If you have post-Summer Olympics withdrawal, Cirque du Soleil's latest offering to Miami, Corteo, could give you the fix you need.

After all, pixie Shawn Johnson was a charmer as she won individual gold at the summer Games in Beijing, but can she hang upside-down and spin a hard-bodied man high off the ground using her hair? Can she walk up and down a ladder that has no visible means of support?

Corteo's Botakoz Turkeev, one half of the Duo-Straps act, and ladder climber Uzeyer Novrusov deliver these thrills at the Cirque show, now playing under the Grand Chapiteau at Bicentennial Park through Dec. 21.

Although the show is short of Cirque's usual ''Wow!'' factor -- remember human statues Yves Decoste and Marie-Laure Mesnage from Cirque's Quidam? -- Corteo comes close with the aforementioned acts. So does its theatrical closer, Tournik, a dramatic if conventional set piece that features 17 gymnasts who soar above and around each other on parallel bars.

The graceful Chandeliers, the first act, also impress as women dangling by the neck or ankle entwine themselves in the curved metal and glowing candlelights of mammoth chandeliers.

Corteo -- cortege in Italian -- also attempts to tell a story, although going to a Cirque presentation for its story is like buying a Britney Spears album and expecting to hear a singer. A clown, who may or may not be dead, wanders amid set pieces and imagines his life over the course of Corteo's 18 acts. These stories are mere threads to tie the nifty acts together if you're really paying close attention. Be grateful, though, that this vague theme is not as morbid as it sounds and, for once, the featured clown, a beefy guy played by Mauro Mozzani, isn't of the creepy, cackly variety we've seen too many times.

For a dead -- or dreaming -- clown, he gets up to all sorts of mischief. He watches his own funeral (it's not quite as dark as you might expect), plays ball, rides a flying bed, dodges falling poultry, directs a presentation of Romeo and Juliet and, given that this is Florida, he probably finds time to vote.

That Romeo and Juliet segment, which features pint-sized clown Valentyna Pahlevanyan, is one of Corteo's numbing slow spots. Pahlevanyan is much better in an audience participation number where she's cast aloft in helium balloons.

The other dull misfires -- the group act Crystal Glasses and Tibetan Bowls, and clowns whistling Mozart and Verdi -- are not detrimental enough to override the overall good spirit and artistry of this lyrical show.

Just when we all need a communal uplift, Corteo arrives to delight fans with whimsical, playful offerings like Bouncing Beds, where tumblers do what every child loves to do: bounce on their beds like a trampoline. These tumblers' moves, of course, are more intricate and their beds are much springier than ours. One athlete, for example, balances on the headboard, falls backward, then bounces back into standing position. It was as if we were watching a film unspool in reverse. Way cool -- like most of this engaging treat.

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@