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Wisely returning to a "grand chapiteau" after last season’s stint in the Rose Garden, Cirque du Soleil’s month-long footprint is marked by this fanciful blue and yellow big top on Marine Drive.

Photo by Darryl James

The Master Flipo (Joseph Collard) scales a stylized flower stem to peer out into the crowd as a cricket and flea creep around behind. Playing a professor of sorts, Collard instructs and admonishes the cast, and even ventures out into the audience to wordlessly teach them a hilarious lesson or two.

Photo by Darryl James

The de facto star of the show, a giant egg, is borne in on the back of a "foreigner" centipede (Barthélémy Glumineau), an expressive clown who, upon becoming separated from his beloved egg, spends the rest of the show trying to reunite with it.

Photo by Darryl James

Larger than life, Glumineau yells for his lost egg: "OVO!!!!"

Photo by Darryl James

The Ladybug (Michelle Matlock) is at turns sweet and spicy. Her fellow clown Glumineau pursues her almost as relentlessly as his estranged egg.

Photo by Darryl James

The adorable ants carry their weight in the show with amazing routines where they balance and spin food-like props (and later, each other) on their feet.

Photo by Darryl James

Butterfly Nadine Louis unfurls her cocoon to reveal silken wings.

Photo by Darryl James

Butterflies Svitlana Kashevarova and Dmytro Orel perform an intimate aerial pas de deux.

Photo by Darryl James

Bug spray seems to be an intoxicant to OVO’s characters, who sometimes spray it on purpose and then go a bit cross-eyed. Circular gopher holes in the main stage floor make for surprising entries and exits.

Photo by Darryl James

Firefly Tony Frebourg has a heck of a time nailing his opening night finale, but takes it in stride, keeping the audience on his side.

Photo by Darryl James

Master Flipo Joseph Collard Holds the audience’s attention during one of his many lessons.

Photo by Darryl James

A cricket and a flea lock eyes during a mellower moment.

Photo by Darryl James

Spiderman Li Wei wows on the slackwire.

Photo by Darryl James

As other insects look on, Spiderman (Li Wei) balances on a slackwire.

Photo by Darryl James

Spiderman (Li Wei) balances on the egg—one of the easiest of his many tricks.

Photo by Darryl James

Collard instructs an audience member in the art of seduction, teaching him a sexy dance with which to supposedly woo Collard’s fellow clown. Uproarious antics that engage the audience promote a feeling of spontaneity and involvement.

Photo by Darryl James

Buoyed by trampolines embedded in the stage surface, crickets leap toward the audience.

Photo by Darryl James

A cricket looks on from the foreground as acrobats scale the climbing wall behind in perfectly-synchronized formations.

Photo by Darryl James

The Red Spider scales the troupe’s massive climbing wall—upside-down.

Photo by Darryl James

A cricket shows off not only his flexibility, but a little character-acting.

Photo by Darryl James

At curtain call, an eruption of butterfly-shaped crepe paper confetti flutters from the stage.

Photo by Darryl James