Cirque de Soleil’s newest production, Amaluna conveys the trial of two lovers who will fight to be together in an enthralling display of acrobatics.

Amaluna premiered in Montreal in April of 2012 and arrived in Miami in December 2014 at the Sunlife Stadium. Cirque de Soleil is a Canadian Entertainment company based in Montreal and founded in 1984. Each show combines circus styles from around the world, while each director  adds new and unique ideas and techniques.

The orchestra and the acrobats keep the audience on the edge of their seats and the suspense high. Throughout the performance the audience is consumed with the hope that the main two characters will survive the tribulations that challenge their love. With nearly superhuman gymnastics and riveting fight scenes, the plot was riddled with a aesthetically stunning performance.

“Amaluna was exhilarating and innovative. At one point, the main woman balanced an obscene amount of sticks on her head. The crowd was in a stunned stupor the whole time,” said junior Valentina Wakeman.

The inspiration for Amaluna, according to director Diane Paulus, was Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The whole performance takes place on an island that is controlled by a goddess. After a rough night at sea, a group of men arrive on the island. The conflict then begins when the queen’s daughter falls in love with one of the men.

“Even though I do not typically like cliché romance based performances, I found Amaluna to be unique and engaging,” said junior Marina Wakil.

Like every Cirque de Soleil production, the acrobats perform various mouth dropping skills such as flying through the air and flipping while suspended 100 feet in the air, Amaluna is legendary because it was one of the first Cirque de Soleil productions where the majority of the cast is female. The company stated that 70% of the cast is female, which is an unusually high proportion in comparison to other performances.

“I think that Amaluna was not only an impressive performance, but also inspiring since most of cast was female,” said junior Maria Arranz.

Overall, Amaluna was not only a revolutionary step in promoting female equality, but it was also a phenomenal performance.