In the Aztec psyche, the destination of one's soul was not left to chance, but hinged on one's death. Those who died in battle or on the sacrifical stone got to travel for four years alongside the Sun as the bright star made its way across the heavens, after which time they would return as hummingbirds, or picaflores. This tableau combines hoop diving with two giant treadmills in a soaring tribute to agility and speed. Seven acrobats wearing hummingbirdcostumes, complete with wings and a long beak, jump through hoops a mere 75 centimeters (less than 30 inches) in diameter. Performing the feat on two treadmills makes the challenge even more daunting. The acrobats leap through the hoops sometimes feet first, sometimes backwards, sometimes bent in half. Some even leapfrog over their partners in order to jump through the rings.

Next, bright hummingbirds (complete with head, beak, and wings!) leap through hoops a mere 75 centimeters in diameter in a tribute to fleetness, agility, and yes, speed. In a sequence that calls back to Dralion's energetic Hoop Diving act, here in LUZIA they kick it up a notch by exploring the combination of this traditional circus discipline from China with two giant treadmills to generate speed and expand the discipline’s acrobatic vocabulary. These hummingbirds are no joke; leaping through the hoops forwards, backwards and sideways, as the treadmills move forward and backward at will, will keep you on the edge of your seat. The two treadmills can operate in the same direction or in oppositedirections. Sometimes artists use the treadmill as alaunching pad to perform daring leaps through the hoops; when placed on the rolling treadmills the hoops suddenlybecome moving targets for the divers. (The two treadmills weigh 3,630 kilograms apiece and are powered independently by 28 automobile-type batteries.)

Besides the pleasing aesthetics, you might wonder: why hummingbirds? In the Aztec psyche, the destination of one’s soul was not left to chance, but hinged on one’s death. Those who died in battle or on the sacrificial stone got to travel for four years alongside the Sun as the bright star made its way across the heavens, after which time they would return as hummingbirds. Those who were called by Tlaloc - the god of rain, water, and fertility (we’ll see him a bit later) - got to revel in the joys of Tlacopan, the exquisite tropical garden, which you see here represented with the cempaùchil. The song accompanying the performance is a much slower tempo than what you'll find on the CD, but it's equally as enjoyable, illuminating Maya Kesselman, Dominic Cruz, Devin Henderson, Martha Henderson, Michael Hottier, Aurelien Oudot, and Stephane Beauregard’s, enjoyment of the afterlife. (And do they relish it!)