Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ...Cirque du Soleil's "Corteo"

Every culture has its own cuisine, language, customs and its own brand of pageantry.

And two eye-catching pageants — concocted by a pair of performing outfits hailing from opposite sides of the globe — will unfurl their wonders to Seattle soon.

The better known is Cirque du Soleil, the circus juggernaut from Montreal, Quebec, which brings its show "Corteo" to Redmond's Marymoor Park next week.

Also on the way: Divine Performing Arts "Chinese Spectacular," an international touring extravaganza celebrating modern and traditional Chinese dance and music.

"Corteo"

Cirque du Soleil started out in 1984 as a ragtag Quebec street circus. It's now a far-flung, heavily capitalized cirque empire — still quartered in Canada, but with 15 resident and touring companies in play around the U.S., Asia, Europe and beyond.

In past visits to this area, the company has wowed fans with its gilded and acrobatic whimsy. And now Cirque du Soleil returns to pitch its Grand Chapiteau (big-top tent) at sylvan Marymoor Park, where (following its run in Portland), the troupe will stage the first Seattle-area stand of "Corteo." The carnivallike show was devised in 2005.

Though most Cirque du Soleil spectacles feature acrobats, dancers and clowns cavorting in colorful makeup to a world-beat musical score, "Corteo" is something of a departure, noted Alison Crawford, the production's senior artistic director.

"What's quite different about this is that it's much more theatrical than some of our work," Crawford explained by phone from Montreal. Corteo is the Italian word for cortege, and the show "is the story of a man, a clown, who imagines his funeral, and there is some dialogue in French and English. But it's not a sad story at all. It's a celebration of a life."

Unlike in such previous Cirque du Soleil attractions as "Dralion" (performed in Renton, in 2002) and "Varekai" (presented at Marymoor two years ago), the actors wear "no masks or heavy makeup," said Crawford, whose job is to ensure the ongoing quality of the production.

"And when the artists speak each other's names, those are their real names. We're also using two-sided seating with a proscenium arch, dividing the stage, and big curtains. The show has the feeling of history, of old-time circuses. Some of the costumes are actually painted to look older."

Essential to all Cirque du Soleil efforts, however, are the top-notch skill acts — and "Corteo" is no exception. Crawford promises some unusual ones.

"We've got four beautiful women aerialists working on huge chandeliers, the kind you'd see in a château in France," she said. "And we have a number using two ginormous beds with trampolines under them. It reminds people of jumping up and down on the bed as a child."

The best Cirque du Soleil shows can indeed induce childlike wonder in adults. And there are more being cooked up, including a production that will be installed at a theater in Macau, and a new Las Vegas one featuring illusionist Criss Angel.

Divine Performing Arts

"Chinese Spectacular"

Panoramic images of temples, mountains and flying angels in 3D, anyone? Dances of the Mongolian horses and the nymphs of the sea?

That's the stuff of this elaborate touring show, inspired by 5,000 years of Chinese myths, legends, music and dance.

Designed for mass consumption, "Chinese Spectacular" has been seen in more than 60 cities on several continents. It showcases the talents of a large troupe of Chinese dancers, musicians, choreographers and costumers, among them opera tenor Guan Guimin and choreographers/lead dancers Vina Lee and Michelle Ren.

Awash in pastel lighting, silky garb and bright flowing ribbons, the 2-year-old show is surprisingly controversial in China despite its broad appeal.

The Chinese government tends to control the exportation of traditional Chinese performing troupes. But this show is produced by a private entity, the New York-based, not-for-profit New Tang Dynasty Television, a satellite network that has been critical of governmental policies in China — including those related to arts censorship.

The company's mission, stated on its Web site: to "rekindle the lofty ideals of the ancient Tang [Dynasty], fostering renewed appreciation and achievement in the traditional arts of China."

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com