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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
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http://www.CirqueFascination.com
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VOLUME 18, NUMBER 2 February 2018 ISSUE #169
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Welcome to the latest edition of Fascination, the Unofficial Cirque
du Soleil Newsletter. Let's jump right in, shall we?
* * * PAN's LABRYNTH BY CIRQUE DU SOLEIL?!? * * *
In a recent interview with Bilboard Magazine, Argentine singer-
songwriter Gustavo Santaolalla discusses releasing a revamped
version of his 1982 hit "Compañeros del Sendero." He then goes on
to tell the magazine about the current state of his projects. Here's
where you'll want to pay attention: "The Arrabal show spent a month
playing in Boston, always packed and to great reviews, so we've been
working to take it to New York in 2018. I've finished working on the
music of the Cirque Du Soleil show based on Pan's Labyrinth, and we
are currently searching for a director. UM... WHAT?!
* * * MORE FROM THE RUMOR MILL * * *
Although it's not been made official (as in, there's been no official
announced from Cirque du Soleil), by now it's no secret that Cirque
is working to bring one of its classic shows back under the Big Top.
It's also no real secret what that show is: AL-E-GRIA! Speculation
abounds about its premiere date of course, but I believe we might see
its relaunch in April 2019 to celebrate the show's 25th Anniversary,
which would also be Cirque du Soleil's 35th Anniversary. But we'll
see. Remember it's not official until Cirque announces it so this may
change at any time!
In Late December, Criss Angel announced his intention to close his
show - Mindfreak Live! - at the Luxor Las Vegas this coming October.
We knew Cirque was working on a replacement show, and an article in
the Las Vegas Review-Journal not long after Angel's announcement
mentioned the new concept would be an "entirely new avenue of
performance" for the company. Now the LVRJ is saying a bit more: the
new production would feature, at least in part, top BMX athletes.
"Cirque Senior Vice President Jerry Nadal has confirmed no traditional
Cirque acrobats in the new show, which has never toured and is fully
unique to Las Vegas." Hmm... Rumor rumblings suggest this new concept
is going to be more of a stunt-type show. What that actually means is
anyone's guess, but it's clear that Cirque du Soleil is daring to be
different this time around in Las Vegas. Whether that'll lead to
success is also anyone's guess. There's plenty of time for things to
change, so stay tuned!
And speaking of change... it's clear that VOLTA's DVD has been put
on hiatus for the time being and we can only speculate that Cirque
is holding onto the DVD pending upcoming changes to the show. It's
a prudent move really considering the company filmed and released
TORUK-The First Flight very early on and then made some acrobatic
changes to the show not long thereafter. Rumors are circulating that
VOLTA is about to undergo similar changes (this time a more severe
re-working than Toruk received), which would make the VOLTA DVD
moot. Considering the recording doesn't represent the show as it
exists now, with more drastic change rumored to be coming soon,
one has to wonder if anyone would recognize the recording as VOLTA.
That doesn't mean I wouldn't want to see it though, okay Cirque?
Clean the cobwebs off your On-Demand page and put it up there?
An article in MDC (a Spanish-language Event Planners Magazine) has
Noted that The Celebrate Project the Cirque du Soleil Theme Park &
Resort project in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is having its opening
delayed yet again from 2019/2020 to 2021/2022. Theres yet more to
this delay...
Inquiring minds want to know: what happened to Cirque 2018?
With Cirque du Soleil putting out a number of crew casting calls
just as our December issue was going to print, this little title
came out of nowhere to surprise us all. Rumors gave the show an
India-based theme (Bollywood comes to mind of course), and a
premiere sometime in Montreal. However, since the initial flare-up
about this new production, weve heard little since. Historically
wed hear about a new production slated to premiere in Montreal
during the traditional time frame (April) by now. Tickets would be
on sale if nothing else. But so far nothing, which lends credence
to the other part of the shows rumor: that this show for India
will premiere and tour exclusively there. As always well have to
wait and see.
* * * POLSTAR's 2017 YEAR END FIGURES ARE IN * * *
POLSTAR's 2017 Year-End figures are in and live music continues to
demonstrate its growing popularity, making 2017 a record-crushing
year for the concert business.
The Top 100 Worldwide Tours alone generated a record $5.65 billion
in revenues. That represents a huge, 15.8% increase over the
previous year. The total tickets sold by the Top 100 was also a
record at 66.79 million. That's up a remarkable 10.4% over 2016.
And it was all done with a record average ticket price of $84.63,
which is an increase of $3.97, or nearly 5%. U2 did the highest
grossing tour worldwide at $316 million and the band's North
American segment also topped that chart at $176.1 million. There
were 11 tours that generated more than $100 million worldwide as
compared to seven tours in 2016.
The most successful artists are clearly getting better at recapturing
some of the revenue that had leaked into the secondary ticket market.
The importance of the growing global concert market is readily
evident in an examination of the top 20 venues on the Arena Ticket
Sales chart. Only seven are located in the U.S. while five were from
the U.K., including The O2 London at No. 1. Two are in Mexico, and
there's one each in Germany, Spain, Canada, France, Netherlands,
and Belgium. Live Nation was by far the world's largest concert
promoter and reported to Pollstar a record 52.5 million tickets sold
around the globe. AEG was again a solid No. 2 among promoters
reporting 14.4 million tickets sold. OCESA/CIE was No. 3 at about 4
million tickets. SJM was the top U.K. based promoter with nearly
2.4 million tickets sold.
So, how did Cirque du Soleil shows do in 2017?
World Gross Show AVG Tix AVG Tix Total AVG Cities
Rank in Mil Title Price Sold Tix Sold Gross / Shows
--------------------------------------------------------------------
26 $61.8 Kurios $80.66 15,324 766,179 $1,236,000 50/411
28 $60.1 Luzia $84.89 14,448 707,975 $1,226,531 49/403
29 $60.0 Toruk $79.38 24,393 756,191 $1,936,367 31/169
35 $54.2 Ovo $72.52 16,986 747,380 $1,231,818 44/308
41 $48.2 Amaluna $79.97 15,848 602,239 $1,267,336 38/290
47 $41.8 Varekai $61.99 16,458 674,764 $1,020,282 41/282
50 $39.7 Kooza $85.41 12,232 464,816 $1,044,737 38/293
59 $35.9 Volta $74.66 16,042 481,274 $1,197,760 30/246
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$401.7 Million Gross 5,200,818 Tickets Sold
* * * LUNA PETUNIA: SEASON FOUR * * *
It seems like only yesterday we were reporting that Season Three of
SABAN and Cirque du Soleil Media's animated show began airing on
Netflix (it was back in December's issue), and now Season Four is
streaming on NETFLIX as of February 2nd, but there's a catch. It's
not called Luna Petunia Season Four... it's Season One of Luna
Petunia: Return to Amazia. "Luna Petunia returns to magical Amazia
to add memories to her scrapbook with help from her old pals and a
new friend from the Animal Empire - Macy the monkeyphant!" Each
episode is 24 minutes long and, as in previous seasons, each
contain two segments for you or your young ones to enjoy. The new
episodes are:
1. "Macy's Memorable Morning" / "The Color Catastrophe"
Luna and her friends work hard to make Macy's first trip
to Amazia memorable. Macy learns the importance of
listening to instructions.
2. "Fumble Cat" / "Sammy Gets A Big Head"
Fellino's Tumble Cat cousin, Catalina, is afraid to be
herself. Sammy's ego gets carried away when he's named
the funniest person in Amazia.
3. "Keep Calm and Karoo On" / "Runaway Tree"
Karoo's so excited for Amazia's annual Harvest Festival
that he can't calm down. Macy learns the difference
between indoor and outdoor voices.
4. "Warm and Fuzzling" / "Gift Horse"
Luna and her friends work together to take care of nine
busy fuzzling babies. Amazia's magic turns Karoo's new
toy into a real-life runaway horse!
5. "What a Racquet" / "Petunia Sitter"
Luna and her friends teach competitive pals that winning
isn't everything. The team searches for a new petunia
when the portal starts to wilt.
* * * IN THE ISSUE * * *
We continue our look back at classic show critiques with reviews of
Quidam from 1996 and 1997. The following are two quotes from The
Montreal Gazette and La Presse at the time Quidam premiered to whet
your appetite for more!
"As Quidam enters, he hands his blue bowler hat to a little girl,
whose parents suddenly ascend skyward in their chairs. The next three
hours of acrobatics are thus framed as childhood fantasy with a
surrealistic edge. (...) Quidam focuses with microscopic intensity on
individual acts. Less can truly be more. Even in the circus biz."
The Montréal Gazette
"The ninth production of the Cirque du Soleil is clearly the most
theatrical, most beautiful an perhaps most melancholy in the history
of this marvellous circus. (...) This story of mans search for his
place in an evolving world is magnificently illustrated with circus
acts combining performance skill, poetry, choreography, music and
dreams." -- La Presse, Montréal
Last, but certainly not least, congratulations are in order to all
at CRYSTAL. They celebrated their 100th performance on February 4th.
And to the team behind the 3D VR Experience Through the Masks of
LUZIA. The experience was nominated for a Canadian Screen Awards
2018 Best Immersive Experience!
Okay, so let's go!
/----------------------------------------------------\
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| Join us on the web at: |
| < www.cirquefascination.com > |
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- Ricky "Richasi" Russo
===========
CONTENTS
===========
o) Cirque Buzz -- News, Rumours & Sightings
* La Presse -- General News & Highlights
* Q&A -- Quick Chats & Press Interviews
o) Itinéraire -- Tour/Show Information
* BigTop Shows -- Under the Grand Chapiteau
* Arena Shows -- In Stadium-like venues
* Resident Shows -- Performed en Le Théâtre
o) Outreach -- Updates from Cirque's Social Widgets
* Webseries -- Official Online Featurettes
* Videos -- Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds
o) Fascination! Features
* "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 10 of 16: Quidam, Part 1 (1996-1997)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
o) Copyright & Disclaimer
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CIRQUE BUZZ -- NEWS, RUMOURS & SIGHTINGS
=======================================================================
***************************************************************
LA PRESSE -- General News & Highlights
***************************************************************
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Snapchat Launches Exclusive KÀ The Valet' Lens
{Jan.09.2018}
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Known for its epic battles and breathtaking martial arts, KÀ by Cirque
du Soleil invites Snapchatters to take the stage and debut their inner
performer with the launch of a brand-new Snapchat selfie Lens,
available nationwide beginning January 9, 2018 at 12am PST for a
limited time. In conjunction with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES),
Snapchatters nationwide can virtually partake in the dynamic action by
transforming into The Valet' characters from the captivating
acrobatic production. A first in Cirque du Soleil history, KÀ by
Cirque du Soleil has partnered with Snapchat on a custom Lens that can
be used with a friend to animate Snapchatters' faces and transport
users directly into the battle of a lifetime.
Check out the KÀ performers using the new Snapchat Lens:
http://bit.ly/2D9bvyo
How to try on the new Valet-themed Lens in Snapchat:
1) Download the latest version of Snapchat in the App Store
or Google Play Store.
2) Open Snapchat to the camera screen.
3) With the camera in selfie mode, tap on a Snapchatter's face
to activate the Lens carousel.
4) Swipe over and select the Lens with The Valet' mask.
Try it on by yourself or with a friend and have fun Snapping!
{ SOURCE: Snapchat }
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Cirque Eschews Acrobats in Next LV Production?
{Jan.13.2018}
------------------------------------------------------
There are some certainties in Cirque du Soleil's largely abstract
world. One is that Criss Angel's "Mindfreak Live!" production closes
at Luxor Oct. 28. And there won't be another Cirque-produced magic
show taking its place.
We've always expected Cirque shows to highlight acrobatics, the
"circus" theme of the company's very title
but not so fast. The next
production Cirque stages on the Strip will be devoid of the very
acrobatics that made the company the dominant production vehicle in
the city.
"We are working on a new show concept with MGM Resorts, brand-new for
the Luxor, and an entirely new avenue for the company," Cirque du
Soleil Senior Vice President Jerry Nadal said Thursday at Mandalay
Bay, following a preview of a scene from the "One Night for One Drop"
charity show set for March 2 at the Michael Jackson One Theater. "No
magic, and no acrobats. This is an entirely new avenue of performance
for us."
Nadal declined to say what "avenue" is being pursued. Cirque has
expanded its roster of production shows by acquiring also at and is
producing the NFL Experience multimedia and performance attraction in
Times Square in New York. The company also combined acrobats and
proper musical theater with "Paramour," which closed in April after a
yearlong run at Lyric Theater in New York.
"We have seven shows in Las Vegas, and eight if you count Blue Man
Group, on the Strip, and our challenge is to try to differentiate
them," Nadal said. "We need to look at what's next for Cirque," Nadal
said, adding that much depends on the company's ownership group,
headed up by TPG Capital, which purchased the company from founder Guy
Laliberté for $1.5 billion in April 2015. "When our new owners came
in, they said, We didn't buy you for what you have been or what you
are, we bought you for what you can become.' And that is a global,
live entertainment leader."
Nadal added that the company is in "growth mode," beyond its purchase
of Blue Man Group, a Strip hit since 2000. Cirque has developed an
ice-themed production, "Crystal," which premieres in Montreal in
December and plays San Diego on March 21-25 (and don't rule out frozen
water as a theme for the new Luxor show, either).
"We are looking at whatever new product is out there, and we have
creative minds that are always looking to branch out," Nadal said. But
he emphasized that the company is not seeking to snap up another
successful production on the Strip, similar to its purchase of the
Blue Men.
Asked if Cirque might make a move on existing show on the Strip, Nadal
said, "No, not that we're looking at now."
"One Night for One Drop," which helps raise money and awareness for
Cirque's international water-conversation initiatives, is being staged
for the second time at the Michael Jackson One Theater. That venue was
selected about a year ago, announced just after the 2017 show at
Theater at New York-New York.
Though not planned, the show should give a boost to stagnant business
at Mandalay Bay after the Oct. 1 shootings at Route 91 Harvest
festival.
"The show will put the spotlight on Mandalay Bay, and it's been tough
on this end of the Strip after Oct. 1," Nadal said. "But we're having
big event here for a big cause, and it will put the name of the
property back in a positive light. It wasn't planned that way, of
course, but we are really happy about that."
{ SOURCE: Las Vegas Review-Journal | https://goo.gl/MEstpV }
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Where is he now? - Bill Shannon
{Jan.16.2018}
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Bill Shannon's artistry can vary movement to movement, even moment to
moment. He glides, he skates, he dances. He choreographs and performs
for theater and on the street. He breaks boundaries with video
installations.
It's a list that's varied and unique and one that caught the attention
of Chicago-based United States Artists, which has made him one of 45
fellows chosen to receive $50,000. Mr. Shannon received recognition in
the dance category.
Dance doesn't quite say it all, though.
"What I do is interdisciplinary in nature. I'm known for this
virtuosic dance performance on crutches and a skateboard and for urban
street style dance performances. But the work that I am doing and I
think the reason USA Artists recognized my work was for dance and a
lot of sociological street-performance material."
The United States Artists press release describes the 47-year-old East
Ender as "a conceptual, interdisciplinary performance and media artist
who creates solo and group choreographies, wearable sculpture, video
installation and performance art for galleries, theaters and the
street."
He has been a Guggenheim Fellow for dance and a Foundation for
Contemporary Art Award Fellow for Performance, as well as an aerial
choreographer for Cirque du Soleil. His video installations have been
show at galleries and museums. He also created the touring piece
"Traffic," in which the audience follows him on a bus.
He is currently working on a design for wearable video masks as a
fellow of the Frank-Ratchye Studio For Creative Inquiry at Carnegie
Mellon University. Mr. Shannon also has a knack for physical comedy,
which he hopes will land him a spot at the New York City Clown Theater
Festival.
The Kelly Strayhorn Theater, where he has a residency as the Penn
Avenue Creative Artist, has been one of his artistic homes. In May, he
will premiere a work titled "Touch Update" there. That process began
with a national award from the New England Foundation of the Arts to
make a new dance piece, and support from the Heinz Endowments and the
National Performance Network.
"All three of those have contributed to this one project that is
having its premiere at the Kelly Strayhorn New Moves Festival," Mr.
Shannon said. "[KST executive director] Janera Solomon really
advocating for the project is a big part of it, just for their
administration to be behind the project."
His works tend to flow into each other, he explained, giving as an
example that he has created four works "just on the question of can
street dance work in the theater?" That, in turn, grew out of his
teenage days as a skateboarder and break dancer in the 1980s.
"Those cultural sensibilities, along with my disability, are factors
that evolved in my work, along with visual art and video installation
art," he said.
Mr. Shannon uses crutches to alleviate pressure on his hips caused by
a disease known as Legg-Calve-Perthes.
In his early days as a street performer, he called himself
CrutchMaster, a name he would like to forget. He also was the subject
of a documentary, "Crutch."
His work as an artist is what he wants people to see, and it is what
has brought him recognition such as the United States Artists prize.
He said he is grateful because there are few awards for the arts "that
would be comparable to a year's basic income."
When he got the call from Chicago, he at first didn't pick up. It was
a strange phone number, and he was on a three-city tour of Australia,
lecturing, leading workshops, creating business as usual for a most
unusual artist.
{ SOURCE: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | https://goo.gl/WvmsSq }
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What's a Trials Phenom to do after Retiring?
{Jan.17.2018}
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CHECK OUT THE IMAGES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ARTICLE:
< http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=11253 >
If today were a normal day at work, Lance Trappe would be painting a
Cirque du Soleil mask on his face, slipping into his costume, and
warming up under the stage with a series of bunny-hops, side hops,
and, if he was feeling frisky, a nose-wheelie pirouette. He'd be
listening to the live orchestra booming above while four Chinese girls
flip those spinning yo-yo things into the rafters. He'd be track-
standing on a hydraulic lift as it hoists him above the stage, and
giving the audience heart palpitations by bunny-hopping off it.
But today he's sitting on the couch, getting over the flu, and
wondering what kind of job comes after the best job in the world. La
Nouba, a long-running Cirque du Soleil show at Walt Disney World in
Orlando, has come to a close after nineteen years. Lance, a member of
the cast for 14 years, is now looking for work.
"I'm trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing," he says, hanging
out with his dog, Scout, and cats Bella and Simba. "That was a one-
job-in-the-world deal."
Lance was one of the exotic toys coming to life in an atticthe theme
of La Nouba. (The show's name is a twist on the French phrase that
means "to party.") His character, the "Dark Rider," was a mysterious
foil to his playful counterpart, played by Marcos Paulo DeJesus, a
Brazilian BMX champ. When he wasn't catapulting himself off props,
Lance was bunny-hopping over terrified tourists plucked from the
audience and laid down on stage, and tapping their noses with his
front wheel.
Translate that to a resume bullet point.
It's not like he ever had a normal job. Before he joined the Cirque
cast in 2003, Lance was a trials pro on Team Volvo Cannondale, another
rare jobeven rarer today. Now, at 40, he's in the best shape of his
life (when pressed, he can zip a blazing-hot lap on the trails at Mt.
Dora and Santos). That's what happens when you take three big drops
from a 6-foot platform every show, two shows a day, 478 shows a year,
for 14 years. (If our math is correct, that means he has plummeted
over 40,000 feet in his career. That's around seven milesgreater than
the cruising altitude of most commercial flights.)
The last show was held on New Year's Eve, the finale of a 12-show
week. The show was sold out, and the audience was electric. "It was
like being in the Superbowl," he says. "I've actually ridden at a
half-time show for the Philadelphia Eagles, but it wasn't even close.
The final Cirque audience was ten times louder."
So what ARE the options for a world-class circus performer when the
show must no longer go on?
"A lot have already packed up and driven to Vegas," he says, but it
would have to be a pretty impressive job to make him leave Orlando,
which is already far enough from his home state of New Jersey. "I'd
like to do more stuff riding, but it's all about social media now."
He's been building his @lancetrappe Instagram following with short
videos of trials playgrounds from construction sites to bike parks.
Who knows, it may progress to YouTube, where his good friend and
fellow trials phenom Jeff Lenosky has created a following with his
Trail Boss channel, which airs how-to videos for riding the most
technical trails he can find.
So if you hear of any jobs requiring sick trials skills and mediocre
face-painting talent (his assessment, not ours), let him know. In the
mean time, he'll be riding outside for a change, wherever and whenever
he wantsbig piles of rocks, huge concrete pipes, an occasional crane
or a stack of wood. And enjoying the advancements in bikes that have
transpired over the past 14 years.
"Gears and a dropper post," he says. "That's a whole new world."
{ SOURCE: Bike Magazine | https://goo.gl/Pu615v }
------------------------------------------------------
Cirque du Soleil Tapped CSUN Alum for Comedy
{Jan.19.2018}
------------------------------------------------------
Stefan Haves '82 (Theatre) wanted to create something universal,
something that would be relatable no matter the audience. With that
goal in mind, he realized his creation would have to be nonverbal.
His answer? Back Man.
Haves begins this act by taking a seat on a block. Then, he removes
his shoes, dropping each on the floor with a thud. He places his hands
at the edge of the block, grabs onto it, takes two quick breaths, and
swings his legs back and over his head so his back is facing the
audience but his head is hidden they laugh every time. Then, he
pulls down his shirt to reveal two black dots on his back: his new
eyes. His transformation is complete Haves is now Back Man.
Haves twists from side to side. Back Man "looks" to the left and then
to the right, inspecting his audience. He shrugs. He pounds his fists
in frustration how can he communicate with the audience with no
mouth? He raises his finger he has an idea!
He grabs a pen and a notebook and scratches his "head," as he ponders
what to write. He thinks he's got it, so he scribbles the idea but
rips the paper from the notebook, crumples it and hits himself on the
head for thinking of such a silly idea. And then
he's got it! He
writes excitedly and turns the notebook to share the message with the
audience: "bye."
Haves' creativity and love of performance landed him a job as comic
act designer for the world-famous Cirque du Soleil, which uses
acrobats, dancers, clowns and contortionists to tell stories. One of
Cirque du Soleil's most defining characteristics matches Haves'
passion: non-language based (or nonverbal) performance.
"Non-language based performance is global, not regional," Haves said.
"You can go to an improv show [in Los Angeles] and say something about
the Kardashians, and everyone is going to laugh, but if I take that
same joke to a festival in [another region], that's not going to work.
The interesting challenge to physical theatre and non-language based
performance is finding out what we can show that will resonate with
everybody."
Haves has performed his Back Man act internationally, accomplishing
his goal and winning $10,000 on the television show America's Funniest
People. He also served as a creative consultant for David Shiner's
Tony Award-winning silent clown show Fool Moon and created an
adaptation of Jack London's novel The Call of the Wild, in which Haves
used stilt walkers and masks to portray the tale's humans.
Haves, who joined Cirque du Soleil in 2006, said working for the
theatre titan is "a dream come true, in that you can say, I want a
500-pound, 30-foot shoe,' and they will build it for you. The
[possibilities] are amazing. But, of course, you have to follow
through and be good."
As a comic act designer and casting partner for clowns and characters,
Haves begins his work by working with creators to flush out a
storyline as well as visual and musical themes. Once the storyline is
finished, the team creates characters which they cast shortly
thereafter. Once the cast is finalized, Haves attends meetings and
rehearsals until opening day.
CSUN Sparked His Passion
The path wasn't always clear for Haves. His passion for performance,
he said, was ignited during his sophomore year at California State
University, Northridge, when he met an inspirational theatre
professor.
"I was an undeclared major as a sophomore," Haves said. "My teacher,
Antonin Hodek, was amazing and was a national treasure from
Czechoslovakia. He taught a class called Mask, Mime and Movement,
which was not one of your regular theatre classes. When I saw this guy
and took his class, I realized that physical theatre is what I wanted
to do."
After college, Haves was torn between pursuing his passion for comedy
and completing a Master of Fine Arts program he'd started at Brandeis
University. Eventually, he moved to Paris, where he worked as a
juggler and street clown. As fate would have it, Haves caught the eye
of Shiner, the acclaimed Cirque du Soleil writer and director. Shiner,
one of the best clowns in the world, according to Haves, asked the
street performer to work with him on Fool Moon after seeing Haves'
unique vision and style.
Years later, the two continued their professional relationship,
working together on Cirque du Soleil's KOOZA. The show, which marked a
return to the organization's roots, follows the Innocent, a naïve and
childlike clown who is pulled into the world of the Trickster, the
clown who created the KOOZA world.
In the KOOZA world, audiences see acts like contortion, high wires,
aerial loops and a 1,600-pound Wheel of Death powered only by the
two artists who leap and counter-rotate in a display of acrobatics and
teamwork which is positioned diagonally, starting at stage left and
ending at stage right. The act is a break from the usual symmetry of
performance and audience, bringing the action as close as possible to
the audience.
Not Just Clowning Around
In recent years, Cirque experienced the audience's reticence towards
clowns. Haves is writing a book, Cirque It, about bringing the spirit
of Cirque du Soleil into everyday life. It includes a section on
coulrophobia (the fear of clowns), in which he explores the reasons
people are afraid of clowns.
"I get why people are afraid of clowns," Haves said. "Our culture has
demonized clowns: Clowns are equated with serial killers like John
Wayne Gacy. In the 1970s, Woody Allen began beating up and making fun
of mimes. Then you have Stephen King, who uses clowns to kill and
scare people, and then you have a culture in which there's no money or
return on being a clown.
"I did a clown show where I didn't dress up," he continued. "I dressed
casually, juggled and brought people on stage, and I made them laugh.
Afterwards they asked, Are you a clown?' and I said, Did you laugh?'
Everyone said, Yes,' so I said, Then I'm a clown.'"
Beyond his work with Cirque du Soleil, Haves teaches clown classes,
employing exercises Hodek taught him at CSUN, such as physical and
technique exercises aimed at maximizing the body's efficiency.
"[I teach my students] how their physical instrument can express at
its optimal level," Haves said. "It's like how we take for granted
that our hand can just express stop.' It's how you move your hand to
express yourself physically and with intention."
Decades after graduating, Haves still fondly recalls his experiences
on campus.
"CSUN was amazing for me," he said. "It gave students a lot of
latitude for creativity and creation if you were motivated."
{ SOURCE: CSUN Today | https://goo.gl/8fpRbi }
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Acrobat-actor Raphael Cruz, Dies in Paris
{Jan.29.2018}
------------------------------------------------------
Raphael Cruz, the American acrobat, clown, actor and musician who
left such a vivid impression with his work in last year's Looking
glass Theatre production of Charles Dickens' "Hard Times" was found
dead in a Paris hotel room last week. The cause of death is awaiting
results of an autopsy.
Heidi Stillman, artistic director of Lookingglass, who adapted and
directed "Hard Times," could barely speak when asked about Cruz.
"Everything he did just turned to gold," said Stillman. "He was an
amazing acrobat, a wonderful piano player, and because of his years in
Montreal he spoke fluent French. And he was just the most wonderful
person. We had even begun talking about his working on a new circus
theater piece."
A Lookingglass post on Facebook said:
"Our incredibly talented colleague, our beautiful soulful friend,
Raphael Cruz, has passed away. We were fortunate to spend the past
months with Raphael in "Hard Times," a play about the necessity of
art, circus, daring, joy, imagination, and defying gravity no one
personified these qualities better than Raph. He was an absolute
delight to work and play alongside, both as a performer and human, and
a shining example of the joy that beauty and imagination and play can
bring to our lives. Our profoundest condolences to his family and to
all who loved him. Le Papillon, you will live forever in our hearts."
Born in Vallejo, California, Cruz (who I described in my review of
"Hard Times" as "a most enchanting actor-acrobat, who also shrewdly
portrays the unctuous little banker, Bitzer"), also was widely known
for playing the lead role of Buster, a character inspired by silent
film great Buster Keaton, in the cinema-themed Cirque du Soleil show,
"Iris."
According to an interview published in a Cirque du Soleil newsletter
(Fascination!), Cruz began doing Chinese acrobatics when he was 6 and
attended a circus school in San Francisco. He practiced the Chinese
Pole, hoop diving, general acrobatics, and teeter board for about nine
years, and spent much of his childhood also skateboarding in San
Francisco and going to piano lessons. Then, at 15, he went with his
older brother to Canada's National Circus School in Montreal on the
advice of the California co-founders of Les 7 doigts de la main (7
Fingers), the virtuosic acrobatic troupe. After finishing his training
he joined Montreal's 7 Fingers as part of the resident cast of
"Traces," one of that ensemble's signature shows, and remained with it
for four and a half years.
Cruz explored other professional opportunities, including cabaret in
Germany and a contemporary dance show in Montreal. He played Buster in
"Iris" from 2011 to January 2013. He also worked in a Montreal
production that was a hybrid of traditional theater and contemporary
circus, and went to Sochi, Russia, as assistant choreographer for part
of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics there. At the time of his
death he was in Paris, working with a modern dance ensemble.
{ SOURCE: Chicago Sun-Times | https://goo.gl/NKd5Lz }
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Cirque Celebrates 1,000th RAH Performance
{Jan.29.2018}
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CHECK OUT THE IMAGES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ARTICLE:
< http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=11279 >
To mark the occasion of its 1000th Royal Albert Hall performance,
Cirque du Soleil today announces a special morning performance to be
held at the iconic London venue. This extra performance of the current
production OVO' will be held on Saturday 24 February 2018 at 11.30am
and is the final performance to be announced for OVO's London run.
Tickets are available at a special rate of 30% off (excluding
hospitality) a limited time only, by entering "1000th" in the
promotion code when purchasing tickets via cirquedusoleil.com/ovo.
When purchasing from royalalberthall.com enter the promotional code
1000th' when prompted. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Wednesday 31
January.
With OVO' receiving rave reviews from The Times (one of the best-
designed extravaganzas in Cirque's huge body of works'), Daily
Telegraph (breathtaking') and Metro (A show packed with wall to
wall, floor-to-ceiling highlights'), this additional performance is
set to be a fantastic celebration of the legacy that the Royal Albert
Hall has had with one of the world's greatest entertainment companies.
Since 1996, the company has brought 9 different productions at the
Royal Albert Hall (Saltimbanco, Alegria, Dralion, Varekai, Quidam,
Kooza, Amaluna, Totem and OVO) that have been seen by over 3 million
spectators. "The support Cirque du Soleil receives from the London
audiences is wonderful. We also have our own "wow" moments beginning
the first time our cast and crew walks into this legendary venue and
sees where they will spend the next two months. This awe continues
until our final bow. It is an honour to say we perform here," says OVO
Company Manager, Heather Reilly.
Lucy Noble, Artistic and Commercial Director at the Royal Albert Hall,
said, "Congratulations to the amazing Cirque du Soleil on reaching
this impressive milestone of 1000 performances at the Royal Albert
Hall. Cirque are in prestigious company, with only the BBC Proms, to
which we have been home since 1941, and the Royal Choral Society,
whose first concert here was in 1871, our opening year, having
performed here more times. It is particularly impressive to have
reached 1000 shows in just 21 years since their first performance back
in 1996. Here's to the next 1000!"
The cast of OVO' is comprised of 50 performing artists from 17
countries specialising in a wide variety of jaw-dropping acrobatic
acts. This includes Alanna Baker from the UK, who plays the role of
the Black Spider in the show. Having trained at Heathrow, she was
crowned gymnastics European Champion in 2011 and won Bronze in the
World Championships in 2012. Alanna, who has been training since she
was five years old has travelled around the world with OVO' to
countries as far reaching as Japan and Australia and is now set for a
return to her home here in the UK.
Having thrilled more than 5 million people worldwide since the show
premiered in Montreal in 2009 as a Big Top show, OVO' embarks on a
journey, offering the same captivating production as the Big Top
performances, but on a larger scale now, visiting major arenas and
venues including London's iconic Royal Albert Hall.
OVO', meaning "egg" in Portuguese, is a headlong rush into a colorful
ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter,
play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and
movement. When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects
are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that
represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It is love at first
sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community
and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye and the feeling is mutual.
Later this year, OVO' will embark on a brand-new UK arena tour next
summer, starting in Liverpool on 16 August 2018, and the show will
then visit Sheffield, Newcastle, Glasgow, Nottingham, Leeds,
Manchester and finally Birmingham, ending on 7 October 2018. Tickets
for the tour are on sale now and can be bought via the Cirque du
Soleil website or at www.livenation.co.uk
Tickets are on sale now, and for a truly unforgettable Cirque Du
Soleil experience a collection of brand-new premium, and VIP
experiences for all the family are also available. Tickets can be
bought via the Cirque du Soleil website or www.royalalberthall.com or
020 7589 8212.
Cirque du Soleil brings OVO' to London's Royal Albert Hall for an
eight-week run until 4 March 2018, continuing the UK's longstanding
relationship with Cirque du Soleil, one of the world's greatest
entertainment companies.
Tickets for the morning performance of OVO' at 11.30am on Saturday 24
February 2018 will go on sale at 9am on Wednesday 31 January.
{ SOURCE: Broadway World | https://goo.gl/x8PAvB }
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Fosun gives Cirque a second shot at Chinese audiences
{Feb.02.2018}
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The famous Cirque du Soleil did not exactly bring the house down the
last time it attempted to woo Chinese audiences. Lacklustre ticket
sales forced the troupe to scrap a resident show, ZAIA, in Macau, less
than four years into a 10-year contract with casino operator Sands
China. But that was in 2012, three years before Fosun International,
Chinas biggest private conglomerate and one of the countrys most
acquisitive firms, bought a quarter of the Canadian entertainment
giant, making it the second-biggest shareholder. That deal has given
Cirque du Soleil a renewed confidence in its ability to captivate
Chinese spectators. It plans to open a permanent show in Hangzhou, its
first in the mainland, and on Thursday premiered its Avatar-themed
circus show in Chinas southernmost city of Sanya.
Sanya, on the southern tip of Haian island, is a go-to winter holiday
destination for many Chinese, known for its upscale hotels, beach
resorts and nightlife. This is Chinas Hawaii, said Daniel Lamarre,
president of Cirque du Soleil, the worlds largest theatrical
producer. China is now our top priority as we see most of our growth
coming from China.
Toruk The First Flight, a contemporary circus show inspired by the
blockbuster film Avatar, is scheduled for a run of 120 performances
over 90 days. It took three Boeing 747s and a 777 to get the entire
set of Toruk comprising more than 1,000 individual items to Sanya.
The production is being staged inside a massive temporary arena,
capable of seating up to 3,000 spectators, which was built from the
scratch in just 22 days.
Fosuns decision in 2015 to buy a 25 per cent stake rejuvenated
Lamarres ambition of introducing circus theatre culture to China. We
are planning a permanent show in Hangzhou, very much like those in Las
Vegas, he said. But it will be a story about China. Fifty per cent
of the artists and 75 per cent of the crew will be Chinese. Id like
to consider this the real entry to China, thanks to our shareholder
Fosun.
Fosun International has been expanding in the tourism segment at a
clip in recent years. As well as introducing Cirque du Soleil to
China, it has been expanding the French holiday resort chain Club Med,
which it bought in its entirety in 2015. Club Med announced last year
that it intends to open 20 new destinations near major Chinese cities
by 2020. The firm said China is now its second-biggest market, with
200,000 customers in 2017.
Qian Jiannong, senior vice-president of Fosun International and
president of Fosun Tourism Group, said the demerger between those two
entities had been completed in May last year. The group is considering
taking the tourism unit to initial public offering (IPO). The
conditions of listing Fosun Tourism are sufficiently met, he said.
But there is not a timetable which we can disclose yet.
According to its annual report, Fosun Internationals happiness
ecosystem, which comprises its tourism business and other
entertainment units, turned a net profit of 516 billion yuan in the
first half of 2017, a 37.5 per cent increase from the same period a
year earlier. In addition to Club Med, Fosun is also betting on a
luxury resort Atlantis, Sanya in Sanya to further drive up revenue
and profit. Atlantis, Sanya drew inspiration from the Atlantis, The
Palm, in Dubai. The Dubai hotel project generates around US$600
million in annual revenue, according to Qian.
We are very positive on the revenues Atlantis Sanya could bring,
said Qian. We have full reason to believe that it would reach similar
revenue targets as Dubais Atlantis, The Palm.
{ SOURCE: South China Morning Post | https://goo.gl/Av5hxn }
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China's Sanya woos travellers with Cirque du Soleil
{Feb.05.2018}
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Sanya, known for its natural tropical landscape in Hainan province,
will introduce more world-class attractions to entice visitors
throughout 2018.
From overseas, the live multimedia immersive show, Toruk - The First
Flight, is one of the events that are coming. Produced by Canadian
acrobatic dance troupe Cirque du Soleil, a leading producer of
spectacular live entertainment, the play has fans across the world.
The show, inspired by James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar, has delighted
millions of people in dozens of countries since its premiere in
Montreal in 2015.
The famous dance troupe is staging its dynamic new extravaganza in
Sanya for three months from Feb 1. The excitement will take place in a
huge tent with a stage that stretches 1,858 sq m and can accommodate
an audience of 3,600. A total of 120 performances will be presented
until May 1 and the ticket price of this show ranges from 420 yuan
($90) to 1,720 yuan.
Organisers say it is expected to attract 300,000 spectators during the
three-month run in Sanya. They say this is the best time of the year,
as huge crowds of tourists come to the city to enjoy the warm
sunshine, romantic beaches and beautiful tropical landscapes.
With its growing reputation at home and abroad, Sanya is attracting
more investment from the outside world.
Leading investment company and Cirque du Soleil business partner Fosun
Group is bringing the show to Sanya, a new step underlining its
interest in tapping the huge development potential of the city,
popularly dubbed as the Oriental Hawaii.
Fosun president Qian Jiannong said the show would bring a boost in
ticket revenues to Sanya and attract more tourists. "We also want to
improve its international recognition by introducing more
international brands," he added.
In addition to backing the show, Fosun has invested 11 billion yuan to
build the Atlantis resort.
It said the landmark resort project will provide larger-than-life
water play and exotic and marine exhibits, and offer rich dining
experiences - along the more than 10km-long stretch of beautiful and
quiet beaches at Haitang Bay, planned as a world-class resort area in
north-eastern Sanya.
Construction of the Sanya Atlantis, the third of its kind in the world
after the Atlantis resorts in Dubai and the Bahamas, started in 2015.
Located about 28km from downtown Sanya and covering 30ha, the giant
entertainment complex will welcome its first guests this year.
The province got approval from the State Council to build an
international tourism island in 2010. Ever since, the province has
striven to internationalise its tourism sector.
It has brought in and nurtured high-end tourism products and upgraded
services to international standards to ensure better travel
experiences for visitors, according to Hainan Provincial Tourism
Development Commission director Sun Ying. "Hainan is determined to
continue to develop tourism, which is the leading sector of the
province's services industry," Sun said.
Zhou Ping, deputy director of the commission, said that Toruk - The
First Flight would boost Hainan's tourist attractions, which in turn
will up their game even more to offer top services to attract
investment from premium tourism companies.
In 2018, Hainan plans to foster the construction of performance sites
in each of its cities and counties. The three major cities of Haikou,
Sanya and Danzhou will develop tourism performance industry clusters,
said Ding Hui, director of the province's cultural and sports
department.
{ SOURCE: The Straits Times | https://goo.gl/m3uMGh }
***************************************************************
Q&A -- Quick Chats & Press Interviews
***************************************************************
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When Dreams Come True: The Career of Viktor Franyo
{Jan.15.2018}
------------------------------------------------------
Viktor Franyo is a guy whose face you may have seen before, either
behind the clever makeup of his character in Cirque du Soleils TORUK
The First Flight (inspired by James Camerons AVATAR) as he tours the
world, or as the rising star of the Circus Talk commercial we filmed
with him in 2015. Franyo has an inspiring story to tell about making
his way to the top echelon of the circus industry, and we asked him to
tell it to us in his own words in this recent interview while he was
on a brief break from touring:
Q. How did you get involved with the circus? What made you apply to
the Hungarian Circus School and how old were you?
When my mom was pregnant with me, a circus came to our village to
perform there and the owner asked her if she would like to join the
circus. She said no, but it looks like my life was meant to end up in
this magical world. When I was seven years old, I saw a circus and
later, I heard many stories about how the performers traveling around
the world. It was then that I decided I wanted to be an acrobat. My
mom tried to get information in my school about circus education but
the teacher laughed at us and said I had no chance of getting in to a
school like that because it was mostly for the kids of circus
dynasties. Three years later, we moved to Budapest and soon after, I
saw a commercial on TV about an audition at the Hungarian Circus
School. That day changed my life forever.
Q. What is your specialty? What were your performing opportunities
after graduation?
The first three years in the circus school we learned everything on
the basic level, like juggling, ballet, pantomime, acting, trapeze and
acrobatics. After that, they decided what our strongest ability was
and we formed groups and solo acts. During that time, I grew very fast
and I got taller and stronger than my classmates. So they decided to
make me a porter in a Russian bar group. For the next five years, I
was mostly standing on the ground, throwing people in the air and
catching them. I was happy to do it, but looking back Im a bit sad
that I missed the chance to learn anything else. My aerial career
started only 7 years ago with corde lisse. My first performance alone
on stage was in 2011 in New York city.
Q. Was it difficult to find a contract right after graduation? How did
being a graduate from your circus school help you prepare for
seeking employment?
As we graduated from the circus school at age 18, we got an agent who
worked for Maciva (Magyar Cirkusz es Variete Company) that was part of
the Hungarian State Circus. They created a Hungarian Gala and all of
the agents came to watch the Budapest Circus Festival. From that,
Laszlo Endresz offered us our first contract to work with his show in
Blackpool Tower Circus, where the show won the 2002 Best Circus Show
in England title. We traveled mostly around Europe and spent 4 awesome
years together with our little team that I consider family.
Q. How and why did you move to the US? Tell us about your career
challenges after you moved.
My mom decided to give up her Hungarian life and start a new life in
New York. In the summer of 2011, I went to visit her and I fell in
love with a beautiful Hungarian girl who lived there. I promised her
Id be back in a month. So I went home, ended all my jobs with the
theaters I worked for, sold my apartment and with a student visa I was
back in the Big Apple in 30 days as promised. We both were very
passionate about our careers and had many challenges in that big city,
so our love faded out after a couple months, but I fell in love with
the city so much that I decided to live there for a while. Im
grateful for my mom and the many people that helped me along the way.
My only dream at that time was to get into a big production as an
acrobat. So next to my job and school I trained as hard as I could.
With a couple of my friends, we performed on the streets, in the park
or subway stations. It was out way to train and make some money at the
same time.It was a very busy and challenging time, but I really loved
that part of my life.
Q. I always adored your positive attitude. How can you keep up that
attitude in the most challenging times of your life?
I got this positive attitude mostly from my mother. We grew up in a
small village in Hungary and she was the one who always dreamed big
and thats how I had so many opportunities at a young age. She always
tried to give her best for me and made me feel special. And I believed
it so much that it became my reality. When I lived in New York I
listened to motivational speeches, and read books in my free time. I
learned how others become successful. I think everyone can reach their
dream if their believe in it and most importantly, if theyre willing
to work and sacrifice almost everything for it.
Q. What resources have you used to find jobs while you were in the US?
Where and how often did you train to keep in shape?
I tried to find as many auditions as I could but I didnt really find
a platform like Circus Talk where I can search for everything in one
place. Usually, I heard about them on social pages or when friends
sent me messages. But many auditions were only for citizens of the US.
Twice I flew to Vegas for an audition but got the same answer: it was
easier to hire a local then a foreigner. When I arrived in New York, I
started my training at Circus Warehouse where they made me feel at
home right away. They always welcomed me, even in the hard times. When
I wasnt able to pay for training, they offered me free classes and
kept me progressing and learning. I also trained in many other smaller
facilities. The circus community is awesome. Its always a big family,
even if you are far away from your home.
Q. How did your big break come?
In 2014, I won a grant by the STREB GO! Emerging Artist
Commissioning Program and created a 15 min show with my 8-year-old
friend Mark Kiss. In the summer of 2014, the artistic director of the
Abu Dhabi Ferrari World offered me a stunt job for their upcoming show
where I had to perform on a 16 meter wall. In the story my character
Agent Cavallino had to save the planet every day. We performed that
show three times a day and it was so much fun. Finally, I was
concentrating only on my performing career!
Q. How did you get to Cirque du Soleil?
Halfway through my contract with Ferrari World, I got an email from
Cirque du Soleil asking for some extra audition videos for their
upcoming show TORUK The First Flight. The first time I auditioned for
Cirque du Soleil was 10 year prior to that. We had a casting audition
with my Russian bar team in Budapest and it was an awesome mind
blowing experience! Ever since then, I updated my profile yearly and
stayed connected with the casting team. But I never really had a real
plan of which show I wanted to join. So when they contacted me about
TORUK I was super excited because its based on the movie Avatar which
I admire a lot. And I could totally see myself as a Navi alien from
another world!
Q. How did you feel when Cirque offered you the job?
It was definitely one of the happiest day of my career. I had finally
reached the level to be part of the biggest and most famous circus
company on the planet. Thousands of peoples dreams fell into my hands
and what I always believed about hard work paying off became a
reality.
Q. Now that you are on tour, what do you do to stay physically and
mentally strong?
Living on the tour can be challenging. Our team is not only our work
group, but also our family. We train for the show daily and we push
each others limits much as much as we can. We learn from each other
and pick up new disciplines on the road. I also try to find local
gymnastics, aerial studios, parkour or ninja warrior parks, and high
diving classes so I can continue improving myself. I also try to learn
online. Last year, I finished my Personal Trainer course so I could
challenge myself not only physically but mentally. I love doing yoga
and sometimes I meditate as well to keep my body and mind in a healthy
balance.
Q. We appreciated from the beginning that you believed in the
CircusTalk concept and committed to be the artist in our intro
video. What do you think about CircusTalk as a resource for
artists?
It was an honor to be part of that revolutionary project. I was really
proud to be the artist you chose. I really liked the webpage and I
wish I had that resource when times were challenging so I could get
easy information about the whole circus industry around the world. The
platform is very well made and easy to access.
Q. What is your advice for emerging circus artists who dream to get
into a big production likeTORUK The First Flight?
Dream big and never give up on it. Work hard every day and put all
your energy and heart in it and success will come. You can easily
follow Cirque du Soleil artists on social media. Check out their
training and lifestyle. Dont forget to update your profile in the
databases. And dont give up when it doesnt happen right away. To get
into a show, you have to be perfect in many criterianot only on your
skills. Be patient and your time will come if you are around long
enough.
Q. What are your futurecircus plans?
Ive always been a leader type of guy. So on TORUK The First Flight,
I became a captain of three acts. Im organizing the schedules and the
rotations for the shows. Later, when my body doesnt feel like
performing anymore, I would maybe like to move to a bigger scale and
be an artistic director. Working with other people always makes me
happy and its a great way to challenge and bring out the best in each
other.
On the other hand, I really like to work on the technical side as
well. As a young artist I learned how to build a tent and do my own
rigging. Later, I worked with a big Hungarian production for 6 years
and I became a technical director where I organized full load in and
load out for arenas and big tops with over 10 trucks and running a
staff of 30 people. I also have dreams that I cant talk about yet,
but just like the dream that Im living now, hopefully soon enough you
might be able to see it.
{ SOURCE: Circus Talk | https://goo.gl/NFSv8C }
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Why some athletes take talents to Disney on Ice,
Cirque du Soleil
{Special Reprint}
------------------------------------------------------
Alexandra Young has been skating since she was just 2 years old. She
competed for years on a pairs team with her older brother, Matthew,
winning a silver medal in the novice division of the 2010 Canadian
national championships. A goal was to skate in the Olympics one day.
"Of course," she said. "It's every athlete's dream to go to the
Olympics."
Young never achieved that goal and retired from competition three
years ago. She is still skating though, and with a partner, Eric
Palin. Rather than being picked apart by stern judges looking for
every tiny mistake, the two are costumed as Barbie and Ken and
performing wonderful spins, twists, jumps and lifts in front of
joyful, adoring fans in a traveling Disney on Ice production.
"We do lots of fun tricks out there," Young said. "Ken picks me up a
couple times. We have so much fun together. Coming from a pairs
skating background in my competitive life, it was a dream to me to
transition from competition skating right to the show. ... I loved
Barbie dolls as a little girl, and I was so excited that I was going
to get the opportunity to play the role of Barbie."
Young and Palin are among many competitive skaters from all over the
world -- ranging from the U.S. and Canada to Russia, Ukraine and Spain
-- who have used their well-honed athletic skills to transition into
the entertainment field. And it isn't only skaters who make such a
move.
Competitive gymnasts, synchronized swimmers and divers have been
finding second careers in Cirque du Soleil's extravagant international
circus shows. There are 20 former Olympians currently performing in
Cirque du Soleil productions -- eight in the Las Vegas production of
"O" alone -- and many more have done so over the years. The company
recruits the athletes via the Internet and by scouting at competitive
events.
"The Olympic level in gymnastics is the best because your technique
has to be perfect, your execution has to be perfect, your mental
strategy has to be perfect, your physicality must be perfect," said
American Elise Ray, an Olympic bronze medalist and former Cirque du
Soleil performer. "And Cirque is the best of the best in the
performing world."
* * *
INSPIRED BY British gold medalists Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean,
Kira Geil got into skating as a child and competed in ice dancing for
years. She was born in Wales but relocated to Austria, where she won
multiple national titles. She competed in the world championships
twice but never reached the Olympics. After retiring from competitive
skating in 2014, Geil coached for a while, until fellow skaters
encouraged her to try Disney on Ice.
She currently performs in the "Worlds of Enchantment" touring show as
a background cast member in the "Frozen," "Little Mermaid" and "Toy
Story 3" segments.
"It's fun, actually. ... In relation to competition, it doesn't feel
so restrictive," she said. "When I competed, it was, 'I have this to
do and do it this way, and it has to be exact.' And [in shows] I feel
I can have fun with what I do -- or more fun in shows than in
competition."
While performing has an element of fun, that doesn't mean it isn't
demanding.
Ray auditioned for Cirque du Soleil after winning a bronze medal in
the women's team all-around at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and competing
for the University of Michigan. She went through two four-month
training trials at Cirque's Montreal headquarters before earning a
spot in the "O" show in Las Vegas and later the Beatles-themed "Love"
production.
"I was very new in the circus world, even though I was best at what I
was doing in my discipline in gymnastics," said Ray, who is now the
gymnastics coach at the University of Washington. "When I got to the
circus world, oh man, I was the new kid on the block. So much to learn
and a completely different world. ... It was the time of my life. That
work was some of my favorite work I've ever done."
It took Ray a month of training to master one particular move: doing a
flip after being tossed in the air by a trapeze artist and then
grabbing his hands again.
"It was very tough to learn because the technique is very different
from gymnastics," she said. "It was very challenging. There is a huge
learning curve, but it was so fun and so challenging to learn
something brand-new."
For Ray, competing at the Olympics was "just terrifying" because there
was so much pressure.
"It was just hard, very hard," she said. "But performing in front of
an audience is so fun. It's so invigorating. We would do 10 shows a
week, two shows a night. And so that's a lot. And you do the same show
every night.
"People would say, 'Don't you get bored doing it over and over? How do
stay up for it?' But as soon as you step on the stage -- instant
energy! The audience enlivens you. Some of the best feelings are being
out there on a stage performing in front of a big audience. It just
felt good in my soul."
Jenna Randall isn't a gymnast, but she also made the leap from the
Olympics to "O." Randall was a synchronized swimmer for Great Britain
in the 2008 and 2012 Games before joining Cirque. She originally
planned to perform for only a couple years, but she has enjoyed it so
much that she now aims to stay with the show as long as her body
allows.
"It's a great platform to expand your creativity in your sport and
learn lots of different things and get to know lots of different
people from all over the world with different experiences," she said.
"It's a really cool, fun place to work. And it's just amazing that I
can call this work."
* * *
PERFORMING TWO TO THREE shows a day before a live audience filled with
costumed children and excited parents is a change from skating or
vaulting in front of judges who are scrutinizing every move you make.
"When you're competing, the judges don't wish for you to do errors,
but they're looking for them. And the small errors can be absolutely
costly in competition," Geil said. "You do a small error here, and
nobody really notices. And that's where the pressure is off you. I
like it. Not that I didn't enjoy competition, but there is just that
ease of presentation here."
The differences go beyond the stress of being judged, "Worlds of
Enchantment" performance director and former competitive skater Brian
Santiago says.
"Competing is very taxing on your body, very physically and mentally
demanding," he said. "Coming into the show, you don't have to skate
yourself into the ground like a competitive skater."
Randall says she didn't really notice the crowd when she was competing
at the Olympics because she was so focused on doing her routine as
perfectly as possible. The Cirque experience is much different.
"There's a more intimate connection you have with the audience," she
said. "You're really trying to draw them into this world that you're
trying to create and have them enjoy the experience. There are moments
when you are super close to the audience and able to look at them and
play with them a little bit. It's more exciting and intimate."
Part of the excitement is the costumes. While competitive skaters
often wear flashy garb, it's designed with ease of performance in
mind. That isn't always the case for the Disney on Ice cast.
"When you make the costumes for a competitive athlete, it's always
like, 'How can we improve the costume to make you feel comfortable and
make sure nothing is in the way?'" Young said. "Whereas here, the
costumes are designed to make the character look exactly as it does in
the movie so the character looks authentic.
"There are so many different costumes. Sometimes they are a little
longer or you have a big skirt, but we all adapt really well, and I
think once you get used to the costume, you don't even know it's there
anymore."
When asked what it must be like to skate in a more complicated
costume, such as Olaf the Snowman, Young is less forthcoming.
"Olaf is Olaf," she said. "He comes, and he skates with us. He's made
of snow, and he's got a big carrot nose, and he's got some branches
for arms."
* * *
AS FUN AS SUCH a career can be, there are risks, just as there are in
athletic competition. Three-time Australian Olympic gymnast Lisa
Skinner had been with Cirque du Soleil for nearly a decade when she
fell during a performance this past November and fractured a C1
vertebrae. She reportedly is recovering well and is in good spirits.
"It's dangerous work," Ray said. "You're doing a lot of aerial
acrobatics."
Ray fell into the water a couple times during performances, but the
only significant injury she suffered was a sprained ankle while she
and the rest of the "O" cast were moving among the audience.
Nonetheless, Ray thoroughly enjoyed her three years performing and
tells her Washington gymnasts to consider a career with Cirque du
Soleil.
"Especially if I see in them that little performance bug -- oh God, I
recommend them," she said. "I tell them, 'Make a video. See what
happens. Go live in Montreal for couple months.' I try to encourage
them all to get into it. ... It's so cool. It's such a nice transition
out of our sport."
Winning an Olympic medal and competing for your country are precious,
but performing in Cirque du Soleil or Disney on Ice certainly can be
more fun than sitting nervously in the "kiss and cry" zone, worrying
the judges are about to give you a terrible score.
For Geil, the response from "Worlds of Enchantment" audiences has
been, well, enchanting.
"Particularly when they sing along," she said. "It's these moments
that stand out to me. I will stand backstage and listen to the crowd.
I love these moments. The other skaters always laugh at me. 'What are
you doing? You don't need to be here?' I'm just listening to the
crowd. It's these moments that stand out the most for me.
"It's fantastic. There's just one big smile."
{ SOURCE: ESPN | https://goo.gl/A1Lhg5 }
=======================================================================
ITINÉRAIRE -- TOUR/SHOW INFORMATION
=======================================================================
o) BIGTOP - Under the Grand Chapiteau
{Amaluna, Koozå, Kurios, Luzia, Totem & Volta}
o) ARENA - In Stadium-like venues
{TORUK, OVO, Séptimo Día, Crystal & Corteo}
o) RESIDENT - Performed en Le Théâtre
{Mystère, "O", Zumanity, KÀ, LOVE, MJ ONE & JOYA}
NOTE:
.) While we make every effort to provide complete and accurate
touring dates and locations available, the information in
this section is subject to change without notice. As such,
the Fascination! Newsletter does not accept responsibility
for the accuracy of these listings.
For current, up-to-the-moment information on Cirque's whereabouts,
please visit Cirque's website: < http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/ >,
or for a more comprehensive tour listing, visit our Itinéraire
section online at: < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?page_id=6898 >.
------------------------------------
BIGTOP - Under the Grand Chapiteau
------------------------------------
Amaluna:
Rosario, AR -- Feb 14, 2018 to Feb 28, 2018
Buenos Aires, AR -- Mar 15, 2018 to Apr 1, 2018
Cordoba, AR -- Apr 26, 2018 to Apr 29, 2018
Santiago, CL -- May 31, 2018 to Jun 14, 2018
Lima, PE -- Jul 22, 2018 to Aug 12, 2018
Quito, EC -- Sep 6, 2018 to Sep 16, 2018
Koozå:
Beijing, CN -- Dec 15, 2017 to Feb 11, 2018
Senzhen, CN -- Mar 2, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
Hong Kong, CN -- Apr 19, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018
Kurios:
Tokyo, JP -- Feb 7, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018
Osaka, JP -- Jul 26, 2018 to Oct 29, 2018
Nagoya, JP -- Nov 22, 2018 to Jan 27, 2019
Fukuoka, JP -- Feb 15, 2018 to Mar 31, 2018
Sendai, JP -- April 2019
Luzia:
Los Angeles, CA -- Dec 8, 2017 to Feb 11, 2018
Costa Mesa, CA -- Feb 21, 2018 to Mar 25, 2018
Washington, DC -- Apr 12, 2018 to May 13, 2018
Boston, MA -- Jun 27, 2018 to Jul 29, 2018
Monterrey, MX -- TBA 2018
Guadalajara, MX -- TBA 2018
Mexico City, MX -- TBA 2018
Totem:
Seville, ES -- Jan 25, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Barcelona, ES -- Mar 23, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Malaga, ES -- Jun 1, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018
Alicante, ES -- Jul 20, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018
Zurich, CH -- Sep 5, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018
Paris, FR -- Oct 15, 2018 to Dec 2, 2018
VOLTA:
Tampa, FL -- Feb 14, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
East Rutherford, NJ -- Mar 29, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Uniondale, NY -- May 17, 2018 to Jun 10, 2018
King of Prussia, PA -- TBA 2018
Seattle, WA -- TBA 2018
------------------------------------
ARENA - In Stadium-Like Venues
------------------------------------
TORUK - The First Flight:
Sanya, CN -- Feb 1, 2018 to May 1, 2018
Bangkok, TH -- Jun 14, 2018 to Jun 24, 2018
Cologne, DE -- Oct 25, 2018 to Oct 28, 2018
Hamburg, DE -- Oct 31, 2018 to Nov 4, 2018
Berlin, DE -- Nov 7, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018
Turin, IT -- Nov 15, 2018 to Nov 18, 2018
Bologna, IT -- Nov 22, 2018 to Nov 25, 2018
Frankfurt, DE -- Nov 28, 2018 to Dec 2, 2018
Zagreb, HR -- Dec 7, 2018 to Dec 9, 2018
Pamplona, ES -- Feb 6, 2019 - Feb 10, 2019
OVO:
London, UK -- Jan 7, 2018 to Mar 4, 2018
Antwerp, BE -- Mar 8, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Hanover, DE -- Mar 14, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
Oberhausen, DE -- Apr 5, 2018 to Apr 8, 2018
Krakow, PL -- Apr 13, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Gdansk, PL -- Apr 19, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Saint Petersburg, RU -- Apr 28, 2018 to May 5, 2018
Moscow, RU -- May 8, 2018 to May 20, 2018
Kazan, RU -- May 23, 2018 to May 27, 2018
Tolyatti, RU -- May 30, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018
Ekaterinburg, RU -- Jun 6, 2018 to Jun 10, 2018
Sochi, RU -- Jul 12, 2018 to Jul 29, 2018
Liverpool, UK -- Aug 16, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018
Sheffield, UK -- Aug 22, 2018 to Aug 26, 2018
Newcastle, UK -- Aug 29, 2018 to Sep 2, 2018
Glasgow, UK -- Sep 5, 2018 to Sep 9, 2018
Nottingham, UK -- Sep 12, 2018 to Sep 16, 2018
Leeds, UK -- Sep 19, 2018 to Sep 23, 2018
Manchester, UK -- Sep 26, 2018 to Sep 30, 2018
Birmingham, UK -- Oct 3, 2018 to Oct 7, 2018
Dublin, IE -- Oct 10, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018
Belfast, IE -- Oct 17, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018
Lille, FR -- Nov 8, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018
Bordeaux, FR -- Nov 14, 2018 to Nov 18, 2018
Toulouse, FR -- Nov 21, 2018 to Nov 25, 2018
Montpellier, FR -- Nov 28, 2018 to Dec 2, 2018
Strasbourg, FR -- Dec 5, 2018 to Dec 9, 2018
Nantes, FR -- Dec 12, 2018 to Dec 16, 2018
A Coruna, ES -- Dec 21, 2018 to Dec 30, 2018
SÉPTIMO DÍA - NO DESCANSARÉ:
San Jose, CR -- Feb 14, 2018 to Feb 25, 2018
Guatemala City, GT -- Mar 10, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
Coral Gables, FL (Miami) -- Apr 18, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Inglewood, CA (Los Angeles) -- May 3, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Asuncion, PY -- Jun 20, 2018 to Jun 23, 2018
CRYSTAL - A BREAKTHROUGH ICE EXPERIENCE:
Rio Rancho, NM -- Feb 7, 2018 to Feb 11, 2018
Cedar Park, TX -- Feb 14, 2018 to Feb 18, 2018
Phoenix, AZ -- Mar 8, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Tucson, AZ -- Mar 14, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
San Diego, CA -- Mar 21, 2018 to Mar 25, 2018
San Jose, CA -- Mar 28, 2018 to Apr 1, 2018
Portland, OR -- Apr 4, 2018 to Apr 8, 2018
Abbotsford, BC -- Apr 11, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Penticton, BC -- Apr 18, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Prince George, BC -- Apr 25, 2018 to Apr 29, 2018
Red Deer, AB -- May 2, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Saskatoon, SK -- May 16, 2018 to May 20, 2018
Medicine Hat, AB -- May 23, 2018 to May 27, 2018
CORTEO:
New Orleans, LA -- Mar 2, 2018 to Mar 4, 2018
Houston, TX -- Mar 8, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Milwaukee, WI -- Mar 29, 2018 to Apr 1, 2018
Rockford, IL -- Apr 5, 2018 to Apr 8, 2018
Columbus, OH -- Apr 12, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Knoxville, TN -- Apr 19, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Lexington, KY -- Apr 27, 2018 to Apr 29, 2018
Cincinnati, OH -- May 3, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Chattanooga, TN -- May 10, 2018 to May 13, 2018
Lincoln, NE -- May 17, 2018 to May 20, 2018
Broomfield, CO -- May 24, 2018 to May 27, 2018
Loveland, CO -- May 31, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018
Oshawn, ON -- Jun 21, 2018 to Jun 24, 2018
Ottawa, ON -- Jun 27, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018
Kingston, ON -- Jul 4, 2018 to Jul 8, 2018
Saint Catharines, ON -- Jul 11, 2018 to Jul 15, 2018
---------------------------------
RESIDENT - en Le Théâtre
---------------------------------
Mystère:
Location: Treasure Island, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Saturday through Wednesday, Dark: Thursday/Friday
Two shows Nightly - 7:00pm & 9:30pm
Extra Performance Dates:
o Fri, Jan 26, 2018 | $35 Dress Rehearsal @ 7:00 p.m.
o Fri, Feb 02, 2018
o Mon, Dec 31, 2018 | 4:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Single Show Dates (7:00pm Only):
o Wednesday, Mar. 7. 2018
o Thursday, Mar. 8, 2018
o Sunday, May 20, 2018
o Thursday, May 24, 2018
o Monday, Nov. 26, 2018
o Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018
2018 Dark Dates:
o Wednesday, Jan 3, 2018
o January 13 - 24, 2018
o Sunday, Feb 4, 2018
o Wednesday, Mar 14, 2018
o Wednesday, Apr 11, 2018
o June 2 - June 6, 2018
o Saturday, Sep 29, 2018
o October 27 - 31, 2018
"O":
Location: Bellagio, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Wednesday through Sunday, Dark: Monday/Tuesday
Two shows Nightly - 7:30pm and 9:30pm
Special Performance Dates:
o Tue, Feb 20 - 7:00pm & 9:30pm
o Tue, Jul 17 - 7:00pm & 9:30pm
o Tue, Oct 09 - 7:00pm & 9:30pm
o Tue, Dec 11 - 9:30pm only
o Mon, Dec 31 - 4:00pm & 6:30pm
2018 Dark Dates:
o February 4
o March 2, 5 - 13
o June 2 & 3
o August 6 - 14
o September 16
o November 26 - December 11
o December 27
Zumanity:
Location: New York-New York, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark Sunday/Monday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
KÀ:
Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Saturday through Wednesday, Dark Thursday/Friday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
LOVE:
Location: Mirage, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Thursday through Monday, Dark: Tuesday/Wednesday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
MICHAEL JACKSON ONE:
Location: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Two Shows Nightly - Dark: Wednesday/Thursday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
2018 Dark Dates:
o January 3, 4, 10, 11
o January 17 - February 4
JOYÀ:
Location: Riviera Maya, Mexico
Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark: Sunday/Monday
One/Two Shows Nightly:
9:00pm (Weekdays)
7:00pm & 10:15pm (Fri, Sat & Holidays)
=======================================================================
OUTREACH - UPDATES FROM CIRQUE's SOCIAL WIDGETS
=======================================================================
o) WEBSERIES -- Official Online Featurettes
o) VIDEOS -- Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds
---------------------------------------------------
WEBSERIES: Official Online Featurettes
---------------------------------------------------
*) ASK CIRQUE!
ASK CIRQUE! is a BRAND NEW SERIES that will take fans backstage
and behind the scenes of all Cirque du Soleil Shows. However,
this series is different from all of Cirque's other behind the
scenes videos - because YOU, the audience, rule the show! What
questions have you always wanted answered? Now is your chance!
Comment on any social media platform and tag #AskCirque. What
are you waiting for? Join the hosts Fabienne Daigle and Carla
Sifoni (CDS Content and Social Media advisors)... they are
ready to answer!
o) EPISODE 1 {Jan.22}
In the first episode, Daniele Lamarre, Cirque du Soleil's
CEO and President fields the first question from Massimo
Cantarelli (via YouTube): "You have amazing performances
in your shows, how will you interpret the show of the
future? And how will your company evolve?"
Mr. Lamarre's response: "First and foremost, Cirque du Soleil
has been known for many, many years being on the edge. I think
in the future you will see a lot of new technologies: virtual
reality, virtual characters, 3D technologies - a lot of
technologies that are going to enhance the human performance.
Human performance will remain in the center of all of our shows,
but I think we're going to be able to add by having new
technologies. About our company: our company is growing at a
very, very rapid pace right now. I see diversification.
Geographically, we are going to diversify ourselves by having a
much stronger footprint in China. And we're also going to
diversify in terms of content. We just bought Blue Man Group
that is going to entertain people around the world with a new
type of show. We're going to have the NFL Experience in New York
City that is going to bring all the NFL fans through the
creativity of Cirque du Soleil. And we're also going to have a
new show, which is an ice show called Crystal that is also going
to bring new type of shows. So a stronger company that is
keeping its soul, and the soul of Cirque du Soleil is
creativity. We're just going to expand with a lot of new,
creative platforms."
Next, Betsy Zander (Sep7imo Dia Artist) answers what she likes
best about performing (SPOILER: The audience's reaction). Kurtis
Sprung (Eggman in LOVE) answers what do performers do to relax
and wind down after a performance (he likes to sit on the couch
and relax with his cats). Didi Negron (Amaluna drummer) answers
how can a fan make their dream come true and become a drummer
for Cirque du Soleil (have fun, show your passion, show that you
really love to drum). Mark DeCoste (Assistant Costume Designer)
answers where inspiration comes from for costume designs.
Charlotte Sumain (VOLTA Artist) answers what dancers, acrobats,
and other performers eat to keep their energy up during a long
day or week of shows. Pien Xin, Wang Shaohua, and Su Shan (Ants
in OVO) answer where they sleep on the road (which they didn't
really answer beyond getting their own separate rooms!) Jack
Atherton (Crystal Hand-to-Trap & Banquine Artist) answers how
often do artists train (RE: A lot). Yvonne Tousek-Renne
(Acrobatic Talent Scout) answers a question about auditioning
for Cirque. Bill May ("O" Artist) answers how much he likes to
interact with the crowd (RE: a lot, it's what gives him energy
to do the show). And Angelica Bongiovonni (Luzia Artist) gives
her best advice to those who want to be part of Cirque du Soleil
(RE: learn from your failures).
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/ZEOLK-yvOBY >
o) EPISODE 2 {Jan.29}
Michel Laprise, Director of Kurios: Cabinet of Kuriosities,
Sep7imo Dia: No Descansare, and one upcoming project that he
cannot talk about, fields the first question of Episode 2: "What
things to you see to create a complete show? What is your
thinking? How can I create my own show?" from Infinite Fall via
Instagram. His response: "I like your name because creation is
like that... you just fall, you know, and you have to trust that
the destiny will catch you. Now if you choose to create
something, it should be something personal because the more
personal you are the more you will connect with the universal
audience. So, you have to work a lot - especially at Cirque du
Soleil - because you are going to deal with acrobats who have
worked since age 5 like multiple hours every single day. So, you
have to work; It's not easy. It's super enjoyable, but you have
to commit yourself to that. And to create a show, it's a way of
life... you walk in the street, the way you look at life, you
have to be open, you have to notice things. So to create your
own show: you have to accept that it's not just your show...
it's the audience show, its your colleagues' show, it's not
just yours."
Nicolas Pires (The Tracker in TOTEM) answers a question about
how much he likes crowd interactions during and before the show
(he likes meeting people). Jennifer Marcus (VOLTA Artist)
answers what she likes about living on the road (she loves
exploring new places). Rick Tjia (Talent Scout) talks about
turnover and auditions. Kelly McDonald (LUZIA Adagio Artist)
answers what she likes best about performing. Saulo Sarmiento
(Sep7imo Dia Artist) answers how long he practiced before being
accepted into Cirque du Soleil (from age 12; he was accepted at
30 years of age). Elise Tellier (Corporate Publicist) answers a
question about the first ever Cirque du Soleil show. Yoda Jones
(Michael Jackson ONE Artist) answers a question about artists
keeping up their energy. And Zabato Bebe (CRYSTAL Artist)
answers what he likes to do to relax and wind down after a
performance.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/VKmWeib4kg8 >
o) EPISODE 3 {Feb.05}
In this episode, Leon Kupferschmied (Talent Scout) tells us what
the audition process is like. Jonny Stranks (Sep7imo Dia Artist)
talks about how many hours he trains. Paco Domínguez (JOYA
Musician) answers whether musicians have to read music (yes, of
course). Shelli Epstein (LUZIA Running Girl) tells us to follow
our dreams as the best advice she can give to young circus
artists. Vladimir Novotny (TOTEM Artist) tells us how long and
how much he trained to be part of Cirque du Soleil. Marc Antonio
(OVO Percussionist) answers how a fan can make his dream of
drumming for Cirque come true. Frédérique Gagner (Public
Relations Manager) takes on the loaded question of whether or
not Cirque uses live singers and musicians in their shows (RE:
YES) Nali Richards (KURIOS Kitchen Manager) talks about what the
acrobats like to eat. Tuguldursaikhan Nenzen (Amaluna Artist)
speaks about her favorite moments performing. Steven Ross
(Senior Publicist) answers which of the Cirque's shows has been
the most seen up to now (Answer: MYSTERE is the oldest, but "O"
has been seen by more than 15 million people, making it the most
seen show). Haley Vitoria (KOOZA Aerialist) answers how artists
from different languages and backgrounds talk to one another.
And last but not least Araz Hamzayev and Dima Shine (Zumanity
Artists) answer whether or not acrobats have special diets
(ANSWER: YES).
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/kb3hC9-p3zA >
*) OVO ON TOUR
OVO has 100 people from 21 different countries, working
closely together to create a unique experience. Get a glimpse
of what it's like to be on tour with OVO by Cirque du Soleil
and come behind the scenes to meet the artists who contribute
to creating this amazing show night after night!
o) EPISODE 1 - Get Up Close and Personal {Jan.05}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/PDoStucwT6g >
o) EPISODE 2 - A Day in The Life of the Crickets {Jan.13}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/gWIzpxgo9rc >
o) EPISODE 3 - The Making of OVO's Wardrobe {Jan.18}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/JDH_wP88Xng >
o) EPISODE 4 - True Chemistry in a Duo Aerial Straps Act {Jan.25}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/iVzKMdY4iqY >
o) EPISODE 5 - Handbalancing: Feats of Courage & Strength {Jan.31}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/WfQEpyBIjAk >
*) MUSIC VIDEO w/LYRICS
o) KA - "Pageant" {Jan.16}
Stava
Oïmare ava stava
Kojténié iva millia
Oïtare ava stava
Kojténié iva millia
Atsumara con jarra
Atsomoura n stava
Atsumira in cella
Stava millia in jarra
Oïmare ava stava
Kojténié iva millia
Stava millia in jarra
Oïtare ava stava
Atsumara con jarra
Atsomoura n stava
Atsumira in cella
Stava
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/w8vmF6tbU1k >
o) «O» - "Nostalgie" {Jan.23}
svo té yé so va
ka ya es nia bo
své da nya
ko esto yo
krounia té své djabo
nya telté yiou nya
kronya esto yo
své gayé dé né
krapkolé sékou nya
sonio es konia
kraya esto nyou
né yaka soyé
to si kraya
kounia tou lou
svo té yé so va
ka ya es nia bo
své da nya
ko esto yo
krounia své djabo
(bis, ces deux couplets)
svo té yé so va
ka ya es nia bo
své da nya
ko esto yo
krounia té své djabo
nya telté yiou nya
kronya esto yo
své gayé dé né
krapkolé sékou ya
sonio es konia
kraya esto nyou
né yaka soyé
to si kraya
kounia tou lou
svo té yé so va
ka ya es nia bo
své da nya
ko esto yo
krounia své djabo
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/wdpvsjD0KNI >
o) Mystere - "Kunya Sobe" {Feb.06}
Kunya sobé mani yévo sadey
Kunya sobé mani yévo
Yéké soola modié vo
Yéké soola sébotié
Yéké soola modié vo
Yéké soola sévié
Yéké soola modié vo
Yéké soola sébotié no
Yéké soola modié vo
Yéké soola sévié Yeh!
Kunya sobé mani yévo sadey
Kunya sobé mani yévo
Kunya sobé mani yévo
Kunya sobé mani yévo sadey
Kunya sobé mani yévo sadey
Kunya sobé mani yévo
Yéké soola modié vo
Yéké soola sébotié no
Yéké soola modié vo
Yéké soola sévié Yeh!
Kunya sobé mani yévo sadey
Kunya sobé mani yévo
Kunya sobé mani yévo
Kunya sobé mani yévo sadey
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/KCTRWmBtJZE >
---------------------------------------------------
VIDEOS: Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds
---------------------------------------------------
*) CIRQUECAST
CIRQUECAST is BACK for SEASON TWO!
CirqueCast is a Vodcast (that's video podcast) for Cirque fans
by Cirque fans featuring artist interviews, Cirque headlines,
and the inside scoop to your favorite Cirque du Soleil shows!
Join your hosts José Pérez (TheChapiteau), Richard "Richasi"
Russo (Fascination!), Ian Rents (Hardcore Cirque Fans), and new
addition Max Olson, as we bring you a behind-the-scenes look
into Cirque du Soleil, complete with discussions and the latest
Cirque news.
o) SEASON 2 EPISODE 1 News and Rumors
February 4, 2017
Join us on Episode 1 of Season 2 where we discuss the most
recent show closings, upcoming Volta changes, rumors on the
La Nouba replacement show, and a retired Cirque du Soleil
show possibly being resurrected! And watch until the end for
details on our giveaway!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/EN58r9F4HBg >
*) AMALUNA FEATURE FRIDAY
o) Meet the Moon Goddess:
https://www.facebook.com/Amaluna/videos/1761983270529631/
o) Meet The Lighting Team:
https://www.facebook.com/Amaluna/videos/1787124698015488/
o) Meet the Clowns:
https://www.facebook.com/Amaluna/videos/1798466196881338/
*) CORTEO IS BACK!
o) Daniele Finzi Pasca gives exclusive details!
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/dfiWRX >
o) Meet Artist Aurelie Dauphin
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/j59wFR >
o) Meet Tournik Artist Hideto Okuzawa
https://www.facebook.com/Corteo/videos/10155155705601179/
o) Meet Tournik Artist Iulian Ion
https://www.facebook.com/Corteo/videos/10155172574491179/
o) Meet Juggler Johan Juslin
https://www.facebook.com/Corteo/videos/10155190905516179/
*) OTHER CIRQUE VIDEOS
o) CRYSTAL: Meet Artist Emma Stones
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/Q8UgSH >
o) LUZIA: Waterproof Trapeze & Cyr Wheel Makeup {Jan.08}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/6L8v-xvc_Ic >
o) Luzia's Aleksei Goloborodko on Jimmy Kimmel Live
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/VCYQGUVnxio >
o) Go Behind the Scenes of OVO at the Royal Albert Hall
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/JUjD3p >
o) TORUK: What's it like to be a puppeteer?
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/udc7FH >
o) TORUK 5@5 in Dubai w/ Francois Gravel
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/HFhRKn >
o) TOTEM: Behind the Scenes in Barcelona
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/krdmjy >
o) VOLTA's Baton twirler Jennifer Marcus
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/Jnofme >
o) Circus Performance Statistics with Cirque du Soleil
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/WfA1hCcC3VA >
This cool video dives into the math/physics of acrobatics.
Here are the stats presented within...
- 65 feet free fall (KA, Battlefield)
- 44 MPH into Bag (KA, Battlefield)
- 360-degrees of motion (Luzia, Contortion)
- 720-degrees of rotation (Kooza, Trapeze)
- 4 1/2 rotations per second (Amaluna, Valkryies)
- 25 foot drop, pulling 4.06g's (Ovo, Trampoline)
- 14.8 mph, an 8.1 foot jump (La Nouba, Trampoline)
- 11.5 mph acceleration, pulling 2.6g's (Wheel of Death)
- Drop 34.45 feet per second (Kooza, Wheel of Death)
- 37 mph into net (Kurios, Acro Net)
- 3.05 sec air time, 45 feet drop (Kurios, Acro Net)
- 15 feet hands to hands ("O", Bateau)
- 2 1/2 hits per second (KA)
- 130 lbs, 600 newtons of force (OVO, Contortion)
- 22 mph, maximum 9.19g's (LOVE, Mr. Kite Scene)
- Angular Velocity, 333° per second (LOVE)
- 23 feet high, 1800° angular rotation in 2.4s (Kooza)
o) Magic Makeup Mashup by SEP7IMO DIA Artists! {Jan.15}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/cV4JHVBenWY >
o) Cirque du Soleil gets ready to RRRRUUUUMBLE {Jan.21}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/T-1i_JdWzek >
=======================================================================
FASCINATION! FEATURES
=======================================================================
o) "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 10 of 16: Quidam, Part 1 (1996-1997)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
"We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 10 of 16: Quidam, Part 1 (1996-1997)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
A few months ago, as I was flipping through a few classic Cirque du
Soleil programme books (as is my wont), I was happily caught off-guard
by a brief history of the company that it had written about itself in
Saltimbanco's original European Tour programme, published sometime in
1996. Not because the historia was in English, French, and Spanish,
but rather I found the wording a bit more colorful
haughty
than what
you'd find from the company today. Something about its whimsical and
heady nature spoke to the way Cirque du Soleil saw itself then,
containing a youthful verve and arrogance that is simply no longer
present. When did Cirque lose this dynamic sense of self, this
liveliness, and vivacity about its past, present, and future?
Unfortunately, not long after. Thereafter the speak becomes less joie
de vivre and more lié aux affaires, and Cirque du Soleil turns from a
rag-tag band of street performers into a bona fide corporate entity
right before our very eyes. This is not a new revelation - far from
it in fact - but this re-discovery struck a chord of curiosity within
How did others see Cirque du Soleil during this period?
Think about it: as Cirque's multitude of shows travel around the globe
in either arenas or under the big top, at each stop, in each city,
there is a write-up in the local press. Sometimes the coverage is just
a brief blurb about the show and its theme, occasionally there's a
short interview with a performer, a stage hand, or creation director,
and other times it's an assessment of the show itself, evaluating its
technical and acrobatic merits with what had come through before. But
the reviews we see today are too current, discussing these shows
through a contemporary lens; shows that have/had 15 to 20 years
touring the globe, shows we would refer to as "classic" or
"signature". What I'd become interested in knowing was what some of
the first reviews, peeks, and evaluations of these shows were as they
took their first steps across North America. How did the press see Le
Cirque du Soleil in 1998, 1994, 1990, 1987?
It was time to peck through the archives.
What I found was extraordinary, and more than I expected. And I'm
sharing these discoveries here in Fascination through a series of
collections, beginning with the 1987 tournée of Le Cirque du Soleil
(better known today as Le Cirque Réinventé), and continuing on from
there. This month we continue on with 1996 and 1997's reviews of
Quidam.
# # #
IN THE TENT OF ENCHANTMENT
By: Laurie Winer | LA Times
September 28, 1996
The Montreal-based theatrical, emotional, animal-free international
circus has returned with a new show, "Quidam," having its American
premiere under the big top at the Santa Monica Pier. While the
audience is still finding its seats, the emcee (a Kramer-esque John
Gilkey) selects a victim from the crowd, who is immediately whisked
away by a group of white-coveralled assistants to a backstage
destination. When next we see our missing audience member, moments
later, he is also white-suited, and following cues as to how to act
from his captors, who are busy picking a new victim out of the crowd.
It's a brilliant case of using the audience as found art, with
additional built-in "1984"-ish points about assimilation and social
control. This is Cirque humor at its best, spontaneous, surprising and
serious all at once.
"Quidam" is Latin for an unknown or anonymous person, but the show's
characters are actually less obscure than the impenetrable bird-people
seen in "Alegria," the troupe's last outing here, two years ago.
Bouncing back from the pretension-overload of that show, "Quidam"
offers a clear view of the Cirque's unique chemistry, made from
atmospheric lighting, fantastic novelty acts from around the world,
impassioned and often haunting pop music with flecks of North African,
Italian and French influences, and amazing acrobatics. In the hands of
director Franco Dragone, every action is perfumed in an aura of
intense mystery.
A clown act breaks up the show between the more serious "artistes."
The Cirque has searched the world and never found a clown to match the
American David Shiner, whose audience-participation segments in 1990
were small masterpieces of performance art. The three clowns here
(called Les Macloma) come from a more prescribed European tradition.
Though they fiddled a lot with balloons, they lacked an essential
lightness. The main clown, looking like Salvadore Dali in a blue tutu,
persuaded an audience member to carry a precious violin to another
clown, and then broke it and blamed the audience member for breaking
it. He got nary a smile from his quarry.
Some of the novelty acts are so novel you may not even know what the
performers are doing. You do know, however, they are doing it well.
Four Chinese girls wearing upside-down silver funnel hats (a la the
Tin Man) perform the most astonishing wooden spool act you will ever
see. One girl tosses one way up into the air, does two backward flips
and the splits and then catches her own spool plus someone else's on a
string.
Performer Chris Lashua rides inside an 8-foot wheel by using his
stretched-out body as a spoke, performing acrobatics simultaneously.
When he balances the wheel on its rim in what seems like slow motion,
he seems to defy several laws of nature. A man and a woman (Yves
Decoste and Marie-Laure Mesnage) perform "Main a Main," a hand-
balancing act in which they use their almost naked bodies as
sculpture, hanging from each other and meticulously building shapes
that seem to be achieved only through super-hero strength. Apocalyptic
music invites us to view them as Adam and Eve, or Man and Woman. No
one will ever accuse the Cirque of taking its artists lightly.
"Quidam" hangs its virtuosity on a framing device, a little story told
without dialogue. A young girl, whose parents are lost in their own
worlds, becomes bewitched by the arrival of a man with a bowler hat
and an umbrella, but no head. When she takes his hat, a Magritte-ish
talisman for adventure, her parents are whisked away and she enters
the world of enchantment--the acts of the Cirque du Soleil. The sight
of this family searching for each other throughout the evening injects
a note of melancholy. The girl (Audrey Brisson-Jutras), daughter of
the show's composer, Benoi^t Jutras, sings periodically in the
unclouded soprano of a young boy destined for the castratti.
Finally, the house troupe of 14 performs "banquine"--a complex
acrobatic routine that beautifully combines Olympic-quality gymnastics
with a choreographic sensibility (Debra Brown). Dressed as
iconographic war refugees (the understated fanciful costumes are by
Dominique Lemieux), the troupe easily builds four-people-tall towers
even as they form piles of human missile launchers, sending
somersaulting human missiles landing onto other human piles.
The Cirque provides a densely theatrical atmosphere that asks the
audience to view unusual mastery as metaphor, to seek and to find the
mystery and the meaning in all of this derring-do. As in most
nonlinear art, the specific emotion is left up to you.
* * * * * *
REVIEW: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL'S QUIDAM
By: Jonathan Taylor | Variety
September 30, 1996
When Cirque du Soleil first emerged in 1984, seemingly from some dream
world, the French Canadian troupe offered spectacular proof that magic
really does exist. This street-bred theater/circus company offered
feats, passion and grace that seemed beyond us mere mortals. With
Cirque's newest production, "Quidam," we have proof that magic has its
limits.
While this show still puts other circuses and performance art
companies to shame, compared to the standards of previous Cirques,
this is something of a letdown which won't keep crowds from filling
the bigtop, and cheering enthusiastically on the production's three-
year North American tour. By now, the Cirque du Soleil format is well-
established: After some initial audience taunting from the principal
clown (this year it's John Gilkey, a promising comic who is
nonetheless still David Shiner-Lite), the show then moves to the main
stage, where characters playing ordinary people are drawn magically
into the world of the circus.
The program unfolds through a series of acts some by the house troupe,
others by performers from around the world linked by the thinnest of
plots and held together by a troupe who are equal parts charming and
menacing. With "Quidam," the menacing aspects are more pronounced. The
show opens with the house troupe in white body suits that look like
quarantine outfits, and during several other acts, there is an
unmistakably apocalyptic feel. Even the plot structure is unsettling.
A young girl (11 -year-old Audrey Brisson-Jutras, daughter of music
director Benoit Jutras) is lured from her boring family by Gilkey and
other clowns, including a headless, umbrella-holding body that is the
show's logo, into the magical circus world. The plot, however, isn't
what crowds around the world come to see: It's the incredible
performers who defy gravity, death and various other laws of physics.
"Quidam's" problem apparent only to those who've experienced the
previous shows is that too many acts this year seem earth-bound. From
the house troupe's not especially challenging jump-rope routine, to
aerialist Petra Sprecher (who seems more adept at swinging than
flying), to a thoroughly uninspiring trio of clowns Les Macloma too
many acts in "Quidam" seem better suited to busking on the nearby
Third Street Promenade.
Cirque du Soleil acts should soar, and too many this year don't.
That's ironic, since flight seems to be one of this year's themes. Set
designer Michel Crete has created a spectacular stage, with five
overhead rails that appear to be merely decorative but turn out to be
the conveyance that flies the acts onto the stage. It's a brilliant
bit of stagecraft, bringing the acts in airborne, providing at least
an initial sense of wonder. And in quite a few of the 13 acts that
performed Thursday (the elevated hand balancing a gymnast featured in
the program was a no-show), the magic is apparent.
Aerial contortionist Isabelle Vaudelle twists, wraps and suspends
herself from a ceiling-to-floor-length piece of red fabric. In keeping
with the end-of-the-world theme, she at times seems to be encased in a
burial shroud. Maybe it's because she frequently looks distressed, or
maybe it's because at other times she so effortlessly seems to float
above the stage, you are enraptured by her.
Just as captivating is the act called simply Manipulation, in which
two performers toss, balance, roll and, well, manipulate, shiny red
balls. At first it seems like a fairly mundane act, but the more
things they do with the balls (sometimes they seem light as air,
sometimes leaden, sometimes bouncy, sometimes fragile), the more
compelling the act is.
Best of all, though, is one that is again seemingly simple. Called
Main a Main, Vis Versa, the act features a man and a woman (Yves
Decoste and Marie-Laure Mesnage) who perform a slow, sensuous,
impossibly strenuous act of strength and balance. Their bodies
powdered a cadaverous white, they fulfill our desire for superhuman
feats, her body stretching out parallel to the ground while only her
shoulders rest on his body. Then, in contradiction to the usual
strong-man/lithe-woman formula of most circuses, she lifts him as he
floats over the ground.
Adding to the somber yet thrilling mood are the members of the Cirque
company who watch all of this while suspended from the roof of the
tent, wearing long, flowing white gowns. They seem like angels, or
saints, or perhaps martyrs, watching those mortals below struggling
against the laws of nature. It is chilling and uplifting all at once,
and ranks with the best of previous Cirque acts. One other act is
especially notable: the house troupe's Banquine, in which 14
performers execute precise gymnastic and strength routines, sometimes
flying through the air, sometimes building human towers four-people
high.
The fact that it is a classic circus act in fact its roots go back to
the Italian Middle Ages detracts not at all from the skill and
expertise these artists manifest. Underscoring all of this is Jutras'
evocative music, Luc Lafortune's mood-establishing lighting and, in
particular, Franco Dragone's skilled direction: He brings the acts on
and off the circular stage and keeps various clowns and actors onstage
throughout, sometimes merely observing the action, sometimes providing
a counterpoint to it. All of this proficiency will leave the
inevitable large crowds going home satisfied. Even after a dozen
years, there's nothing else like Cirque du Soleil, and even in this
sub-peak effort, there are substantial rewards. But there's no getting
around the fact this show is short of magic, and magic is what we
expect from this company.
* * * * * *
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL SPREADS SUNSHINE AROUND GLOBE
By: Janet Weeks | Deseret News
October 2, 1996
Add a French accent (OK, French-Canadian) to a guy explaining the
difference between allegory and surrealism and the meaning of certain
Latin phrases and - voila! - you've got the recipe for Instant
Pretension.
Right-Not really. In fact, despite his penchant for dead languages and
deep discussions, Gilles Ste-Croix, artistic director of the
phenomenally popular Cirque du Soleil, is not smug in the least. After
all, he's a former stilt-walking fire-eater from the streets of
Montreal who never bothered to have the gap between his front teeth
corrected. He just sounds a little hoity-toity because he has a lot to
boast about.
Since its founding in Quebec 12 years ago, Cirque has become one of
the most successful performing arts franchises on the planet. The U.S.
opening of Cirque's ninth and latest show, "Quidam," took place last
month at the Santa Monica Pier. followed by a celebrity-studded
premiere.
A brief explanation for the uninitiated who may think Cirque du Soleil
has something to do with suntan lotion: Translated as "Sunshine
Circus," Cirque du Soleil is an artfully staged, orchestrated and
performed showcase of international acrobats, contortionists, clowns
and high-flying aerialists.
And these days, it's more.
Cirque is also a global empire, with four shows running simultaneously
on three continents and plans in the works for three permanent
theaters, including an aquatic arena in Las Vegas. To keep up with its
rapid growth, Cirque is also building a $30 million headquarters
complex in Montreal to house its 350 permanent employees.
As its very first performer, Ste-Croix has been instrumental in
Cirque's blossoming from a cultish art-crowd thing to a mainstream hit
with a line of merchandising that would do Disney proud.
The key to the company's success, he says, is constant evolution. No
two shows are alike, although each is based on acrobatics.
For instance, "Quidam" (a Latin word meaning "stranger") departs from
its predecessors in that it's the first Cirque show set in reality,
says Ste-Croix. Other shows, which have been produced every two years
since 1984, have been set in the world of allegory and fantasy.
" 'Quidam' is totally different from what we've presented up to now,"
he says. "The show rests on acrobatics still, and our glitter is
there. But the theatrical play and emotional setup is different. It's
more based on the street."
The idea came from a discussion of the coming end of the century, he
says.
"We try to feel where the world is at and where we are at in the
world," he says of Cirque's creative decisions. "We are at the end of
the millennium and have the possibility to communicate with anyone,
but we are more individually isolated.
"We don't know our neighbors, but we can speak with people in Russia
with our computers. That's the paradox we're living."
More than 50 performers, ranging in age from 11 to 45, make up the
cast of "Quidam." Hailing from such far-flung places as the former
Soviet Union, China, Europe and Indiana, the performers include
experts in aerial hoops, skipping ropes, "Spanish webs" (overhead
ropes), trapeze, hand balancing, juggling and spinning.
Original music has been composed by Benoit Jutras and will include
singing by 12-year-old Audrey Brisson-Jutras, the composer's daughter.
And while Ste-Croix stresses the importance of each show's theme, the
reality for Cirque is that it probably could pick any old motif and
still sell seats. Tickets for the Santa Monica run - which is
deliberately open-ended - are selling at a clip of about 2,000 a day.
Many of those ticket buyers are repeat customers, part of Cirque's
enormously loyal following.
When asked what percentage of the Canadian-based circus' audience of
10 million worldwide are returnees to the big top, Ste-Croix says:
"There are probably 100 who don't come back."
He's exaggerating, sure, but not by much. Cirque du Soleil could be
called "Club du Soleil," and its audience might just as well be
members.
One such admirer is "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek, a Canada native who
has seen several Cirque productions.
"The great thing about the Cirque is that they come up with a new
concept every time, so you're not going back to see the same show."
Clearly pleased with the success of his home-country fellows, Trebek
says Cirque could not have originated in the United States because
bottom-line financial concerns would have killed it.
"One of the advantages that Canada has is the duality of the culture
English and French with a great deal of European influence thrown in.
As a result, they are capable of experimenting without worrying about
attracting the monster audiences that Americans concern them-selves
with. In French Canada, they say 'Hey, let's put together a good show
and, hey, we might even make a buck.' "
Ste-Croix agrees. He says he studied architecture in college but
decided he was "missing the point of my life" and turned down the
high-money career to pursue the life of a street performer. He ended
up a fire-breather, stilt-walker and slack-rope climber.
"You smell like an old engine for a couple of days," he says of fire-
eating. "Sure, it was not big money, but it was a very satisfying
experience."
In fact, the success of Cirque worries Ste-Croix. Can the company keep
its artistic integrity while juggling four shows and building theaters
in Berlin and Las Vegas?
"It's difficult," he says. "I was a half-hour late because I was on
the phone with Montreal dealing with problems. (Growth) might weaken
our strength. When there was only one show, and we had two years to
create a new one, it was easy. I don't have so much time now."
But he says fears that the show has suffered are unfounded. For the
most part, success has only attracted more interesting acts and pushed
the quality level higher. Cirque auditions routinely attract 400
performers or more, from which the company chooses perhaps 10, he
says.
It's that devotion to the truly talented that keeps legal secretary
Rob Briner of Santa Monica coming back to Cirque. He's missed only two
productions in the last 12 years.
"People return because they know it's going to be a great show,"
Briner says. "Cirque succeeds in creating an intimate, unique
environment. They incorporate everything into a theatrical theme. They
use color and sounds and lights and movement. It's a combination of
circus and theater."
Briner says he also looks forward to Cirque's humor, an element of the
show sometimes eclipsed by the flashier acrobatics.
* * * * * *
A REAL, SCARY GUY: JOHN GILKEY
By: Jan Herman | LA Times
January 29, 1997
He patrols the stage of Cirque du Soleil with a forbidding eye and a
spectral smile. He is an austere, lantern-jawed figure whose thatch of
hair, sprouting like a coxcomb from his shaved head, lends him an
eerie foppishness. This personnage extraordinaire has an insinuating
presence throughout the latest Cirque production, "Quidam," opening
tonight at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.
But while he embodies the millennial tone of the show--alternately
frightening and whimsical--as much as anyone in it, the man behind the
clown makeup sees his style in terms of the ordinary. "I'm a scary
kind of guy, but my whole performance is European, which means it's
based in reality," said John Gilkey, a native Californian. "I don't
have a big red nose. I don't have a fright wig. You look at me, and
I'm believable."
Despite Cirque's well-earned reputation for the fantastic, Gilkey
contends that his character "could walk around on the street, and you
might think I'm kind of strange. But I'd belong there somehow."
In "Quidam," Gilkey's role partially focuses on his relationship with
central figure Audrey, a little girl who is taken on a tour of the
world and shown what it will be like when she grows up. "My take is
that the world is not going to be easy," he said in a backstage
interview in Santa Monica, where Cirque last stopped on its North
American tour. "There are some really difficult things about the
world--and I'm one of them."
Even so, neither his unnamed character nor "Quidam" itself--Latin for
"something known but unnamed"--is as simple as that. One of the
distinctive aspects of this show is that, like most Cirque
productions, it is not written down and therefore is easily kept
ambiguous.
"The script does not exist on paper," Gilkey confirmed. "It exists in
the minds of the creators. The rehearsal process is about the creators
as much as the story. The director, Franco Dragone, is a provocateur.
He impresses upon us his impressions of what the show could be. It's
up to us after that. We interpret and develop our characters in
combination with him and the costume designers, the acting coaches,
the choreographers."
Still, Gilkey, 30, had played a similar character--"same look, same
costume, more naive"--before joining Cirque du Soleil in January 1996,
when "Quidam" went into rehearsal. (It had its world premiere in
Montreal in April '96.) "Yes, this baby pays the bills," he said,
fingering his stiff, single tuft of hair. "Best career move I ever
made. I think of it as 'modern geek.' I did variety shows and comedy
clubs with this look."
Gilkey, who wears glasses when not performing, got his start by
learning to juggle as a junior high school student in Los Altos, his
Bay Area hometown. Through high school, he recalls, he was competing
in festivals and making money on the side, entertaining at company
parties and picnics.
* * *
Lacking athletic talent, he says, he took up juggling because he
"wanted to be the best in school at something." Later, when he
realized he was agood but not great juggler, he shifted focus. "I
decided to become a geek," he said, recounting that he dropped out of
UC Santa Cruz for full-time performing, with the proviso that if he
wasn't making a living after two years he would go back to college. "I
began to work on personality, on stage character, on putting the
importance on creativity and clowning instead of on technical skills."
His professional career started with the Circus Minimus, a small Bay
Area troupe, followed by the Pickle Family Circus, which is based in
San Francisco and tours the country. The Pickle, having evolved partly
out of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, was the first American circus to
exploit the intimate, one-ring atmosphere that has long been familiar
to European audiences. It was the same theatrical impulse toward small
troupes of offbeat, streetwise performers that gave birth to such
touring companies as the Big Apple Circus and Cirque du Soleil.
Gilkey sent an audition tape in 1990 to Cirque, which had emerged as
the most spectacularly successful of these circuses. His tape went "on
file," he says. Then he went to Switzerland and worked for the Theatre
Dmitri, a group of seven performers run by a celebrated Swiss clown.
It was there that he honed his skills in physical comedy. Theatre
Dmitri, operating from the town of Verscio, played chiefly in
Switzerland, Germany and Italy.
Back in the States two years later, Gilkey performed around the
country in comedy clubs and auditioned for Cirque "on a whim," live,
in November 1994. "I was working in L.A., and the circus was in Santa
Monica," he remembered. "I did my audition right here. Almost a year
later they call me up: 'Can you come to Montreal for a callback with
the director?' So I went up there. They were considering people for
the personnage roles. And here I am."
Gilkey grinned. Nobody in his family has ever given a hint of
theatrical inclinations, he said, let alone circus skills--unless it's
Mark Twain, who, he's been told, is a distant relative. His father is
an electrical engineer; his mother recently retired as circulation and
marketing director of Sunset magazine. One older brother is a computer
programmer, the other a sportswriter. "Just about everybody has come
to see the show," Gilkey said. "And they talk about everything--'This
was great; that was great'--but not about me. So I don't know what
they think of my performance."
* * *
Perhaps they don't mention it because Gilkey makes things look so
easy. When, for example, he dances with a coat tree, it is one of the
show's most enchanting and understated highlights; he evokes the
seamless grace of no less a paragon than Fred Astaire. "I'm not there
to display tricks," Gilkey said. "I guess I could make the dance look
as difficult as a trapeze act. In fact, it's harder than it looks. But
that's not the purpose for me. Everything I do is about character,
about something emotional that comes out of a situation. The European
clown works from his internal life. He works from the inside out, and
that's where I'm coming from."
* * * * * *
BREKING THE TENSION - QUIDAM ENTERTAINS WITHOUT RELYING HEAVILY ON
BREATHAKING THEATRICS
By: Jan Herman | LA Times
February 5, 1997
"Quidam," the latest touring production of Cirque du Soleil,
represents the beginning of a new cycle of shows differing in scope
and expectations from the last. Compared with the efforts of the
previous cycle--which consisted of "Nouvelle Experience,"
"Saltimbanco" and "Alegria"--this one seems scaled more to human size,
its theme and variations less otherworldly.
To be sure, there is a millennial tone--alternately mysterious and
whimsical, always moody--embodied by surreal images reminiscent of
Magritte's. Most notable are the headless figure wearing a raincoat
and holding an umbrella, the man floating through space with his head
framed in a newspaper and the recurring use of homburgs as ordinary
emblems of the strange or supernatural.
But "Quidam"--the title is Latin for something or someone known but
unnamed--has only a mild tension. Lightning and thunder
notwithstanding, the apocalypse of the weird seems designed to
entertain without drawing too much attention to awe-inspiring
theatrics.
While there is a story line about a young girl, Audrey, who takes
leave of her parents' living room and goes on a journey in the company
of clowns, the weave of the story is so loose as to be nonexistent.
Plot is more or less forgotten until the end of the show when, as a
reminder, she is reunited with her parents.
Never forgotten, however, is the sense that "Quidam" is circus as
theater. That has been true of all Cirque productions. The differences
from the past are just a matter of degree. First-time Cirque-goers are
likely to be awe-struck, regardless.
All of us may be glad that the show is basically the same one that
played at the Santa Monica Pier, the company's last stop before going
on hiatus for the winter holidays. But it's fresher, tighter and more
invigorating. The Chinese juggling act is gone and hasn't been
replaced, entailing a palpable loss of exotic delicacy. But there are
plenty of spectacular aerialists and acrobats to minimize the
departure.
Also, the vacation may have put some added spring into the house
company's step. The acrobats executed with brilliant precision Sunday
night, and they injected all the gymnastic choreography with evident
joy.
Some specifics: In the first act, the rugged grace of Chris Lashua's
"German Wheel," the contortionistic hand-balancing of Olga Pikhienko,
the aerial maneuvers of Isabelle Vaudelle in a red sash and the speedy
midair hoop traffic of Genevieve Bessette, Martyne Dube and Emilie
Grenon-Emiroglou had the rapt audience bursting into spontaneous
applause.
In the second act, the intense concentration of a body-balancing act,
"Vis Versa," planted at ground level by Marie-Laure Mesnage and Yves
Decoste, offered proof that gravity may be exploited as well as
defied. Their slow-motion feats made for ample drama.
Not that the second act lacked dizzying heights or high velocity. It
had the house troupe's rope-climbing aerialists in "Spanish Webs," the
"Cloud Swing" of Petra Sprecher (who was oddly underappreciated for
the risks she took) and stunning leaps and balances performed by the
floor gymnasts of the house troupe's "Banquine."
Juggling has come so far these days that unless it's done with armed
nukes or an incredible number of objects, it's a commonplace of street
performance. "Quidam" works a variation on juggling with
"Manipulation" by Patrick McGuire and Steven Ragatz, who have put
together a delicate ballet of red balls, blue homburgs and silver
trays.
Because Cirque du Soleil prides itself on taking the art of street
performance to a higher level, it's worth mentioning that jumping rope
helps stitch "Quidam" together not just as the house troupe's number,
"Skipping," but as a throwback to the schoolyard athletics of young
girls such as Audrey.
Also keeping the seams in line are the clowns: "Les Macloma," a corny
trio whose European-style antics with balloons, a would-be musician
and a violin provoked the requisite combination of nostalgia and
laughter; and the "Quidam" major domo, John Gilkey, who has a light
touch working the crowd and an eerie foppishness in character.
The fabric that makes this show a magic carpet, however, is the artful
amalgam of music, design and lighting, without which this production
would be a mere collection of circus acts. The score and orchestration
this time out are especially alluring: Haunting lyric vocals with
medieval-like chorus, plaintiff cello with raucous soprano sax, folksy
accordion with propulsive drums.
"Quidam" may not be the biggest or best of Cirque du Soleil's
productions, despite what is to this listener the most attractive
music so far, but it still keeps the promise of past outings and
continues a tradition not to be missed.
* * * * * *
THE SOUNDS OF THE CIRCUS
By: Jesse Hamlin | San Francisco Chronicle
April 5, 1997
Benoit Jutras had never even seen a circus when he landed a gig in
1987 as the bandleader for a fledgling Montreal troupe called Cirque
du Soleil.
Jutras had just gotten a master's degree in composition from the
Montreal Conservatory of Music, where he was deep into the music of
Luciano Berio and other contemporary classical composers. Suddenly he
was playing keyboards for acrobats, contortionists and clowns.
"I didn't know anything about the circus," says Jutras, who began
writing music for the spectacularly successful Cirque du Soleil in
1990. Now one of the most in-demand circus composers in the world, he
scored Cirque's latest theatrical production, "Quidam," which opens at
Oakland's Jack London Square May 29 and moves to San Jose in late
July.
His eclectic score, parts of which are featured on an RCA Victor CD
that came out in December, casts a wide net.
A MIX OF MUSIC
It mixes the swelling strings and choruses of classical music with
thumping rock beats and synthesized metallic sounds, African rhythm
loops with Arabic melodies. There are Gypsy-tinged folk songs, old-
time circus sounds and spacey waltzes, a Zydeco tune, syrupy pop songs
and a slashing tango inspired by the late Argentine bandoneon master
Astor Piazzolla.
"I'm working with acrobats from all over the world, so I really wanted
a wide range of music to represent different cultures," said the
affable French Canadian, lunching on fettuccine and mussels at a Jack
London Square eatery the other day. His brown hair was pulled back in
a ponytail and a silver loop dangled from his left ear.
"Quidam" -- the French word for an anonymous person -- "is about the
reality of where we are in 1997, in big cities, isolated in the
crowd," said Jutras, 33. "It deals with the fragility of the human
being, and the coldness of the city. I explore that musically.
"That's why we decided to use a child's voice (sung by Jutras' 11-
year-old daughter, Audrey). It expresses that fragility. And I use a
lot of metal sounds. I sampled sounds in a metal shop, hitting all
kinds of metals with a hammer."
Working from musical "mood" sketches he had done months before, Jutras
wrote much of the "Quidam" music in the three weeks before the show
opened last year. "Often I have to rewrite the piece totally to fit
the natural rhythm of the act," he said. "You either try to accentuate
that rhythm or play against it, which can be really nice. The music
has to enhance the rhythm and emotion of each act, as well as the
theatrical mood of the piece as a whole."
The clowns, for example, are cast as traditional circus characters,
set amid the contemporary Cirque du Soleil. When they appear, Jutras
evokes "the circus sounds of the past" with the waltzing "Carrousel,"
scored for soprano sax, accordion and the synthesized sound of a
"cheesy organ" that suggests a calliope.
Jutras mastered this sort of traditional circus music composing for
Circus Knie, one of Europe's biggest circuses. He's also written for
the Canadian Fantasy Circus in Japan and New York's Big Apple Circus.
There's twice as much music in the show as on the CD, and it's got a
lot more edge, Jutras says.
"The music in the show is more harsh, there's more metallic sounds,
more electric guitar. The thought was that without the images, the
music would maybe be a little too harsh."
ADDING WORDS
The CD also adds lyrics to songs that in the show are sung without
words, like chants. "That was the choice of the producer of the CD,"
Jutras said, "to make them sound more like pop songs; in the show,
it's less commercial."
The CD features a live string section and chorus. In live
performances, where the music is played by a six-piece band, the
chorus is taped and the strings are synthesized. The synthesized sound
"is not as good, for sure," Jutras said. "But in the Big Top, which is
not a theater, it's OK, it works."
Director Ridley Scott and his brother Tony liked the "Quidam" score so
much they hired Jutras to write the music for their forthcoming TV
series, "The Hunger."
Whatever else he does, Jutras plans to stay with Cirque. "There aren't
a lot of jobs where you get paid this kind of money to compose music
and not have to compromise too much," he said. "It's a really good
gig."
* * * * * *
OLE' FOR SOLEIL!
By: Robert Hurwitt | San Francisco Chronicle
May 30, 1997
Playfully childlike and frankly sensual, mysterious, thrilling, funny
and enchanting - often all at the same time - Cirque du Soleil's
"Quidam" opened Thursday in the company's blue-and-yellow big top in
Jack London Square. The good news isn't just that the Cirque has
returned to the Bay Area after a three-year absence. Even better, the
magic is back.
A child's dream of a circus - the show's theme as well as its
accomplishment - "Quidam" is a confection of captivating design,
quirky comedy, intriguing music and breathtaking feats. It's fast,
smooth and ingenious, an almost seamless fantasia of whimsically
costumed characters drifting or cavorting about the stage between and
during the major acts. Wherever theeye wanders, there's something to
catch the imagination.
Not that most eyes are going to want to wander from most of these
performers. From its first local visit in 1988 - all through the years
when it still pitched its tent on the west side of the Bay - the
Montreal-based Cirque has always featured an impressive international
array of circus acts. Those assembled for its first Oakland stand
midway through the three-year "Quidam" North American tour - are
simply sensational.
Chris Lashua (of Massachusetts), to take just the first example, is
astonishing in an act called the "German Wheel." He rolls into the
ring in what looks like two giant metal hula hoops, connected by 6-
foot-long bars - and he rolls around, vertically, diagonally, close to
horizontally, almost wobbling to a stop like a falling top, but
righting his wheel in faster and faster spins controlled only by a
twist of the hips or inclination of his body.
Scarcely have you recovered from his performance when four charming
Chinese girls - Wu Di (11), Yuan Siqi (11), Zhao Xin (11) and Zhao Xue
(10) - dressed as fantastical little, funnel-hatted tin men, turn the
children's game of "Diabolos" into an act of extraordinary skill.
That's the game where you toss and catch a spinning spool on a string
held between two sticks. But you've never seen anybody handle those
toys with anything like the expertise of this quartet.
It's not enough that they execute a bouncy dance to a quick tempo as
they toss the spools high in the air and catch them. Nor that they
start tossing the spools back and forth without missing a beat. The
next thing you know, they're somersaulting, doing backflips or leaping
onto one another's shoulders as they toss and catch. And they make it
all look as if they are just having a wonderful time.
Then there's aerial contortionist Isabelle Vaudelle of France,
wrapping an amazingly lithe body in and all around a billowing column
of red silk. Contorting her limbs and form in impossible combinations
high above the ring, stretching the fabric to the contours of her
torso or executing breathtaking trapeze routines, her act is both a
thriller and a sensual celebration of the human body.
So, too, late in the second act, is the "Cloud Swing" of Petra
Sprecher of Switzerland. Using a long rope as a V-shaped swing, her
corn-row braids flying, Sprecher is an ebony Wonder Woman, heart-
stoppingly tumbling and catching herself with her knees or ankles high
in the air. In another stunning aerial act, Canada's Emilie Grenon-
Emiroglou performs a captivating, spinning ballet with a suspended
hoop.
No less awesome, in its way, is "Vis Versa," a slowly evolving
balancing act performed by the almost naked Marie-Laure Mesnage of
France and Yves Decoste of Canada. Their well-muscled bodies achieve
seemingly impossible combinations of strength and balance in
cantilevered living sculptures. Impressive in a quieter vein is the
deft, delicate red ball and curved metal sheet manipulation of Patrick
McGuire and Steven Ragatz (an act developed by the extraordinary
juggler Michael Moschen).
Throw in some thrilling ensemble acrobatic work - quick variations on
skipping rope; a tumbling finale with performers flipping onto each
other's shoulders in three- and four-high human pyramids - and you've
got almost enough for an ordinary circus. But not for Cirque du
Soleil.
Longtime Cirque director-author Franco Dragone (assisted by Gilles
Ste-Croix, artistic director Andrew Watson and choreographer Debra
Brown) frames the acts in a loose tale of a child (12-year-old Audrey
Brisson-Jutras, an impressive vocalist) rebelling against the tedium
of her parents' humdrum existence. The acts may all be figments of her
imagination, but they put her mother (Nicolle Hope Liquorish) and
father (the comically acrobatic Daniel Touchette) through some odd,
presumably life-altering, routines.
Veteran Cirque costumer Dominique Lemieux creates a fanciful
wonderland of casually sensual, comical and fantastical designs. Set
designer Michel Cre^te has devised a brilliant five-track ceiling
scaffolding to move the acts in and out gracefully. The pulsating,
wittily varied, remarkably eclectic score - performed live - is by
Benoi^t Jutras.
All that's missing is clowning as hilarious as Denis Lacombe or David
Shiner contributed to earlier Cirque shows. The French clown trio Les
Macloma is serviceable at best - annoying as often as funny.
Fortunately, the show has the services of Pickle Family Circus alumnus
John Gilkey as a quirkily original, genuinely comical, juggling
ringmaster.
Fortunately, too, "Quidam" has an air of childlike wonder and
bemusement that ties it all together and makes us see its odd world
through fresh eyes.
* * * * * *
QUIDAM CONJURES A SHADOWY SUBCONSCIOUS WORLD
By: Steven Winn | San Francisco Chronicle
May 31, 1997
Cirque du Soleil has always ravished the eyes and ears of the
beholder. Now it's flirting openly with the subconscious.
"Quidam," the French Canadian troupe's entrancing new circus
entertainment that opened Thursday at Oakland's Jack London Square,
haunts, startles and flickers like a fevered dream. An evening that
begins a little groggily finally soars.
A headless man drops a bowler hat to the floor. That sets off a fierce
lightning storm and sends projected clouds scudding onto the swooping
inner surfaces of the company's jolly blue-and-yellow tent, across
from the Amtrak station. A wistful children's tune accompanies a skip-
rope scene done in pools of dying light. Luc Lafortune's resourceful
lighting furnishes the stage to more effect than Michele Crete's
minimal set designs.
One aerialist, Isabelle Vaudelle, gets borne away like Jesus in a
pieta after her routine inside a cocoon-like red sheath overhead.
Another, Karl Baumann, prances about cheerfully despite sharp martyr
spines that pierce his torso and legs -- he's a modern commedia Saint
Sebastian.
Members of the 50-odd-member troupe parade onto the stage dressed like
masked and hooded workers in some plague-riddled industrial realm.
Shrouded women flit through the light and vanish. Surrealists will
feel right at home in director Franco Dragone's imagination, fired by
Magritte and Balthus and even Goya in the show's extraordinary climax.
"Quidam" -- it's pronounced "key- dahm" and means "nameless passer-by"
-- opens brightly lit patches in its shadowy dreamscape. The three
clowns of Les Macloma, popping up from trapdoors, get plenty, perhaps
too much, stage time. One sports a blue tutu over yellow tights.
Another wears a perpetually startled expression and equally astonished
side tufts of horizontal hair.
John Gilkey, the lantern-jawed San Francisco clown who ran off to join
the Cirque, does a gentle pas de deux with a silver coatrack. Only a
coatrack might consent to dance with a man whose hairdo looks like a
giant mustache that's migrated to the top of his head.
Gilkey is a recurring presence in "Quidam," which tells, however
wispily, a story. A father, mother and daughter are levitated out of
their mundane life into a quest that finally brings them home.
But this is a break from the more lyrical and celebratory tone of
previous touring Cirque editions -- "Alegria," "Saltimbanco,"
"Nouvelle Experience." The sound of helicopter blades and gunfire,
heard here in fleeting bursts, had no place in those shows.
"Quidam's" defining scene comes in "Vis Versa," a male-female strength
duet. As Yves Decoste and Marie-Laure Mesnage somberly lever their
bodies into steely cantilevered combinations, several motionless
figures trailing great long shrouds track forward overhead on the
mighty arched truss that spans the tent. Another silent soul, head
bowed, slowly circles the stage on a turntable.
"Vis Versa" expands organically, its mysterious dirge-like logic
reinforced by the thunderous percussion blasts in Benoit Jutras'
score. The show's live music invokes klezmer, jazz, Scottish bagpipes,
Irish reels and more under its glossy pop sheen.
In the ensemble acrobatics of "Banquine," the show reaches a thrilling
conclusion. Dressed like tattered ragamuffins (by designer Dominique
Lemieux), the troupe launches three pure-white figures from out of
their huddled gray mass. Then they become transcendent themselves,
leaping and flipping onto higher and higher towers of their comrades.
"Quidam" doesn't have the exuberant springiness of past shows. There
are no trampolines or elastic Russian bars. Instead the circle
dominates -- the "German Wheel" that Chris Lashua sets spinning and
wobbling across the stage like a giant coin; the sinuous Emilie
Grenon-Emiroglou in her aerial hoop; the Chinese yo-yos dancing in
midair from rope to rope of four agile young girls dressed all in
silver.
Those four Diabolos, with their impossibly fast moves and perpetually
jogging legs, set the first act in motion. The show does stall from
time to time. But in the second act, the momentum feels inexorable.
The Oakland site, acquired when Crissy Field and other San Francisco
locations proved unworkable, is a happy one for the Cirque. The nearby
trains are a minor distraction, but those rumbling tremors might even
be fitted into this show's dark-glass vision of electric storms and
industrial menace.
* * * * * *
ON A HIGH WIRE, CIRQUE BALANCES PURE ART, POP ART
By: M.S. Mason | Christian Science Monitor
October 22, 1997
Once again, Cirque du Soleil reminds us that there's more to the
circus than lion tamers and the flying trapeze - there's the circus as
art. The company from Montreal is touring the United States with a new
show: "Quidam" (Latin, meaning in this context, an anonymous face in
the crowd).
With 53 performers - acrobats, clowns, and no animal acts - "Quidam"
manages to tell a kind of story without nailing down a narrative too
firmly. A little girl sits and broods with her bored parents, whose
benign neglect has made the child certain she has already seen
everything. A stranger appears at the door - a ghostly, headless
character in a top coat, umbrella, and blue bowler. The stranger gives
the child the hat, and when she puts it on, her parents fly off (their
chairs are wired and actually fly up) leaving the girl to begin a
quest in search of wonder.
Along the way she sings a lovely hunting song. She sees astonishing
sights such as an aerial contortionist whose grace defies gravity and
reason, angels flying through the air, and rope jumpers' tricks that
sparkle with the life of childhood memories. Young women on aerial
hoops make trapeze artistry look banal by comparison, while little
Chinese girls astonish and delight us with their dexterity on the
"diabolos" (an elaborate string and yo-yo game).
In this circus theater, all kinds of acrobatic acts, including a
fabulous Russian team dressed in apocalyptic rags, draw admiration and
exhilaration from the audience. Each artist demonstrates courage and
skill, grace and humor - and all in the service of one unified vision
of wonder and beauty meant to honor the human spirit. Visually
stunning, it is like Chagall meets Fellini. And all is yoked together
by the comic antics of a brilliant clown - one of the girl's guides
through mystery.
Since Cirque du Soleil sprang into being 13 years ago, 15 million
people around the world have thrilled to its special magic. It has won
dozens of awards in Canada, the US, and Europe and has found critical
and popular success everywhere it has been, including Asia. The big
top holds an astounding 2,500 people, and still manages to maintain a
surprising intimacy.
Artistic director Andrew Watson says creator Franco Dragone starts out
with a feeling, a phrase, a single word. With "Quidam," he began with
the idea of each person's individuality despite the appearance of
anonymity in a crowd.
"When we sat down in the beginning [of the 'Quidam' project],"
explains Mr. Watson, "we had become aware of enormous numbers of
displaced people - and these groups of people have names to describe
them: 'the homeless' or 'the refugees.' But these groups are all made
up of individual people who have their own histories, who have their
own lives - yet in our eyes they are all lumped together. So at the
top of the show, the family is dispersed, and everyone is in white.
Bit by bit we discover each other as individuals."
The development process is a collaboration with the artists built upon
the feeling Mr. Dragone is trying to elicit.
Asked why he thinks the show raises viewers' spirits, composer Benoit
Jutras says, "It's close to pure art." He explains that the open,
collaborative spirit among artists serves a unified vision as they
draw inspiration from one another.
Watson echoes Mr. Jutras's emphasis on openness. "The artists try so
hard to create an open-ended experience that even the words used in
the songs are often just invented language," he says. "When you put
words [to the show], you are narrowing the experience quite a bit."
A successful marriage of pop art and high art elements, "Quidam" is
more than a good time. "It is deeper than that," says Watson. "The pop
art element is the circus acrobatics, which transcends all cultures
and ages - every one of us can understand circus acrobatics. To feel
frightened, exhilarated, amazed by dexterity - is for ever and ever
and nearly every country has a circus. But Franco has something to say
about life."
# # #
That's all for in this issue, but there's still a little bit more!
o) Issue #170, MAR 2018 - Quidam, Part 2 (1998)
o) Issue #171, APR 2018 - Dralion, Part 1 (1999-2001)
o) Issue #172, MAY 2018 - Dralion, Part 2 (2001-2003)
o) Issue #173, JUN 2018 - Varekai, Part 1 (2002)
o) Issue #174, JUL 2018 - Varekai, Part 2 (2003-2004)
o) Issue #175, AUG 2018 - Varekai, Part 3 (2005)
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COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER
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Fascination! Newsletter
Volume 18, Number 2 (Issue #169) - February 2018
"Fascination! Newsletter" is a concept by Ricky Russo. Copyright (C)
2001-2018 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., All Rights
Reserved. No copyright infringement intended.
{ Feb.08.2018 }
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