The new Cirque du Soleil touring show inspired by James Cameron’s record-breaking movie AVATAR,  TORUK –  The First Flight, will be presented at The Palace of Auburn Hills on January 22 – 24, 2016, as part of a global tour in arenas around the world starting November 2015. The show is presented by Visa Signature.

The name

TORUK – The First Flight, inspired by James Cameron’s AVATAR, a live experience by Cirque du Soleil®, envisions a world beyond imagination set thousands of years before the events depicted in the film. The word Toruk, in the Na’vi language, refers to the great leonopteryx, the mighty red and orange predator that rules the Pandoran sky. Central in Na’vi lore and culture, this fascinating creature is crucial to the Na’vi clans’ sense of destiny and interconnectedness – and is about to be ridden for the very first time by a Na’vi.

Creative team

TORUK – The First Flight comprises 13 creators under the artistic guidance of Guy Laliberté (Guide) and Jean-François Bouchard (Creative Guide) for Cirque du Soleil, and James Cameron, Jon Landau, Kathy Franklin and Richie Baneham for Lightstorm Entertainment: 

Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon               Show Writers and Directors, Multimedia Directors

Neilson Vignola                                                 Director of Creation

Carl Fillion                                                            Set and Props Designer

Kym Barrett                                                        Costume and Makeup Designer

Tuan Le and Tan Loc                                        Choreographers

Bob & Bill                                                             Composers and Musical Directors

Jacques Boucher                                              Sound Designer

Alain Lortie                                                         Lighting Designer

Patrick Martel                                                    Puppet Designer

Germain Guillemot                                         Acrobatic Performance Designer

Pierre Masse                                                     Rigging and Acrobatic Equipment Designer

Ticket information

TORUK – The First Flight will be presented at The Palace of Auburn Hills on January 22 – 24, 2016. Tickets for those performances will be on pre-sale exclusively for Cirque Club members on April 30. Public on-sale will start May 8 at 10:00am. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/toruk.

Sponsors and partners

TORUK – The First Flight is presented by Visa Signature, the sponsor of the 2015-2016 US tour of the show. Xerox and DHL are the official sponsors. The show is being created through a licensing arrangement with 20th Century Fox.

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Cirque du Soleil

TORUK – The First Flight is Cirque du Soleil’s 37th production since 1984. The company has brought wonder and delight to more than 155 million spectators in more than 300 cities on six continents. Cirque du Soleil has close to 4,000 employees, including 1,300 performing artists from close to 50 different countries.

For more information about Cirque du Soleil, visit https://www.cirquedusoleil.com.

To find out more about the ONE DROP Foundation, visit https://www.onedrop.org.