Cirque du Soleil JOYÀ celebrated its 8th anniversary as Latin America’s first resident Cirque du Soleil show, the first show of its kind at a resort and the only Cirque du Soleil show to include an immersive culinary experience. JOYÀ marks the beginning of a strong collaboration between Grupo Vidanta, the leading developer of resorts and tourism infrastructure in Mexico and Latin America, and Cirque du Soleil.
JOYÀ is an homage to Mexico, a creative conquest, a celebration of nature, and a tribute to the power of friendship and family. Over the seasons, Cirque du Soleil assembled for this show, a team of the best acrobats, aerialists, actors, jugglers, dancers, singers, and technicians from different parts of the world, including Mongolia, Ukraine, France, Spain, England, Japan, Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, China, Colombia, USA, of course, Mexico.
“JOYÀ is a must see show in the Riviera Maya; through this eight-year partnership between Grupo Vidanta and Cirque du Soleil, over 1,135,500 guests experienced an entirely new category of immersive entertainment in Mexico,” said Iván Chávez, Executive Vice President of Grupo Vidanta. “We are extremely proud to work with the hundreds of performers, artisans, designers, chefs, waiters and crew who come together to make JOYÀ possible, and to have the opportunity to share this extraordinary experience with people from around the world.”
As a place where anything is possible, JOYÀ is the only dining experience of any Cirque du Soleil production worldwide, presenting an exquisite three-course dinner that tempts every sense with culinary wonders as spectacular as the theater, music, and performances. “The JOYÀ dinner experience should be as enjoyable and surprising as the show itself,” said Alexis Bostelmann, Executive Chef at Vidanta.
To celebrate eight years of being a fantastic, genre-blending show, here is a journey through JOYÀ numbers and fun facts over the years:
Over 2,430 shows performed
More than 1,135,500 guests in attendance
300+ collaborators of over 20 nationalities on and off stage to make the show happen
18 months taken to build the theatre
6 months to build the set
More than 360,000 dinners. Servers must prepare for the second show in the dark!
The multi-sensory dining offers regular, vegetarian and vegan menu options along with gluten-free food. And the menu card is edible!
Each night, around 200 bottles of champagne and 1,428 canapes are served
100 costumes were hand-crafted in 15,000 hours!
It takes 5 months to create the masks worn by Zelig’s Masters; the masks have 10,000 beads and jewels, each glued by hand
35 full-time theatrical technicians
33 full-time performers, who rehearse 4 times per week
The artists use more than 110 colors for their makeup and apply it in 30 steps.
6 wardrobe staff take care of the artists’ wardrobe
Lyrics are in an invented language that refers to the world’s cultural diversity.
There are hidden symbols with references to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, allusions to the stories of Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes, and hints at the work of Guillermo del Toro.
… and many more secrets and references to discover! It takes more than one visit to spot them all.
JOYÀ reminds audiences that everyone has important stories to tell, and somewhere inside, there is a curious child who wants to play and a spark of imagination waiting to ignite. If anyone has experienced JOYÀ, there is an opportunity to relive the journey as new elements and surprises are constantly added.
Tickets are available at: www.cirquedusoleil.com/joya
