The One Drop Foundation and Heal the Bay today announced that the October 16 opening night
gala performance of the big top touring show Kooza from Cirque du Soleil® at the Santa Monica Pier will benefit both organizations, which share a mission of raising awareness about water issues.
Actress
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a Heal the Bay board member, and All-Star Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, a One Drop ambassador, will serve as event chairs for this evening.
A magical VIP experience, La Soirée includes the best seats to the Santa Monica premiere of Kooza, access to Tapis Rouge™ Tent and its exclusive five-star hospitality. After the performance, invited guests will attend the Exclusive After-Party presented by Audemars Piguet on the Santa Monica Pier, celebrating the artistry of
Cirque du Soleil.
Cirque du Soleil Founder Guy Laliberte is the president of the One Drop Foundation. He is unable to attend the event as he will be in quarantine following his 12-day journey aboard the International Space Station, where he will present his Social Poetic Mission on October 9. “I am very proud to receive support from my friends in the Los Angeles area,” said Guy Laliberté. “This is where
Cirque du Soleil met its first success outside Canada. Now 25 years after our beginning, I have a new dream; The dream of universal access to clean water and preserving this important resource. That is the dream of One Drop and your contribution is bringing us One Drop closer to the dream. I thank you for this important support, and I am pleased that we partnered with Heal the Bay for this common dream.”
The Exclusive After-Party is presented by Audemars Piguet, the oldest manufacturer of Haute Horlogerie and sponsored by Malibu financier and philanthropist Alex von Furstenberg.
The One Drop Foundation is an initiative of Guy Laliberté. Its mission is to fight poverty by providing access to water and raising awareness among people and communities of water-related issues. The foundation strives to be an agent of change and influence in making water accessible to everyone, all over the world.
“As an ambassador of the One Drop Foundation, I am proud to see these two great nonprofit groups from different parts of the continent banding together on such an important, single cause,” said Martin. “I’m looking forward to a magical night.” Santa Monica-based Heal the Bay has grown into one of California’s largest and most effective environmental groups. Started in 1985, the
volunteer-driven organization uses research, education, community action and advocacy to protect Southern California coastal waters and watersheds.
“Heal the Bay is excited to welcome
Cirque du Soleil on its return to the Pier,” said Louis-Dreyfus. “To have the organization give back so generously to our group and sustain the ongoing health of Santa Monica Bay is really remarkable.”
A number of ticket options and sponsorship packages are available. VIP tickets, offering the full Tapis Rouge experience (prestige seat, five star hospitality pavilion and access to the after-party VIP tent) are priced at $1,500. Tickets offering preferred seating and access to the after-party are $500 each. All benefit tickets are available at 310-451-1500 x121. For information, visit
healthebay.org/events/LaSoiree/.
The Santa Monica engagement of Kooza marks a homecoming for the Quebec-based international performance company, which made its U.S. debut in 1987 and had a successful performance run at the venerable Pier the same year. To celebrate its 25th anniversary,
Cirque du Soleil will present Kooza under the blue and yellow Grand Chapiteau (big top) at the Santa Monica Pier from October 16 through December 20.
Written and directed by
David Shiner, Kooza marks a return to the origins of
Cirque du Soleil, combining two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor and high-caliber acrobatic artistry.
Photo Credit: Martin Roe / Theatre MAMA
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