Cirque du Soleil explores 3,000 years of Chinese acrobatic traditions in Dralion, the show premiering Wednesday at the New Orleans Arena. “In essence, the story of Dralion is about harmony,” says Cirque du Soleil’s Artistic Director Sean McKeown. “The dragon, the lion, the East and the West…come together to form this wonderful beast, Dralion.” The show features performers of 14 different nationalities, including 23 Chinese acrobats under the age of 25. McKeown says the elements water, earth, air, and fire are represented by characters on stage, all competing to find balance and harmony.

In 1999, Dralion came to the stage in Cirque du Soleil’s traditional big top tent. For the first time, the show is touring in an arena. According to McKeown, “One of the things we had to do was to look at the show as the creation it was and modify that creation to make sure that it works in an arena environment.” That meant re-staging the entire show, a process that took about three months and involved implementing new music. An act that was previously on rotation came into the show permanently.

The other modification was to update the material. “The director, Guy Caron, spent a lot of time in China doing research,” McKeown says. “Then he came back and looked at what acts were contemporary and what acts were really happening in the world and did a very amazing blend of what we do at Cirque du Soleil.”

One new act involves trampolines, and many of the artists participating in it are gymnasts who have competed for world championships. “One competed for 20 years professionally before coming to Cirque du Soleil, so there’s a lot of history,” he says. Athletes make good Cirque du Soleil performers, McKeown says, not only because of their ability but because of their mental makeup. “The artists are very disciplined people, and they have to have the right attitude for what we do because we change cities every week. You have to have the right kind of approach in life to be able to do this as well. We’re like one little city or one big family traveling together, depending on how you want to look at it.”

Dralion plays the New Orleans Arena Wednesday through Saturday. Tickets are on sale online.

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