There’s no doubt that the world depicted in Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza is not our own. Apparently, the laws of gravity don’t apply there. And human bodies, seemingly made without bones, are able to fluidly assume positions that the most advanced yogi would be hard pressed to emulate.

Kooza contortionists.

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Kooza is being performed under the signature blue-and-yellow Grande Chapiteau (big top) at the Del Mar Fairgrounds through March 21. The show represents a return to Cirque du Soleil’s origins, combining two quintessential circus traditions, acrobatic performance and the art of clowning.

Tumblers on six-foot stilts catapult themselves 30 feet above the stage, execute multiple twisting somersaults, and land upright—on the stilts. Aerialists show super-human balance and coordination, leap-frogging on the thinnest of wires high in the air. An acrobat with an otherworldly sense of equilibrium performs handstands on a 23-foot tower of chairs. And in the most heart-stopping of sequences, two men defy the Wheels of Death, a huge device of rapidly spinning matching wheels–-like giant hamster wheels–-on opposite sides of an axle-like rotating metal frame.

The performers run and fly through the air inside the juxtaposed wheels, spinning down near the stage floor, and then rising breathtakingly up near the top of the 50 foot high tent. Impressive. But soon, the men are running, leaping and jumping rope on top of the spinning wheels as they careen down and up on their axle. This is Avatar material in real life, something you might expect in the latest digitally enhanced video game or sci-fi fantasy. But these are real people, in real life, in real time. The world of Kooza, it seems, has laws of physics all its own.

There’s a loose plot involving a childlike character called “The Innocent,” who is given a live Jack-in-the-Box, containing “The Trickster,” bringing the magic world of Kooza onto the stage in a kaleidoscope of colorful costumes, flashing lights, exciting feats of physical impossibilities and hypnotic live music. There are clowns in the guise of a bumbling king and his two minions whose routines are often just off-color enough to amuse the grown ups, without taking it out of the realm of family-friendly entertainment. And there’s a big floppy dog who does what big floppy male dogs do: barks and urinates—trust me, it’s actually cute, and I’m sure it’s only water, but you might not want to be sitting in the front center row.

The costumes worn in Kooza are also a reflection of the original Cirque du Soleil shows, using wondrous fabrics to show off every sinewy muscle in the acrobats’ perfect bodies. The set is somewhat simple, leaving us free to focus our oohs and aahs on the impossible feats performed with such amazing aplomb by the cast.

With so many imitators these days, Cirque du Soleil has to keep pushing the envelope to keep from becoming Cirque du So-So. By going back to its roots of holding-your-breath-in-jaw-dropping-amazement acrobatics, Kooza’s envelope comes to us by Special Delivery.

(For another review of Kooza, click HERE.)

Show Hours:

Tuesdays thru Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Fridays and Saturdays at 4 p.m.

Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 5 p.m.