Aerial acrobatics on three giant chandeliers, in the latest production of Cirque du Soleil.

Marie Reine Mattera

Six artists jump on two 600-pound beds that move on rotating platforms.

Marie Reine Mattera

Like rambunctious children, the acrobats in Cirque du Soleil swing from chandeliers and jump wildly on the bed, transforming what normally would be chaos into something beautiful and funny.

“When we do something natural like playing on the bed and put it on stage, it becomes sometimes extraordinary,” said Line Tremblay, creative director of the circus’s latest show, Corteo, which opened yesterday and runs through Oct. 8 at Suffolk Downs in East Boston.

And extraordinary is what Cirque du Soleil tends to be, presenting shows known for their prowess, theatrical artistry, technical sophistication and creativity. Corteo, which premiered in April 2005 as the company’s 17th production, means “cortege” in Italian, a joyous procession. In this case, the festive carnival-like parade is part of a funeral imagined by a clown.

“He’s imagining how it will be when people come and pay tribute to him,” Tremblay said. “It’s a celebration of the human spirit between reality and dreams.”

To emphasize the human connection, the audience sits on both sides of the huge stage, allowing people to see each other as well as the 55 performers — acrobats, gymnasts, jugglers, contortionists, ladder climbers — who come from 16 countries and include four former Olympians. As in other Cirque du Soleil shows, several acts break new ground.

“We asked how different can we make these,” Tremblay said. “We are always trying to reinvent ourselves.”

In the aerial/trampoline act, “Paradise,” aerialists fly without lines, covering more distance than ever before; a trampoline-like net below becomes part of the act should they fall.

“The Teeterboard” also pushes the envelope, when three acrobats perform without spotters, while the entire cast encircles them and provides the rhythm, singing and clapping.

Other acts stand out for their beauty. In “Tight Wire,” a woman with streaming black hair walks on the barely visible wire using point shoes, a unicycle, hoops and bare feet as angels surround her.

Comedy abounds in “Bouncing Beds,” when six acrobats perform daring feats on two 600-pound beds that move on rotating platforms.

In the fast-paced complex choreography of “Tournik,” eight gymnasts perform on horizontal bars, arranged in a cube with two additional bars on each side. As they try to outdo each other in speed and pizzazz, the bars turn.

In “The Cyr Wheel,” the four acrobats seem to be part of the silver circle, turning likes spokes as they perform solos and group movements.

Much of the dreamy atmosphere is created by the live band, as well as the act “Crystal Glasses and Tibetan Bowls,” where the clowns create a haunting melody on crystal glasses accompanied by a whistling virtuoso.

And no one will forget “Chandeliers,” where four women clothed in flowing silks perform aerial acrobatics on three giant chandeliers that spin above the beds and glitter under the lights.

“Sometimes you think that something isn’t possible, but then it is,” Tremblay said. “I hope people are touched and feel like, ‘If they can do that maybe I can do something in my life I didn’t think I could do.’ ”

Corteo runs through Oct. 8 at Suffolk Downs, East Boston. Tickets are$45-$80 adults; $40.50-$72 students ages 13 and up; $31.50-$56 ages 2-12. For information, go to cirquedusoleil.com.