Burly Men Raise Cirque Tent Near Pier

Tattooed men and strong women in construction vests hoisted 100 steel pegs off the parking lot Tuesday, raising the blue and yellow tent that will soon be home to Cirque du Soleil's "Ovo."

When the show opens Jan. 20, more than 2,500 people will fill the canvas tent that towers 66 feet off the asphalt.

"With all the sophistication and technology at Cirque, what you're gonna to see here is all done by man power," Ovo Company Manager Robert Naumann told news reporters before the tent was raised.

"Other companies have been doing it long before Cirque got here," Naumann said of the raising method.

OVO first premiered in Montréal in April 2009 and the show is now touring in North America under the big top. The tent and all of the accompanying equipment—weighing 1,000 tons—were trucked into Santa Monica in the past few days via 61 trailers.

Meaning “egg” in Portuguese, Ovo spent the past three months in Mexico. Naumann, standing in front of a floppy bunch of canvas with the ocean behind it and the historic pier to the south, said that from the placement of the tent in Santa Monica, there's definitely a better view than the last location.

Cirque describes OVO as "a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement."

In the coming days, the tent's skeleton will be transformed into the Ovo theater. The backdrop of the tent, to be used a climbing wall for the acrobatic performers, was to set up Tuesday afternoon. It will be followed by the installation of the stage Wednesday and bleachers on Thursday. 

Performances will take place Tuesdays through Thursday at 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. until March 27. Adult tickets prices range between $45 and $270.

As part of the Cirque du Soleil "village," a box office will be set up inside the entrance tent starting Jan. 19. Tickets can also be purchased online.