Calling All Goddesses

5 reasons why Cirque du Soleil's newest show is unlike any you've seen before

For more than 30 years, Cirque du Soleil has been wowing audiences all over the world with its dazzling live shows. Featuring amazing performers who defy gravity with their acrobatic acts and musicians who play the original scores live, the experience is unlike any other form of entertainment.

The latest Cirque du Soleil show, Amaluna, is bringing its blue-and-yellow-striped Big Top to Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie beginning January 23, 2019.

The audience is invited to a mysterious island governed by goddesses and guided by the cycles of the moon. Their queen, Prospera, directs her daughter's coming-of-age ceremony in a rite that honors femininity, renewal, rebirth, and balance. In the wake of a storm caused by Prospera, a group of young men lands on the island, triggering an epic, emotional love story between Prospera's daughter Miranda and a brave young suitor named Romeo. But the couple must face numerous trials and overcome daunting setbacks before they can achieve harmony.

Even if you've been lucky enough to witness a Cirque show before, here are five reasons why Amaluna is unlike anything you've ever seen before.

1. The women are the stars
Not only is Amaluna's storyline focused on females, the cast is comprised mostly of women. "I didn't want to build a 'women's agenda' show. I wanted to create a show with women at the center of it, something that had a hidden story that featured women as the heroines," says director Diane Paulus.

2. They're in charge offstage too
Amaluna is the first Cirque du Soleil show to be directed by a woman. Diane Paulus, the Tony-winning theater and opera director, drew from a series of classical influences when creating the concept of the show, including tales from Greek and Norse mythology, Mozart's The Magic Flute, and Shakespeare's The Tempest.

3. Women also run the music
Cirque du Soleil shows are known for their incredible scores and live musicians, and Amaluna is the first time the company has employed an all-female band.

4. The show's title has a hidden meaning
"Amaluna" is a fusion of the words "ama," which refers to "mother" in many languages, and "luna," which means "moon," a symbol of femininity. Together, the word evokes both the mother-daughter relationship and the idea of goddess and protector of the planet. Amaluna is also the name of the mysterious island where the show's story unfolds.

5. There are two brand-new acts
Jaw-dropping feats of physicality are what make Cirque shows so unique, and this one is no exception. Amaluna boasts not one, but two, new acts: the Waterbowl and the Balance Goddess.

The Waterbowl is a pool that's more than 7 feet in diameter and weighs 5,500 pounds when filled. It's where Miranda and Romeo tentatively kiss for the first time, after Romeo watches Miranda perform a challenging hand-balancing routine before diving through the water.

The Balance Goddess is shown creating a world in equilibrium with a mobile made of 13 palm leaf ribs. An ode to balance, her movements are slow, deliberate, and almost meditative as she concentrates all her attention on this literally breathtaking structure. And then she removes the smallest piece, everything disintegrates and the young couple's trials begin.

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Take advantage of 15 percent off select tickets, categories 1-2-3 for all weekday and Friday 4:30 pm shows.

Amaluna is the first female-driven Cirque du Soleil show.

Photo by Markus Moellenberg

Amaluna is the first female-driven Cirque du Soleil show.

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Vinyl Record News

Dallas record store chain Josey Records spins new location in Garland

Josey Records

Vinyl at Josey Records

Dallas music maker Josey Records has extended its reach east: The record store chain, whose empire includes one of the largest single independent record stores in the U.S., has opened a location in Garland, at 1005 Northwest Hwy., at the intersection of Centerville Road, where it's selling its trademark assortment of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, turntables, music posters, new releases, and music accessories.

This is the sixth location and the third in the Dallas area, joining the original in Farmers Branch which owners Waric Cameron and Luke Sardello opened in November 2014. They've since opened locations in Plano, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Vidalia, Missouri.

The original location is a giant place with 16,000 square feet devoted to vinyl, 45s, CDs, turntables, and T-shirts. They do a good job showcasing new releases and collector vinyl — they made CultureMap's list of 5 best places in Dallas to buy vinyl records — and are known to host album release and listening parties such as a recent blockbuster celebrating Linkin Park.

They made headlines in June 2020 when they acquired the vast musical inventory of Bill’s Records following the death of owner Bill Wisener; Cameron and Sardello both worked at Bill’s, and knew the sprawling collection first-hand.

"It has taken us years to even start going through it, but in last two years, we've made some headway," Cameron says. "Bill's has its own audience, so we created a specific Instagram account, just for Bill's Records merchandise called @billsrecordsvault."

They chose Garland because they saw it as an area that was under-served.

"There are very few record stores in that area of northeast Dallas, Casa View, Garland, Rockwall, Mesquite," Cameron says. "We have customers who live over there, so it seemed like a good place for a store."

The storefront they're in was most recently The Music Store, which sold and rented musical instruments and accessories; but coincidentally, it's next to an address that was once RPM Records, a hip record store from the '90s.

The Garland store follows the same model as their others: selling new and used records and merchandise, and buying used goods, as well.

"One thing that's cool is that each location takes on its own identity," he says. "We buy used CDs, vinyl records, cassettes — we're a used resale business — and what we buy from our customers dictates what that store becomes. For example, our Plano store has a lot of classic rock. So we're looking forward to seeing what Garland gravitates to."

Garland does have one thing that the other locations do not.

"Right now, Garland has this incredible collection of jazz," Cameron says. "We bought a great collection of jazz records — someone called and wanted to sell it. We get that a lot, we buy major collections from all over the U.S., we even make house calls. So we saved it for the Garland store."