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Casino gamblers are notoriously difficult to distract, but some have indeed been lured from the tables at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel to take the lift upstairs and gaze upon star-studded sky filled with acrobatic men and women.

As it's done with stunning success in Las Vegas, the Cirque du Soleil has moved in among the gamblers of Macau, with a permanent show at the Venetian that was three years in the preparation.

Cirque du Soleil, born in Montreal in 1980 as a street circus with jugglers, fire-eaters and clowns on very tall stilts, has evolved into the world's grandest, most imaginative acrobatic production, with performers from all over the world.

"We try to maintain the freshness of the eye of a child, but at the same time we've got the budget of a big Hollywood film," says Gilles Maheu, who wrote and directs "Zaia", the Macau show.

Maheu dreamed about a young girl journeying into space and recognising the beauty of humanity, and that became "Zaia". Now audiences are making that astral voyage and seeing Earth from "above".

'Live in your dreams'

Marketing chief Mario D'Amico says the Cirque owes its success in large part to its focus on art and creativity rather than business. There's no corporate fiddling with the director's creation.

"If you provide an environment for artist to really flourish, the marketing job is easy," he says.

As for Maheu, he believes art is "just dreaming". "So live in your dreams, and with the power of that, the adventure, you create your dream."

XTRA

Flying circus

>> Cirque du Soleil has almost 4,000 employees from more than 40 countries, including 1,000 performers.

>> A second permanent Cirque du Soleil in Asia will be at Tokyo Disney Resort from October 1.

>> "Zaia" will have a gala premiere for on August 28. Visit www.CirqueDuSoleil.com/zaia.

>> Daily Xpress has a preview of the show at

Blog.NationMultimedia.com/Lisnaree.