from the minute I walked into convention didn't even have the feel or excitement of going to cirques du soleil show actually if this would have been my first time I would never have gone to see another show. Second half better then first just so different from the way the other shows felt . Did not feel like I was at cirque du soleil . I would not recommend it. read more

Cirque de soliel Toronto Air Canada Centre - every year for over a decade our family goes to cirque as end of summer. This is the only time we have been so disappointed. Athletes and performers are great but the ACC is not a circus tent but show is still geared for that. Way to big a venue - bulk of show faces front stage so if even slightly off to side it is just that - watching from the side. The show that is explosively impressive in the tent forum fails here. Not at all worth the time or the money. read more

My least favorite, and I feel bad saying it because I can still only imagine the hard work and training that goes into it. I do have to say the character of the "skywatcher" (wore a grass skirt) was exceptionally acted. I thought it had it's very funny moments, so great design in moments, but overall the acts did not give me a "wow" factor at all, maybe a few moments, but the standard for amazing creative acts on a scale I expected and have seen before, was very low and simple, not many in each act (felt sparse)..and not inspiring or very impressive acts. I also never really "felt" a story line that I was brought through, it just didn't convey it, and with the music as well. I once (a while ago) even BOUGHT a CD of a cirque show (Quidam I think), and listened to it a lot because it was so great! I will have to research reviews before buying my next cirque ticket, I thought they were a slam dunk, but this just wasn't worth $300+ for our 2 tx at all. read more

Too simple. I have seen quite a few cirque du soleil shows and this is my least favorite.

The Cirque de Soleil show Varekai in Amsterdam was so disappointing! I've been to 5 Cirque shows and this was not even close to any of the others. The costumes were fun and the talent of the performers was excellent but something was lacking and it was a boring show. Wouldn't recommend this show. read more

My absolute favorite show of theirs. I watched this one on DVD with its first original cast and fell in love with the music, the story, the acting and needless to mention with the artists themselves. It is a philosophical and very romantic tale about daring to love, to fly and to dream. It is about finding and following one's true passion be it art or true love or both. The body language of the romantic story line is that of a dance and miming, it is so brilliant that it is universally understood because it is very expressive. There is a lot of grace and elegance with which the story is enacted. I do not think this show is great for children of any age or adults who come to the cirque to watch the athleticism even though the latter is mesmerizing. The former would not relate to the love story and inspiration behind every dreamer, while the latter will find the show too sentimental and mental. To me, both categories of mentioned viewers are immature to appreciate the genius of this particular show. However, there is something I would totally change if I were the director of the show to make it a truly theatrical show. I want any circus in general to become a theater where a story is told via the circus acts minus clowns unless appropriate. I personally would remove a couple of clowns from the show just because they interrupt the energy and flow of the story. I personally prefer no clowns at all unless they are a part of the story, and one of the clowns is a part of the story, and that is awesome. Another two just don't belong there even though their act is amazing and funny! Still that didn't ruin the show for me. I now wish to see the show live, possibly in Los Angeles or back in Vegas. read more

Very disappointed with the Varekai show at the ACC in Toronto. In my opinion it is not meant for an arena that size. What happened to the tent? That's a circus. I have seen several Cirque's in Toronto and this was by far my least favourite. The storyline was messy and there were only a few real wow moments, which is usually not the case for a Cirque show. There was too much clowning not enough acrobatic or more daring acts. Also, it felt shorter than the other shows. There was a 20 minute intermission after 45 minutes??? My first time not giving a Cirque performance a standing ovation :( read more

The most lame show I've ever seen and I love CDS. By the end of the first hour I wanted to storm out and request my money back. It felt more like an auditioning for high school talent show than CDS. 90% time was allocated to low quality clown acts. Maybe 5 year old would be interested in it but not a sound mind adult. read more

Have seen, and loved, several other Cirque shows, but this one was a serious disappointment and certainly did not live up to CdS's reputation! Story-line was hard to follow (made more sense once I read it online AFTER the show-maybe they should have given out a program); the comedy act was out of place and, frankly, embarrassing to watch-the sprinkling of applause it drew seemed more out of pity than praise; and several of the acts were of only one performer at a time which seemed underwhelming, as opposed to the feeling of excitement you get with several performers to watch at once. Although the aerialists, dancers, and contortionist(s) were good enough in their own right, it just all felt too minimalistic and didn't give you that WOW factor, expectant of CdS. The one exception,the last act, the Russian swings, was the only one that portrayed CdS quality. Interestingly enough, as I read the many reviews, almost all of the 5-stars were from South America & the Philippines-wonder if they got a drastically different show than in the US? read more