A new world comes to D.C. under Cirque du Soleil's big top

With the enthusiasm of a long distance runner who has reached the finish line, Francis Jalbert exclaims, “We’re finally here!”

Each time the blue and yellow tents are raised in a new city, hundreds of traveling performers, crew members, administrative staff, teachers and cooks settle in, forming their own village, this time at the Plateau at National Harbor. Here they will live and work for almost eight weeks while every day they gather under the Grand Chapiteau, or big top, to create the magic that the world has come to expect from Cirque du Soleil.