Totem (Cirque du Soleil)

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Totem
Logo for Cirque du Soleil's Totem
Company	Cirque du Soleil
Genre	Contemporary circus
Show type	Touring show
Date of premiere	April 22, 2010 (Montreal)
Creative team
Writer and director	Robert Lepage
Director of creation	Neilson Vignola
Set and props designer	Carl Fillion
Composers	Guy Dubuc Marc Lessard
Costume designer	Kym Barett
Lighting designer	Étienne Boucher
Choreographer	Jeffrey Hall
Sound designer	Jacques Boucher
Makeup designer	Nathalie Simard
Acrobatic performance designer	Florence Pot
Rigging designer	Pierre Masse
Projection designer	Pedro Pires
Other information
Preceded by	Viva Elvis (2010)
Succeeded by	Zarkana (2011)
Official website

Totem is a touring show by Cirque du Soleil that premiered in Montréal on April 22, 2010.^[1] It was written and directed by previous collaborator Robert Lepage (Kà).^[2] Cirque du Soleil describes Totem's theme as the evolution of humanity from its primordial, amphibian state toward the aspiration of flight, taking inspiration from many of humanity's founding myths.^[3] The show was awarded the 2013 New York Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.^[4]

All of Cirque du Soleil's previous touring productions were originally created to be performed inside large, custom-designed tents (called the grand chapiteau), but many of those shows have since been re-staged in arenas and other venues after the conclusion of their "big top" tour. Totem's creation team faced the challenge of designing a show that could be adapted for arenas and other venues from the outset.