After ripping open holiday presents on Wednesday, don’t pack away those red and green decorations just yet — The Straz Center has more holiday fun in its stocking.
Cirque Dreams Holidaze, the longest-running cirque holiday spectacular, will dazzle in Morsani Hall Thursday and Friday, Dec. 26-27. The Broadway-style production is an infusion of contemporary circus acts including aerial performers, sleight-of-hand jugglers, fun-loving skippers, breath-catching acrobatics and more.
Among the performers is Lucas Suarez, an aerial pole specialist, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who joined the Cirque team in 2022. He began with the groundbreaking Cirque du Soleil show, Echo, and is now part of the Holidaze tour coming to Tampa.
“It’s a holiday theme with spectacular singers, a lot of dance numbers and mainly circus acts,” Suarez said.
“We are all world-class acrobats, flying and doing hand balance. You have roller skaters, hair hangers, lots of variety for everyone,” he explains. “And it’s a family-focused show, so it’s very fun.”
An original music score includes new twists on seasonal favorites such as “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “Carol of the Bells.” Singers, dancers, penguins, toy soldiers, and reindeer invoke the dreams behind a child’s eye on the most magical of nights.
Suarez says the show incorporates a lot of familiar holiday characters, such as The Nucracker, the audience will recognize. “We have a toy soldier act that is followed by an aerial pole act. I’m like a nutcracker flying on a pole. It takes a lot of skill.”
It’s a skill that he began learning at age 7 after giving Argentina’s most popular sport – football (soccer) — a chance.
“Yes, I tried soccer for a couple months and due to my shy personality, I was not good at group sports. My parents took me to acrobatic classes, more specifically tumbling and hand-to-hand (circus), and after a little while I started to perform on stage with my mentors.
“Much later when I was 13 to 16 years old, I had a short period when I competed in gymnastics, however, I also kept performing on stage. After my second knee fracture I decided to stick to my passion, showing my art on stage, working for the applause and not for the score.”
Suarez said his first job in aerial performance was with Celebrity Cruise Line which lead to Cirque du Soleil, the largest contemporary circus producer in the world, that also produces Cirque Dreams Holidaze.
“It was very, very nice to achieve that goal,” he said. “It was a dream.”
In Holidaze, Suarez said he works hard on his craft and connecting with the audience.
“Every time I look at them, I try to transmit the audiences that I’m enjoying this,” he said. I want to inspire young kids that are looking at my performance. It’s a magical job, transmitting great emotions and healing, perhaps changing someone’s day.”
Cirque Dreams Holidaze will have four performances Dec. 26-27. Visit here for tickets, and visit here for holiday activity sheets!