Cirque du Soleil Australian star Helena Merten spreads her giant butterfly wings in dream role

Aussie Cirque du Soleil star Helena Merten, who “always dreamt of being on the big stage”, is set to wow Sydney audiences with her tribute to the monarch butterfly.

Helena Merten is living her childhood dreams.

The Cirque du Soleil performer is one of just two Australians in the touring production of Luzia that opens at Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter tomorrow.

“It is really incredible, this is a full circle moment,” Merten told The Daily Telegraph.

“I remember sitting as a seven-year-old amazed and dreaming of being up on that stage.

“In terms of the scale of Cirque du Soleil shows and the way it is known around the world, it is certainly the top of the top.”.

Australian performer Helena Merten is a cast member of Cirque du Soleil's production of Luzia. Picture: Richard Dobson

Cirque du Soleil star Helena Merten performs as the ‘running woman’ who spreads her giant wings in a tribute to the monarch butterfly. Picture: Richard Dobson

Merten, 29, from Queensland, has been performing with Cirque for a decade and was previously a gymnast and former high diver who placed second in the 2017 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.

Luzia is Cirque’s 38th original production and marks 25 years since the legendary Canadian company first brought a show here.

The show is based on Mexican folklore with ‘luz’ Spanish for light and ‘iluvia’ translating to rain. Water is incredibly incorporated into the staging.

Luzia’s cast is 47-strong and represents some 26 countries, speaking 19 different languages.

The travelling show takes 99 containers and 124 people around the world, with the performance taking place under a Big Top circus tent, a set-up process which takes seven days and 6000 hours of work.

Merten plays the ‘running woman’ who spreads her giant wings in a tribute to the migratory journey of the monarch butterfly.

“I am very lucky,” she said. “All of the people that got me here, it really does take a village to raise someone and put them on this stage so I am very happy and grateful. I always dreamt of being on the big stage.”