REVIEW by Willard Manus

It's worth noting that Montreal's acclaimed Cirque Eloize will premiere its newest creation, NOMADE, at Royce Hall, Sept. 20-22. The premiere will kick off a 40-city, 89-performance USA tour, following which the company will return in 2003 to Montreal for the Highliight Festival and a tour of Quebec. Then in April, NOMADE travels through Europe and finishes in London in August, 2003.

NOMADE takes its audience on a surreal journey, seducing and mystifying in a dreamland of adventure. It is a celebration of the wandering imagination at the heart of the human experience. A troupe of gypsy artists stages a carnival in which the use and display of traditional circus skills--song, dance, music, juggling and acrobatic feats--culminates in a wedding sequence.

NOMADE will introduce Los Angeles audiences to Finzi Pasca, who is building an international reputation through his combined theatre and clown work.

Cirque Eloize was named for the famous flashes of heat lightning common to the Magdalen Islands of Quebec. The company is part of a new generation of circus performers focused on innovation, imagination and show-stopping panache. Different from other modern circuses, its shows are presented Italian style--on proscenium stages.

In the past nine years, Cirque Eloize has performed in more than 200 cities and 20 countries to more than two million spectators.

NOMADE'S tryout engagement in Canada was hailed by the Journal de Montreal as being "Exceptional and awesome! A dream world where sensuality, tenderness, humor and, yes, emotion blend perfectly with acrobatics, daring and surprises."

For tickets and information call (310) 825-2101 or Ticketmaster (213) 480-3232 or visit Ticketmaster.com