North of Calgary, in the parking lot of Crossiron Mills Mall, another Cirque tent is glimmering,

Cirque Italia’s secret weapon is water.

“We have a custom water stage, so during these amazing acts, water is shooting out, it’s raining down. If you sit close enough, you get splashed a little bit, and it just really ups the amazement on the show,” said Kelly Ayala, an aerialist with the travelling show.

She is also the only native English speaker, and so gets put up for all of the interviews.

The troupe brings together performers from Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, and beyond.

“There is about 16 performers, and we represent about seven to eight different countries,” Ayala says.

Performing on slick wet fabric adds its own challenge.

“We definitely slip a lot more than we wo

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