Cirque du Soleil Luzia performers fall in love with Sydney’s beaches

Bondi Beach’s famous lifesavers showed the cast of Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia a thing or two about surviving an authentic Australian summer.

Bondi Beach’s famous lifesavers showed the cast of Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia a thing or two about surviving an authentic Australian summer.

With their run of shows extended into February, Cirque du Soleil artist Ugo Laffolay told The Saturday Telegraph that he’s been making the most of his time in the sun – and despite a vicious sunburn following his first day on the sand, he’s formed quite a love affair with Sydney’s world famous coastline.

“There’s so many beautiful spots in Sydney like Coogee and Bronte, but I’ve become a big fan of Manly,” said the 36-year-old Frenchman, who is known for his outrageous feats of balance and strength, which can see him hand-balancing on a stack of poles as high as 7m.

Cirque du Soleil performers Morgane, Li, Ugo, Melvin and Vanessa pose up on Bondi Beach with lifesavers Neve Davey and Cooper Falzon. Picture: Tom Parrish

Since the age of six, Laffolay has been training in circus school, and is most well known for his outrageous feats of balance and strength, which can see him hand-balancing on a stack of poles as high as seven metres.

Bolstering an array of natural performers such as Laffolay, the Australian Cirque du Soleil has a string of sellout shows across Brisbane, Melbourne and now Sydney.

Combining the word “luz”, meaning light, and “lluvia”, meaning rain, the production features a unique Mexican production style, which includes a spectacular downpour illusion on stage with 10,000 litres of recycled water.

The show will depart for New York after its final Australian show on February 9.