It's not common to get to shine our obnoxious camera light onto Cirque du Soleil rehearsals. But this week, we got rare access, including backstage.

Premiering back in 2002 in Montreal, Varekai (which, translated, means "wherever") has played in nearly 20 countries. Now, for the first time ever, the show - rich with message and metaphors - has made it to Central Florida.
"Varekai starts where the Greek mythology of Icarus ends," explained the show's publicist, Vanessa Napoli. "So Icarus falls from the sky and instead of landing in the ocean, he lands in this magical, enchanted forest."

Here's a show overview, according to a press release:

Deep within a forest, at the summit of a volcano, exists an extraordinary world where something else is possible. A world called Varekai.

The sky lets go a solitary young man, and the story of Varekai begins. Parachuted into the shadows of a magical forest, a kaleidoscopic world imbued with fantastical creatures, a young man takes flight in an adventure both absurd and extraordinary.

On this day at the edge of time, in this place of pure and undiluted possibility, begins an inspired incantation to a life rediscovered and to a newly found wonder in the mysteries of the world and the mind.

On stage, you'll see 50 people from 18 different countries. There's also a 7-piece band that includes a bandleader/keyboard player, a second keyboard player, drummer, percussionist, bassist, violinist and a wind instruments player and two singers - one male (The Patriarch) and one female (The Muse).

Unlike musicals, the music needs to adapt to what is going on on-stage and not the other way around. To do so, the band leader, the musicians, the singers and the sound staff are in constant communication via headsets and microphones during the show.

We got to dip into a few rehearsals, starting with the Russian swing team.

"They're training right now, new tricks, said Napoli, making sure our bright light wouldn't surprise the high-flying men. "They're tied with a [harness,] but during the show, it will not be there."

We also watched acrobats practice for their scene, which appears immediately following intermission. Performer Emily McCarthy says it's a "Slippery Surface" scene, which uses a blue surface allowing them to slide and show off her mixed-pair-flyer abilities.

"To do 5-7 shows a week is pretty challenging," McCarthy admitted.

Out of all of the 19 Cirque shows, the costumes in Varekai are particularly unique because they - more than the rest - exaggerate the human body to make these people turn into mythical creatures of the forest. So the thighs, for instance, appear anatomically impossible.

There are 18 semis on tour. One-and-a-half of them are filled just with the costumes. Five-hundred are used nightly, with nearly 2,000 more as back-ups in case of a rip or "malfunction."

This weekend, tickets are still available for the 4 remaining shows:

    Saturday: 4 & 7:30 p.m.

    Sunday: 1:30 & 5 p.m.

Tickets start at $45.25.