Cirque du Soleil’s "CRYSTAL" brings the circus arts to the ice for the very first time.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Cirque du Soleil

Everyone had a different demeanour warming up on the ice for the Cirque du Soleil show in Kelowna. Some of the stunting skaters were pure focus, others were smiling and laughing, but come showtime they all have nerves of steel.

Cirque du Soleil’s Crystal is showing at Prospera Place, May 22 to 25, and the tickets are almost sold out. It’s not just high octane skaters doing big tricks, there are acrobats, musicians and more.

There will be 45 performers wearing more than 1,000 costume pieces, including a cameo from the Kelowna Rockets.

Canadian skater Emmanuelle Proft said she was born with skates on her feet since both of her parents are national champion skaters who performed in shows after their competition days, and she followed in their stride.

Emmanuelle Proft getting tossed in the air by Nicolas Nadeau during Cirque du Soleil's practice at Prospera Place on May 22, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

“Basically, as soon as I could get into skating, I did,” she said. “Many years of elite level competition. And then finally deciding that fundamentally competitions weren't for me. And I enjoy my time skating much more as a performer.”

Cirque du Soleil tells a story and Proft said physically getting into character gets her in the headspace to do her stunts in the show.

“Makeup is a huge part of the characters. So, doing makeup is kind of my mental prep for me. I'm able to really calm down, get in the zone and do my makeup. And then I'll do a little bit of a warm-up backstage and then I'm ready to get on the ice,” she said. “The lovely wardrobe ladies do my hair as well, which is super, super nice.”

Emmanuelle Proft and Nicolas Nadeau during Cirque du Soleil's practice at Prospera Place on May 22, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

The roughly 50 crew were busy Thursday, May 22, putting the finishing touches on the set, preparing the props and getting the lighting and sound ready for the show.

A special sensor is sewn into the performers’ costumes so that the lights and projectors can track them on the ice while they’re skating to coordinate special lighting cues.

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Since the show is always travelling, and there are so many costume pieces to wash, Cirque du Soleil brings a row of washing machines everywhere so they don’t have to haul the outfits to a laundromat in every city and town.

Some costume pieces for Cirque du Soleil's "Crystal" on May 22, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

The level of athletics performed and the amount of shows these performers do puts some wear and tear on their bodies, but there is a small team of medical specialists who travel with the circus to help the performers recover.

“We call them P-Med. They're our medical team with us. So, whenever we have some sort of injury or a muscle is kind of tweaking, we can just go into that office and you can book a massage or book some time with one of the two people in the team from the medical staff,” Proft said. “We have machines, like TheraGuns, heat packs. We have it all, honestly.”

She said at other shows people are dedicated to their craft and practice every day, but at Cirque du Soleil people are practicing 24/7.

“Throughout every hour of the day, you'll see someone in a corner doing handstands or someone juggling or someone practicing lifts or someone doing their straps number. There's just always people doing things everywhere all the time. It's just a constant,” she said.

With so many people around with expertise in various disciplines, Proft has taken some time to learn some new skills like handstands.

“I love it, and it stimulates my brain like I'm doing something new,” she said.

Cirque du Soleil performer Jonny Stranks warming up with a handstand at Prospera Place on May 22, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

Proft has been travelling with the Crystal performers and crew for the past year, and after the show’s seven year run shows in Kelowna, Portland and Vancouver are the last chance to see it.

“We've been traveling together for a year. It's a family. And you don't really know once the tour ends, come June 8, when you're going to see these people again. We all come from different sports, so that's definitely going to be a difficult part. But I'm also happy to kind of go to a different show and move on to different things, even though this show will always have a very special place in my heart,” she said.

Props for Cirque du Soleil's "Crystal" in Kelowna on May 22, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

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