TORONTO - Cirque du soleil is returning to its street-performer roots for a free event at Luminato, Toronto's summer arts festival.
Organizers say the internationally renowned acrobatic troupe from Montreal will produce the event for the festival's closing weekend in June.
The show will run from June 12 to 14 at the waterfront, where two sets of performers will be stationed in different areas.
One Cirque group will represent the natural world while the other will portray an urban society. As the weekend unfolds, the two tribes will "discover and interact with each other in an array of aerial and ground movement," says a release.
The venues include Harbourfront Centre, the Toronto Music Garden and HtO Park.
Harbourfront Centre is the first venue in which Cirque du soleil performed outside of Quebec close to a quarter century ago, say organizers.
Other artists lined up for Luminato's closing weekend include Serbian composer Goran Bregovic and his Wedding and Funeral Orchestra, and a Brazilian guitar marathon.
Now in its third year, Luminato is a free 10-day celebration of the arts. This year's instalment runs June 5-14.
