There is no beginning. There is no end. Life is a journey, not a destination. Prepare to plunge headfirst into life's startling, extraordinary waters, guided by a cast of soul-searching characters determined to find their own way along the twisted path - sometimes seemingly against all odds. From smooth sailing to dark and stormy seas and back again, the time has come to summon your courage, lose sight of the shore and allow yourself to get lost in a wonder-filled world with no limits.

Plucked from safety and ushered into the spotlight... you find yourself center stage. As your mind swirls, the world you know dissolves beneath your feet. Surf this crimson wave into an uncharted realm... Sail the turbulent waters of discontentment. Float in the calm of peaceful dreams. Journey across oceans of time... Hope and courage alone will guide you... As your navigate toward the shores of your own creation.

In the theater of your mind, who will you choose to play? In this theater, who will you choose to play with? Who lurks beneath that mask? Are you a dancer? Or a thief? A soldier? Or a courtesan? Come as you are... or as you wish to be.

Drip... Drip... Drip...

The stage that grabs our eyes immediately, and to our first introduction of the characters that will play out their hopes and dreams before us. The first person we see is Guifà, a young Sicilian boy. His curiosity about what lies ahead and his never-ending quest for adventure become the center point of the journey we, as spectators, are about to undertake. There's something about the red curtain that draws us to it; and him. It covers the entire stage, shutting us out from a wondrous world we know nothing about. But as curious as Guifà is, we are as well.

Look! Out from the red curtain that has been draped over the stage, comes a white hand -- a ghoulish hand. There! There! Did you see? "What does it want..." you wonder. But it's not a what; but a who. The hand beckons to Guifà to come closer. His curiosity once again begat the best of him, and he gets a bit too close. The hand grabs the unsuspecting man and drags him behind the curtain. And just as we begin to worry about the man, another jumps out at us. He is malformed, hunched over and dressed as a gentleman - we shall call him Eugen. This man takes a moment to look us all over, and then, he calls for the young man to make his re- appearance.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Guifà cautiously lets out. "Welcome to the Cirque du Soleil theater." He begins to advise us of the rules of the theater, going on about smoking, emergency exiting, and other such rules. And as he finishes, returning the parchment of paper the before mentioned rules were printed on to the malformed man Guifà begins to levitate. Stricken with fear, he suddenly realizes that he is about to enter an unforeseen world. A realm where dreams are experienced. A realm where anything is possible. Higher now he has risen above the theater stage and soon, he begins to retreat backward taking with him the red curtain that has kept us from the world behind it. Guifà, his curiosity getting the best of him, is about to enter the world Eugen has prepared for him. He is about to enter the world of "O"; taking us with him.

And doth the winds blow...

Words can hardly express the feeling one finds as the red curtain quickly disappears into the opening world of "O". It made the hair on my arms stand on end. It is such a powerful image that, to each person, means something different. Nevertheless, the world that Franco Dragone and Gilles Ste-Croix have created for us has opened its doors to our wanting eyes. We are now committed to experience everything Guifà experiences. We are now locked in the dream world with him. And in his hopes, fears and dreams that will be acted out on stage, we will be experiencing our own.