Corteo: Cirque du Soleil brings its magic to the CTC

Cirque du Soleil's Corteo is here CTV's Tyler Fleming provides a preview of the spectacular show arriving this week at the Canadian Tire Centre.

The magic of the big top descends on the capital this week, as Cirque du Soleil prepares to wow crowds with its dazzling and enchanting acrobatic performance, Corteo.

The show, which has travelled to 20 countries, and has been seen by more than 10 million people, will take centre stage at the Canadian Tire Centre beginning Wednesday.

"Corteo is one of our most beloved shows. It is the hilarious story of Mauro who is at and watching his own funeral," says Duncan Fisher, vice president and general manager of operations with Cirque du Soleil’s touring division. "Mauro interacts with his old friends and they relive portions of his life from being a child all the way up to his demise and of course, being Cirque Du Soleil, all of Mauro’s friends are acrobats and incredible musicians to present a super entertaining show. We have jugglers, we have the aerialists, we have the teeter board, we have hula hoops, we have gymnasts in the show; everything is here and the music is just spectacular."

Corteo is also unique, as the 50 cast members present their show of acrobatic prowess, fantasy, theatre and poetry, to an audience on both sides of the stage.

"You can see all the emotions. Like, everyone there has no way to hide on stage from anyone's eyes, so that’s exciting," says performer Alexandr Yudintsev. "I love having the freedom on stage to be yourself. It’s a family friendly show, it’s nice, it’s funny, it’s goofy and it’s easy to watch."

Tickets to Corteo at the Canadian Tire Centre are available online https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/corteo

Seven performances scheduled; Wednesday to Friday, shows begin at 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday, there are two performances at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Corteo will then have shows in Kingston, Ont. from July 6 to 9.