Evolution of... Fast Track | Alegría by Cirque du Soleil

Evolution of… FastTrack / PowerTrack
Video from:
1997 - Live in Berlin
2001 - Live in Sydney (DVD Version)
2010 - Live at the North America Arena Tour
2019 - A New Light Version
This act is one of my favourites when I was a kid and I get my first DVD of Cirque du Soleil, it was Alegria. This act changes my entire life for good. The strength and speed of the performers inspire me forever.
1994-2013:
In glittering costumes spun of gold, an ethereal group of performers leap across the set tumbling aboard an elongated trampoline embedded in the stage. Like medievals warriors penetrating the depths of a mythical forest, the tumblers not only demonstrate their undeniable acrobatic prowess and strength, but also their grace in a dance whose manner is unique to Cirque du Soleil.
Crafted with equal parts speed, danger and artistry, tumblers draped in gold take off from solid ground and tumble along soft diagonal strips of trampoline material installed flush with the stage, which has opened up to reveal a fantastic display of athleticism as gymnastics alchemize into fine art as acrobats dressed in royal gold flip with lightning speed. The illusion is one of the golden birds hovering in suspended flight.
A new light on Power Track (Main | Apr.18.2019 – present)
Alegria: In a new light, in today’s lens, changed the meaning and also was a revolution in costumes and music of the act.
In a burst of energy, the emerging movement takes the kingdom by storm, creating a breaking point, both literal and symbolic: the stage breaks open with a deep rumble that symbolizes the shaking of the foundations of the stuffy aristocratic order.
All Copyrights goes to Cirque du Soleil

[warrencooper]

2001 was the best version of the
Fast Track by far!11

[marianamaiac]

In my humble opinion, I think that in the past, artists made movements more fluid, in addition to acrobatics, they danced well, they did choreography more lightly, they were more synchronized. I felt goosebumps just to see the 1997 and 2001, the 2010 is also very good at times. The new version disappointed me a lot! 🙂🕊✌🏼

Ok, saw them, and I have opinions.

1997 version is TERRIFIC and I really liked it. It's well put together, the music is great, the pacing is perfect, everything fits perfectly. Nothing much to say, nothing to complain about.

2001 version is like the '97 but improved in every aspect you could think. The music has been improved and tweaked here and there, now it sounds more epic. The lighting has been improved but without being overwhelming, the previous version was a tad too dark. Overall the act is 99% identical to the previous version but polished. It feels better, it feels epic and amazing. There's a lot of action but not too much at the same time. Im my opinion, the best incarnation of the act.

2010 version... Oh boy, where do I even begin? The music is... Worse, somehow. It feels hollow, it feels empty, it doesn't feel epic anymore. The new singer is not up to the part. She's way too young, her voice lacks the power and roughness the old lady had. The song as it was imagined doesn't work for her (which they clearly realised later on). And it makes sense, the original singer made the song, she came up with it, so the song is tailored for her, for her specific voice and registry and no one else. Moreover they added a saxophone player ON TOP of the singers at one point and the sax sounds way louder than them both, and it's annoying (and I'm a sax player myself). Also, the act is shorter and what's worse, feels WAY shorter. It lets you wanting more. There are less acrobats in the act, the stage feels empty at times, and some tricks have been shortened or straight out removed. The lighting is horrible, way too much light, it doesn't feel cozy and intimate and mysterious anymore. Also the track has been redesigned for worse. They removed the huge landing mats they had, now they have to land in the track itself in a painted spot, as a consequence of this, the overall usable length has been shortened and the tricks are also shorter. They acrobats for some reason don't perform as they used to. Sometimes there's too much going on, and sometimes nothing at all, they also compressed the overall act and the pacing feels rushed and chaotic, you're not given time to enjoy it. And the end... Feels weird, all of a sudden the act ends, then continues and then ends again. And in both cases, it's underwhelming.

2019 version is... I don't know? Like I don't really love it, but I don't really hate it either. The act is straight up 100% new. Everything has been changed. For better or worse depends on who you ask to. But at least they tried a new formula. I don't know if the singer is the same as in 2010, and it doesn't really matter. Because previously the singer was a protagonist, she was important, she was meant to be heard. In the new soundtrack she sings way less than she previously did, she's in the background, the music sounds over her and not the other way around. It almost seems like they realised her voice is not as powerful and decided to give the instruments a more important position while at the same time putting her in a second place. They still retain the shortened track from 2010 without the landing mats which limits what can be done. The lighting is... Different. It's better than 2010, for sure, but not as good as the original version. Also, the music in general is way too metal, way too synthetic, way too artificial. It wants to be overwhelming and epic but falls short and ends up being something that's just ok. I mean it works, it does the job, but they killed the atmosphere of the caged birds trying to break free to some scenario out of Mad Max. With the clothes I'm gonna be short, I don't like them. Also they removed Pamir and the ugly latex face character which gave the act a funnier atmosphere. They went back to doing a longer act, but removed the pause in the middle of it with soft, heavenly music. Like the pause is still there but way less noticeable. The pacing doesn't feel rushed anymore but it doesn't feel cohesive either. Also the stage is totally different, the lighting is different, the decorations are different. It feels more punk now, more aggressive.

So my final verdict would be:

1997 - Just great
2001 - The best by far
2010 - Straight up NO.
2019 - Meh. It's ok. Like it's fine if it's the only version you know about, but not even close to the 2001 version. They definitely improved from 2010 but it has lost its essence. It's fine, just not what it used to be, and somehow still underwhelming.

That would be my humble opinion. I'd like to know if you agree or not.

[Axanp]

I prefer the 2001 version, the soundtrack track and the singers are excellent.

[milhouse]

This and the Russian bars always has been my favorites. The new version didn't impress me as much as the old ones, the pace of the act is a bit rushed, the gymnasts are certainly very capable of doing the tricks but the organization is very busy, with a lot of flips happening simultaneously, in a way that even the toughest flips like the triple baclflip and the tsukahara don't impress as much they used to.

[patrickian]

I saw Saltimbanco and, a few years later, I saw Alegría (97/98’ish…I’ve slept since then). I remember the “Fast Track” and, I was left speechless. It was, in a word, PERFECT. I wish I still had my dvd copy (it was pilfered). That performance was my absolute favorite and the 2 songs “Irna” and “Valspena”(?) are really top tier.

[amdhaegar]

I don't understand why they removed the nostalgic old bird from the act, and let Fleur on his place. At the original show the center of the act was the bird, and Valsapena is a song what talks about him and his loneliness.

[beanerama]

The new 2020's version looks far from the original bird-cage/bird-themed aesthetics. It's more like a Alegría-meets-Diesel-Punk kind of version.

[katia]

Bueno después de ver la evolución del show Alegría ... creo que en vez de evolucionar involuciono ya que a mi parecer se perdió la esencia del magnífico show de Alegría de antaño... El último show es como ver un grupo de acróbatas tratando de imitar el show del 2010 sin lograrlo... Del nuevo show lo único a resaltar a dos acróbatas (destellos de luz) que aparentemente si vieron el show de Alegría y entendieron de que trataba... En conclusión 1997 y 2001 lo mejor de mejor 👍

[luiscuellar]

Old version is better.
More men.
Facts.
:V

[judasarmenia]

Soy mexicano y he visto todos los que han venido desde 2002 con Alegría y en Orlando, siempre vale la pena ver uno de sus espectáculos, para mí Cirque du Soleil es el máximo espectáculo escénico del mundo, los que si nunca me han atraído, son los espectáculos en arenas. Todo pasa por algo y quizás era necesario un receso para la compañía, por desgracia se dio con esta pandemia.
I am Mexican and I have seen everyone who has come since 2002 with Alegría and in Orlando, it is always worth seeing one of their shows, for me Cirque du Soleil is the greatest stage show in the world, the ones that have never attracted me are the shows in arenas. Everything happens for a reason and perhaps a recess was necessary for the company, unfortunately this pandemic occurred.

[cirquedumike]

I just really dont like the costume change. It doesnt go with the elegance of the music. And the bird man costume, they exchanged it for a character that looks way to similar to the main character "Levieux" from O". The acrobats are fantastic. I always hate when shows get revamped to something that falls out of the storyline :-/

[mariacecilia-ivyu]

PLEASE make the evolution of Russian Bars act from Alegria. You can find snippets of various videos like their performance on the 1997 in Germany, their performance on the Solstrom TV series in the 2003 episode "Wind Of Imagination". Also one of the flyers called Oleksii Poletaiev has a video on a channel called "Lilok" where from from minute 4:30 shows an except from the presentation. There are also clips from the Japan tour that took place between 2004/2005 and there is also a video entitled "Alegria Evolution Japan" with the wallpaper of Masha Silaeva, which has clips of Russian Bars during that period as well. There is a recorded video of them performing in 2006 in Milano, Italy. And there are video clips from 2007 and 2008 of them performing in Brazil (in São Paulo, Curitiba) and Argentina (Buenos Aires). And finally there is the version they presented in 2010 at the Monte Carlo festival (there is a better quality video of this performance, just search for Les Angels cirque du soleil monte carlo 2010). And after that the presentations in the arena format and the act of the new version

[jeroenvandijk]

Where did you find the footage from 1997?