Tickets went on sale today for the highly acclaimed Cirque du Soleil show Alegría which is coming to Dubai for a month this March.

The event will be held in partnership with Nakheel from March 5 to April 5, 2009, at Grand Chapiteau at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai.

Alegría will be a prelude to the resident show that Cirque du Soleil is developing specifically for Dubai and which is scheduled to open in a purpose-built 1,800-seat theatre on Palm Jumeirah in 2011.

The show will have an evening performance daily (excluding Monday) as well as matinee performances on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with all shows offering a special family only seating section, which takes into consideration the local cultural customs.

Tickets for Alegría, regarded as one of the world’s premier live entertainment productions, is available to buy online at www.cirquedusoleil.ae or by calling 800 CIRQUE (800 247783). 

Tickets are priced from Dh180 ($49) through to Dh1,000.  For bookings of four or more people for a Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday performance people can benefit from a 20 per cent saving.

Following the success of Quidam, the first ever performance by Cirque du Soleil in the Middle East in 2007 which more than 100,000 people attended Nakheel expects tickets for Alegría to sell quickly and recommends that customers buy their tickets early to ensure that they don’t miss out on experiencing the magic of Cirque du Soleil.

“We are delighted to be launching tickets for Cirque du Soleil’s return to Dubai.  Alegría is an incredible show packed with the most breathtaking acrobatic performances and accompanied by fabulous live music,” said managing director, Investment Projects, Nakheel, Robert Lee.

Alegría’s international cast of 55 acrobats, musicians, singers, clowns and characters from 17 countries will perform their talents over two hours in the Grand Chapiteau which caters for 2,500 spectators. 

Beginning in Montreal, Canada, in 1994, Alegría has visited 65 cities across 17 countries and has awed over 10 million spectators around the globe.

The return of Cirque du Soleil follows a partnership struck last year between Nakheel and Cirque du Soleil to develop a permanent show on Palm Jumeirah beginning in 2011 and is expected to run over a 15-year period.

This was followed by an announcement that saw Istithmar World, the investment arm of Dubai World, and Nakheel acquire a 20 per cent stake in Cirque du Soleil earlier this year. – TradeArabia News Service