If you are a fan of James Cameron's award-winning film, Avatar, you'll probably want to check out Toruk, Cirque Du Soleil's acrobatic take on the epic movie.

It will hit the floor at the Pacific Coliseum tonight for the first of nine shows.

Inspired by the world created in Cameron's movie, Toruk: The First Flight follows a similar storyline, but is set thousands of years before the original film.

Where the movie depicts the sixth flight of the Na'vi and the Toruk, or leonopteryx, Cirque's live performance tells of the first flight. 

Ahead of the show, the Straight visited the venue for a dress rehersal, where we chatted with two performers in the production who happen to be from Vancouver. 

"It's my very first Cirque contract, my very first show, and my first time performing in a show of this scale in Vancouver, so it's very exciting," says Dominic Taylor, who plays a Na'vi.

"This show is so cutting-edge," said Gabrielle Martin, who also plays a Na'vi.

"It uses 40 projectors to visually create this stunning Pandora world, using the entire arena floor. Cirque [du Soleil] is going in a slightly different direction with it, using large-scale puppets and some new disciplines, but still keeping the focus on these beautiful visuals and narratives."

Toruk opens tonight (December 13) and runs until Sunday (December 18). Tickets to the performance are available here. 

The show runs for two hours and ten minutes with an intermission, and is meant for the whole family to enjoy.

Check out the video below to hear more about Toruk: The First Flight from Taylor and Martin.