Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Fascination Issue 036 expanded
=======================================================================
______ _ __ _ __
/ ____/___ ___________(_)___ ____ _/ /_(_)___ ____ / /
/ /_ / __ `/ ___/ ___/ / __ \/ __ `/ __/ / __ \/ __ \/ /
/ __/ / /_/ (__ ) /__ / / / / /_/ / /_/ / /_/ / / / /_/
/_/ \__,_/____/\___/_/_/ /_/\__,_/\__/_/\____/_/ /_(_)
T h e U n o f f i c i a l
C i r q u e d u S o l e i l N e w s l e t t e r
------------------------------------------------------------
E X P A N D E D I S S U E
------------------------------------------------------------
=======================================================================
Issue #36e "Live to Cirque; Cirque to Live" August 2004
=======================================================================
We're off and running again!
With this issue we close yet another chapter in the history of
Fascination!, our third year! When I look back over the past three
years I find myself astonished that Fascination! has endured. Were it
not for the hard work of people like Keith Johnson, T. Clay Buck, Paul
Roberts, Kimba Barton, Jen Waldman and, of course, Wayne Leung, I am
not sure where Fascination! would be today or if it would be at all. I
owe these fine people my greatest thanks, for they have helped me make
Fascination! what it is today.
Yet, with a saddened heart amongst our celebrations we must say
farewell to one of our own. Paul Roberts, who has been part of the
Fascination! newswheel since the very beginning has decided to take a
final curtain call and seek a new adventure. We wish him the best of
luck in his endeavors; he shall be missed. Paul, thank you for all the
hard work and dedication throughout the last three years. I certainly
could not have made Fascination! work without you.
Of course, Wayne, Keith and I will be chugging along to continue to
bring you more great issues of Fascination! in our fourth year;
however, if any of you, our faithful readers, are interested in
joining our ranks... please drop me a line. We're always interested in
new, fresh voices to add to the Fascination! team!
Originally this issue was to contain much more festivity, but a nasty
little tropical blighter named Charley put a damper on our spirits.
Thus next month we'll get out the confetti and noisemakers and take a
look back over our last three years. We'll also continue our look back
at CirqueCon Vancouver, which we promised to continue this issue. And
who knows... maybe even throw in a few surprises! But note - due to
my impending trip to Japan the September issue will also be late,
around this time next month. We hope you enjoy this issue of
Fascination!
/// EXPANDED ISSUE: There are two expanded articles to be found this
month. One from the Orlando Sentinel interviewing performers who went
from the gymnastics mat to acrobat for La Nouba, and the second an
interview with Debra Brown about her involvement in Alegria. You'll
find both in the LA PRESS section within. ///
- Ricky
===========
CONTENTS
===========
* Cirque Buzz -- News, Rumours & Sightings
* CRQ-TV -- Cirque on Television
* CRQ.NET -- This Month in Cirque Club
* LA PRESSE -- Cirque in the Press [EXPANDED]
* Itinéraire -- Tour/Show Information
* Didyaknow? -- Facts About Cirque
* Beyond the Bigtop:
"What is Tohu?"
By: Wayne Leung - Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)
* Behind the Curtain:
"A Fan, An Invitation, A Party -- LA NOUBA! (Part Deux)"
By: Ricky Russo - Orlando, Florida (USA)
* Le Spectateur:
"The Bike Jump Story"
By: Keith Johnson - Seattle, Washington (USA)
* Expanded Selection:
"Olympics du Soleil - An Expanded Look"
By: The Press
* Parting Quote
* Subscription Information
* Copyright & Disclaimer
=======================================================================
CIRQUE BUZZ -- NEWS, RUMOURS & SIGHTINGS
=======================================================================
More DVDs and a CD on the Way!
------------------------------
It's official. On Tuesday, November 2, Cirque will release not
just one DVD but two! "Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within" will make
it's debut as a three-disc set (including the special "Where Are
They Now" section that was recently taped). "Fire Within" will
also be put together in a gift package with Varekai for the
complete Varekai experience.
And in an interesting move, La Nouba will be released in what is
reported to be a two-disk set! We have no indications what
bonus material will be on that second disk, though we've placed
calls to our sources to try and find out. You can see scans of
the covers at < http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/
upcoming.html > (see the listings for Nov 2, 2004)
And a new CD is about to hit the racks, though it isn't the two-
disk remix collection "20 Years Under The Sun" recently reported
(which we still haven't seen a release date for, strangely
enough). The new disk is called "Best of Cirque du Soleil,
Volume Two" and will be released on September 21, 2004. From
the track listing it looks like it will take the place of the
previous "Collection," but now discarding tracks from the first
"CDS" and "Nouvelle Experience" CD's to focus on songs from
current productions. The songs: Egypte, Alegria, Pokinoi,
Querer, Kumbalawe, Ombra, Reveil, Nostalgie, Vocea, Stella
Errans, Gamelan, and Liama. [Source: Rafael Serrano, Cirque
Tribune, Sonypictures.com, amazon.com, Keith Johnson]
Hurricane Charley Blows Through
-------------------------------
Hurricane Charley blew through the Orlando area on Friday,
August 13th and La Nouba was effected. There was slight damage
to the building as the canvas that surrounds the buildings was
ripped away, leaving only the supporting ropes. Performances
were cancelled for that day, though they resumed the following
day. [Source: Taylor Jeffs and umbridge.com, Ricky Russo]
Training Session Up For Auction?
--------------------------------
Many fans dream of a chance to train with their favorite Circus,
but now Disney VISA cardholders have a chance to make that a
reality in the Disney Dream Auction!
"Imagine this! A training session and hands-on lesson with the
artists of La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil at Walt Disney World
Resort, a behind-the-scenes tour of the Cirque du Soleil theatre
and four tickets for VIP seating at a performance." The auction
is scheduled to take place from September 29, 2004 through
October 6, 2004.
For more information about this auction, to become a Disney card
member and further disclaimers, visit the Disney Dream Auction
page by using the following citation:
< https://moviescreening.disney.go.com/dynamic/
dreamauction/index >. [Source: Disney Auction; Ricky Russo]
Olympics du Soleil:
-------------------
With the opening of the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens
Greece, several news agencies have published articles about
former athletes now working as artists in the Cirque
organization. Cirque was quick on the ball, with an
enlightening article in the News section of Cirque Club. Some
other articles we've seen including one by John Przybys of
the Las Vegas Review journal: "From Sports to Show Business-
Change of Scenery". It was accompanied by a rostor of former
Olympians.
The Associated Press also had the same idea, and submitted an
article by Kristie A. Martinez which appeared in the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, entitled: "Olympic athletes land at Cirque
du Soleil"
Earlier in the month, Mike Weatherford had a sort of related
article talking about what happens to Cirque artists when they
leave the company: "Cirque du Soleil's roster of Las Vegas-
based Olympians"
Hope you watched the gymnastics coverage carefully, you might
see some future Cirque artists there! And if you're interested
in any of these articles, check them out in the EXPANDED
SELECTION column in our monthly FEATURES section. [Source:
Seattle P-I, Las Vegas Review Journal, Cirque Club, Keith
Johnson, LouAnna Valentine]
Anybody Get In To See This?
---------------------------
We saw this mentioned in the July 26th Las Vegas Review Journal,
as written by Mike Weatherford. "You wouldn't think Cirque du
Soleil performers would need an outlet for exhibitionism, but
the annual benefit called "Circus Freaks" still allows them to
do fun things they don't get to do in their usual shows." How
interesting! It sounds like an annual event, taking place this
year at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on Monday, July 26th,
with the $25.00 admission benefiting the Nevada Theatre Company.
More research (found at www.nevadatheatreco.org) suggests this
might have been a little more, um, interesting. The show is
hosted by "drag king" Dred, and is designed as a place for strip
performers "to show off their hidden talents and special
desires." Elena Lev was also part of the show. (Elena Lev and
"special desires"? The mind boggles!) If anybody out there
participated or saw the show, we'd love to hear how it went!
[Source: Las Vegas Review Journal, Keith Johnson]
Zara's New Gig:
---------------
Fans lamented Zara Tellander leaving Varekai, but she isn't
vanishing totally. In fact, she's working on projects with
another Varekai alumni, David Poulin. Check out Zara's own
website: < http://www.spotfrank.com/zara/ > and check here for
info on her collaboration with Poulin:
< http://www.northerncreature.com/index.html >
[Source: Roderick Mauriano]
Maybe Those TV Shows *Are* Working!
-----------------------------------
Fans have often wondered whether the videos Cirque produces of
it's touring productions (and sells to television and on DVD)
hurt or help ticket sales. Finally we have an answer from a
pretty good source, Vincent Gagné-VP of Multimedia for Cirque du
Soleil, and Mario D'Amico-VP of Marketing. In an article called
"Big Top Television" published in Marketing Magazine they
address this very question.
Conventional wisdom used to be "if you see it on TV you won't
buy a ticket." D'Amico and Gagné have found otherwise, stating,
"...in the past three or four years what we're experiencing is
demonstrably the opposite: TV promotes far more ticket sales
than it inhibits. We believe that's because our TV productions
not only give viewers information to whet their appetites, but
also support the oft-expressed opinion that they really do need
to be under the big top or in the theater to enjoy the Cirque
experience to its fullest." We also note article's first
sentence, "We know that when people buy a ticket to see a
Cirque du Soleil show in person, they are entering into a long-
term special relationship with us." Speaks to everybody reading
these words, we'd wager. See the article in its entirety at:
< http://www.marketingmag.ca/shared/print.jsp
?content=20040809_62861_62861 >. [Source: Marketing Magazine,
Keith Johnson]
I Don't Wanna Work, I Just Wanna Bang On De Drum All Day
---------------------------------------------------------
...Well, maybe not *all* day. Those of you interested in
drumming or the lives of Cirque musicians might want to check
out Modern Drummer Magazine's September issue. Inside is a
five-page article written by Larry Aberman, drummer for
Zumanity. It not only talks about Zumanity but also about the
percussive needs for O and Varekai (with some words from our
Varekai friend Paul Bannerman). It's a good overview article of
how Mr. Aberman came to join Cirque, his work environment, and
the challenges of the creation process. One interesting passage
from the article: "The creation process of Zumanity was one of
extreme excitement and deep frustration. It was very important
not to get attached to any particular piece of music, because it
could be gone in a flash. Time and again, everything we'd
worked on for a week would be cut with a wave of a hand."
The article also mentions his website, < www.larryaberman.com >,
where you can find a scanned copy of the article. The site is
worth checking out, as it has some unique candid pics of the
cast of Zumanity. And his resume (along with Mr. Bannerman's)
hammers home how much experience Cirque is looking for in their
musicians. In the article he says, "After years on the road and
many sleepless nights wondering what was next in my career,
being in one place and earning a steady paycheck is a *blast*.
I get to play drums every night, performing parts that I love.
I couldn't think of a better situation." [Source: Modern Drummer
Magazine, Keith Johnson]
CirqueCon 2005 Update!
----------------------
Since we announced CirqueCon Montreal 2005 two issues back,
membership has blossomed! We now number 85 interested
individuals, with 50 already committed to purchasing tickets.
And we are truly worldwide! In addition to people from
throughout the United States as well as Canada and Mexico we
have members from Perth, Australia and Munich, Germany!!
In late breaking news, we've extended the deadline for
purchasing tickets through our exclusive CirqueCon ticket offer.
Cirque has allowed us to take ticket requests up until our new
deadline of November 30th, 2004. So if you've been thinking of
joining us, but couldn't commit until now, you have another
chance!
If you'd like to learn more about CirqueCon Montreal 2005 and be
part of the excitement, check out our website at <
www.azlance.com/~richasi/Cirque/cirquecon.htm >.
And CirqueCon Vancouver 2004 continues to generate coverage.
This month we got our own article on Cirque Club, written by
erstwhile editor Richasi himself - the first fannish writer to
do so! It's a great summary based on the series we're running
here and is longer than most Cirque Club articles. In addition,
we got a full-page spread in the internal Cirque corporate
magazine "Hand to Hand" (Vol. 13 #6) written by Alain Petit. It
even includes a full-color group picture taken in front of the
VIP tent during our Saturday tour.
In the Ring
-----------
This month's "In The Ring" features some pretty interesting
rumours...
*We've heard that Quidam is returning to the United States for a
third North American Tour in 2006. The tour is said to kick-off
in California and head to some of the newer markets Dralion and
Varekai opened up.
*So, what's the issue with Cirque/MGM 2005? Seems when the 6-
story high stage was put into motion everything shook like an
earthquake. Currently work has begun to fix this little earth-
shattering problem. Cirque/MGM 2005 is still slated to premiere
in the first quarter 2005.
=======================================================================
CRQ-TV -- CIRQUE ON TELEVISION!
=======================================================================
* CIRQUE DU SOLEIL PRESENTS LA NOUBA
----------------------------------
Network: HBO Ole (Latin America)
< http://www.hbo-la.tv/ >
Aug 26 @ 11:30am HBO Este
Aug 26 @ 01:30pm HBO Oeste
[Schedule courtesy HBO-LA and Rodolfo Elizondo from
group fanmexicosoleil]
* CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: FIRE WITHIN
-----------------------------
Network: Vitaya - Belgium (Europe)
-- Thursday's at 9:00pm
Network: Odyssey Television - Australia
-- Wednesday's at 9:30pm
* NOTE: Check your local listings for complete information. Schedule
is subject to change.
=======================================================================
CRQ.NET -- THIS MONTH IN CIRQUE CLUB
=======================================================================
(By: Keith Johnson)
Cirque Club has coverage of the reunion of the Fire Within cast as
they tape comments for the upcoming DVD, with a short "hello" from the
cast just for Cirque Clubb-ers. They also add to their "History of
Cirque" articles bringing us to the end of 1992. An article on
Quidam's 3000th performance includes interesting comments from their
current Artistic Director. They have a great article on former
Olympians who now work as Cirque artists, including short Q&A's with
four of them. And lastly a feature on the unseen underwater workers
of "O" (which could have benefited from some of the underwater
pictures that appeared with the article in the internal Cirque
magazine "Hand to Hand" on which the article is based).
In Cirque marketing messages:
We start off with a report from Karina about what sounds like a really
special appearance of Varekai in Boston. Note that the link below
didn't work when we tried it, but we've heard the Cirque site has been
having a few hiccups of late and the links might be working now.
"Waking up at 5:00 a.m. wasn't easy, but it was well worth it for a
very special occasion! Twenty-two performers and musicians from
Varekai performed live last Tuesday at Marketplace Center in downtown
Boston.
The whole set-up started at 7:00 a.m. Once you see the performance
unfold live on stage it all looks easy, but the behind-the-scenes
planning took quite a bit of time! Setup began with the stage,
followed by the soundboard and tents for the artists to dress and warm
up in. By 9 a.m. the public started to arrive to stake out the best
seats, corners or stairs to watch the performance, which was scheduled
to start at 12:30 p.m.!
Since cast and crew hadn't had the opportunity to practice this
special montage of acts under the Grand Chapiteau they quickly hit the
stage for a brief rehearsal. Even without make-up or costumes, the
early bird crowd cheered them on. They were completely overwhelmed by
their enthusiasm!
As the clock ticked closer to noon, a sea of people flooded the area -
well over a thousand of them! What a sight! We took a few photos,
take a look < http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/go.asp?p=2810&l=en
&m=5FC943AD2B014D5CA81968C0CD9EBA6D&v=0 >. The musicians performed
two songs, and then the artists came on stage. It was pure delight to
see everyone gathered shoulder to shoulder around the stage and above
in the surrounding mezzanines. In fact, people passing through had no
choice but to take a minute and watch. To see the amazement and awe
in children and adults alike made all the hard work worthwhile!"
It sounds like there is a new promotional TV show to publicize
Saltimbanco in Europe. Anne-Josée writes: "In honour of Cirque du
Soleil's 20th anniversary, a television special entitled "Foyer
Spezial" will air on 3SAT [German Television] on August 21 at 7:20
p.m. The special will include exclusive footage filmed at our
creative studio in Montréal, interviews with trainers and talent
scouts, and details about Cirque du Soleil's colourful production,
Saltimbanco. The special will also feature highlights from Soleil de
minuit, a very special Cirque celebration which took place in the
streets of Montréal earlier this summer.
Melanie wrote of Alegria's stay in Philadelphia: "We are already
halfway through our stay in the City of Brotherly Love, and we just
can't believe how the people of Philadelphia continue to support us.
The crowds are simply amazing and we love how loudly they cheer! We
have not had much time to do a lot of sightseeing, but we certainly
have done lots of shopping, and we've visited most of the restaurants
and bars in the area. Everyone seems to like South Street for hanging
out, the Olde City for dining, and the King of Prussia Mall for
shopping. Ironically though, I haven't heard of anyone having a
Philly cheese steak yet! One more thing to do on the "to do" list!
With three weeks still to go, we look forward to seeing more of this
beautiful city and continuing to enjoy all of the warm hospitality
that has been showered on us since our arrival."
An unnamed writer spoke of Dralion's final performances in Vienna:
"The cast and crew of Cirque du Soleil's Dralion wish to extend a warm
thank-you to the people of Vienna who helped make our fifth stop in
the region so memorable. From the minute the first tent went up next
to the Messe Wien, our artists and employees from 16 different nations
were looking forward to discovering the best that Austria has to
offer. Over meals in the Dralion kitchen, many stories were traded
about the beautiful architecture, the good wines and the lovely music.
We will fondly remember our group outing to the Rogner-Bad Blumau spa,
our visit to the United Nations, the street performers on
Stephansplatz and our cooking lesson at Demel Bakery (mmm, love the
strudel). We had the chance to visit the Alps and the Danube River
Valley, and some of us even took advantage of Vienna's strategic
location as a gateway to the East to discover Prague and Budapest. We
have so many stories to tell and many more reasons to return."
Edi Moreno, Saltimbanco Acrobat, talked about leaving Spain: "This
letter is a warm hug to all those that have made the success of
Saltimbanco possible in the many Spanish cities we have visited. All
of them - Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Valencia, Sevilla and now Gijón -
have given me, the only Spanish artist in Saltimbanco, some
unforgettable memories. These half-dozen cities are like a half-dozen
roses that have touched my soul. Now it is time to say goodbye,
because Gijón is the last Spanish city in which Saltimbanco will
perform. ... Time flies. Trust me; I cannot believe that it has already
been six years since I started working for Cirque du Soleil. I want
to thank you will all my heart, and on behalf of all the people that
make this dream called Saltimbanco possible. A big kiss for all or,
as it is said in Asturias, un besín."
Finally, Anne-Josée had a nice message from a Saltimbanco artist as
they approach Frankfurt: "I recently met with Nicole Sieger, one of
the vocalists in Saltimbanco. She was nice enough to take the time to
share her thoughts about performing in Frankfurt later this August.
Here's what she wanted to let you know.
"For me being German it is a special pleasure to perform with
Saltimbanco in my native country. Not only because I have this
wonderful feeling of a bond with the audience, but also because it
gives me a chance to bring my mostly foreign colleagues closer to my
roots and acquaint them with German culture, food & hospitality.
I've only had the chance to visit Frankfurt once, for two days. That
was several years ago when I took part in a festival. So I am even
happier now about the opportunity to stay in this city for several
weeks and get to know it a bit better.
This time, you will see me on stage as a vocalist, presenting the
wonderful music of Saltimbanco, rich in fantasy. Let us whisk you
away into another world, a world filled with colour, music and
mystery, a world in which the laws of gravity seem to defy nature, and
where exotic creatures perform the most stunning acrobatic acts.
You'll be thrilled by the exuberant joyfulness of Saltimbanco.""
Above text courtesy of Cirque Club.
=======================================================================
LA PRESSE -- CIRQUE IN THE PRESS [EXPANDED]
=======================================================================
--------------------------------------
"From Mat to Acrobat"
From: The Orlando Sentinel
--------------------------------------
In a small atrium off one side of the Cirque du Soleil big top in
Downtown Disney, an hour before the first clowns shuffle out, the
picture is out of a 1920s' ex-pat cafe in Paris.
There is more creativity lounging here, from every corner of the
globe, than is crammed into even the 90-minute La Nouba show, and much
of it is in refuge.
"I could have gone anywhere, but I was so tired of gymnastics, and the
mentality, and the politics that I couldn't conceive of myself doing
four more years," says Natasha Hallett, before slipping off for the
pre-show makeup routine that takes her about an hour every night.
"I wanted out. I wanted that to be gone."
The former Canadian gymnast fled competition after the 1992 Olympic
Games in Barcelona. She eventually found her way to Cirque, which has
grown, along with the complexity of its acts, into a second-career
haven for retired elite athletes who became frustrated with the
politics of competition and the zero-sum total of its rewards.
The show provides a home for that sliver of the population capable of
mesmerizing the rest of us with an uncommon upper-body strength or a
seemingly superhuman back bend. Meanwhile, it encourages a creativity
and independence the competitive world would balk at.
Vesselina Guencheva, a gymnast in the 1996 Atlanta Games, explains her
second career best through a dimpled smile and thick Bulgarian accent:
"It's my pay-back time now."
La Nouba opened in Orlando six years ago with the formula patented in
Cirque's Montreal headquarters, formatting a more traditional circus
to a modern indoor theater.
The tumblers and trapeze artists still have free reign, but the
livestock have been squeezed out in favor of ballerinas and live
musicians.
The diverse acts are held together by a common "I can't believe they
just did that" theme that may remind audience members of something
they once mumbled watching Nadia Comaneci in Montreal, or members of
the Magnificent Seven in Atlanta.
A glimpse inside the casual quarters where everyone relaxes before the
show -- and where the makeup comes off and the characters are allowed
to speak -- helps explain a statement that on its face sounds
ridiculous:
Many of the former athletes here say they find more satisfaction
making a child laugh in the audience than a judge swoon at the
scorer's table. Even with an Olympic medal on the line.
Ask them what they miss most about competing, and the answer -- almost
unique in the world of retired athletes -- is inevitably this:
nothing.
Kristy Powell, the 1997 U.S. champion in gymnastics, watched a pair of
old friends qualify for the Olympics at the U.S. trials broadcast a
month ago from Anaheim, Calif.
"I was so thrilled and so happy for them, and I was thinking, `I'm so
glad I'm not competing anymore,' " Powell says.
"I feel like I've always been a performer, and a lot of my spirit got
broken with gymnastics, I got lost with it."
Today, Powell is in her third year with La Nouba, performing in the
perfect arena for an athlete who once ruptured both her Achilles'
tendons -- off her feet and in the trapeze act.
Powell knew Cirque was where she wanted to land after retiring from
gymnastics. By the late 1990s and in a place like Chicago, Powell's
hometown, the show had gained considerable recognition.
Hallett's path here was born more out of confusion and a willingness
to be whisked away by the unknown, a combination that she today
credits to fate. When she flew home from Barcelona at 18 years old,
her future plans all involved leaving gymnastics. As for where she was
headed, she hadn't really given that part much thought.
Lyn Heyward, now president of Cirque's Creative Content Division, had
a background in the gymnastics world and had known Hallett since she
was a child. She urged Hallett to audition for this company the
gymnast knew nothing about, and this show that, even for its most
impassioned followers, can defy explanation.
The audition curiously demanded more than tumbling skills.
"I was thinking, `Why am I doing this?' " Hallett says, 11 years later
and after spending 10 years with Cirque's first permanent show,
Mystere, in Las Vegas.
"I'm kicking my legs and screaming and pretending I'm a bear, and then
running around like a horse with a broken leg. And you just have to go
with it."
This is where the stories all converge and grow fuzzy. Hallett and
many of the other performers have a hard time articulating exactly
what that director was looking for, and how they felt when they
watched their first show, or why the experience is different every
night.
"You cannot survive just by doing your triple jump. We'll never just
accept that," says Chantal Tremblay, La Nouba's artistic director. "We
want them to participate and play a role in the show."
A gymnast's pedigree, even at the most elite levels of competition,
isn't credential enough here. Hallett, for one, does more improv
comedy through body language than pure gymnastics.
Her character, the green bird, tiptoes along the background scenery
throughout the show as one of the elements that lend the varied acts
some continuity. The green bird, soon to be the center of La Nouba's
new marketing campaign, is one of the show's most recognizable
characters -- and among the most time-consuming to prepare for on a
nightly basis.
Here Hallett performs many of the functions of a clown (as well as the
clown's personal makeup artist). Every night she paints on new lips
and eyebrows; the ones God gave her aren't expressive enough by Cirque
standards.
In Guencheva's act, the 23-year-old hangs from the ceiling by an
endless stretch of red ribbon in a number combining gymnastics and
ballet with a few maneuvers neither discipline had ever produced
before.
Bo Chen, a 31-year-old former Chinese gymnastics and tumbling
champion, navigates the stage in the final act on a trampoline. He is
relieved every night by the absence of pressure and the fact that no
one affixes a number on a scale of 1 to 10 to his performance.
And if he messes up, there's always the 9 o'clock show.
"In China, we were looking only for champions, we don't care about the
second-place finisher," he says. "If I got a second, I would be like a
loser."
That mentality left little room for satisfaction, or the kind of pride
Chen takes in his job now.
Most shows end in at least a scattered standing ovation. It's a moment
that mixes the curtain call of high theater with the raucous cheers of
a sporting event.
Even the ambience of the theater blurs the line between the two
worlds: You're free to take your beer to your seat and crush popcorn
beneath it, even as the auditorium lights dim to theatrical effect.
Each of the second-career converts on stage has been trained to think
of themselves less as an athlete and more an artist, or at least a
multitasking mutant of the two. They straddle the perks of both jobs,
even if they often struggle to put it into words.
"Seeing a Cirque show, it changes your life," Hallett says, feeling
her way through a better explanation with a wrinkle of her nose.
"It inspires you to live . . . aurrrrgh . . . Every show has its own
kind of way that it touches people. It's like you can go and watch a
movie and leave, and just go, `Oh that was entertainment.' But a
really good movie, one that touches your soul, that's what Cirque is
like."
--------------------------------------
"I Have to Hypnotize Them"
From: The Globe and Mail
--------------------------------------
After a car crash shattered her hip, Cirque du Soleil choreographer
Debra Brown had to learn new ways of communicating with performers.
If Aerosmith's Steven Tyler could dress Debra Brown, he would outfit
her in head-to-toe "black, with black gloves with the fingers cut out,
and a white horsetail whip."
Brown, the Cirque du Soleil's principal choreographer and behind-the-
scenes ringmaster, laughs gleefully as she recounts the exchange.
Tyler would be somewhat pleased -- Brown is clad in a black top and
trousers, perched on the couch of a Toronto hotel suite. "He should be
my manager, eh?" she asks with a chuckle. She worked with "the boys"
in 2000 and 2001 on their Jaded music video and their performance at
the American Music Awards.
But the Emmy Award-winning choreographer is best known for her work
with the Cirque du Soleil since 1987, three years after it was
founded.
She is one of about 3,000 employees and artists that form the Quebec-
based organization, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this
year -- and which brings its Alegria show to Toronto this week.
The Cirque grew out of a street festival in Baie-Saint-Paul, Que.
Since its inception in June, 1984, the Cirque has visited 90 cities
and has entertained 40 million spectators. The debut was in Quebec's
town of Gaspé and the first big-top performance seated 800.
Brown's first show was harrowing. She remembers sitting diligently at
endless meetings where the only language spoken was French and she was
"not understanding one word." She has since learned French and her
English words are now peppered with French inflections.
It was this experience that enabled her to empathize with the
performers she works with, who, among them, speak more than 25
languages.
But it took a car crash that shattered her hip and inhibited her
movement to challenge her choreographing methods. Now, she teaches
less by example and relies more on body language, eye contact and
sounds to communicate with performers.
"I became more of a director," she said. "In some ways I am acquiring
new skills and I appreciate that."
The gymnast turned dancer, who will turn 50 this year, says she speaks
to performers with her eyes.
"I have to hypnotize them," Brown says. "You have to . . . go right
into the body somehow since you don't have the words."
But even a car crash could not keep her from dancing. Besides, it is
easier for her to dance than walk, she says.
Brown's creative process begins one step at a time -- with one word.
With Alegria, the concept was nostalgia.
"Nos-taal-gia," she savours and draws it out in three long breaths.
"Alegria is a very sentimental show. There are these old characters
that are nostalgic that are looking on their youth."
She says she takes the word and lets the notion sit "in the back of
your mind or you put it in your front pocket, wherever you need it."
She adds, "It just sits there and brews there and you don't think much
about it, as long as the word is present, and then it guides you."
Work on Alegria began in 1994 and 10 years later, it is still touring
-- and ever-evolving.
"Every show is a moving target," Brown says. Since its inception, new
acts have been added including a strap bungee act, a flying man act,
and a hand balancing act.
The show comes to Toronto tomorrow for a five-week run with its cast
of 59 performers and musicians from 16 countries.
"Being in front of 36 acrobats and not knowing what you want to do --
or what you should do -- and having to wait until the vision comes, is
scary," Brown says. "But sometimes it's not there and it hasn't come
yet and you have to wait."
She has faith, however, in the lesson she has learned from the
Cirque's director Franco Dragone. "Creation will come as long as
you're inspired with people," she says.
Brown also finds inspiration through music when working with
performers during practice sessions. She cites musical influences as
diverse as Geoffrey Oryema, Jai Uttal, OutKast and even Prince. "He's
got a PhD in advanced funky music, what else can you say?"
Typically, Brown's work with the performers lasts about nine months
before the cast leaves to tour, but Alegria took only four months. In
the five weeks leading up to a show, she can put in up to 15 hours a
day of work.
This stamina appeared early.
Born in Brantford, Ont., in 1954, Brown became a gymnast as a young
child.
She studied physical health and education at the University of Western
Ontario. When she joined the university's dance club, she realized
what she wanted to do and decided to study dance at York University.
Brown joined the Cirque after sneaking into a 1986 performance during
the intermission. She was so impressed that she applied for a position
the following year and began her career with the circus. She has
worked on the Cirque's Quidam, Saltimbanco, Nouvelle Expérience,
Mystère and La Nouba, among other productions.
She is cautious when asked why she left the Cirque days before the R-
rated burlesque Zumanity show opened in September, 2003. She maintains
"there's a lot of my work in it," but that she became tired and left
because of "different methods of working." She alludes to decision-
making differences: "There were three changes of directors on that
show."
Brown has also been recognized for work outside of the Cirque. She was
nominated for an Emmy Award for her choreography on part of Madonna's
2001 Drowned World Tour, and she won the Outstanding Choreography 2002
Emmy for a special-effects tribute performance at an Academy Awards
ceremony.
Most recently she choreographed film scenes for Van Helsing and this
summer's Catwoman.
Brown has also founded a movement troupe called Apogée, which she has
dubbed "my loyal band of lunatics." The troupe uses a trampoline and
aerial devices to appear suspended in air, to fly and to fall.
These days, her work is mainly outside of the Cirque. "I spent a lot
of years with the Cirque and life is short. One should keep moving in
life."
=======================================================================
ITINÉRAIRE -- TOUR/SHOW INFORMATION
=======================================================================
Note that any information in brackets [] is UN-official information
and subject to change.
[Touring Shows]
Alegría:
* Toronto, Ontario -- Ontario Place
Dates: Aug 19, 2004 to Sep 26, 2004
* Tokyo, Japan:
Dates: Oct 29, 2004 to Jan 23, 2005
* Fukuoka, Japan:
Dates: Feb 9, 2005 to Apr 3, 2005
* Nagoya, Japan:
Dates: Apr 20, 2005 to Jun 12, 2005
* Osaka, Japan:
Dates: Jun 25, 2005 to Aug 10, 2005
Cirque 2005:
* Montreal, Quebec, Canada -- Jacques-Cartier Pier
Dates: Apr 21, 2005 to May 15, 2005
* Quebec City, Quebec, Canada -- Galeries de la Capitale
Dates: Jun 23, 2003 to Jul 10, 2005
Dralion:
* Antwerp, Belgium -- Gedempte Zuiderdokken
Dates: Aug 12, 2004, to Oct 3, 2004
* Madrid, Spain -- TBA
Dates: Oct 15, 2004 to Nov 21, 2004
* London, England -- Royal Albert Hall
Dates: Jan 6, 2005 to Jan 30, 2005
* Rotterdam, Netherlands -- TBA
* Barcelona, Spain -- TBA
Quidam:
* Sydney, Australia -- The Showring, Fox Studios
Dates: Aug 12, 2004 to OPEN
* Brisbane, Australia -- Kingsford Smith Drive
Dates: Nov 4, 2004 to TBA
* Auckland, New Zealand -- TBA
Dates: Dec 31, 2004 to OPEN
* Melbourne, Australia -- TBA
Dates: Mar 4, 2005 to OPEN
* Adelaide, Australia -- TBA
Dates: May 12, 2005 to OPEN
* Perth, Australia -- TBA
Dates: June 30, 2005 to OPEN
Saltimbanco:
* Frankfurt, Germany -- Next to the Jahrhunderthalle
Dates: Aug 20, 2004 to Sep 19, 2004
* Rome, Italy -- Viale Cristoforo Colombo
Dates: Oct 7, 2004 to Oct 24, 2004
* Lille, France -- TBA
Dates: Nov 25, 2004 to Dec 26, 2004
* Manchester, UK -- TBA
Dates: Jan 6, 2005 to OPEN
* Birmingham, UK -- TBA
Varekai:
* Boston, Massachusetts -- Suffolk Downs
Dates: Jul 27, 2004 to Sep 5, 2004
* Washington, DC -- Grounds of RFK Stadium
Dates: Sep 16, 2004 to Oct 10, 2004
[May extend to Oct 24, 2004]
* Dallas, Texas -- Fair Park
Dates: Nov 4, 2004 to Dec 5, 2004
[May Extend to Dec 19, 2004]
* Houston, Texas -- TBA
* Austin, Texas -- TBA
* Pittsburg, Pennsylvania -- TBA
* Baltimore, Maryland -- TBA
* Hartford, Connecticut -- TBA
* Columbus, Ohio -- TBA
* Detroit, Michigan -- TBA
* Tampa, Florida -- TBA
* Miami, Florida -- TBA
[Resident Shows]
La Nouba:
* Two shows Nightly - 6:00pm and 9:00pm
* Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark Sunday/Monday
* Location: Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando (USA)
* 2004 Dark Dates:
-- October 17th - 20th -- December 6th - 13th
Mystère:
* Two shows Nightly - 7:30pm and 10:30pm
Beginning June 13th: Except Sundays; 4:30pm and 7:30pm
* Performs: Friday through Tuesday, Dark Wednesday/Thursday
Beginning June 9th: Wednesday - Sunday, Dark Monday/Tuesday
* Location: Treasure Island, Las Vegas (USA)
* 2004 Dark Dates:
-- August 23rd - 31st -- November 28th
-- October 3rd, 6th
"O":
* Two shows Nightly - 7:30pm and 10:30pm
* Performs: Wednesday through Sunday, Dark Monday/Tuesday
* Location: Bellagio, Las Vegas (USA)
* 2004 Dark Dates:
-- October 11th - 13th -- December 6th - 21st
Zumanity:
* Two Shows Nightly - 7:30pm and 10:30pm
* Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark: Sunday/Monday
* Location: New York-New York, Las Vegas (USA)
* 2004 Dark Dates:
-- October 10th - 13th -- December 1st - 20th
-- November 28th - 30th
=======================================================================
DIDYAKNOW? -- FACTS ABOUT CIRQUE
=======================================================================
In the last three years we've had the honor of meeting and talking
with many current and former Cirque artists about a variety of
subjects. While we can't reveal identities, since several of them
still work for Cirque, we think some of the things they have to say
would be interesting to fans and aspiring artists and musicians. So,
over the next several months, we'll feature some questions we posed to
Cirque performers and their answers -- "In Their Own Words".
We asked a Cirque artist who's been through it - what's the creation
process like? Is it like what we saw in "Fire Within?"
"That's exactly how it is. Even worse! Amazing, exhausting.
Mentally hard. But fun. You give everything, and keep giving and
giving. Then at the end of the day they say they're scrapping
everything and we'll start fresh tomorrow. Or they change the
apparatus. And you know all your effort is wasted, you just want to
die. But it's nice because you learn about yourself. If somebody
asked me to go through another creation process I'd jump right in."
[Keith Johnson]
=======================================================================
BEYOND THE BIGTOP:
"What is Tohu?"
By: Wayne Leung - Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)
=======================================================================
As a former Olympic host city, Montreal had the privilege of being the
sole Canadian city included the Olympic Torch Relay this year. On
June 20th, 2004 the Olympic torch made a stop in Montreal en-route to
Athens. A team of 120 selected torch-bearers, comprised of former
Canadian Olympians, public personalities, and private citizens relayed
the torch on its journey through the city, beginning at the 1976
Olympic Stadium, winding through 11 boroughs and arriving at Tohu
where festivities would culminate in a party. While the other stops
along the Montreal leg of the Olympic Torch relay are well known, the
destination, Tohu, is fairly new and relatively unknown. Which begs
the question; What is Tohu? No, it's not the curded soy-bean extract
staple of vegetarian diets!
Tohu, "La cité des arts du cirque" is a non-profit organization
founded by En Piste, a collective comprising several prominent
organizations in Canadian circus arts (most notably the National
Circus School and our beloved Cirque du Soleil). Membership in Tohu
represents a major aspect of Cirque du Soleil's social and cultural
action policy.
Tohu aims to create a circus arts "city" in the province of Québec as
a unique means to centralize the creation, training, production and
performance of circus arts in the province and as a major centre for
the development of artists.
The organization, founded in 1999, has taken root in Montreal's Saint
Michel district. Currently, the "city" is home to Cirque du Soleil's
International Headquarters and artists' residences and l'École
Nationale de Cirque (the National Circus School) which opened a brand
new, 7200 square meter facility in 2003 directly across the street
from Cirque's headquarters. Tohu will also be the future home of a
new, circular performance hall called the "Chapiteau des Arts" which
is already under construction.
Tohu has a unique approach to fulfilling its mission while promoting
culture, ensuring environmental sustainability in all of its actions
and revitalizing the local community.
The organization's cultural mission is to establish Montreal as the
circus arts capital of the world by creating a community to pool the
creativity, expertise, talent and entrepreneurship of Québec's circus
sector. Tohu is already home of l'École Nationale de Cirque which is
a prestigious, world-class school for the training of circus artists.
Another step towards Tohu's cultural goal is the presence of the
internationally renowned, circus industry leader Cirque du Soleil's
headquarters. In 2000 the company's international headquarters was
expanded and in June 2003 the company opened a brand new official
artists' residence in the Tohu neighborhood. The final piece of the
cultural mosaic will be in place in the Summer of 2004 when Tohu opens
its Chapiteau des Arts. Les 7 Doigts de la Main, a troupe comprised
of Cirque du Soleil alumni performers, will inaugurate the new
performance hall with a run in September. Located at the intersection
of Jarry and d'Iberville streets, the Chapiteau will feature a unique,
circular, 840-seat performance hall, exhibition space, reception hall,
artists workshops, studios, and bar/restaurant, as well as serving as
the home of Tohu's administrative offices. The Chapiteau des Arts
will host performances year-round; some developed in-house, and others
from around the world. The building will be surrounded by a large
public square where a 1700-seat big top will be erected in the
summertime. The square will be home to a variety of free cultural and
environmental activities. Every Sunday afternoon during the summer,
Tohu has been the site of free outdoor concert and dance performance
series co-sponsored by Cirque du Soleil.
The Chapiteau des Arts will also house the welcome centre for the
Centre Environmentale de Saint-Michel (Saint-Michel Environmental
Complex), which dovetails with Tohu's second mission of operating in
an environmentally sustainable manner. Tohu's site (including the
headquarters of Cirque du Soleil) is situated on the edge of the CESM,
a 192-hectare territory that was a limestone quarry at the turn of the
20th century. It was turned into a landfill in 1968 and by the end of
the 1980s received nearly one million tons of trash every year. In
1988, the site was acquired by the City of Montreal and became the
focus of one of the largest environmental rehabilitation projects ever
undertaken by the city. The CESM development plan called for the
former landfill site to be transformed into an urban park with
educational, cultural, sports and commercial/industrial sectors.
Tohu's presence will fulfill the CESM's cultural mandate.
The Chapiteau des Arts was designed to reflect Tohu's environmental
values of ecology, recycling, recovery and renewable energy resources.
Environmentally sustainable concepts incorporated into the Chapiteau's
design and construction include an ice-bunker system that will replace
traditional air-cooling systems, a "green" roof featuring vegetation
to serve as a means of insulation and temperature control, and a
"Trombe" wall which will passively trap the sun's heat during the day
and slowly and evenly release it during the night. The Chapiteau will
also operate using renewable energy sources. For example the water
running in the Chapiteau's heated floor is waste process water from
its neighbor Gazmont, a company that turns biogas into electricity.
In this sense Tohu has become a major partner in reclaiming and
renewing a site that was once the victim of environmental short-
sightedness.
In choosing the Saint-Michel district, Tohu has already made a large
step towards fulfillment of its third mission of community
revitalization. The Saint Michel district in Montreal is one of
Canada's most underprivileged neighborhoods. By establishing their
headquarters in Saint Michel, Tohu will revitalize the urban landscape
of the neighborhood with its modern architecture and create new
community spaces such as parks and public squares. The Tohu
programming team will organize community events to encourage
neighborhood residents to adopt the space as their own. As Tohu and
its member organizations grow the organization will adhere to the
principles of social economy and offer area residents long-term
employment.
What Cirque du Soleil and Tohu offer is a very important glimpse at
the forward-thinking development and management styles that businesses
must take in the future to ensure positive growth that comes in
cooperation with, instead of in adversity to culture, the environment
and the community. One can only hope that Tohu can serve as an
example to reinvent the world of corporate management the way Cirque
du Soleil reinvented the world of the circus. We'd all be better off
for it.
To find out more about Tohu, the Chapiteau des Arts and upcoming
events and performances visit http://www.tohu.com.
=======================================================================
BEHIND THE CURTAIN:
"A Fan, An Invitation, A Party -- LA NOUBA! (Part Deux)"
By: Ricky Russo - Orlando, Florida (USA)
=======================================================================
(Continued from last issue)
One after another the audience members jumped from their seats, hands
clasping together in appreciation of yet another mind-boggling
performance of Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba at the Cirque Theater in
Downtown Disney West Side.
A deafening roar flooded the house as the artists of the nights
performance filled the stage; an admiration of their mastery. Up in
their roost the musicians rocked on as if their very life depended on
it. Their song filling the theater with a sense of festivity.
And in this moment hundreds of balloons fell from the rafters, raining
a celebratory cry upon us all. It was June 2nd, 2004; La Nouba was
celebrating its 5th Anniversary and the inmates of the asylum were
ecstatic.
Yours truly was there to share in that excitement and what follows is
a continuation of the experience...
The 6:00pm show was just one act of a three-ring circus that night; a
night that had only just begun. I was one of the last to leave the
theater as most of the ensemble with credentials was told to stay
behind. We would personally be escorted to the next item on the
itinerary, but I felt a little lost. Many people began chatting around
me to obvious acquaintances or friends, leaving me to my lonesomeness.
Some even began to leave on their own and I wasn't sure where to be or
what to do. I probably looked dense sitting in my seat, or standing
gazing idly at the La Nouba 5th Anniversary projection on the set, but
I didn't care. I had just observed one of the best performances of La
Nouba I could remember and I was still misty-eyed and overwhelmed.
But eventually it was time for me to check out of the asylum. As I
rounded the theater and once again came to a stop outside the
Boutique, I pulled out the agenda and looked it over, thinking about
what was coming next:
8:00pm to 10:00pm
-- Dinner at BET Soundstage Club, Pleasure Island
10:00pm to 1:00am
-- Post Production Party, Bongo's Cuban Cafe, 2nd Floor.
Living in Orlando I've visited Disney World quite often and have seen
parties ushered across the parks with a uniformed cast member's red
baton waving in the air, with a curiosity to know their destination. I
never thought I would be one of those people until I rounded the
theater's boutique. At that very moment more than one uniformed Disney
representative with red batons greeted us and led us through the gates
of Pleasure Island to the BET Soundstage Club, where we would be wined
and dined like kings and queens for the next two hours.
As I entered the club I was immediately struck by its stark decor.
Sleek, stylish and contemporary, the BET Soundstage is multi-leveled
(you enter from the top floor) and consists of two moderately sized
rooms, a full bar and a performance stage. Since this was my first
time at the club I wasn't sure what I would find, however I expected
more of a hip-hop theme rather than the Jazz, Rhythm & Blues and Soul
that the club is more styled for.
Both rooms were cleared and set up with an alternating display of sit
down tables for those who wanted to eat, and standing tables for
minglers to set their drinks upon. As I came round to one of the
standing tables I was instantly offered a glass of red wine, which I
took straight away. And why not? I was as much a guest here as the
rest of the lot, and before long the entire media ensemble filled the
club. Not everyone came mind you, but a good share did and whoever
decided to come was looking for a feast.
And they were not to be disappointed.
Chefs were on hand to serve some of the most scrumptious and mouth
watering dishes I've ever had: the most tender roast beef and juicy
vegetables, succulent seasoned chicken with potatoes au-gratin, and
delicious shrimp pasta with bread... to name but a few selections. And
let's not forget the deserts, which were a chocoholic's dream!
Chocolate Mouse Martini's, wonderful fudge brownies, triple chocolate
chip cookies and even tiramisu. There were of course other types of
deserts, but those concoctions seemed to have slipped my chocolate-
overloaded mind.
The meal was accented with more wine, good company, and a documentary
about La Nouba's five years. Since I didn't know anyone at the dinner
I stayed to myself and watched the video presentation, which was
displayed on multiple flat-panel screens around the club. The video
was pretty standard fodder -- shots of performers in and out of
makeup, running through their routines, interview snippets from cast
and crew, music from the show, and various other material -- but it
kept me from going insane, really.
About an hour into the dinner I met a group of IT professionals from
Disney, who asked me repeatedly if I worked for the company. I said no
but understood their inquiry since I had worn a Disney polo shirt to
the event. But it was nice to mingle with these folks since I, too am
striving to be an IT professional someday, and boy did they have
stories to tell. I also met Bob Mervine, staff-writer for the Orlando
Business Journal, who was gracious and interested to hear my exploits.
He and I, along with the nice young lady who had accompanied him,
began to discuss Cirque at length. We were soon joined by a man whom I
will only say was a Disney employee with a corporate credit card. He
had other ideas for fun that night.
That fun would be had in the next club over -- the Adventurer's Club.
For those uninitiated, the Adventurer's Club presents a unique
interactive experience in a setting reminiscent of the fictional 1930s
adventurer club. Old time pictures of African safari's, jungle
exploration in Asia or mountain scaling in India litter the wall with
other paraphernalia of the avid adventurers.
"You are a visitor to the Adventurers Club on New Years Eve 1937," the
storyline goes, "when the Club holds an open house for the purpose of
recruiting new members. You will be invited to become initiated as a
Club member and participate in the various activities that are held
that evening..." It's been said that one should think of the
Adventurer's Club as a theater that is presenting a play, only you're
the star of said play.
My adventure began down in the Main Salon, where a full bar is
accessible. The entertainment here is more "off the cuff", improv, and
raw than in other clubs. You never know exactly what's going to happen
when you enter this establishment, which is something I certainly
found out as the evening progressed. Originally the three people I met
at the dinner wanted to come over for a drink, so I followed because I
didn't want to be left alone (I normally don't drink), but who would
have thought I'd end up on the floor professing my desires for "'ol
Babylonia", a mask, hanging on the wall?
Right... where's my drink now? Rum and Coke, coming up!
The first few minutes of my foray into the Adventurer's Club were
rather subdued. I was actually at ease since I'd been to this
particular club one other time so I knew exactly what kind of trouble
one could get into here. But I kept things light, played along with
the cast and had a good time chatting with my newfound friends. Before
long, however, the Maid character found herself lodged between the
nude legs of a full statue of Zeus, which was positioned in the center
of the Main Salon.
"Oh, look," said the Maid. "I seem to be in a bit of a spot."
Oh my yes, she was. You never know exactly what any of the characters
will say or do at any given moment in time. I made the mistake of
catching the Maid's eye and bantering back and forth with her, as she
commented on her predicament. How could I stay silent with her head
between Zeus' legs? She was a prime target for my warped sense of
humor. A few moments later, however, the wall above me began to come
alive and with it a nasally voice filled the room.
"Oooh! Oooh! Oooh ancient Babylonia," the cast chanted.
This sealed my fate. I was now about to be initiated.
The Maid snatched me from my bar stool and pulled me in line with
Babylonia, a hanging mask fixtured to the wall. When it's eyes and
mouth started to move I got nervous and thought, "Oh lord... What
exactly is going to happen here?" A moment later another gentlemen
brandishing a bottle of Corona was swept up beside me and it was
apparent that he too was going to be part of the fun and games.
Whether he liked it or not, I might add (and he did not).
Now, picture little 'ol shy me standing in front of a group of
onlookers as I look up at Babylonia on the wall, wondering what on
earth possessed me to come to the Adventurer's Club? I knew whatever
they had in store for me wasn't going to be pretty. I'm sure they'd
make me make a fool out of myself. Darnit,why did I have to tease the
Maid? And at the thought of this my ears started burning.
"Oh, my subjects," said Babylonia with great effort. "Greet me! Greet
me like you would a passionate lover! Greet me with great affection!"
I did the only thing I could think of to do...
I got down on my knees and bowed, humbly.
Babylonia was ecstatic! One point for me.
Babylonia put the two of us through our paces. First, she made us show
off our manly bodies, not by stripping naked right there in the Salon
but by assuming the pose of Zeus' statue: arms stretched out, legs
slightly askance and muscles bulging (second point to me, though, no
muscles to bulge). Secondly, I was forced to use my wisdom of words
and profess my undying love to Babylonia, telling her how I'd ravish
her, hold her and keep her safe. And thirdly, with scores of people
watching us unabated, Babylonia made us dance for her. Oh, not a slow
dance to be sure; how about swinging hips and pelvic thrusts?
Talk about embarrassment; I was crimson. But it was fun! I returned to
the bar after a roaring round of applause from the onlookers and sat
amongst my new friends. Did I need that drink now? Oh yes...
Kungaloosh! Kungaloosh!
The partying and drinking continued over at Bongo's Cuban Cafe, where
we waited for the cast and crew of La Nouba to show up after their
second performance. Here I was completely out of my element, wandering
around with my newfound friends until we lost each other. Soon, the
likes of the Bilodeau brothers (German Wheel), Yuri Maiorov (Aerial
Ballet in Silk), Carlos Moreira (Aerial Cradle/Character), Krystian
Sawicki (Le Titan), and many, many other members of the cast and crew
came to live it up; to party!
And live it up they did!
The party was still going when I turned to leave, around midnight. I
was tired and overwhelmed but extremely happy. I had an amazing night
that would not have been possible except by the generosity of Cirque
du Soleil and those behind the scenes at La Nouba. And for that I want
to say thank you for allowing me to participate in La Nouba's 5th
Anniversary celebration. It was a blast!
=======================================================================
LE SPECTATEUR:
"The Bike Jump Story"
By: Keith Johnson - Seattle, Washington (USA)
=======================================================================
[Ever since the start of this humble fanzine we call Fascination!,
there's a story I've been meaning to commit to paper. Now, for our
third anniversary, here it is! -Keith J.]
Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.
The warm rubber of the trick bicycle's rear wheel squealed as it
repeatedly struck the floor, sidewalls bulging to absorb the weight of
bike and rider. Landing again and again, I heard each bounce
distinctively as I lie on the La Nouba stage less than a foot from
this ersatz pogo stick.
How did I get myself into this? It wasn't my fault, really!
Cirque has made a place in several of its shows for audience
participation. David Shiner's "Silent Movie" scene from Nouvelle
Experience, Rene Bazinet's "Gunslinger" scenario from Saltimbanco, or
Francois Dupuis (Baby's) hapless "Papa" from Mystere come quickly to
mind. Almost every Cirque show has a place for a "real" or "fake"
audience member to participate, even if only in the pre-show
"animation". It helps bring the audience further into the performance
by making one of their own a part of Cirque's magical world.
For La Nouba, that moment is the Bike Jump.
Doug White is a champion freestyle stunt bike rider, specializing in
balancing and pogo-sticking his way over any obstacle in his path,
preferably on one wheel. He along with Daniel Boyer performed the
cycles act in La Nouba a few years back. It's one of the more unusual
skills in the Cirque canon, a variation on the equilibrist tradition
displayed in other acts such as chair balancing or rola bola. But
it's one of the more popular acts with the savvy children in the kid-
friendly environment of Walt Disney World.
It was December of 2000 when my wife (then-girlfriend) LouAnna and I
took our long-awaited 12-day trip to Orlando. The entire visit was
packed with activity, visits to all the big theme parks, and
innumerable magic moments we shared together. And we made sure to
snag tickets to La Nouba's 6pm show on our last Saturday. We were
looking forward to completing our slate of Cirque's permanent shows.
The theater in Downtown Disney was impressive, with its high spires
inspired by the circus tents of touring shows. We arrived anxious to
see the show and dressed for the occasion, with LouAnna looking
beautiful in a red blouse and black pants and I stylin' in black
slacks with a blood red dress shirt and long black tie. Together we
looked as yuppie-ish as we might aspire to be, and would have fit in
just fine at any of the hoity-toity bars in the complex.
The show proceeded flawlessly. The clowns, with their "box" animation
routine were hilarious, and the wonders performed in front of our
disbelieving eyes were everything we were expecting. The characters,
including the four all-white Les Cons (The Nuts-played at the time by
David Level, Justin Osbourne, and Pawel and Witek Biegaj) made the
stage their playground.
Then, with a scream and the band powering into "Distorted," the cycles
blasted onto the stage.
We were curious as to how the cycles might be incorporated into the
show. Both Doug and Darrel displayed unbelievable balancing skills,
at one point ascending a set of stairs that appeared from below the
stage, and at another with Doug ascending the stairwell between
Sections 102 and 103, crossing behind the center section of seats,
descending the red-carpeted stairs on the other side and making his
way back onto the stage - all on his back wheel!
The Cons were taking all of this in with confusion and curiosity. Who
can these wild men be, and why are they interfering in our universe?
As the act progressed they became more bold, venturing closer to the
bikers. Halfway through, in an act of defiance, one of the Cons lay
flat at the front of the stage, flashing a look to Doug that he should
attempt to jump over him. Doug, his face hidden behind a full BMX
bike helmet, only glared down at the Con and continued to bounce on
the rear wheel of his bike.
Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.
This confused the other three Cons - Why was he not jumping over their
friend? They cogitated and sputtered over this unlikely development,
scratching fingers over bald white pates while the biker continued
menacing their comrade with his bike.
Then one of them got an idea. He raced down the stairs into the
audience! The other two were now totally bewildered - here was one
friend who had not been jumped over; while another was leaving the
safety of the stage universe to venture into the "real world." But
the Con yelled at his two friends to join him, and with the urging of
the Con lying at their feet ("Go! I don't want to lie here forever,"
he seemed to say) the other two ventured gingerly off the stage.
LouAnna and I watched this unfold with keen interest from our seats in
the wheelchair-accessible section at the top of Section 104. Once
reunited, the Cons raced up the stairwell between sections 103 and
104, then took a hard left and scurried up the main aisle toward our
position. Now it was getting more interesting as they were getting
closer and closer to us. What were they going to do? We were totally
unprepared for what would happen next.
Stomping to a halt behind us, one Con pulled my chair back and to the
left. He slipped his arms under my shoulders and proceeded to lift me
up above his head! Another took one leg; the third took the other.
Before LouAnna could protest (only managing a startled, "OH!" during
the entire three seconds of the kidnapping) we were off!
I was now horizontal, lifted off the ground and being carried by the
three Les Cons as the audience chuckled and applauded. Two spotlights
focused their attention on us, blinding me with their bright warmth.
I could feel the cloth of the Cons garments as it occasionally brushed
against pieces of exposed skin, rustling with their efforts. They
were breathing hard but didn't seem to be overly exerting themselves;
they had me firmly gripped in strong hands and arms. They didn't
speak, keeping up their mime persona. The smell of greasepaint and
sweat emanated from them.
Confused for only the barest of moments, I quickly understood they
were going to do something with me, but I couldn't be sure what. But
I played along, flailing my arms and legs in mock terror. I mimed a
wordless scream and played it to the hilt, making eye contact and
mouthing "Help me!" to any audience member I could. But the Cons
moved quickly, descending the stairs they had come up mere moments
before and retaking their place on stage, back comfortable in their
home environment. They finally laid me on the stage floor to the
right of their prone compadre, between him and the still-bouncing
biker.
Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.
I sat up with feet straight out, face contorted in fear, still playing
the terrorized patron. The stage floor was warm from the heat of
lights and performance. The sound onstage was not as loud as I was
expecting, the musicians playing the soft piano improv bit from the
end of "Distorted." I had expected the glare from the lights to be
blinding, but I could see many of the faces in the audience staring
back at me.
I was enjoying playing the part, and started to glance around the
front of the audience when I felt two fingers press firmly on my
forehead. It was the Con next to me cueing me what to do next. He
only needed to press for a second until I got the point and lay prone
on the warm stage as he had previously done. He quickly sidled up to
me, snuggling his right side tightly against my left. The band played
softer, tighter, as if ready to pounce.
Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.
I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I knew I was safe, but didn't
want to see it coming. My mind was racing - "This is *so cool*!" The
Con lay close to me, motionless, waiting. The biker continued to
pogo, getting ever more closer.
Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.
Something was wrong. Biker Doug took no action. I was perfectly
still as was my new friend, yet still nothing. A second later the Con
realized the problem and sat up, reaching over my stomach to tuck my
right hand tightly under my butt. The biker wanted to get as close to
me as possible and didn't want to risk smashing fingers. After
flashing the audience a bemused look that caused an eruption of
laughter, he lay back down and snuggled close. The biker bobbled
closer and closer, the squeaking of his tire becoming louder with each
landing, each hit a tiny earthquake on the stage floor.
Bounce. Bounce...
BOUNCE!
With an audible grunt of effort Biker Doug launched himself, leaving
behind a small breeze of air on my right. My closed eyes "saw" him
rocket overhead as his body eclipsed the lights shining down. A split
second later he landed with a THUMP! to the left of the Con. The band
erupted in celebration and the audience broke into applause. He had
done it!
I opened my eyes and looked slightly to my left. The Con had quickly
risen from his place next to me and offered his hand to help me rise
from the stage. He had a strong pull and I was back on my feet in an
instant. It was done, the stunt over. Next was something I never
thought would happen. The Con looked at me, smiled and - spoke!
"Heyyy, gimme a hug!"
He wanted to welcome me to his fraternity of Les Cons. This threw me
for a loop. I was NOT expecting him to speak! And for the first
moment of the entire experience I didn't know what to do (strange,
since he had just told me!). I just stood there, staring at the Con
with his silly grin. But he had handled people like me before. As
the audience continued its applause he reached forward and hugged me.
Again the strong smell of greasepaint mixed with sweat. I managed to
move my arms enough to hug him back and we parted, he moving away to
join his brotheren.
Yet the show continued, and here I was standing at the front of the
stage, lights glaring at me, all alone. The Cons words had thrown me
completely out of the moment, out of "character." But I knew I had to
get off the stage and back to my seat, preferably as soon as possible.
It was also clear that I wasn't about to be carried back in the way I
had been brought down.
One of the spotlights was still on me, helpfully illuminating my way
as I ran up the aisle, stooped over and trying not to be conspicuous
(too late!). In retrospect, if I had my wits about me I would have
gathered myself, brushed off my clothing, and only then "realize" I
was on-stage and run up the stairs in mock horror. Such would have
been the best "capper" to complete my "characters" experience. But
all I could think about was sitting! So I hunkered down and slinked
back to my seat, the spotlight following me obediently. With a quiet
blink it was gone, and my moment in that special universe was over.
LouAnna stared at me with wide eyes. I was a mess - hair tousled,
clothes ruffled, face flushed and sweaty, breathing hard from climbing
the aisle steps two at a time. "I had *no idea* that was going to
happen," I assured her between breaths. In the darkness I composed
myself and settled my racing heart. It had been quite an experience,
and I concentrated for a moment to take in every detail. Out of the
corner of my eye I could catch glimpses of other patrons occasionally
looking at me - some with interest, others envy.
Eventually everything returned to normal and the rest of the show
proceeded uneventfully. I thought that would be it, that I would
leave as anonymously as I entered. But the surprises continued when,
after the well-deserved standing ovation and the house lights had been
raised, an usher presented me with a small placard. It was a "Disney
Magical Moment" certificate, given at the time to people who had been
picked for various participatory things - skippering the Jungle Cruise
boat, pulling the Sword out of the Stone, participating in a parade or
show. For me it was "Bike Jump Stunt", dated and signed by the
WDWorld Resort president and a Cirque representative. A nice
scrapbook-able keepsake memory, since there were no pictures allowed.
And, more surprisingly, my moment of stardom continued outside the
theater, as a few people came up to ask if I was part of the show!
Perhaps my clothing or "characterization" suggested to them I was an
audience plant. But no, I was as normal as they could get.
Well, maybe a little more so. There might actually have been a reason
the Les Cons chose me as their victim that night.
Truth be told, I had been introduced to the audience at an earlier
point in the evening. And it was with the help of several of the
kindest Disney and Cirque employees I have had the good fortune to
meet. For during the Animation before the show I had the honor of
proposing marriage to my lovely wife in front of a full house of 1,650
patrons, prior to the start of La Nouba. It was a moment neither of
us will ever forget.
But that's another story.
=======================================================================
EXPANDED SELECTION:
"Olympics du Soleil - An Expanded Look"
By: The Press
=======================================================================
With the opening of the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens Greece,
several news agencies have published articles about former athletes
now working as artists in the Cirque organization.
-------------------------------------------------
"From Sports to Show Business-Change of Scenery"
By: John Przybys, Las Vegas Review-Journal
-------------------------------------------------
Can't make it to Athens, Greece, to see world-class athletes compete in this year's Summer Olympics?
No problem. Just head to the Strip and catch a performance of Cirque du Soleil's "O" or "Mystere."
There, you'll see Olympic synchronized swimmers and gymnasts displaying their skills in a new, definitely different, setting.
And even if the athletes' objective now is impressing theatergoers rather than a few crotchety judges, you'll view the athleticism that made them world-class athletes then and world-class artists now.
Cirque du Soleil's shows -- which feature athletic routines enveloped in artistic, surreal tableaus -- enable the performers to use skills they've spent most of their lives developing.
Like other Olympians performing in Cirque du Soleil shows, Paul Bowler, a member of Great Britain's 1992 men's artistic gymnastics team, began training when he was a child.
Now, Bowler performs in "Mystere" at Treasure Island and says working in the show is "fantastic."
After an athlete's amateur career ends, Bowler says, Cirque du Soleil "says, `We'll take those skills, get rid of all the formality ... and then put you in a beautiful costume with the best dancers in the world, the best lighting, the best set designers and the best music, and turn you into an artist and pay you for it.' "
Before joining the cast of "O" at Bellagio, Lesley Wright, a member of Canada's bronze medal-winning 2000 synchronized swimming team, worked for a time as a junior supply analyst for an oil and gas company.
"It was really refreshing to come back into this, because everyone here has the same discipline," she says. "Not that my (work) experience was bad, but coming into a real job, people's backgrounds are so different and (the) work ethic is so different."
Zoltan Supola competed in three Summer Olympic Games as a member of Hungary's men's gymnastics team. Now, he says, performing in "O" is "a nice chance to continue" using skills similar to those he used in competition.
PERSONALITY PLUS
Athletes quickly discover after joining Cirque du Soleil that performing isn't the same as competing.
"You have more individuality here," explains Madeleine Perk, a performer in "O" and a member of Switzerland's 2000 synchronized swimming team. "You can express your own character in the show."
Émilie Fournier, a member of Canada's 2000 women's gymnastics team, admits she had trouble shedding the mind-set of an athlete and putting on a performer's persona.
"When I first got here, I'm like, `I'm not an artist, I'm a gymnast,' " she says. "But more and more I discovered how much I like being onstage. It's incredible."
In Cirque du Soleil shows, precise technique is less important than artistic expression.
In competition, an athlete get points for technique, explains Miho Kawabe, a member of Japan's bronze medal-winning 1996 synchronized swimming team. "But this show is more (about) searching my artistic technique."
"I had a lot of unlearning to do," agrees Suzannah Bianco, a member of the United States' gold medal-winning 1996 synchronized swimming team. "Or, I don't know if it was unlearning as much as it is relearning.
"You have to grasp the whole concept that you don't have to be absolutely perfect."
In "Mystere," Bowler manipulates a cube while suspended 60 feet above the stage. While learning the routine, he once dropped the cube three times in one practice session.
After the third drop, Bowler recalls, his mentor "came onstage and said, `People are not paying 95-bleeping-bleeping dollars to see a bleeping pathetic gymnast on the stage.' "
"When it goes wrong onstage, those words are implanted in my mind," Bowler continues. "When things go wrong -- and it doesn't happen (but) once or twice a year -- I hear the music, take (the cube), throw it and stand there, and people go crazy. If I pick it up, people know I dropped it. So that's the artistic side, the performance side."
LIFE CHANGES
Making the transition from amateur athlete to professional performer also means changes in the athletes' personal routines. But, they agree, this transition is easier to make.
Jill Smith, a member of the gold medal-winning 1996 U.S. synchronized swimming team, found herself with a lot of free time once rigorous training sessions no longer took up most of her daylight hours.
"I have to tell you, the best part of the day was when the sun started to set, because I never saw that growing up. I was always in the pool," she says.
Now, on Mondays and Tuesdays, when "O" is dark, "I just sit and enjoy that time of day," Smith says.
"You get a taste of a different life," she adds. "And it's certainly not a better life. I'd never trade my experiences for anything. But it does make you appreciate the small things so much, because you gave up so much during training."
The athletes say they feel lucky to have extended their athletic careers via Cirque du Soleil.
"My big realization is how lucky I felt to be able to do something I'm truly passionate about, and in a setting like this," Wright says. "To have such an extended career because of this is awesome."
Wright expects her synchronized swimming days to end once she leaves the show.
"Once I finish this job," she says, smiling, "you can pretty much put money on that I will never be swimming upside-down again."
SPORTS FANS
Once in a while, the athlete/performers meet somebody who's surprised to learn that Olympians actually live in Las Vegas. There usually follows, Wright says, "a battery of questions."
The most common questions?
"First, they start out, `Can you hear the music underwater?' " Wright says. Then they ask whether synchronized swimmers wear nose clips, and then "it's: What do you put in your hair?' "
The answers: Yes, Yes, and Knox gelatin.
That gelatin thing is, Wright adds, "the No. 1 reason that people quit swimming."
The performers say they'll watch at least part of this year's Summer Olympics.
"I know a couple of United States athletes in the sport, but I don't know them very well," Smith says. "But, believe me, I'll be watching it."
Fournier says she'll cheer on members of the Canadian synchronized swimming team, but concedes she no longer follows the sport intensely.
"Really, it's part of your life," she explains. "It's done, it's beautiful, but now you've got to move on."
Sylvie Fréchette, who won a gold in synchronized swimming in 1992 and a silver in 1996 for Canada, helped to create the aquatic elements of "O" and performed in the show until January 2002. She currently serves as the show's aquatic designer and coach and as the show's assistant artistic coordinator.
Fréchette will follow this summer's games in both her professional capacity -- after all, some of this year's gymnasts and synchronized swimmers may well be next year's Cirque du Soleil trainees -- but also because she just loves the Olympics.
"For me, the Olympics is the beauty of the performance, it's the beauty of the body," she says.
OLYMPIC MEMORIES
As they watch this year's games, the athletes may flash upon some of their own Olympic memories.
Fréchette says her favorite Olympic memory is her final swim in Barcelona, Spain -- an odd choice, it would seem, considering a judging error deprived her of a gold medal.
Fréchette later was awarded a gold medal (U.S. swimmer Kristin Babb-Sprague holds the one awarded at the games). Fréchette concedes the judging controversy was frustrating, but adds that it helped to reinforce her conviction that "I don't swim for judges. I swim for myself."
"I felt it was an out-of-body experience in the water," says Fréchette, who notes -- only, perhaps, partially joking -- that she felt as if she could hold her final, dramatic move "for two weeks, because I was enjoying it so much."
Wright's Olympic memories are of seeing athletes from all over the world in the Olympic Village, the housing complex where they lived during the games.
"For me that's what was so beautiful. It's the entire world coming together," she says. "And it sounds so cheesy, but it was like everyone getting along, and there was no creed or color in sport. It was like we were just all there and all one. That was amazing."
One of Fournier's funnier memories involves the Olympic Village, too. She stayed in the same house as Canada's synchronized swim team.
"At 5 in the morning you could hear, `One, two, three,' " she recalls, laughing. "They're practicing like this outside the water, and we were all like, `Oh, damn swimmers.' "
Supola, too, remembers the other athletes he met.
"You wake up each morning and it's just, every day, every day, more people coming into the Olympic Village," he says. "You can see them training in the street and everything."
Supola says, even today, he gets goose bumps when thinking about entering the stadium for opening ceremonies. So does Perk, who says it took her team about two hours to complete the march into the stadium.
"The last couple yards, you kind of saw like a small door," she says. "And you go through it, and there's so much lights and 110,000 people."
Bowler also counts entering the stadium for opening ceremonies as a special Olympic memory.
"Every time you pass (the entry) you can hear, `Please welcome the United States of America team,' and you walk on, knowing in half-a-mile it's going to be you with your flag," he says.
"That's my most vivid memory of the Olympic Games. That's something nobody can ever take away from you."
Today, Bianco says, "you can still watch the Olympics -- any sport -- and have those feelings come back to you."
-------------------------------------------------
"Cirque's Roster of Las Vegas-based Olympians"
By: Mike Weatherford, Las Vegas Review-Journal
-------------------------------------------------
Cirque du Soleil's roster of Las Vegas-based Olympians includes:
- Suzannah Bianco, a member of the United States' gold medal-winning synchronized swimming team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, now performs in "O" at Bellagio.
- Paul Bowler, a member of Great Britain's men's artistic gymnastics team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, now performs in "Mystere" at Treasure Island.
- Sergiy But, representing the former Soviet Union and the Ukraine, competed in freestyle or acrobatic skiing at the 1992, 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics and now performs in "Mystere."
- Becky Dyroen-Lancer, a member of the U.S. gold medal-winning synchronized swimming team in 1996, now performs in "O."
- Émilie Fournier, a member of the Canadian women's gymnastics team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, now performs in "O."
- Sylvie Fréchette won a solo gold medal in synchronized swimming for Canada in 1992 and led Canada's team to a silver medal-winning finish at the 1996 games. She helped to develop the aquatic elements of "O" and performed in the show until January 2002. She now serves as the show's synchronized swimming coach, aquatic designer and assistant artistic coordinator.
- Miho Kawabe, a member of Japan's bronze medal-winning synchronized swimming team in 1996, now performs in "O."
- Madeleine Perk, a member of Switzerland's synchronized swimming team in 2000, now performs in "O."
- Jill Smith, a member of the U.S. gold medal-winning synchronized swimming team in 1996, now performs in "O."
- Zoltan Supola, a member of Hungary's men's gymnastics team at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, now performs in "O."
- Lesley Wright, a member of Canada's bronze medal-winning synchronized swimming team in 2000, now performs in "O."
-------------------------------------------------
"Olympic athletes land at Cirque du Soleil"
By: Kristie Martinez, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
-------------------------------------------------
Hungarian Zoltan Supola competed in three Olympics, dedicating a huge part of his life to becoming a world-champion gymnast. But when he retired after the 2000 Sydney Games, he found there were few jobs waiting for a pommel horse specialist.
"Even if you have some world championships or some medals, once I got that it's like, 'What am I going to do?' " he said.
But Supola landed on his feet, thanks to Cirque du Soleil. The gravity-defying troupe of performers now has 17 former Olympians in its ranks, and it plans to recruit more at the Athens Games under way.
The organization is willing to do somersaults to land world-class Olympic athletes suited for the rigors of its acrobatic performances, which include midair flips and tosses, high-flying trapeze acts and entire shows in or above water.
"When we talk about Olympians, the word indicates a certain way of training, and the determination and motivation are always there," said company acrobatics scout Fabrice Becker. "(Seeing) the best athletes is a plus, because some of our shows need that level of performance."
Cirque du Soleil (French for circus of the sun) has more than 600 performers for its shows around the globe. More than 7 million people saw its performances last year.
In Athens, a scout is searching for athletes in events such as gymnastics, trampoline, diving and synchronized swimming. The company soon may add the Winter Olympics to its recruiting schedule.
Many former Olympians who are now Cirque du Soleil cast members say the transition is challenging, even for such elite athletes.
Suzannah Bianco, who won an Olympic gold medal for the United States in 1996 for team synchronized swimming, had a hard time letting go of competitive swimming when she joined "O," a Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil act performed entirely in, on or above water at the Bellagio hotel-casino.
"In competition, you have a heavy focus on swimming your routine with absolute perfection. In performing, your precision is important, but you have more freedom to be able to express emotion that's different every night if you choose," Bianco said.
During one of "O's" synchronized swimming acts, 17 pairs of feet -- some flexed toward the ceiling, others curved in opposite directions -- shoot out above the 25-foot-deep waters that serve as the show's stage. Supola, who took sixth place for pommel horse at the 2000 Games, also performs in "O." His acts include throwing and catching acrobats on a suspended, ghostlike ship.
Gymnast Paul Bowler, 36, who performs in "Mystere" at the Treasure Island hotel-casino, became a children's gymnastics coach after not making it to the 1996 Atlanta Games with the British Olympic team.
But he still wanted to perform, using the skills he learned on the pommel horse, rings and bars.
"I was doing somersaults for the kids and they were clapping, and I thought, 'I'm not really teaching them.' I still had this performance spirit within me," he said.
Bianco said she carried that spirit of performance with her from the Olympics to her new job.
"What I liked about competition was being able to perform and know that I touched people emotionally," Bianco said. "Here, we get to do that every night. You hear the oohs and aahs, and they happen because of the magic of what's on stage."
-------------------------------------------------
"Fitting In: Extended Family"
By: Mike Weatherford, Las Vegas Review-Journal
-------------------------------------------------
With three major shows running and a fourth in the pipeline, Cirque du Soleil casts a long shadow on the Strip.
What's less obvious is how far that shadow extends beyond the casinos, to a variety of enterprises springing from the family of Cirque performers and backstage technicians who first started coming to town in 1992.
"It's the Cirque `expats' who contribute to the artistic fabric of Las Vegas now," says Allyson Manta, who left "Mystere" in 2000 to pursue her dream of bringing Argentinian tango to Las Vegas through a school called Tango Silhouette.
She's one of several Cirque alumni who opted to stay in Las Vegas after leaving the French-Canadian company and find new ways to use their worldly experience and/or unique training.
A prominent example is the painter who goes by the single name Vital, a former "Mystere" performer who turned a hobby into a profession.
The Republic of Congo native who has traveled the world -- "Where to call home is a question left unanswered," he says in his biography -- stayed in Las Vegas after five years in "Mystere." His paintings are priced upward of $3,000 at the Art de Vignettes gallery in the Fashion Show mall.
"There's a limited life span of being able to do that type of (acrobatic) work," notes former gymnast Mike Rice. During his years with Cirque, "I was always pushing (to colleagues), `You need to make inroads into what your career is going to be afterward."
Rice and his wife Cassie set an example by opening Gymcats gymnastics studio. Cassie's name often is in the sports pages as the coach of the studio's most famous pupil, Olympian Tasha Schwikert.
"I was one of the few Americans who were in the original cast," Rice says of his acrobatic work on the teeter-boards and Chinese pole in "Mystere," which opened at Treasure Island on Christmas of 1993.
After his days on the U.S. Mens National Gymnastics Team ended in the late 1980s, Rice came to Las Vegas to audition for "Siegfried & Roy at The Mirage." That put him in a prime spot to see the circus tent go up behind The Mirage for "Nouvelle Experience," the first Las Vegas Cirque show that paved the way for "Mystere."
Rice spent a year in the creation of "Mystere" and stayed for two more after it opened. While still performing in the show in 1992, he and his wife decided to spin off a Las Vegas location of a gymnastics studio that Cassie's mother had started in New York.
Now, he says, "I'm sort of the retirement home for a lot of Cirque people" who work as instructors. He also started Inversion Entertainment Group, offering acrobatic and gymnastic entertainment to the corporate market. "I like to think I'm starting at ground level like Cirque did," he says.
So does Misha Matorin, who performed the acrobatic "cube act" -- named after an oversized metal cube that he twirls and balances -- in "Mystere" before forming his own DreamCast Entertainment.
The company grounded itself on the corporate market before going public with casino productions in Biloxi, Miss. One of those shows, "Taganai," moves closer to home when it opens Sept. 10 at the Eldorado in Reno.
Though his company advertises "Cirque-style" entertainment (hence, the Web address http://www.cirquestyle.com), he says the French-Canadian company that launched him is "getting too big to really worry about people like me."
"They recognize my courage," adds the Russian-born performer. "We're all trying to do good for each other. They know that if they ever need my help, I'm available for them."
Allyson Manta had taken a leave of absence from Cirque to pursue her tango school in Montreal. But in 1999, the company lured her back as artistic coordinator for "Mystere," where her husband Gabriel still performs as a trapeze artist.
"On the side, I began a tango scene here, trying to re-create what I did in Montreal." She says her group is "right at the critical mass stage now." Organized tango, she says, is "a sign of a city moving into being more sophisticated."
Some of her Cirque colleagues make up the 200-person mailing list. "Cirque brings in people from all over the world who are used to being in Berlin or Amsterdam," she notes. "They're looking for things they used to do in their cities."
Bill Fleming came to Cirque from the outside; he already was working in Las Vegas when he helped open "Mystere" as head carpenter. But the experience helped him with his own business, Desert Entertainment, which he opened in 2000.
"You learn a different perspective in how to do things. There's not just one way to do something," he says of his company, which contracts nonunion stagehands.
When Cirque first began interacting with the corporate structure of what was then called Mirage Resorts, "it was like dealing with divorced parents. Cirque had one way of doing things and Mirage had another way of doing things. What you're learning from both those corporations is how to deal with people," he says.
"The culture of it was so much different" in the early days, Rice agrees. "It was pretty much a little family unit." So small, that he remembers talk among the performers: "Can Cirque acquire a piece of land outside of town and we can get trailers and live there?"
Now, of course, "they're the biggest thing in town. Part of corporate America."
And, by the extended Cirque family, a growing part of Las Vegas as well.
=======================================================================
PARTING QUOTE
=======================================================================
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Cirque du Soleil. During this
performance smoke effects will be used *cough, cough* but these are
harmless to your health. The use of video equipment, and especially
flash cameras *flash, flash, flash* is strictly prohibited because of
the danger it presents to our acrobats. In case of an emergency
*aaaaaaaaiiiieeee!*, please stay calm and proceede to the nearest exit
*here..... here..... and here.... phew!* The ushers will direct you.
And now, sit back, relax and enjoy... LA NOUBA!"
=======================================================================
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
=======================================================================
Fascination! is a monthly newsletter, available only through sub-
scription. To subscribe, please send an email to: < CirqueFascination-
subscribe@yahoogroups.com >. To unsubscribe, please send an email to:
< CirqueFascination-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com >. To view back
issues, please visit our Yahoo! Group address at:
< http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CirqueFascination/ >, login using
your Yahoo! ID (required) and select the Files menu option. If
you have any questions, feel free to email us at: < CirqueFascination-
owner@yahoogroups.com >.
Have a comment, question or concern? Email the Fascination!
Newsletter staff at: < CirqueFasincation-owner@yahoogroups.com >.
We are anxious to hear any and all comments!
=======================================================================
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER
=======================================================================
"Fascination!" is Ricky Russo, Keith Johnson, and Wayne Leung.
"Fascination! Newsletter" is a concept by Ricky Russo. Copyright (c)
2001-2004 Ricky Russo, published by Vortex/RGR Productions, a
subsidiary of Communicore Enterprises. No portion of this newsletter
can be reproduced, published in any form or forum, quoted or
translated without the consent of the "Fascination!
Newsletter." By sending us correspondence, you give us permission
(unless otherwise noted) to use the submission as we see fit, without
remuneration. All submissions become the property of the "Fascination!
Newsletter." "Fascination! Newsletter" is not affiliated in any way
with Cirque du Soleil. Cirque du Soleil and all its creations are
Copyright (c) and are registered trademarks (TM) of Cirque du Soleil,
Inc., and Créations Méandres, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No copyright
infringement intended.
=======================================================================
