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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 5 May 2018 ISSUE #172
=======================================================================
Welcome to the latest edition of Fascination, the Unofficial Cirque
du Soleil Newsletter.
Before we get started, we here at Fascination would like to extend
TORUK-The First Flight's cast and crew a hearty congratulations for
performing its 600th show in Sanya, China on April 30th! And now...
* * * ALEGRÍA: THE RETURN OF AN ICON! * * *
The big news of the month is, of course, the official announcement
that Alegría, one of Cirque du Soleil's most iconic shows, will return
to celebrate its 25th anniversary. "Staying true to the essence of the
original creation, Alegría will retain its unique spirit of joy and
optimism for which it was renowned around the globe. Cirque du Soleil
will revisit the show through today's lens to ensure it is as
inspiring as it was 25 years ago."
"Alegría has marked a whole generation of Cirque du Soleil fans. We
want to honor their connection to the show and recreate the emotions
they felt back in 1994, while leveraging all the possibilities offered
to us today. Alegría is a rallying anthem for change and hope, and
that is, after all, timeless", explained Diane Quinn, Cirque du
Soleil's Chief Creative Officer.
Cirque du Soleil first presented Alegría in April 1994, a production
destined to change the history of the company, an emblematic show that
was to win over more than 14 million spectators. Under the traditional
Big Top and in its arena version, Alegría visited 255 cities around
the world in its 19 years of touring before finally bidding audiences
farewell on December 29, 2013 in Antwerp, Belgium.
Since its last performance, Alegría has remained very much alive in
the hearts of its fans, who regularly request its comeback. Its
emblematic title song, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1995,
continues to be a fan favorite and remains Cirque du Soleil's most
watched song on YouTube still today.
"It was important for us to highlight the immense impact that Alegría
has had on our fans as well as our company. Audiences and employees
alike have asked for its return for years, and what better way to do
so than through the celebration of its 25-year anniversary. As we
continue to look forward and strive to innovate in everything we do,
we wanted to pause and celebrate one of the shows that has made Cirque
du Soleil what it is today a global leader in live entertainment",
said Yasmine Khalil, Chief Executive Producer at Cirque du Soleil.
Alegría will premiere in Montreal's Old Port on April 18, 2019, 25
years after its official premiere, before setting out for a limited
tour under the Big Top. Check our ITINERAIRE section for stops in
Gatineau and Toronto following its Montreal run. AND, be sure to read
the "Cirque Brings Back Alegria, Changes Direction" news article
within for more information regarding the Alegria announcement and
more.
Cirque Club members can purchase tickets online now at:
< http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/alegria >
Check out these fantastic videos about Alegria's return:
o) The Return of an Icon!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/kA9PYuCL6xs >
o) Very Special Performance of Alegria's Theme Song:
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/mKvZJSrN-Bw >
o) One Hour Non-Stop Alegria!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/hggqE-8PQU4 >
o) The Best of the Alegria Press Conference
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/uCNDl-5r07k >
And follow Alegria on:
o) Facebook: facebook.com/Alegria
o) Twitter: @Cirque #Alegria
o) Instagram: cirquedusoleil #Alegria
* * * VOLTA RETURNS TO ACTION * * *
"We would like to sincerely thank you all for the messages of love and
support that you sent us from around the world over the last weeks,"
said Cirque du Soleil through its Facebook Page. "The VOLTA family has
decided that it was now time to step back on stage, confirming that we
will resume the representations of VOLTA in East Rutherford, New
Jersey, starting on the 20th of April at 8 PM. We can't wait to see
you again."
VOLTA returned to performances on Friday, April 20th in New Jersey,
offering a tribute to the aerialist who died last month on stage. It
was the first show since the March 17 accident that claimed the life
of Yann Arnaud, 38.
VOLTA began with a tribute to Arnaud, the 38-year old aerialist who
perished after falling about 20 feet to his death. The accident
happened March 17th during an aerial straps routine in Tampa. New
Jersey's tour was postponed in the wake of that death, and opened with
an on-stage speech honoring Arnaud, as the performers hugged each
other while surrounding a tribute wreath dedicated to his memory.
"Yann loved to perform," said an unidentified speaker at the start of
the show. "He performed in Paris, in Las Vegas, many cities around the
world. In our production of TOTEM and more recently in VOLTA and he
gave joy to many, many people. And I believe it is the only way to
bring honor to him by also doing what we love. To inspire dreams to
touch hearts, and share with you our entertainment. So I'm going to
ask for your love and support tonight to raise the roof with your
applause in celebration of Yann. On behalf of the VOLTA family, our
largest Cirque du Soleil family. I have the great honor to dedicate
this show to our Superman, our hero, our papa, Yann Arnaud. Yann, this
is for you!"
The show ended with a moment of silence in Arnaud's memory, as the
performers knelt around the memorial wreath.
Although a day after its big debut, VOLTA was again canceled, but this
was just for one show. The company says it chose to do away with a
two-show lineup at the Meadowlands on Sunday because performers
remained emotional after the death of one of their peers. Marie-Helene
Lagace, head of public relations for Cirque du Soleil in Montreal,
said that the company couldn't have known the performers' state of
mind until the show returned on Friday. "It's actually proven to be
more emotional than we anticipated," Legace said. "The conclusion
after that first show is that presenting two shows per night is too
soon for them. It's absolutely essential that they are in the right
state of mind before going on stage. All of the other shows are being
presented as scheduled."
The other shows did go on, but... not without a hiccup. On Friday, May
4th, a trampolinist missed her jump and slammed her head on a
perimeter bar during the show. "There were four men and two women. It
was the intermission, and they were building up for their finale," one
spectator said after the show. "The one girl jumped two stories onto
the trampoline, then went up -- and on her way back down went too far
and smacked her upper back and neck area on the perimeter bar." There
was a thump and a scream. "Then the other performers signaled to cut
the music, that there was an emergency. The paramedics came out. They
ended up walking her out on her own." And then the show resumed about
15 minutes later.
Hang in there VOLTA.
* * * 45 DEGREES IN FULL VIEW * * *
Cirque du Soleil's Special Events team has been in the spotlight quite
a bit this year, most recently for presenting the opening and closing
ceremonies for the Dubai World Cup (see the news section within), but
you'll find them in the news again for Helene Fischer's tour: On April
9th, Semmel Concerts and Helene Fischer were awarded for "Arena Live
Tour of the Year" at the German Live Entertainment Awards. Cirque du
Soleil Entertainment Group's 45 Degrees and 4U2C teams designed the
tour.
And that's not all. In addition to "DIVA" at Andorra la Vella and
"Juste une ptite nuite" (an Hommage to Les Colocs) - both presenting
this summer in Andorra and Quebec respectively, 45 Degrees also
recently announced that Cirque du Soleil will be performing in Monaco,
as 45 Degrees has been asked to create a unique performance at the
Monte-Carlo Sporting Summer Festival. "This original 75-minute
production will pay tribute to Monegasque history and culture through
the creative lens of Cirque du Soleil. Set in a fantasy world,
inspired by the glamour of the 1920's, the performance will carry the
audience on a journey filled with exciting and fantastic adventures in
search of love." From August 14 to 18th, Cirque du Soleil will be in
the Hall of Stars for 5 unique performances!
Price: 353.50 on August 14, 253.50 from August 15th to 18th per
person excluding drinks
Opening doors: 8:00 p.m.
Event type: Dinner Show
Dinner: at 8:30 p.m.
Dress code: Mandatory jacket
Additionally, MSC Cruises, who partnered with 45 DEGREES to offer
unique on-board entertainment experiences on board its newest ships,
highlighted SONOR, one of two shows available exclusively aboard MSC
Meraviglia. Check that out here: < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?
p=11497 >
Okay, so let's go!
/----------------------------------------------------\
| |
| Join us on the web at: |
| < www.cirquefascination.com > |
| |
| At CirqueCast: |
| < http://www.cirquecast.com/ > |
| |
| Realy Simple Syndication (RSS) Feed (News Only): |
| < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?feed=rss2 > |
| |
\----------------------------------------------------/
- 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
* "How Cirque du Soleil Turns Gymnasts Into Artists"
By: Dvora Meyers as featured in Deadspin Magazine
* "VOLTA: A TECHINCAL BOX OF WONDERS"
Part 2 of 2: Lighting & Sound
A Special Reprint from Lighting & Sound America
* "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 13 of 16: Dralion, Part 2 (2001-2003)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
o) Copyright & Disclaimer
=======================================================================
CIRQUE BUZZ -- NEWS, RUMOURS & SIGHTINGS
=======================================================================
***************************************************************
LA PRESSE -- General News & Highlights
***************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------------
45 DEGREES: Dubai World Cup blooms with festive spirit
{Apr.01.2018}
-------------------------------------------------------
Acrobats, fireworks and a stunning ceremony choreographed by the team
behind Cirque du Soleil brought the grandiose to the Dubai World Cup
this year. The opening and closing ceremonies at the show-stopping
event at the Meydan Racecourse saw 70 performers take to the stage to
put on a breathtaking performance.
The live action light and sound show saw 28 acrobats and 42 dancers
from over all over the world take part, wearing 70 hand-made costumes,
while performing on an 86-metre long moving stage that weighed more
than 170 tonnes.
Both ceremonies were produced by 45 Degrees, a Cirque du Soleil
company.
"We developed an entirely new concept for the performance based on the
theme Make the Desert Bloom," said Fernand Rainville, the creative and
show director at 45 Degrees. "The show was brimming with immersive
innovations designed for mass visibility, including the moving stage."
A laser and special effects show was projected onto the grandstand and
Meydan Hotel, even as flamethrowers enthralled the crowds, backed by a
pyrotechnic drone show, along with giant heliosphere balloons carrying
aerialists more than 40 metres in the air as they were illuminated by
10,000 confetti petals.
Yasmine Khalil, the president of the events and special projects
company, said: "We are honoured to have been selected to create and
produce the ceremonies at this prestigious event. It has been a great
privilege to work hand-in-hand with the organising committee of Dubai
World Cup, who each year have continued to set the bar higher."
FESTIVE ATMOSPHERE
While the entertainment had the cameras flashing, the festive
atmosphere at the Dubai World Cup was not limited to this alone.
Musical performances, stilt walkers, BMX riders and the fashion A-game
was in full display. "I come every year for the World Cup. I love the
races," said Liza Georgia, a tourist with bright blue hair, visiting
from Australia.
Whether people were at the event to watch the races, participate in
the Style Stakes competition, or simply there to watch the incredible
line-up of live entertainment, no one was left disappointed. The
entrance of the Meydan grandstand saw live performers including
acrobats, drummers, clowns and more. Children were kept entertained
with mimes running around and acting out stories. BMX riders dressed
up in horse costumes rode around the lobby area and bounced around the
back wheel of their bikes.
Inside the grandstand, a total of 118 horses and jockeys took to the
track, as crowds cheered for their favourite to win. As each horse
neared closer to the finish line, the crowds screamed in unison. "The
energy from the stands was contagious. Every time a horse would swoosh
past us, everyone would stand up and yell," said Hana Magdi, a young
woman watching from the stands.
The fashion was also one of the main forms of entertainment at the
event. "Everywhere you look, there is a fascinating hat or ensemble to
catch your eye" said Hiba Hani, a young Emirati enjoying the outlook
from the Apron Views.
Geraldine Asim-Ita, who came from Nigeria, enjoyed some of the perks
offered at Apron Views including neck massages, manicures and express
blow dries to keep her look fresh for the whole day. "I just want to
look different. I came from Nigeria specifically for the World Cup and
I'm here to enjoy it and get pampered," she said.
CHECK OUT THE POST ONLINE FOR PICTURES:
LINK /// < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=11460 >
{ SOURCE: Gulf News }
-------------------------------------------------------
Mukhtar Gusengadzhiev Jailed for 22 years, Sex Crimes
{Apr.03.2018}
-------------------------------------------------------
Mukhtar Gusengadzhiev, 53, also known as "Snake Man", was convicted of
abusing the six underage girls including a relative and the nine-year-
old daughter of a former girlfriend.
The Russian circus actor must also undergo compulsory "treatment" for
paedophilia, according to reports.
During a search of his flat, police found several videos featuring
child pornography and one of the victims told police that
Gusengadzhiev repeatedly undressed her and touched her intimate body
parts. Law enforcement sources also said that between 2012 and 2015 he
"performed violent sexual actions against underage children" in and
near Moscow.
Gusengadzhiev, from Moscow, insists he is innocent and says that he
was set up by jealous members of his family who wanted to take over
his apartment. He was supported by 1,500 female fans who signed a
petition claiming that he had been framed. "We think that the case was
fully made up
and we demand thorough investigation," said the
petition.
The contortionist lived in a desirable high-rise block of flats one
of Stalin's "seven sisters" skyscrapers in Moscow's exclusive
Kotelnicheskaya Embankment. He said a video, which formed a key part
of the evidence against him, was filmed by a nephew who wanted his
elite apartment.
An unnamed friend of Gusengadzhiev, said: "He is not guilty in any
part of the things he is being accused of. I am convinced that this is
all lies. Bottom line, there is no evidence that he is guilty, the
investigation was done with brutal mistakes."
The contortionist, a former Cirque du Soleil artist and leading member
of the Federation of Yoga of Russia, had been in police custody since
his arrest in September 2015.
"The investigators established that victims of those crimes came from
the families of his friends and relatives," said a statement by the
Russian Investigative Committee.
{ SOURCE: UK Daily Star }
-------------------------------------------------------
Ruby Lewis Will Star in New Marilyn Monroe Musical
{Apr.04.2018}
-------------------------------------------------------
While Bombshell, the fictional Marilyn Monroe musical from NBC's
Smash, inches toward the actual stage in a long-gestating development
process, another show exploring the life of the film icon will play
Las Vegas.
Marilyn! The New Musical will play the Paris Theater (in Las Vegas)
beginning May 23 before an official opening June 1. The show features
a book by director Tegan Summer and an original score by Gregory
Nabours, plus additional songs made famous by Monroe.
Ruby Lewis, who starred on Broadway in Cirque du Soleil's Paramour,
will take on the title role. The cast will also include Brittney
Bertier as Norma Jeane (depicted in the musical as Monroe's ever-
present rival alter ego), Frank Lawson as Charlie, Travis Cloer as
Milton Greene, Chris Fore as Bill Pursel, Randal Keith as Darryl F.
Znuck, Christopher Showerman as Joe DiMaggio, Matthew Tyler as Arthur
Miller, Lindsay Roginski as Jane Russell, Una Eggerts as Jayne
Mansfield, and Chanel Edwards-Frederick as Ella Fitzgerald. Kelley
Jackle will serve as the standby for Marilyn.
A rotation of celebrity guest performers will also appear in various
roles throughout the run.
The production team includes choreographer Ferly Prado, set designer
Matt Steinbrenner, and casting director Michael Donovan.
{ SOURCE: Playbill }
-------------------------------------------------------
Get Glimpse Into LOVE With "Magical Technical Tour"
{Apr.20.2018}
-------------------------------------------------------
After nearly nine million guests have enjoyed captivating performances
and show-stopping numbers, Cirque du Soleil has opened the doors to
The Beatles LOVE to the public for free giving Beatles and Cirque du
Soleil fans alike a rare inside look at the world's most celebrated
and revolutionary experience.
Beginning Friday, May 4, guests can experience LOVE's exclusive
Magical Technical Tour, a complimentary open house showcasing the
production's state-of-the-art technology, one-of-a-kind set pieces and
more, every Friday at 1 p.m. at the LOVE Theatre inside The Mirage
Hotel & Casino. Guests will be ushered into the best seats in the
house where they will sit back and enjoy an exceptional and one-of-a-
kind presentation. As part of the experience, attendees will delight
in a demonstration of the show's powerhouse opening number "Get Back"
removing artists from the equation to highlight the production's
immense technical capabilities. Guests will also hear the theatre's
epic sound system, which creates an authentic, concert-like experience
allowing fans to enjoy the GRAMMY Award-winning soundtrack unlike
anywhere else in the world.
The Magical Technical Tour is now every Friday from 1 p.m. to 1:30
p.m. Please note that technical demonstrations are subject to
cancellation. To confirm that day's activity, please call
702.352.0221.
Guests will receive an exclusive ticket offer, which may be redeemed
at the box office. All ages are welcome. Please arrive early. Due to
safety, late arrivals will not be allowed in. For more information,
please call 702-352-0040.
{ SOURCE: Broadway World }
-------------------------------------------------------
Cirque Brings Back Alegria, Changes Direction
{Apr.25.2018}
-------------------------------------------------------
It's been hailed as the quintessential Cirque du Soleil show and today
Cirque management said it was re-launching the emblematic Alegría "by
popular demand". A "first" for the company, a move which does not
impact new creations currently under development, we've been assured.
"This is special," Daniel Lamarre, CEO of Cirque du Soleil said. "This
does not stop us from having 12 projects being created right now."
"We've had so many requests over the years, from our fans, internally,
our employees, asking us to bring back this show," said Yasmine
Khalil, chief executive producer. "So we thought what better time to
do that then as it celebrates this important anniversary."
"Alegria," which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1995, remains
Cirque du Soleil's most watched song on YouTube.
The organization says it was a no-brainer to bring it back. "Honestly
there was a huge demand from fans and there were a lot of people
inside (the Cirque) who were as excited as the fans," said Daniel
Fortin, the newly appointed vice-president of creation at the Cirque
du Soleil. "So we said, Why not?'"
The biggest challenge is to respect the vision of the original
creators while taking into account the cultural changes that have
happened over the past 24 years, said Fortin. "It is a show that, for
me, was a big surprise. I didn't know we were able to do that kind of
show 25 years ago and I was impressed. This is where my respect for
that company came from. Since the narrative and the story of the story
is very today, there's no problem bringing it back. And we will be
able to see it through the lens of the Cirque of today, acrobatically,
(and in terms of) costumes, lighting. This is why we're bringing back
this masterpiece."
"It's probably the first show that most of our fans ever saw of Cirque
du Soleil," Khalil said. "It's the show that broke the barrier and
told people that this is a company with a creative vision, that treats
circus arts in a non-traditional way."
GILLES STE-CROIX, CONSULTANT
----------------------------
Gilles Ste-Croix, who was officially retired, was present at the
unveiling this morning. He will act as consultant on the new project,
assuring us that the idea of revisiting this show is not his, even if
he welcomes this decision. "It was a good vintage," he said, smirking.
How much does he want to change? "You cannot transform it too much
without losing things," Ste-Croix said. "But we will of course try to
go further."
"We're going to keep the concept as it is, we're just going to
modernize the show in terms of costumes, scenography and so that's the
creative challenge we have," said Cirque's President and CEO Daniel
Lamarre.
And what elements of the show would he want to hold on to? "The
humor," he said. "Acrobats can be replaced; we can find stronger
people. But the spirit of Alegría was special. At the time, we had
recruited Russian clown Slava Polunin [creator of Slava's Snowshow]
and his melancholy humor gave the show a beautiful color."
The Director, who will have the delicate task of respecting the
original and to update it, will be announced "in a few months". But
some of the creative team seems to have already been elected. Daniel
Ross has been appointed as Alegría's Director of Creation.
CHANGE OF DIRECTION
-------------------
The Cirque du Soleil also announced Wednesday that it has re-organized
its creation and production department. 45 Degrees, a division of the
Cirque dedicated to the creation of special events, has taken over the
Montreal-based circus's creation and production department. Jean-
François Bouchard, who was head of creation at the Cirque du Soleil,
recently left the company to join former Cirque head Guy Laliberté's
company Lune Rouge.
The new Cirque creation team is headed by Diane Quinn, a veteran
Cirque manager who will be chief creative officer. She will be working
with Fortin, who used to be executive creative director of 45 Degrees,
and Yasmine Khalil, who becomes chief executive production officer.
She was president of 45 Degrees, which created the Cirque's recent ice
show Crystal.
"We have so many shows that we had to gather (everyone) under one roof
and work together and now we're looking at adding some more people
because we're really busy," said Fortin. "It's fun because we have
different points of view. We have different ways of seeing things.
It's not just one direction. It's many directions."
The arrival of the 45 Degrees team running the creation department
will lead to a diversification of the types of things the Cirque
produces.
"We're trying to look at different ways of doing creation," said
Fortin. "We're doing Cirque yes, but immersive content. Different
kinds of shows. We want to do the kind of shows we did at 45. Like we
did a fountain show in France. We did a special tasting moment with
food. Like how do we create a dinner show for example? It starts with
the dinner. It's not only the show."
* * *
Alegría, with a cast of 53 artists and musicians, is bound on a
"limited tour" of about four years, mainly in North America, following
its run in Montreal. The show will feature some revamped costumes and
makeup, and will incorporate new technologies to keep the show
relevant.
The 25th Anniversary Tour begins April 18, 2019.
{ SOURCE: La Presse, Global News, Montreal Gazette }
-------------------------------------------------------
STONE, Hommage à Plamondon Album Coming Soon!
{May.02.2018}
-------------------------------------------------------
The soundtrack created for STONE, Cirque du Soleil's Hommage à
Plamondon, has been the subject of high praise since it was enjoyed by
the public at the Cogeco Amphitheater in Trois-Rivières last summer.
So, for the first time, an album featuring the songs from the tribute
show will be the subject of a music album release, available May 18th!
STONE, the album, will contain fifteen pieces of music as crafted by
musical director Jean-Phi Concalves for the show. On the album we'll
find: "Le Parc Belmont" by Martha Wainwright, "Monopolis" by Milk &
Bone, "Oxygène" by Betty Bonifassi, "Le monde est Stone" by Beyries,
"Lili voulait aller danser" by La Bronze, "Ma mère chantait toujours"
by Marie-Pierre Arthur, "L'île aux Mimosas" by Klô Pelgag, "Je danse
dans ma tête" by Marie-Mai, "Call-Girl" by Valérie Carpentier, "Tiens-
toé ben j'arrive!" by Catherine Major, "Le blues du businessman" by
Safia Nolin, "Les sans-papiers" by Marie-Josée Lord, "S.O.S. d'un
terrien en détresse" by Ariane Moffatt, "Le monde est fou" by
Gabrielle Shonk and "L'Hymne à la beauté du monde" by the entire show
team.
But it wasn't as simple as just placing the music on a soundtrack;
Concalves put in a lot of studio work to adapt the show's musical
pieces for an album. "It was necessary to adapt the music because
sometimes there were breaks or lengths required by the show in the
structure [of the music]. Additionally, I had to remix [the music]
completely [for the album] because the mixing done for a large
amphitheater is very different from one made for an album that will
be listened to at home or in a car."
"In the end, I [feel] that the album stands very well on its own,
detached from the visual of the show. Of course, it is a soundtrack so
people who have had the chance to see the show will [relive the
experience], but it will also be interesting for those who have not
seen it."
Although Conclaves is not convinced STONE is his best work among the
three shows presented at the Cogeco Amphitheater thus far, he is
convinced that this soundtrack deserves to be heard. "In the context
of shows, it's the one I went the furthest away on from musically
because we did not work from master tapes; we had new performers. The
end result definitely deserved to be on an album. For me, it was a
shame to lose this work after only twenty shows. I wanted it to
survive and it's a feeling that people at Cirque also shared."
This does not mean that Cirque will necessarily repeat the same
approach in the future. "It's always case by case," explains
Goncalves. "For example, with the Colocs, we work from original tapes,
which the process more complex because there are a lot of legalities
involved. Every year we wondered if we could release the music for
these shows, considering it as much from an artistic point of view
based on the rights that needed to be secured."
"For Stone, the context was different and it was more justified." That
involved the contribution of fourteen or fifteen performers and it's
certainly the most imposing collective work that has been done on the
side of music."
On behalf of the Trois-Rivières Events Corporation, General Manager
Steve Dubé was delighted with the news. "We are really happy. We've
exhibited three shows that have performed only 20 times each, now
there is one that will stay forever. This is excellent news."
"There was a demand from the public for [the music] from each show,"
Dubé said. "Each time things prevented such a release, but this time
when Jean-Phi Goncalves called us to see if we agreed, we did not
hesitate a second. Especially since he has done such an amazing job
every time. Having listened to two excerpts from the next show, I can
guarantee a fantastic summer. But in the case of Plamondon, the songs
have already lasted for decades and Jean-Phi gave them a very current
vibe that will allow them to survive for many decades more to come."
The album will be widely available in CD format at various music
stores across the country, and will also be found on all main digital
platforms. Additionally, a few hundred copies have been pressed on
Vinyl.
The album will be officially launched on May 18th.
{ SOURCE: Le Nouvelliste }
-------------------------------------------------------
Getting From Stage Left To Right (And Back Again)
{May.03.2018}
-------------------------------------------------------
Creativity is key for Cirque du Soleil as it transitions tent
performances of "Corteo" to large arenas. The old way of doing it
involved running underneath bleachers. That doesn't work in an arena,
so Cirque du Soleil commissioned the building of a machine last year
that solves the problem. The machine, called the Crossover, zooms
performers underneath the stage to get them in place on the other side
in less than 40 seconds.
Tour Publicist Max Batista says the audience is thinking, "Wait, this
person just crossed and is crossing again to the other side. How's
this possible? Do they have twins here?"
He likens the Crossover machine to a zipline, explaining the acrobats
tuck their costumes in, lay down on an inflatable mat and grab a rope.
It zips them to the other side of the stage in a very small space
under the stage. There is even a safety mechanism where if they don't
let go of the rope the machine will stop.
If 40 seconds isn't soon enough for the performer, he or she will
start pulling themselves until the rope kicks in. The rope goes both
ways and six performers at a time can ride it.
"Corteo" is a celebration of the life of a clown who imagines his
death and reconnects with all those he shared his life with. Artistic
Director Mark Shaub said it's not all about technology. "There's a lot
of humanity in the show and it expresses itself in interesting ways.
Certainly there are characters that you could meet in real life."
Automation is key to the show. Acrobats depend on Cirque's Arena
Rigging Specialist Robert Tita. He directs a local crew of 100 people
and inspects all of the trusses there are more than 1,000. "It's
like a puzzle. All those trusses come together like Legos and they are
put in place with pins rated 10,000-15,000 pounds," he says.
***************************************************************
Q&A -- Quick Chats & Press Interviews
***************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------------
How Elizabeth Williams became a Cirque acrobat
{Apr.20.2018}
-------------------------------------------------------
Once upon a time in New York City, a girl with a big dream walks into
Starbucks.
While waiting for her order, she notices a pull tab advert and reads:
"Private aerial classes with former Cirque du Soleil artist". Totally
intimidated but excited, she is calling the number.
The girl already knows that she is going to sneak out of her dance
school classes. She knows that the new chapter in her life starts
right here, right now. But what she does not know is that eventually
she will be performing difficult trapeze acts flying through the air
with a perfect grace.
Today Elizabeth Williams is a 27-year-old aerialist at Cirque du
Soleil and a charming woman smiling with her lips, her eyes and her
whole spirit. She is also that ambitious girl who fell in love with
Cirque aged 13 and has had a genuine talent in gymnastics from the age
of four. "I knew it was what I had to do with my life," says
Elizabeth. "There was more to the tumblers than the perfect ten'
qualities of a gymnast. They were artists. Dancers. Movers.
Characters."
I cannot argue with her. Once you watch one of the magnificent shows,
you realise: Cirque du Soleil is the circus worth running away with.
So the young gymnast promptly came to her first ballet class with her
"chin way too high", as she admits, laughing.
After years of hard work, Elizabeth was accepted to the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theatre study programme so that one day she could be
brave enough to call the right number and discover her passion for
heights. "The strength and coordination of a gymnast with lines and
precision of a dancer, aerial work is where I wanted, needed to be!"
exclaims Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's dreams came true when she decided to audition for
Cirque...
Being diversely skilled, she auditioned for Cirque in Las Vegas as a
generalist acrobat. First in the group, with a big pin-on number one,
Elizabeth successfully completed acrobatics, dancing and acting with
six stages. She, who never touched a trapeze in her life, was cast to
perform a Triple Trapeze act in the Varekai show.
"It felt like you could do anything after completing those
challenges," remembers Elizabeth. "Under pressure with the
scrutinising looks you just had to do it. Drop your fears and
inhibitions and do it." Cirque's auditioning motto "Expect the
unexpected" soon became an everyday reality for her magical yet
demanding.
Circus life can be both exciting and difficult but never boring...
"Circus has taken me all over the world. Such a beautiful and eye-
opening blessing," says Elizabeth. She took her first contract in
Singapore and has since been with tours in Brazil, Australia, Japan,
Russia and many other countries.
However, constant travel with the circus can be exhausting both
mentally and physically. The acrobat tells me about her extreme
homesickness. "I'm tired of missing things," sighs Elizabeth.
"Weddings, funerals, birthdays, holidays
It never gets easier to walk
away from my family at the airport terminal." She also admits that not
a day goes by when her body does not ache.
It comes as no surprise after Elizabeth described her intense training
at Cirque's headquarters in Montreal: "A lot of hours, bruised skin,
ripped hands and conditioning. But beyond this familiarity came the
vocal lessons and acting which definitely pushed my comfort zones."
She mentions her experiments with workout and dieting plans depending
on the strength and range of motion required.
Elizabeth prefers her role in the Totem show over Varekai where she
performed Triple Trapeze!
For Elizabeth, the hardest stunt was Triple Trapeze, a group act of
four female acrobats on one bar, due to almost unpredictable
conditions. She explains: "Change in humidity would cause the bar to
be slippery. One of the girls having a bad day would cause the ropes
to swing out of sync. Communication had to be subtle but very clear to
coordinate bodies in space and time."
This is probably why Elizabeth enjoyed her role in Totem show more
whereas her favourite Cirque shows to watch are legendary Quidam and
Alegria. The acrobat says that she is greatly motivated to improve her
technique because "it offers effortlessness, comfort and ease" while
performing under the big top.
Elizabeth remains an optimist who truly dedicates herself to her
passion...
"When you step into that big top tent, you dream," she smiles. "The
music fills your whole body, you are surrounded by actors, impeccable
lighting and then the crazy acrobatics start."
Music inspires Elizabeth the most and she cannot survive a day without
her small iPod, "ideal for someone hanging and twisting upside down",
as she laughs.
Circus becomes home away from home for the acrobats living like a one
big family...
Her YouTube channel is filled with videos of Cirque's team singing and
dancing backstage. Elizabeth thinks that it is crucial to have some
fun while working under pressure. "Imagine 40 circus performers in one
tent many hours a day. If you care to observe, you begin to know your
workmates almost better than family," she says.
Some of them actually became a family: last year Elizabeth got married
to Guilhem Cauchois, a specialist Cirque acrobat. "So, we fell in love
on top of the world!" exclaims Elizabeth telling about their vacation
in Tibet.
Now both performers are taking separate contracts, but not giving up
on their dynamic relationships. Elizabeth's husband is joining her on
tour with Amaluna in South America, although keeping his own Duo Fixed
Trapeze act alive. "We are willing to sacrifice and bend our careers
but certainly not our relationship," says Elizabeth confidently.
The show must go on...
Elizabeth is constantly looking for self-improvement and currently
performing her new own specialty Aerial Straps act in Amaluna.
She also intends to continue with choreographing and sharing her
exceptional skills with others. "Beyond circus and the near future
where I plan to push and use my body while I still can, I'm laying the
foundation to transfer to the creative side of performing arts,"
reveals Elizabeth. "It's an equal passion of mine to help shape
another artist not just my own art."
Follow for more on Elizabeth's Instagram: elizabethannwilliams
{ SOURCE: Julia Sharkova.com }
-------------------------------------------------------
Crystal Brings Skater Shawn Sawyer Full Circle
{Apr.27.2018}
-------------------------------------------------------
Growing up in Canada, Shawn Sawyer said it was practically in his
blood to put on a pair of skates as a child.
Sawyer liked skating fast and skating alongside his brother on the
hockey team their father coached, but quickly realized that scoring
goals and being part of a team didn't thrill him.
Knowing how much Sawyer liked coming to the ice rink, Sawyer's dad
suggested he give figure skating a shot.
"Being born in a very small, East Coast province, New Brunswick, I
didn't even think that was an option," he said. "I didn't think that
boys figure skated. I literally thought boys did hockey, girls did
figure skating. Obviously I was very content to learn that it doesn't
matter what gender you are, you can just do the sport that you want to
do."
Sawyer has been skating ever since, and represented Team Canada in the
2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. As a professional skater, he has
toured with "Stars on Ice" and "Art on Ice."
The next phase of his career finds him skating in "Crystal," the first
show from company Cirque du Soleil to feature the element of ice.
The show follows Crystal, a young woman with her head in the clouds
who feels out of sync with the world around her and dreams of
something more.
After falling through a frozen pond, Crystal is transported to "an
underwater world of her own imagination," as per a news release, where
she encounters her reflection, an alter ego of sorts, who shows her a
distorted version of her life and tries to show Crystal, a writer,
just how creative she is.
Sawyer said Cirque had been tossing the idea of an ice show around for
years but that the 33-year-old company wanted to do their research and
make sure things were done properly before attempting something like
"Crystal."
Sawyer heard about the show through fellow skater (and four-time world
champion) Kurt Browning, who worked as the skating performances senior
designer on "Crystal."
Browning wasn't allowed to talk about the show initially, but he did
drop a few hints for Sawyer: stay in shape, stay current and be
available on certain dates for workshops in Montreal.
"It's a little bit of a dream come true," Sawyer said about working
with Cirque. "When a friend makes it happen for you, it's even more
special because there's a certain bond and a relationship there to
backup a typical job."
Over the course of his figure skating career, Sawyer has built up a
repertoire of jumps and is known for his flexibility and artistry.
Even still, without a background in Cirque-like acrobatic elements
("There wasn't really much time for me on the side to go to circus
school," Sawyer said), he knew going into rehearsals that he had a lot
to learn.
"The mentality I had when I started working on the creation of
Crystal' is to basically think that I'm going to show 10 percent of
what I know and the next 90 percent is something that I was going to
learn either from the choreographers, from the creators or just from
my peers that are also performing here," he said.
Sawyer doesn't have a specific role in "Crystal," but he's on the ice
for the majority of the show, sharing the rink with the other 40
artists.
He said the cast and crew worked hard to fill the ice as much as they
could to give the audience the chance to see something no matter where
they look.
"They can even just close their eyes and listen to the music," Sawyer
said. "There's something for everybody."
Sawyer is the first to admit that his performance in "Crystal" brings
him right back to what he worked to avoid as a young skater hockey
skates and team sports.
But he thinks his younger self would be more than thrilled to see
where he's ended up.
"It really has come full circle of me starting skating with hockey
skates and not really being a team player and now being on a Cirque du
Soleil show sometimes wearing hockey skates and being so proud to be
part of this team," he said. "I would definitely be really proud of
where I am now as a performer and as a person."
{ SOURCE: The Spokesman-Review }
-------------------------------------------------------
All in a Day's Massage Work at Cirque du Soleil
{May.04.2018}
-------------------------------------------------------
At Cirque du Soleil, Acrobats, Contortionists, and Clowns are all in a
day's massage work. Their feats of strength, flexibility and
athleticism seem to defy the boundaries of what the human body can do.
Not surprisingly, the level of their performances translates into a
need for massage therapy. MASSAGE Magazine spoke with massage
therapist Chris Melmoth, LMT, BCTMB, NREMT, who is employed at Cirque
du Soleil in Las Vegas, Nevada, who shares what it's like to work on
these incredible athletes and artists.
Q. Chris, can you tell us about your massage background?
In 2003, I graduated from the Shiatsu Massage School of California as
a Shiatsu-Anma specialist and instructor. I moved to Las Vegas shortly
after. During my first five years in Vegas, I worked various day and
resort spa jobs. In 2005, I began teaching massage therapy and CPR. In
2008, I became the department chair for the massage therapy program at
the former Las Vegas College and began working for Cirque du Soleil.
In 2010, I left the school to focus my energy primarily on Cirque.
Today, I continue to spend most of my time working for Cirque du
Soleil, but also have my own massage clinic set up inside a local
gymnastics school where I offer a variety of private bodywork sessions
and classes, and teach my own specialized form of shiatsu therapy
called Chi Bodywork. I also am a nationally certified EMT, and provide
CPR training to other health care professionals.
Q. How did you get involved with Cirque?
I had been enamored by Cirque du Soleil ever since I saw Alegría in
Santa Monica, California in 1994. As a massage therapist just starting
out, I moved to Las Vegas specifically to work with various types of
performing artists, but after seeing the shows Kà and Delirium, I knew
that I absolutely had to work for this company. A couple of years
after moving to Las Vegas, one of Cirque's artistic directors was
referred to me for massage therapy. After working on her a few times,
she asked me if I wanted to "audition" for the new Criss Angel Believe
show they were opening. Of course I did, and was hired to work on at
that show twice a week. Soon after, I was put on the schedule for Kà,
Zumanity, and Mystère as well. Over the years, I've also worked on the
shows O, The Beatles Love, Viva Elvis, Michael Jackson: One and
Zarkana.
Q. What is it like working with Cirque?
The Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas are called the resident shows,
as opposed to the touring shows that travel around the world. There
currently are seven resident shows in Las Vegas. At one point or
another, I have been on the permanent schedule for all of them. For
the past 10 years, I've worked an average of five nights [for] 20
hours per week. Each show has a treatment cliniccalled Performance
Medicine, or P-Medset up back stage. Each show's P-Med is run by two
or three athletic trainers, also called athletic therapists, and each
employs one to three massage therapists, pilates instructors and
personal trainers. Usually, there are three hi-lo treatment tables set
up in the clinic, one for use by the massage therapist. Most of the
shows have around 80 performers who perform 10 shows per week (two
shows per night). Each artist is offered two 20-minute massage
treatments per week. When I get to work each day, depending on the
length of the shift, I have a list of between seven to 15 artists
scheduled to see me. I begin working a few hours before the first show
starts and continue working up until the beginning of the second show.
My clientele at Cirque includes acrobats, aerialists, martial artists,
baton twirlers, jugglers, hula-hoopers, straps and silks artists,
tramp and teeterboard artists, dancers and musicians, high-divers,
synchronized swimmers, contortionists, trapeze artists, magicians,
comedic actors
the list goes on and on.
Q. What else do you do?
I also coordinate the massage therapy team for the annual Run Away
with Cirque du Soleil event, which is a charity 5K fun-run that takes
place at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. There's live Cirque
entertainment, circus apparatuses for kids to experience, arts and
crafts, and many of the artists are present there in costume to take
pictures with the participants.] I usually bring six to 10 massage
therapists that provide post-event sports massage therapy to the
runners. All proceeds support the Springs Preserve and Cirque du
Soleil foundations. Because of my affiliation with various massage
schools in the area, I occasionally train student massage therapists
to do the type of work I do at Cirque. I bring groups of students back
stage to work on the artists and staff. We call these events "massage-
a-thons." We set up 10 to 20 treatment tables in the show's training
room and provide 20-minute sessions to all employees. The students are
carefully monitored by myself, other instructors, and by the P-Med
staff. I do this about once a year, or whenever I can find massage
schools that are interested. It's a rare educational opportunity for
the students to work on such unique physiques, the artists always have
a fun time, and management loves it because everybody gets taken care
of. After the event, the students are usually given seats to see the
show. I truly enjoy working for Cirque. The best parts are the
positive working environment, the ability to truly use my soft tissue
skills, and that there is always something new to learn from
colleagues that I work with regularly.
Q. What are some of the most common issues you treat?
I can get anything from "I slept wrong last night" to "I fell in the
net wrong last night." The simple fact that they do 10 shows per week,
all at optimal performance levels, combined with demanding daily
trainings, ends up keeping them on my table and keeping me very busy.
But I'd say about half of the work I do is related to chronic tension
patterns relative to the job that the artists do every night. So, same
low-back or neck pain complaints that other massage therapists get,
but mine are from hanging upside down in a harness all week, swinging
from the right arm every night, or continually extending the back into
unnatural positions. The other half of my work is related to
rehabilitation from an injury or surgery. I work in collaboration with
the athletic trainers to determine the correct treatment approach for
an artist needing rehab services.
Q. What are your most commonly used techniques?
I deal with a wide variety of issues occurring in all areas of the
body, so it helps to be familiar with the unique body types we have in
the circus, as well as with what each artist does in the show in order
to treat [them] properly. I try to see each show regularly just to
stay aware of the extremely high caliber of athleticism I am dealing
with. My assessment and soft tissue skills must be on point. I have to
be able to very quickly assess each situation and plan the treatment.
The main techniques I use are a combination of myofascial and
neuromuscular approaches, with active, passive and positional release
techniques, and I regularly incorporate isometric contractions into
each session. I also add in cupping massage and instrument-assisted
soft tissue manipulation, whenever appropriate.
Q. Why is it important for Cirque to offer massage therapy to its
artists?
Most of the artists are career athletes that must be in top physical
and mental condition in order to do their jobs. Massage therapy has
proven to be an integral part of their weekly maintenance. Massage
therapists at Cirque not only provide all of the soothing, stimulating
and relaxing massage that everybody loves, but they also provide much
of the clinical soft tissue work that is a standard part of
biomechanical rehabilitation. In essence, massage therapy isn't just a
luxury for them; it's a necessity.
Q. How has working with Cirque artists impacted your own massage
abilities?
Working for Cirque has taught me to establish fast and accurate
assessments and effective techniques. Since I usually have only 20
minutes with each artist, I need to quickly assess the indications and
contraindications, any relevance of referring out, and the most
effective and efficient treatment approach. It has given me a wider
understanding of kinesiology, anatomy and physiology, and the ability
to communicate with other healthcare professionals effectively. I have
learned many facets of sports medicine, such as how to assess and
treat common sports injuries and basic athletic taping. I have also
learned different aspects of injury and surgery rehabilitation and
when the use of electric modalities, such as electric stimulation and
ultrasound, are appropriate. Also, since our artists come from all
over the world, there sometimes is a language barrier that can make
communication difficult. So, I have had to get creative with my
nonverbal skills. For example, one of the most common manual
techniques that I use is active movement combined with compressionbut
without being able to communicate the active movement that I need them
to do, I have been forced to discover passive and positional movements
that are just as effective.
Q. What advice would you give massage therapists who may be interested
in working for Cirque?
You must enjoy working between the hours of 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. You need
to be able to perform deep tissue sports massage therapy for three to
four hours straight on sometimes very large, muscular athletes. It
helps to have a sufficient understanding of kinesiology, anatomy and
physiology, and to be able to communicate with other health care
professionals effectively. I recommend perfecting your assessment and
soft tissue skills and getting proficient in myofascial and
neuromuscular work and active, passive and positional release
techniques, and being able to incorporate isometric contractions into
your sessions. I know its taboo these days to use the word "fix" in
massage therapy, but the reality is that if you aren't able to "fix"
them, they are not going to keep signing up with you, so it's
important to be able to focus intently on the artist in front of you
and give your all.
{ SOURCE: Massage Magazine }
=======================================================================
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
------------------------------------
Alegria-25th Anniversary:
Montreal, QC -- Apr 18, 2019 to Jul 21, 2019
Gatineau, QC -- Jul 31, 2019 to Sep 1, 2019
Toronto, ON -- Sep 12, 2019 to Dec 1, 2019
Amaluna:
Cordoba, AR -- Apr 26, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Santiago, CL -- May 31, 2018 to Jun 22, 2018
Lima, PE -- Jul 22, 2018 to Aug 12, 2018
Quito, EC -- Sep 6, 2018 to Sep 16, 2018
Bogota, CO -- TBA
Buenos Aires, AR -- TBA
Koozå:
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:
Washington, DC -- Apr 12, 2018 to Jun 17, 2018
Boston, MA -- Jun 27, 2018 to Aug 12, 2018
Guadalajara, MX -- Aug 30, 2018 to Sep 16, 2018
Monterrey, MX -- Oct 4, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018
Mexico City, MX -- Nov 8, 2018 to Dec 23, 2018
Totem:
Barcelona, ES -- Mar 23, 2018 to May 20, 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
Vienna, AT -- Mar 9, 2019 to Apr 7, 2019
VOLTA:
East Rutherford, NJ -- Apr 19, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Uniondale, NY -- May 17, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018
Oaks, PA -- Jul 12, 2018 to Aug 26, 2018
Seattle, WA -- Sep 14, 2018 to Nov 4, 2018
San Francisco, CA -- Nov 15, 2018 to Jan 13, 2019
San Jose, CA -- Jan 30, 2019 to Mar 17, 2019
------------------------------------
ARENA - In Stadium-Like Venues
------------------------------------
TORUK - The First Flight:
Singapore -- May 24, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018
Bangkok, TH -- Jun 14, 2018 to Jun 24, 2018
Rotterdam, NL -- Oct 11, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018
Oberhausen, DE -- Oct 17, 2018 to Oct 21, 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 to Feb 10, 2019
Milan, IT -- Feb 14, 2019 to Feb 19, 2019
Antwerp, BE -- Mar 14, 2019 to Mar 17, 2018
Munich, DE -- Jun 5, 2019 to Jun 9, 2019
OVO:
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:
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:
Spokane, WA -- May 2, 2018 to May 6, 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
London, ON -- Jun 14, 2018 to Jun 17, 2018
Hamilton, ON -- Jun 20, 2018 to Jun 24, 2018
Youngstown, OH -- Jun 27, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018
Baltimore, MD -- Jul 5, 2018 to Jul 8, 2018
Estero, FL -- Jul 12, 2018 to Jul 15, 2018
Sunrise, FL -- Jul 18, 2018 to Jul 29, 2018
Orlando, FL -- Aug 1, 2018 to Aug 5, 2018
Greenville, SC -- Aug 8, 2018 to Aug 12, 2018
Raleigh, NC -- Aug 15, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018
Greensboro, NC -- Aug 22, 2018 to Aug 26, 2018
Hershey, PA -- Aug 29, 2018 to Sep 2, 2018
Sioux Falls, SD -- Sep 20, 2018 to Sep 23, 2018
Grand Forks, ND -- Sep 26, 2018 to Sep 30, 2018
Winnipeg, MB -- Oct 3, 2018 to Oct 7, 2018
Green Bay, WI -- Oct 11, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018
Des Moines, IA -- Oct 17, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018
Wichita, KS -- Oct 24, 2018 to Oct 28, 2018
Oklahoma City, OK -- Oct 31, 2018 to Nov 4, 2018
Tulsa, OK -- Nov 7, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018
Cincinnati, OH -- Dec 27, 2018 to Dec 30, 2018
CORTEO:
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
Bridgeport, CT -- Jul 18, 2018 to Jul 22, 2018
Nashville, TN -- Jul 26, 2018 to Jul 29, 2018
Jacksonville, FL -- Aug 1, 2018 to Aug 5, 2018
Charlotte, NC -- Aug 8, 2018 to Aug 12, 2018
Louisville, KY -- Aug 15, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018
Indianapolis, IN -- Aug 22, 2018 to Aug 26, 2018
Fresno, CA -- Sep 20, 2018 to Sep 23, 2018
West Valley City, UT -- Sep 27, 2018 to Sep 30, 2018
Victoria, BC -- Oct 4, 2018 to Oct 7, 2018
Vancouver, BC -- Oct 10, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018
Kelowna, BC -- Oct 17, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018
Kamloops, BC -- Oct 24, 2018 to Oct 28, 2018
Lethbridge, AB -- Oct 31, 2018 to Nov 4, 2018
Minneapolis, MN -- Nov 8, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018
Cleveland, OH -- Nov 15, 2018 to Nov 18, 2018
Quebec City, QC -- Dec 6, 2018 to Dec 9, 2018
Toronto, ON -- Dec 12, 2018 to Dec 16, 2018
Montreal, QC -- Dec 19, 2018 to Dec 30, 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 Mon, Dec 31, 2018 | 4:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Single Show Dates (7:00pm Only):
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, 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, 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 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
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
---------------------------------------------------
*) CIRQUE IT OUT
Hosted by Gold & Silver Medalist 2016 Olympics - Artistic Gymnastics,
Winner of 'Dancing With the Stars' Season 23, NY Times Best Seller
- Laurie Hernandez. Tune in and follow along with us every week as
we go through different workouts with Cirque du Soleil athletes and
their coaches.
o) EPISODE 4 - Quick Gym Workouts with LUZIA Artists {Apr.04}
In Episode #4 of our Fitness Series, CIRQUE IT OUT, learn how to
work on your leg lifts and chin-ups the Cirque Way with 2 LUZIA
artists: Kelly McDonald - Adagio Flyer, and Shelli Epstein -
Running Woman & Swing Flyer.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/jBjKbBjm18c >
o) EPISODE 5 - Full Body Gym Workout with Wayne Skivington {Apr.11}
In Episode #5 of our Fitness Series, CIRQUE IT OUT, follow a
Full Body Workout with Zumanity Hand to Hand Artist, Wayne
Skivington and Performance Conditioning Specialist Mat Miller.
Looking for a specific exercise?
o) 1:45: High knees
o) 1:58: Butt kickers
o) 2:13: Jumping jacks
o) 2:33: Air squats
o) 3:00: Twisting heel touch
o) 3:46: Front Lunges
o) 5:10: Turkish get up
o) 7:10: Front squats
o) 8:08: L-Sit pull ups
o) 9:23: Dumbbell snatch
o) 10:06: Dumbbell overhead walking lunge
o) 10:47: Dumbbell bent row
o) 12:03: Burpees
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/bR-m5UyPRW0 >
o) EPISODE 6 - Suspension Training & Conditioning Workout {Apr.18}
In Episode #6 of our Fitness Series, CIRQUE IT OUT, follow a
Full Body Suspension Training and Conditioning workout with
The Beatles LOVE Aerial Rope Artist, Alberto Del Campo and
Performance Conditioning Specialist Mat Miller.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/JnsW9U1FY0k >
*) 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 8 {Apr.09}
1.Marie-Andrée Foisy - Senior Producer, Manager Content
Creation and Production
2.Amelie Ouellette-Robitaille - Senior Manager Public
Relations & Social Media Touring Shows
3.Shaun Gregory Corteo Artist
4.Odka Bayambadorj KOOZA Artist
5.Ugo Laffolay LUZIA Artist
6.Yves Sheriff Talent Scout
7.Alexander Grol OVO Artist
8.Martin Barreau CRYSTAL Artist
9.Florencia Aracama Sep7imo Dia Artist
10.Frederique Gagnier Public Relations Manager
11.Yvonne Tousek-Renne Talent Scout
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/M22gKgfmbvk >
o) EPISODE 9 {Apr.16}
1) Janel Santos Digital Media Manager Resident Shows
2) Jamie Helmick Director of Digital Strategy Resident Shows
3) David Resnick - Corteo Artist
4) Anik Lefrançois Communications Advisor
5) Emma Stones CRYSTAL Artist
6) Manuel Martin Gonzalez The Beatles LOVE Artist
7) Sarah Davison Head of Casting and Artistic Advisor Resident Shows
8) Oyun-Erdene Senge TOTEM Artist
9) Pierre Parisien Senior artistic Director Resident Shows
10) Sonseeahray "Yoda" Jones Michael Jackson ONE Artist
11) Toto Castiñeiras Sep7imo Dia
12) Misha Usov TOTEM Artist
13) Kit Chatham KURIOS Musician
*) DUELING MASTERS
Russian Standard & Cirque du Soleil have teamed up on common
ground, showcasing the skills required to be the world's
fastest! Who will win? The Bartender or the Juggler?
o) EPISODE 5: Football Freestyler, Part 1 {Apr.23}
< https://youtu.be/YAvVR7DvhL8 >
o) EPISODE 6: Football Freestyler, Part 2 {May.04}
< https://youtu.be/0Biszkc9WLM >
*) BEHIND THE CORTEO REMOUNT
Corteo first premiered in Montreal in 2005 and has visited more
than 60 cities in 19 different countries as a Big Top show before
transforming into an arena show in 2018.
o) EPISODE 2: Behind the Captivating Characters {Apr.06}
In the remount process, from the Big tent to the arena, many
of the artists are back, while others are excited to be
joining the show for the first time!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/M3nk5WEi9v8 >
*) MUSIC VIDEO w/LYRICS
o) KÀ - "Koudamaré" {Apr.10}
Koudamaré souta djé lou
Koura si kando ma you
Koudamaré souta djé lou
Sounta dju ré mayou ra dou
Koura si ki sanda nou
Sounta dju ré mayou ra dou
Si mia kou djé
Mika ra doujko vei
Yémazour douba mayou
Tsorié ma
Koudajou mi yé rez do
Si mia kou djé
Mikara si douzko rei
Koumia do rama rio lou
Doubako
Doubako mi dji rei de lou
Koudamaré souta djé lou
Koura si kando ma you
Koudamaré souta djé lou
Sounta dju ré mayou ra dou
Koura si ki sanda nou
Sounta dju ré mayou ra dou
Si mia kou djé
Mika ra doujko vei
Yémazour douba mayou
Tsorié ma
Doukajou mi yé rez do
Si mia kou djé
Mikara si douzko rei
Koumia do rama rio lou
Doubako
Doubako mi dji rei de lou
Si ta soumia kou djé si takara
So kando mi
A kando to moniéréz dou a simo rei
Si mi kanda tou réi
Si mi gania
A soumanti a kando
Kando erez dou a si dou réi
Koudamaré
Si mia kou djé
Mika ra doujko vei
Yémazour douba mayou
Tsorié ma
Doukajou mi yé rez do
Si mia kou djé
Mikara si douzko rei
Koumia do rama rio lou
Doubako
Dji rei de lou
Dju da ma koudjé
Koudamaré souta djé lou
Koura si kan do ma you ra si
Dju da ma
Koudamaré
Koudamaré
Koudamaré
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/Z8McyHEqpXc >
o) «O» - "Mer Noire" {Apr.17}
Aaaahh
E yeka sé-é kronia sve gia
ka ne ka ze ku na
E yeka sé-é kronia sve gia
chia ka ko lé
(6x)
Es nia sue korya ku
Émeyanij maso ye vo
snové nya
te tra cha
meso maï
soyé do sekro nia sve
cho so nyo we skunya yode
seku ya
se ko lia ku
ve ne ya rij
nazvé gra ko
E yeka sé-é kronia sve gia
ka ne ka ze ku na
E yeka sé-é kronia sve gia
chia ka ko lé
(2x)
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/1bp3IKQ4pf4 >
o) Kooza - "Kooza Dance" {Apr.24}
Verse 1
Crooner gal
You want to spend some time with me, boy.
But I'm not coming home till three, boy.
Cause I, I, I,
Wanna dance the KOOZA
The perfect way to start the revels
For dishy dames and handsome devils!
Yes, I, I, I,
Wanna dance the KOOZA
Cause it's
Marvelous!
Bizarre-velous!
Celestial!
And bestial!
Spectacular!
Aphrodisiac-ular!
Dust off your shoes,
And lose your blues!
Tonight we choose
The KOOZA!
Verse 2
Crooner gal
So dump your date and dance beside me
Come on, don't knock me till you've tried me
Cause I, I, I,
I'll make you dance the KOOZA
Can't beat me even if you fought me
Cause right there is the guy that taught me
Crooner guy
And I...
(Ai yay yay!)
Wanna dance the KOOZA!
Crooner gal
Cause we're
Marvelous!
Bizarre-velous!
Superstar-velous!
Oo-la-la-velous!
Crooner guy
Celestial!
And bestial!
Spectacular!
Aphrodisiac-ular!
Crooner gal
So dust off your shoes
Let's lose your bloes!
Tonight we choose...
Tonight we choose...
Tonight we choose the KOOZA!
Yes, the KOOZA!
Dance the KOOZA!
Dance the...
KOOZA!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/ySioBrWISmQ >
---------------------------------------------------
VIDEOS: Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds
---------------------------------------------------
*) 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 2 Interview with Alexey Goloborodko
March 25, 2018
Meet Alexey Goloborodko - possibly the most flexible man
in the world! Alexey is currently performing in Cirque du
Soleil's Luzia, where he wows the audience every night
thanks to his amazing contortion skills. Did you know
Alexey practices a specific type of contortion that
consists of different elements from other disciplines?
Watch our mini interview episode to find out more about
Alexey and his contortion skills!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/Ok4-0-mbTNg >
o) SEASON 2 EPISODE 3 - CirqueCast at Crystal!
May 9, 2018
On this episode of CirqueCast, we explore the world of
Crystal, Cirque du Soleil's newest arena production, which
is performed entirely on ice. Watch to learn more about the
show from Crystal's publicist, Julie Desmairas, and don't
miss our exclusive interview with Crystal acrobat Emma
Stones.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/TpJSh8cEWrE >
*) OTHER VIDEOS
o) THE WORLD OF... MJ ONE {Apr.20}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/9vc9O3Da7O4 >
o) Cirque Celebrates Partnership with Golden Knights {Apr.26}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/JobUwce4aMw >
o) Making Of Cirque & Golden Knights Collaboration {Apr.28}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/qi55gfktmUQ >
o) Golden Knights Perform for Cirque {May.02}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/_2gTKP9ehw4 >
=======================================================================
FASCINATION! FEATURES
=======================================================================
o) "How Cirque du Soleil Turns Gymnasts Into Artists"
By: Dvora Meyers as featured in Deadspin Magazine
o) VOLTA: "A TECHINCAL BOX OF WONDERS"
Part 2 of 2: Lighting & Sound
A Special Reprint from Lighting & Sound America
o) "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 13 of 16: Dralion, Part 2 (2001-2003)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
"How Cirque du Soleil Turns Gymnasts Into Artists"
By: Dvora Meyers as featured in Deadspin Magazine
------------------------------------------------------------
Even a casual viewer of Olympic gymnastics knows that the gymnasts
they watch are young. It's the one thing that everyone knows about
gymnasts, besides their being good at gymnasticsthey tend to peak in
their teens, and then leave the sport. This has been one of the main
stories of the sport since Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci became
household names in the 1970s. Once they tumble off-screen, they're
gone, and new miracle teenagers take their place.
Except that they're not gone, of course. Of all the questions I've
been asked during my years of writing about gymnastics, Where do they
go is among the most frequent. What happens to them next?
I typically start my answer with the boring, factual stuffthat
actually some elite gymnasts continue into their 20s and keep winning
medals, that there's also NCAA gymnastics, which offers female
gymnasts another four years of the sport, albeit at a different level
and in a different context.
But even an elite career that extends beyond the teenage years will
probably end by the early or mid 20s, which is also about as far
chronologically as a college gymnastics career can take you. And then
what happens? The vast majority of collegiate athletes never move onto
the pros, of course, but basketball, football, baseball, and hockey
players at least have professional leagues to dream about. Gymnasts
don't even have that, and only a handful of the competitions available
for elite gymnasts even offer a cash prize for top finishers. The big
bucks are reserved for Olympic gold medalists, and those come through
endorsement contracts and other marketing opportunities. But if going
pro isn't an option per se, there are still a few career paths
available for the acrobatically gifted.
Many former gymnasts make their living doing stunts for movies and TV;
one of the most successful of that cohort is the aptly named Heidi
Moneymaker, a former UCLA Bruin who was a member of their first
national championship team in 1997. Others former gymnasts have found
success in NBC's American Ninja Warrior franchise; former Towson
University gymnast Kacy Catanzaro became a Ninja iconit's a real
thingafter she became the first woman to complete a city finals
course on the show. Former Australian Olympian and Oregon State star
Olivia Vivian has also pursued the Ninja Warrior path. Catanzaro
recently announced that she was joining WWE, which is another
potential career route. But if you're a former elite gymnast who wants
to do gymnastics for a living for as long as possible, your best bet
is joining the circus.
Or, more specifically, joining Cirque du Soleil. The Montreal-based
circus arts company recruits heavily from the ranks of gymnasts, and
will have a recruiter in St. Louis this weekend for the 2018 NCAA
gymnastics championships, just as they do at most major gymnastics
events. According to Cirque, about 35 percent their 1,400 performers
come from sports disciplines, including competitive gymnastics.
That Cirque recruits former gymnasts makes sense, given that circus
arts require many of the same acrobatic abilities that gymnasts spent
many years honing. But gymnasts can't just flip off the mat and onto
the trapeze, and the difficulty of that transition reflects the
difference between what gymnasts do and what Cirque du Soleil is.
Gymnastics, despite its judging and artistic pretensions, is a sport.
Cirque, for all the use it makes of those tools, is something
altogether different.
* * *
The first thing that Cirque du Soleil wants you to know is that the
gymnasts, once they've joined the company, are artists. I noticed this
from my first conversation with Stacy Clark, the casting director for
Cirque du Soleil. I'd say "athlete" or "gymnast" in my question. She
would, politely but very intentionally, say "artist" in her response.
We were eating lunch at a cafe in Montreal, about a 10-minute walk
from the Olympic stadium where the 2017 world championships were
underway. That the meet was being hosted in Cirque's home city was
convenient but by no means the only reason Clark was there. She
attends many competitions and events every year. We first met at the
2015 world championships in Glasgow, Scotland, where she was doing the
same thing she was doing in Montrealscouting gymnastics talent to
funnel into Cirque shows.
Clark's not-so-subtle language shiftfrom athlete to artist
underscores what Clark is looking for when she watches a gymnast. Most
of the gymnasts competing at a world championship have the requisite
acrobatic skills to perform in Cirque du Soleil shows and the talent
to pick up new elements as needed. What Clark and her team are looking
for are the gymnastics who also demonstrate artistic potential in
their performance.
"You quite quickly start making that differentiation once you start,"
Yvonne Tousek-Renne recalled. "Because as soon you walk through the
door in headquarters, you're not referred to as a gymnast anymore."
Tousek-Renne, a two time Olympian from Canada in 1996 and 2000,
performed with Cirque for 11 years after her NCAA career ended in
2004. Now she works as an acrobatic casting advisor for the company.
"I think that actually helps make that shift in mentality," she said
of the vocabulary shift for the newly initiated. "That's one of the
things that is quite notable when you first walk in the door.
Everyone's an artist."
Of course, not everyone Cirque recruits is actually an artist when
they walk in the door. But those who watched her elite gymnastics
career in the mid to late 90s know that Tousek-Renne, at least,
inarguably was. She was also clearly comfortable with Cirque-style
weirdness, and attracted a cult for floor routines that were bizarre
in the most delightful ways.
Kristen Maloney, on the other hand, didn't exhibit the same artistic
chops during her elite career. A former two-time U.S. national
champion and 2000 Olympic team bronze medalist, Maloney was known for
her incredible athleticism and physical toughness during her elite
career, but not her artistic expressiveness. But five years at UCLA
under the tutelage of head coach Valorie Kondos-Field, a former
professional ballerina, help turn the ace trickster into a polished
and engaging performer. Kondos-Field is the choreographer of the human
shows at San Diego's Sea World, and Maloney, along with Tousek-Renne,
also performed in those during the summer after her college
graduation.
It was Maloney's idea to audition for Cirque. Tousek-Renne, Maloney's
UCLA roommate, was just tagging along on the trip to Las Vegas. "I
wanted to keep flipping and performing but not competing," Maloney
wrote to me in an email. "I thought this would be a good path for me."
It turned out to be a good path for both of them. When one of the
casters learned that Tousek-Renne was also in Las Vegas, she reached
out to the former Canadian Olympian and asked if she would like to
audition. "I said, Why not?'" she said. "Kristen and I were one of
the five or six people who made it through to the end of the audition
day."
It was not Tousek-Renne's first exposure to Cirque du Soleil. That
came at Gymnix, an annual international competition held in Montreal.
"They brought us to the studios to have a tour and I was watching
practices happening and I thought it was the neatest thing what they
were doing," Tousek-Renne recalled. The tour that Tousek-Renne
participated in as a young gymnast was, I imagine, similar to the one
getting underway just as I arrived at the Cirque facilities. Most of
the people there were wearing credentials that signified some kind of
involved with the world championshipscoach, judge, some other
gymnastics official. I didn't see any competing gymnasts during my
visit, although it was smack in the middle of the competition
schedule.
It takes more than a shift in language to turn Cirque recruits into
artists. When gymnasts arrive in Montreal, they undergo extensive
training in various performance arts. "We do everything from voice
class, singing to acting classes to clowning," Tousek-Renne said.
"Everyone who comes in as a gymnast is a little bit hesitant, but by
one month in you're already starting to be more vulnerable, be more
flexible, open your mind to creating characters and stepping out of
the box a little bit."
Caitlin Maggs, an acrobatic choreographer for Cirque, has worked with
the gymnasts both in Cirque and outside the company, and noted that
they tend to struggle with expression. "I've noticed that their [the
gymnasts] emotions are very fixed," she told me. "They'll just go from
having a happy face to an angry face to a sad face with no apparent
basis, not connected to any real emotions. It's just facial
expressions.
"[But] those transitions are really important," Maggs continued. "The
trick they're doing, what is the emotion they're expressing through
that trick and how is it connected to the whole act. What are they
expressing? What's their character? For them, to think in those terms,
in this trick I can actually still be the character I'm playing."
For gymnasts, choreography and expression is something that happens
between tumbling passes and difficult technical elements; it
represents a break in expressing. Dance and acrobatics are not
continuous in a gymnastics performance. First you tumble, then you
dance, then you tumble again. The acrobatics and expression, if they
manage to pull the latter off in a credible way, are seen as quite
distinct from one another.
"The acting part is physical expression and the acrobatic/gymnastics
part is also physical expression," she said.
The gymnasts Cirque recruits may be a blank slate in an artistic
sense, but they arrive in Montreal with decades of training on their
bodies and all of the attendant wear and tear. It was particularly
extreme in Maloney's casethis "as told to" in espnW goes into great
detail about the number and extent of her injuries, which shoulder
surgery and multiple procedures on a stress fracture in her leg. All
former elite gymnasts have injury stories to tell, but for them to
have a performing career after their competitive careers are over,
they have to figure out how to make their bodies do what they need
them to do for as long as they can. In that sense, the line between
professional athlete and professional performer effectively
disappears.
Maloney was cast in Alegría and spent about two years with Cirque. "I
was having a lot of shoulder pain and knew I couldn't keep doing it
forever," she told me. "They suggested surgery but I had already been
through so many surgeries that I couldn't imagine going through
surgery and rehab for a torn ligament again."
* * *
The story of a gymnastics competition, or any sort of athletic
competition for that matter, comes down to an unpredictable outcome.
We know who is favored to win before it starts, of course, but what's
fun about watching sports is not knowing how something is going to
end. Basketball player miss shots they should make and make shots they
have no business taking. Quarterbacks throw near-perfect passes that
get picked off and imperfect passes that turn into game-winning
scores. Gymnasts fall, or don't. It's that suspense that gives a
competition its narrative arc.
That's not how it works in live theater. No matter how difficult the
elements, the audience doesn't expect to see falls in the way they do
at a gymnastics competition. Mistakes do happen, of course, but
they're rare. They're certainly not part of the appeal of watching a
theater performance. The best theatrical performances have quirks and
grace notes and other identifying marks, but by definition they don't
have mistakes. There's more than one difference between sports and
theater, but this is a definitional one.
I asked Clark how it was possible for the artistsI picked up her
parlance eventuallyto hit very complex technical elements day after
day, without seeing the kind of misses we had just watched at the
gymnastics world championships. (2017's competition was particularly
splat heavy.) "What we'll do," Clark said, "is ride a very fine line
between pushing as far as we can the boundaries of what it is our that
our artists do onstage while ensuring that their actual execution is
as predictable as live performance can be."
This isn't just a matter of practice and more practice. Cirque has
folks who do risk assessment and performance coaches who keep track of
which elements have high hit percentages versus other that may be more
inconsistent. A gymnast might decide to put a risky skill in her
routine because it's a worth a lot in terms of point value. But for
Cirque, there isn't the same incentive to increase the difficulty of
an act if it means a sacrifice in execution. In performance, each and
every skill isn't quantified; there's aren't any bonus points for
doing a triple back instead of a double. This is another advantage
that theater has over sports in this areathe required elements are
built around the performers, instead of the other way around.
"For us to actually put any new type of skill into an act, into a
show, takes a very rigorous procedure to ensure that that artist is
hitting that skill virtually each and every time so we don't take the
kind of risks or implement the kind of strategy that somebody might in
a competitive environment," Clark said. "We simply have an elaborate
sort of system to ensure that everything onstage is 100 percent ready
to be onstage."
But of course nothingno sport, no theatrical performance, nothing
that has anything to do with any human beingis perfect. Last month,
Yann Arnoud, a Cirque artist, slipped and fell to his death during a
show in Tampa. He was an immensely experienced performer, having been
with Cirque for 15 years. One of the things that several of the
articles on his death noted was that at the time he fell, he was
performing a new act onstage for the first time. He was the second
artist to die in Cirque's history. (In 2009, one Cirque artist died in
a training accident at the Montreal headquarters.) The first happened
in 2013 when Sarah Guyard-Guillot fell and died during a live show.
Back then, the Guardian reported:
"Safety protocols and detailed risk analyses are a part of every
routine's creation and there are a host of trainers, physiotherapists
and even performance psychologists on staff to keep artists healthy.
In a 2009 study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine,
researchers from six Canadian and American universities examined five
years of data for Cirque, and found the company's injury rates less
than those for college gymnastics."
This college gymnastics season, in particular, has been particularly
devastating. According to this unofficial tally, 21 gymnasts ruptured
Achilles tendons and 7 tore ACLs. These are season endingand in the
case of Florida senior Kennedy Baker, career endinginjuries. Being
considered safer than college gymnastics shouldn't really be a feather
in anyone's cap.
Guyard-Guillot's death was ruled an accident and Cirque du Soleil was
fined $25,000 for several safety violations according to the Nevada
Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
* * *
When I started working on this story, I was mostly interested in the
ways that gymnastics diverged from the performing arts and how
gymnasts had to change in order to fit into the world of Cirque. I was
sure that was how it would work: that the gymnast needed to change.
But sometimes the influence flows in the other direction.
Clark told me that what she looks for at competitions are not just
individual performances but current trend lines in the sport. In
particular, the transformation of an event like uneven bars over the
last decade has been most advantageous to Cirque. If you go back and
watch routines from the 90s and early aughts, the majority of
gymnasts, save for geniuses like Svetlana Khorkina, tended to
concentrate their elements on the high bar and only touched the low
bar as often as the rules demanded and did very little of substance
there
This was the bar routine that earned the gold medal for France's
Emilie Le Pennec at the 2004 Olympics. It was certainly a gold medal
worthy routineshe performed an incredibly difficult rarely seen Def
in combination with a hop full and double twisting double somersault
dismount. But Le Pennec largely ignored the low bar in this
performance.
Compare this to the routine from Russia's Aliya Mustafina, who won the
Olympic gold on bars in 2012 and 2016.
In her routine, Mustafina works both bars, going back and forth
between the rails. The low bar is more than a hurdle she has to clear
with her legs when she taps for the giants.
It's not just Mustafina; many elite gymnasts are performing routines
like hers. Over the last eight years, the event has become much more
dynamic. And according to Clark, the gymnastics apparatus inspired a
whole act in one of Cirque's shows. "Think of any beautiful bar
swinger and we would love to have them on Amaluna where we have an act
which is designed and inspired by uneven bars," she told me.
Though the artists in Amaluna are not performing transitions that are
difficult as some of the ones Mustafina performed in her Olympic-
winning routines, the act still features the same dynamics of moving
from bar to bar. It also recalls an earlier period in women's
gymnastics uneven bar history, from the late 1960s to early 1980s,
when the bars were close enough together so that a performer could
grasp the high while beating her hips against the low and rebounding
up.
Tousek-Renne performed in the uneven bar act of Amaluna alongside
other gymnasts such as Imogen Cairns and Marissa King, both Olympians
from Great Britain. King, an alumna of the University of Florida and a
member of their first ever NCAA championship team in gymnastics, still
performs along with many former gymnasts. "In my act alone, eight out
of the nine of us competed collegiately," King wrote in an email. "On
top of NCAA careers, there are four Olympians, and former national
team members just within the Amazons." (In this particular act, the
female performers are playing the roles of Amazons, sans the
breastplates.)
Like Renne-Tousek and Maloney, King had been trying to figure out a
way to extend her acrobatic life after her four years of collegiate
eligibility was used up. But she had one more year to go to finish her
dual degree. "I decided to also help out with the gymnastics team to
stay involved and give myself an opportunity to train for Cirque, as
this was something I was really hoping to do next," she said. King
said that she wasn't burned out on gymnastics the way some of her
former elite peers were. Still, things didn't fall into place as
easily for King as they did for Maloney and Tousek-Renne. "After
sending many emails and video material, nothing opened up for me."
King had to do what her non-acrobatically inclined college peers are
forced to dolook for a desk job. She briefly worked as an associate
producer for FloSports, at their gymnastics site FloGymnastics. After
a few months, Cirque finally came calling. "Cirque offered me a
contract for Amaluna," she wrote, "and here I am now."
* * *
This weekend's NCAA championships in St. Louis will mark the end of
many young women's competitive gymnastics careers. The seniorsor the
sixth year competitors in the case of Peng Peng Lee of UCLA, who was
granted a sixth year of eligibility after being forced to sit out two
full seasons due to consecutive ACL repair surgerieswill get one last
turn, and then will have to turn to face a future away from the mat.
In 2010, former world champion turned Sooner star Hollie Vise was
interviewed by Inside Gymnastics Magazine at the end of her NCAA
career. Vise, who had gone from winning the 2003 world title on bars
to not making the 2004 Olympic teamin a supreme act of cruelty, the
team was named live on NBC so that the cameras could capture the
anguish of teens who missed out on their dreams in real timewas
reborn as a gymnast at Oklahoma. She went from being completely out of
shape as a freshman to making lineups on all four events and helping
the Sooners to their best ever finishessecondat nationals. (Since
then the Sooners have only improved, winning three NCAA titles and
entering this weekend heavily favored to pick up their fourth.)
"I find myself thinking, When I go in the gym the next time, I'll try
this,' and then it's like, Oh, there is no next time,' That's scary,"
Vise said shortly after her last NCAA competition. "As soon as it
started getting really good, it's over." This is what hurts about
endings, in sports and everywhere else. But, as Cirque's growing corps
of gymnasts proves, what looks like the end might just be a change
from leotard to costume, gymnast to performer, and from one challenge
to another.
------------------------------------------------------------
VOLTA: "A TECHNICAL BOX OF WONDERS"
Part 2 of 2: Lighting & Sound
A Special Reprint from Lighting & Sound America
------------------------------------------------------------
Along with the multimedia extravaganza, the lighting design goes a
long way toward establishing the overall atmosphere of Volta and
creating the illusion that there's a live TV program in progress. But,
as always, lighting is also tasked with highlighting performers and
focusing the audience's attention on particular details. "It's a
really weird process, because at Cirque we have to do a lighting
design even before they start rehearsing, so we're spending $1 million
to buy equipment for a show that we can see only on paper," Labrecque
says, noting that Volta is his fifth big top show.
LIGHTING UP VOLTA
-----------------
"I have to make sure I can light the performance, make an ambiance,
and be able to do something totally different if we change course
during rehearsals. If the director or producer says, I don't like the
look of it; we need to do something different,' I have to be able to
react. I have to think about that while I'm making my equipment list
for purchase. I used to say that I'm making a box of crayons, a
toolbox. I make sure to have all the colors and everything I might
need in that toolbox, so I can go either way: If the design changes,
fine, I can react; if it stays on the same course, I have what it
takes to light it.
"And it depends on the acrobatic level of the performance: Some shows
are bigger, acrobatically, and others are easier to light. Even now,
there's a number coming into the show that we're still working on, and
I have to be able to light that, too. But I have a big toolbox to play
with. I make sure I can respond to any demands I get, as well as to my
own demands, too."
Regarding lighting positions, the four masts bear most of the load
simply because, apart from the floor, there aren't many others
available. "It's a different way of thinking because you have to think
vertically," Labrecque says. "We can't hang much from the grid because
there's a lot of rigging up there. On the bridge, I have only a few
fixtures, because it's used as an acrobatic apparatus and it moves a
lot. In any event, it's almost already at the maximum weight it can
support, so most of the hanging is on the four masts." No more than a
pair of ETC PAR MCM fixtures can be placed at each end of the bridge.
"Also," he notes, "this was the first big top show to have video, and
we're all fighting for places where we can hang."
Each of the downstage masts includes a followspot operator position
equipped with a Robert Juliat Lucy unit located about 24' off the
floor. Some 12' above that are a Claypaky Scenius Spot and a pair of
Claypaky A.leda BEYE K10s; higher still are six ETC Source Four PAR
MCM fixtures with medium flood lenses, two at 40' and four at 42.5';
another two are hung 16' off the floor. Just under the spot operator
platform are four ETC Source Fours with 36° field angles.
The upstage masts are configured differently. Between 20' and 41' off
the floor, two identical arrays are hung on the sides of each mast
facing the stage: In descending order are a Scenius Spot, A.leda B-EYE
K10, Ayrton MagicPanel-FX, and another A.leda B-EYE K10. This sequence
is repeated, and, below that, at 18', is a pair of ETC Source Four PAR
MCM fixtures with medium flood lenses, and, at 16', two ETC Source
Fours with 26° field angles. On the upstage side of these two masts,
two A.leda B-EYE K10s are hung at about 23' and 27'.
Topping the upstage-right mast at 42.5' are six ETC Source Four PAR
MCM fixtures with medium flood lenses. On the upstage-left mast, the
corresponding six fixtures are hung a bit lower, out of the way of the
catwalk anchored here.
A Claypaky Mythos 2 hybrid light is hung at each of the cardinal
points on the outside edge of the grid, with an additional Mythos 2
hung right in the center. "There's not much space to hang and we're
all fighting for it. I need the beam mode and I need to be able to use
gobos, too, so I didn't use [Claypaky] Sharpys because they do only
one thing," Labrecque says, explaining the necessity of selecting
versatile equipment. "We used [the Mythos units] a lot in beam mode,
so we could structure the light."
He also hung nine Chauvet Professional COLORado 1 Quad Tour LED wash
lights upstage and nine downstage, on the grid, as well as a single
ETC Source Four with 19° field angle under each end of the catwalk in
the grid.
Two small trusses, rigged on span guys over the rear seats next to the
wall of the big top at stage left and stage right, each carry five ETC
Source Fours with 19° field angles. For lighting behind the upstage
wall, Labrecque hung eight ETC Source Four PAR MCM fixtures with
medium flood lenses, spaced about 5' apart.
Floor space around the deck is extremely limited. A slightly sunken
shelf was built on each side of the stage in the angle where it fans
out into the additional upstage performance space to accommodate a
single Mythos 2 unit.
A Claypaky Alpha Profile 1200 beam shaper sits atop each of the band
pods, upstage left and right, while three Chauvet Professional Rogue
R1 wash moving heads occupy the corners of the Cube's roof, and a
fourth is centered on the truss under which the Cube rests in its
default upstage position.
Although Volta's lighting design is comparatively modestwith 40
moving lights as opposed to some 400 in Labrecque's design for the Pan
American Gamesit does the job extremely effectively, hitting all the
right notes and pumping up the already high energy onstage.
Programming on the MA Lighting grandMA2 console was by François
Marceau, the project manager for lighting was Annick Ferland, and
Kareen Houde served as the lighting assistant.
Integral to the scenic design are 22 "lampposts" shaped like inverted
hockey sticks, six of which are deployed in several locations around
the stage throughout the show. Each of the 16 fixed lampposts sports
either one Épix Tour Bar or one ÉPIX Strip Tour LED strip under the
upper short angled arm and, depending on the post's height and width,
either two Épix Tour Bars or three ÉPIX Tour Strips on the vertical
portion. The movable lampposts are fitted with generic RGBW LED strips
and are batterypowered, using a custom wireless system. Each lamppost
is spiked into a corresponding anchor in the stage about 1.5" in
diameter and 8" deep. "We use a total of 27 EPIX Drive 900s to control
the whole system," Fox says.
In addition to the lights built into the stage, a noteworthy lighting
feature is the prop cell phones that entrance the Greys with their
eerie ultra-white glow. Studded with white LEDs around the edges,
these self-contained, battery-operated devices were designed and
manufactured for the show by Inventions Guite Inc., of Montreal.
Together with Waz's laser-adorned coata development of the costume
designer Zaldy Goco's model for Michael Jackson's This Is It Tour that
never wasthey constitute a extension of the use of light into other
departments.
Rounding out the lighting gear list are two Elation Professional
Protron 3K LED strobes. Also used are four Ultratec Special Effects
Power Fog Industrial 9Ds, three Ultratec Premier Fog Effects
Generators, two Look Solutions Tiny CXs, one Look Solutions Viper, one
Martin by Harman Jem Glaciator X-Stream, and two MDG Atmosphere APS
haze generators.
NONSTOP SOUND
-------------
Volta is propelled by a non-stop, high-energy music score composed by
Anthony Gonzalez, the single full-time member of the electronic music
project M83. Shifting from atmospheric soundscapes to rhythmic urban
pop and soaring symphonies rich with orchestral-sounding synthesizers,
Gonzalez's highly cinematic score evokes a range of moods that flow
with the unfolding narrative. Always in sync with the acrobatic
performances, the score is also tightly synchronized with the lighting
effects, thanks to the interactive responsiveness of the multimedia
design.
The score is played mostly live by a four-piece band with two onstage
vocalists. The female vocalist occasionally doubles on electric
violin. Offstage, the band is divided in half, with two
instrumentalists in each of the upstage band pods. To the left are the
band leader, playing keyboards and doubling occasionally on sax and
electric bass, and the drummer. The band leader also operates an
Ableton Live software music sequencer. The second keyboardist and
guitar player, in the opposite pod, join the cast onstage on several
occasions. "In the beginning, we didn't have the musicians onstage as
much, but we've been hearing that people don't realize that it's live
music, so we've been putting them onstage more," Fox says.
One electronic keyboard controller used by the band is the unique and
very expressive Roli Seaboard. While the keys are laid out in the
conventional piano sequence, the entire keyboard is covered in a
continuous surface of pliable silicone. In place of the usual control
wheels for modulation and pitch bend, the player executes these
effects by moving fingers up and down over the pliable surface,
holding keys down while vibrating the fingers to achieve vibrato, for
example, or moving the hands sideways along a strip below the keys to
effect pitch bending. Gonzalez has taken advantage of the innovative
way that sounds that can be modified using the Seaboard to the point
that it seems inconceivable that Volta's score could be accurately
executed without it.
"We have stereo synths, stereo drums, stereo bass, stereo guitar,
stereo extra vocals, and 32 outputs of Ableton Live coming back to the
front-of-house and monitor consoles, so that we can separate all the
audio," says the sound designer Jean-Michel Caron. "We also have a few
inputs for special effects. If we want to have something move around,
we can put it in the [Meyer Sound] DMitri Space Map and have those
sounds dance around the big top or any speaker we want."
These spatial effects are executed from a D-Mitri matrix system with a
32-fader control surface at the front-of-house position, through a
sound reinforcement-system centered on the masts, with subs beneath
the stage, and surround and ambient loudspeakers hung in six locations
near the curved wall of the big top.
"Every speaker is on a discrete output line from D-Mitri, so we can
send sound to any or all of the speakers," Caron says. "The D-Mitri
Space Map lets you move sound around speakers: It could be two
speakers, or it could be 90. You just draw where you want to move the
sound image and it pretty much does the trajectory. It's repeatable,
and you can make it go faster or slower. It's a great tool for sound
design. It gives you flexibility to do pretty much anything you want.
You're not stuck with a console with a normal output structure. It is
an immersive kind of system. The main thing was to use the sound to
get the audience to focus on the action. And it was important that we
be able to move sound around. It gives it more fun; sound becomes a
character in the show."
"Everything happens on stage but because the audience is in a 240° arc
all around, it's always been very hard to get a great image on the
side, to help people focus on what's going on at the front," Caron
adds. "For me, it was important that wherever you sit around the
stage, the audio would seem to come from that 41'-diameter stage. It's
not so much pinpointing where the actor is, but, in a more general
way, for the audience to say, no matter where they're sitting, I'm
watching the show, the action and music are there, everything comes
from straight in my face and there's nothing coming from where it
shouldn't be coming from'."
Because of weight restrictions, powered loudspeakers were ruled out.
"We're using a d&b audiotechnik passive loudspeaker system," Caron
explains. "While Meyer has been a great speaker for us for a long
time, we ran into a problem with the weight. The set is bigger; that
bridge is so massive and heavy. There's only so much weight that can
be supported by the masts, so every time they put something else up in
the air, we have to take something down. The d&b passive speakers are
very light, and that allows us to put more speakers on each mast to
achieve the coverage we need. The amplifier racks are under the
bleachers on the floor, with four amplifiers for the loudspeakers on
each mast."
Each upstage mast is rigged with a matching complement of six
loudspeakers, angled to provide optimal coverage to all seats,
including: two Vi7P three-way point-source loudspeakers, one 12S
biaxial two-way narrow-coverage loudspeaker, one 12S-D biaxial two-way
wide-coverage loudspeaker, one E6 two-way compact coaxial loudspeaker,
and one 8S two-way compact coaxial loudspeaker. Similarly, each of the
downstage masts is rigged with a matching loudspeaker complement that
includes two 12S, two 12S-D, one E6, and three 8S units.
"The masts are configured with a front speaker and a cross speaker,"
Caron says. "If you're seated on the left side, for example, the image
from the cross speaker is going to appear as if it is coming from the
right, farther away. No matter where you sit, you have a left on one
side and a right on the other. Everywhere around the big top, it's the
same configuration."
The subs under the stage are offset from the center by about 6', "just
to clear the track of the Cube," Caron says. "I've got three subs,
rear-firing in cardioid pattern, which is the perfect pattern for the
big top. This way, it's one point-source for the subs. There's no
addition or cancellation due to multiple [spaced] sources. It was
easier to time-align it with the rest of the system, so we ended up
having a system that's pretty tight. The bass is awesome."
For front fill, fourteen 4S lightweight two-way coaxial loudspeakers
are mounted on the inside of the façade panels, more or less evenly
spaced around the 240° arc of the stage facing the audience. Above the
stage, two 10S two-way narrow-coverage loudspeakers are hung on each
side of the grid, together with a single 10S-D two-way wide-coverage
loudspeaker at the downstage center of the grid.
"The front fills allow us to bring the image down to the stage," Caron
says. "We can send a Space Map from DMitri to make a sound effect
appear to move with the action on the stage. The three loudspeakers
hanging under the grid from which the artists are suspended allow us
to bring the image up to the cupola if we want."
The designer chose six positions near the wall of the big top to rig
the surrounds: "There's a funicular where they pull back the tent to
get the tension; we hang speakers from there and pull them back a
little bit, so they get closer to the canvas wall and about 20' over
the audience's heads. We use two speakers in each position: one 10S-D
facing toward the stage, and one smaller 8S speaker facing toward the
tent. It hangs behind the larger surround speaker and is focused
directly to the canvas. I'm using the canvas as a deflector, so I can
use that speaker to do effects when I don't want to hear the source
clearly defined." As an example, Caron cites a scene in which the
clown Shood Kood Wood bats away at an unseen flying insect. "I didn't
want the audience to know where the buzz was coming from, so we used
those rear-facing speakers to do that effect," he says.
To support distant-sounding effects emanating from the front, Caron
installed a pair of 10AL-D biaxial wide-coverage line array modules
just in front of the upstage wall, one atop each of the band pods. All
amplifiers are d&b audiotechnik four-channel models, including two
D80s, eight 30Ds, and four 10Ds. In the case of the lip fills, the
loudspeakers are doubled-up, two to an amp channel.
Band microphones include Wisycom MTH400 handheld transmitters with
MCM306 custom DPA super-cardioid condenser microphone capsules for the
singers, who occasionally switch to lavs worn on custom-made headsets.
"They're mostly on handhelds, except in one song when the male singer
climbs up onto the bridge," Caron says. "With its position, we had
trouble getting the necessary gain before feedback, so we had to go
with a Countryman [H6]. Similarly, there's one scene where the female
singer walks around the stage playing the violin. Toward the end of
the song, she sings a few lines, and for that she's wearing a headset
with an omnidirectional DPA capsule," a d:screet 4061.
In the band pods, drums mics are a Shure Beta91A and Solomon LoFReQ on
the kick, Shure Beta 98AMPs on the snare and toms, Audix D6 and D4
mics on the floor toms, Rode NT55 on the hi-hat, and an Audio-Technica
AT4050ST stereo mic for overheads. Shure SM57s are used on amplifiers,
with Radial JDI and JDI Duplex passive direct boxes on the
instruments.
During the opening Quid Pro Quo scene, Waz struts atop his Cube to
striking effect behind a 24K gold-plated Heil Sound microphone. The
Fin is a stand-mounted, vintage- looking mic illuminated by four
internally mounted phantom-powered white LEDs. In another scene, the
clown executes a mic drop using a more dispensable Shure SM58. "We
want to hear the thump when it hits, so we use a 58 so he can throw it
anywhere. We didn't want him to drop a very expensive microphone,"
Caron says.
One aspect that might be overlooked in staging a show under the big
top is the choice of electric, rather than acoustic, stringed
instruments. "A big problem we have with some of the instruments, such
as violin and double bass, is the temperature shift in the big top,"
Caron notes. "It's so inconsistent. Also, it can go from very dry to
very humid quickly, so it's always a pain for acoustic instruments,
even acoustic guitar, but especially for violin and cello. It gets to
be a pain with the tonal change, and hard for the musicians to play.
We tested the acoustic violin against the electric violin, and the
electric violin is much easier."
Monitoring is provided only for the musicians, including four drummers
up on the bridge who have to follow the precision drumming of a
downstage performer in a sequence during Act 2. A DiGiCo SD9, in the
tiny "doghouse" backstage, serves as the monitor console, with the mix
being delivered via a wireless Wisycom in-ear monitoring system. "The
SD9 has a small footprint, so for us it's perfect," Caron says. "In
the big top, the stage, sets, and props are getting bigger and we're
getting less and less space, so it was perfect to get a small desk.
We're still using 96 inputs, though."
The analog mic and DI outputs are split via a custom Radial
Engineering Convertible V12 modular snake system and fed to the analog
inputs of the front-of-house and monitor consoles. The AES/EBU digital
outputs from the Wisycom MRK 690 wireless-microphone receivers are
converted to Dante network audio via a Focusrite REDnet D16 interface
and routed along with the outputs from the drum and keyboard samplers
and Ableton Live software sequencer via the Dante network to both
consoles.
Dante audio from some 90 matrix outputs from the 144-input D-Mitri
front-of-house system is routed over the network to four d&b
audiotechnik DS10 audio network bridges, one in each amplifier rack
under the bleachers near the base of each mast, where it is converted
to AES/EBU and input to the amplifier DSP for loudspeaker processing
and amplification. A Waves SoundGrid, used for effects processing at
the front-of-house position, connects to D-Mitri via AES/EBU.
The MADI output from the DiGiCo monitor console is converted to analog
via an Antelope Orion 32 D-to-A converter for distribution to
performers.
"D-Mitri is set up, at the moment, with 144 buses," Caron says. "We
use the buses for different sends, so we can localize certain
elements. We've set up a left-right bus and a vocal bus, and that
allows us to localize the singer in the center of the image or
elsewhere. For example, when the singer is up on the bridge, we do
different bussing to send his audio to different speakers, so we can
feel like his voice is coming from up there."
In the scene where Waz is watching home movies in the Cube, the sound
image and quality are manipulated to change the audience's perspective
as the scene progresses. "We wanted to create the illusion that when
you're looking inside the open cube, you're backstage with Waz," Caron
says. "We made it so that the TV show sounds like it's happening on
the other side from our perspective backstage;' then, as the cube
rotates, we shift the sound image so that we switch around from being
backstage behind the Cube to the show being onstage in front of us."
The target sound pressure level for Volta is 97dB, but it seems much
louder. The fact that peaks reach only 105dB SPL is, perhaps,
indicative of a generousamount of compression and peak limiting that
increases the perceived loudness. The touring head of sound is
François Lanteigne, and Marc-André Gilbert served as project manager
for sound.
Wired and Tempest wireless systems from Clear-Com are used throughout,
with noise-cancelling closed-cup headsets from David Clark provided
for followspot operators seated up on the masts. The cue light system
is from Leon Audio, with GDS BlueDomes for the blues system. While big
top shows have relied extensively on generator power in the past,
"We're using city power in Toronto, and in general we're leaning more
toward that vs. generators for its lower environmental impact and
because it is cleaner power," Fox says.
* * *
Volta is galvanizing audiences for many reasonsnot least the tight
interactivity of the action with the music, sound effects, lighting,
and multimedia contentbut if any part can be singled out beyond the
BMX finale for sheer I can't- believe-what-I'm-seeing value, it's
perhaps an aerialist who, seeming to levitate from a cushion, fluidly
executes an extended, spinning flying act suspended only by her hair.
Or maybe it's the mesmerizing synchronized choreography of a riveting
pas de deux by a ballerina and a BMX flatland cyclist. This show
really does have something for everyone.
------------------------------------------------------------
"We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 13 of 16: Dralion, Part 2 (2001-2003)
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. In this installment, we finish up with Dralion's early reviews,
featuring those from 2001 through 2003.
# # #
ALONG THE HUSDSON, A TENT OF DREAMS
By: Robin Pogrebin | New York Times
April 6, 2001
Hard to imagine, perhaps, that there could be drama in the simple
raising of a tent.
But as scores of men and women struggled against the chill wind
blowing off New York Harbor, using their bodies and breath to heave up
104 metal poles that rose one after another like a cresting wave, and
as the blue-and-yellow big top spread across the sky, stealing the
expansive view of Lower Manhattan, unmistakable showmanship was in the
air. The circus had come to town.
In this case, it was Cirque du Soleil, the legendary Canadian
spectacle of avant-garde acrobatics, returning to the New York
metropolitan area after a three-year absence. Squeezed out of its
previous home in Battery Park City because of real estate development,
the circus had settled this time in Liberty State Park in Jersey City.
The show, "Dralion," started in Montreal in 1999 and was most recently
in Miami before coming here, where it is now in previews. It will open
on Thursday and run through June 3.
Certainly much has changed since 1984, when Cirque du Soleil first
left audiences awed and taken aback by its unorthodox approach. Now
there seem to be circuses everywhere you turn, many of which emulate
this one. In New York City alone last December, three one-ring shows
vied for attention: Barnum's "Kaleidoscape," the Big Apple Circus and
Circus Oz from Australia.
But after observing firsthand the intense seven-day period that Cirque
du Soleil spends setting up shop, it is clear that circuses remain
compelling, no matter how ubiquitous. They combine the delicate
artistry of theater with the gritty brawn of a rock band on the road.
Because Cirque du Soleil tours 52 weeks a year, the people who work on
it are a breed all their own, rootless in true Gypsy tradition:
operating out of trailers, eating and smoking and sharing apartments
together, moving around so much that it isn't even worth forwarding
their mail because it will never catch up.
"It's an incestuous little dysfunctional family," said Marc Beaudry,
the circus's logistics director. "We love and hate each other very,
very much. I know who did what last night, far more information than I
need."
People traveling with Cirque du Soleil often have to brave the
elements; the operation is largely outdoors. The night of the premiere
of "Quidam" in Battery Park City three years ago was so stormy that
spectators thought the tent might collapse. More recently, the circus
braved unexpectedly frigid temperatures in Atlanta; pipes burst,
generators broke down. "We brought in tons of heating equipment
wherever we could find it," Mr. Beaudry recalled. "Daily maintenance
is no longer a priority when you've got winds of 50 miles per hour and
you're making sure the tent stays stuck to the ground."
At the same time, this is high-end transience. The cast and crew are
fed three by-all-accounts delicious meals from Cirque du Soleil's
kitchen, which has five chefs, including one devoted to pastry.
("Everyone gains weight on tour," Mr. Beaudry said. "We're all getting
a little round.") They earn decent pay and receive health benefits.
And they can learn three languages (French, English and Mandarin)
free, since the circus pays Berlitz to go on site.
Nevertheless, touring with the circus can be a trying existence,
moving from city to city, performing the same taxing stunts night
after night, keeping the costumes clean and the sets safe. They do it,
members say, until they no longer love it anymore.
"I used to despise moving with such a passion," said Mr. Beaudry, who
hauls his motorcycle with him in a trailer behind his car. "Now I've
gotten pretty good at it. Everything fits into its place in about an
hour and 15 minutes."
After 17 years of pitching tents around the world, Cirque du Soleil,
created by Guy Laliberté in Montreal, clearly has the system down. It
has also become big business, though the company is privately owned
and does not release earnings figures. The tent packs them in: more
than 2,500 people a performance at ticket prices that, for "Dralion,"
range from $63 to $85 for adults and $43.75 to $59.50 for children. A
new "Dralion" V.I.P. package for $190 ($130 for children) includes
prime seats, a souvenir program, drinks, hors d'oeuvres and outside
entertainers in a special tent on site called the Lincoln Suite
(Lincoln, the car company, is the presenting sponsor). Even without
the V.I.P. seats, the potential weekly gross is about $2 million.
Cirques du Soleil now proliferate around the world. Since March 1999,
"Quidam" has been on a four-year European tour; it is about to open in
Belgium. "Saltimbanco" continues its Asia-Pacific tour, playing
throughout Japan. "Alégria" returned to the big top in January,
beginning a tour of New Zealand and Australia. "Mystère" and "O" play
permanently in Las Vegas at Treasure Island and Bellagio,
respectively, both casino hotels. And since December 1998, "La Nouba"
has played at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
After New York, "Dralion" is to move to Chicago, with another year of
traveling to go. By the end of its three-year tour, the show will have
visited 17 cities across Canada and the United States, including
Atlanta; Boston; Denver; Houston; Irvine, Calif.; Minneapolis; and San
Francisco.
Although Cirque du Soleil performances have a consistent approach --
no animals, extravagant costumes, mind-bending physical feats and
pulsating music-- each show is created from scratch. "Dralion"
features a troupe of 37 Chinese acrobats who perform everything from
ballet on light bulbs to hoop-diving to double trapeze. There are 19
more artists from 8 other countries: Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, the
Netherlands, the Ivory Coast, Chile, Ukraine and the United States.
CREATING A FANTASY
Guy Caron, the director of "Dralion," said he wanted the show to
celebrate the four elements that maintain the natural order: air,
water, fire and earth. The fifth element, he said, is the soul,
represented by two singers.
Mr. Caron, founder of the National Circus School in Montreal, was
artistic director of Cirque du Soleil from 1984 to 1988. He came back
to do "Dralion." "For me, this is magic," he said in a heavy French
accent. "For some people, it's not."
While casting the show, Mr. Caron said, he flew to China to see eight
acrobatic troupes, then chose one. The "Dralion" title was his idea:
it combines the Chinese symbol of a dragon with the Western lion.
For inspiration, Mr. Caron keeps a notebook filled with clippings and
photographs, striking images he may return to later, ranging from
Magritte paintings to comic strips. He gives these to a team he calls
his conceptors, who then help bring the ideas to life.
For the music, which is original to Cirque du Soleil, Mr. Caron said
he listened to some of his 1,500 CD's, jotting down pieces that might
inspire the show's composer, Violaine Corradi. For "Dralion," the
result was a fusion of sounds from around the world, including Hindu
melodies and instruments from Andalusia, Africa, Central Europe and
the West.
"This is my universe," Mr. Caron said. Yes, there are clowns. This is
a circus after all, he said, not conventional theater. And no, it is
not fame that attracts him to the job. "You meet me, but you can
forget me because it's Cirque du Soleil," he said. "Me, I don't need
to be a star."
Robert MacKenzie, the tour manager, put the show's budget at about $15
million. Although "Dralion" has several sponsors, Cirque du Soleil
provides the budget money.
While Mr. Caron had to work within a budget, he said the circus's
management in Montreal gave him the money to do what he wanted. "I
say, 'Find it; I want to do this,' and they find it," he said. "It
costs, but that's why we break the rules. Something happens that never
happened before."
"That's why I like to work with this company," he continued. "Because
you go through your dreams."
'DON'T BREAK YOUR LEGS'
The big top was raised on March 28, a bright but cold Wednesday
morning. Present were Cirque's regular staff in addition to about 50
local hires. At the coffee break, they clustered separately: the
regulars at the danish table, the locals at the doughnuts.
At the peak of the big top -- made of heavy-duty industrial vinyl,
with a radius of 83 feet -- was the so-called cupola, already in place
from the day before, suspended from cables in the center of the
sagging tent. Slowly, machines started cranking up the tent's sides.
Once the ceiling was raised, the workers went under and in, hoisted
poles from a flatbed truck -- two people to a pole -- and hooked them
around the rim of the tent to create the sides.
When it was time to push the poles up, Jan Homan, the tent master,
gathered the crew for instructions: go sequentially, like dominoes, he
said, and be careful. "Take it easy," he warned the workers. "Don't
break your legs."
And then, one by one, with cursing, whooping and grunting, the poles
were raised.
Overseeing it all was Larry Clark, the circus's technical director. In
Bermuda shorts and sunglasses, Mr. Clark might as well have been
spring skiing. It's not as if he were a Cirque du Soleil veteran,
either; he joined only nine months ago.
Nevertheless, he was confident that all would go smoothly. Of course,
there will be mishaps, Mr. Clark said. But he and his crew spend a
good deal of their time and energy trying to prevent them.
And once the circus is up and running, every piece of equipment that
the artists use is checked daily. Every week, the entire apparatus has
a full inspection. All the welds used in the tent have to be certified
by a structural engineer or a welding specialist, Mr. Clark said.
Sometimes they are even X-rayed.
He said he had decided to join the circus because he was a fan, having
seen and loved "Quidam" in Montreal in 1996. He was working for a
dance troupe at the time. "When I left, I thought, 'That's the
competition,' " he said.
This circus, he added, is a challenge all its own; you create the
space from scratch every time. "If you're involved in the technical
end of the entertainment industry," he said, "you're used to doing
things that are arena shows: the theatrical structures are already
there; you move into them. This show is completely interconnected with
the structure itself, even more than previous Cirque productions."
While most past Cirque du Soleil acts were supported by structures on
the ground, the performers here fly from equipment attached to the
tent itself, Mr. Clark explained. That means that the tent matters
more than ever before. So he and his crew have to take extra care that
everything works, "down to the last rope and the last pulley," he
said.
From the cupola are suspended three aluminum rings: one, called the
grid, holds the catwalk for performers and a work area for riggers;
another is for hanging projectors and an enormous lantern; a third,
called the sun, can move up and down and rotate.
In the old days, raising the big top meant "throwing the tent up with
elephants," Mr. Clark said. "If it was standing there and it looked
comfortable, that was enough; you could move the show in."
"We're pushing the boundaries," he continued. "We're making the tent
itself work harder. It's not just a shell anymore."
"We have the discussion every once in a while, 'Why don't we do arenas
instead?' " he added. "But it's a circus. The big top is the thing.
And I, for one, am glad that Cirque has chosen to maintain the under-
the-big-top mystique."
A SELF-CONTAINED WORLD
Choosing a site for Cirque du Soleil begins in Canada with the tour
development department, which sends people to scout locations. They
evaluate the slope of the terrain, soil conditions, nearby housing,
available transportation.
Then the logistics team arrives to evaluate the site in more detail:
to make sure that three-foot pegs can be pounded into the ground to
secure the tent's foundation, that no water mains or sewer conduits
lurk beneath. In some locations, the circus has to consider tornadoes
and hurricanes; in others, earthquakes. Always, the company must be
mindful of holding 2,500 people up on bleachers. "We've all heard
scaffolding horror stories," Mr. Beaudry said.
Cirque du Soleil works with each city to obtain the necessary permits.
For "Dralion," this was particularly complicated because the site is
park land. "It wasn't an easy thing," Mr. Beaudry said. "There were
concerns on both sides."
Because the site had been a field and grass is inhospitable to heavy
machinery like forklifts, the circus had to put down asphalt at a cost
of $500,000, Mr. MacKenzie said. Under its agreement with the Parks
Department, the circus will restore the field after it closes.
ELECTRICALLY AUTONOMOUS
On site, the work begins with what is called a premark: spray-painting
the outline of everything, establishing center points, deciding where
trailers will stand. This is also the first tour on which the circus
has had washrooms rather than Portosans.
There is about three feet of space under the stage so that performers
can enter through trap doors during the show. They move around beneath
on dollies, lying on their bellies.
Cirque du Soleil has its own generators, making it electrically
autonomous; the only things it needs from the city are water and
telephone lines.
Mr. MacKenzie, who has been tour manager for three years, started as
lighting director, then became technical director. He is in charge of
coordinating the managers of the seven departments: logistics,
technical, artistic, production, kitchen, administration and sales.
Moving the circus involves about 45 trucks.
"From a human stress point of view, it's always the set-up and tear-
down," he said. "We have such tight deadlines. We're moving 1,000 tons
of equipment from one city to another."
The sets were designed by Stéphane Roy, the lighting by Luc Lafortune.
The choreography is by Julie Lachance.
Mr. MacKenzie said "Dralion" was a significant artistic departure from
past Cirque du Soleil shows. "It's brighter, happier, more child-
friendly," he explained.
Mr. MacKenzie, who formerly worked on world tours of rock 'n' roll
shows, added that he liked the circus life. "I have such diverse
responsibilities; it's never dull," he said. "I enjoy moving from city
to city."
Similarly, Jason Vaughan, the head of wardrobe, or chef des costumes,
said he had grown accustomed to the nomadic life of the circus, even
though there were more than 1,000 costume pieces to maintain. ("I
counted them one day," he said.) He carries framed art with him and
puts it up on the walls of his various apartments to make them feel
like home.
Mr. Vaughan said he joined Cirque du Soleil because the shows affected
him. "They are so creative, so fresh -- things you don't see live," he
said. "The emotion I felt while watching their shows was incredible."
He checked the circus's Web site for jobs and sent in his résumé.
These days, he is a little less starry-eyed; maintaining the costumes
is hard work. "Dralion" is a huge show, he said. There is intricate
detailing -- beadwork, trims -- all time-consuming to keep in top
condition. Most of the performers have two sets of costumes, and
still, something always goes awry.
"There are several emergencies every week because there are so many
costumes in the show," he said. Often, his staff has to sew repairs
while the performers are wearing the clothes, so that they can quickly
make their entrances.
The costume designer, François Barbeau, used more than 16,000 feet of
fabric for "Dralion," including silk, Lycra, velvet and leather. He
also used unorthodox materials like horsehair, raffia, window screen,
emu feathers, Styrofoam, a Slinky and Christmas decorations. When Mr.
Barbeau comes around, Mr. Vaughan said, he brings humor and helping
hands. "He'll work, he'll sew, he'll cut," Mr. Vaughan said. "He'll do
whatever needs to be done."
Mr. Vaughan has a staff of four: one who covers sewing and makeup,
another who focuses on shoes, another on hats, another who is a
dresser and handles the laundry.
THE LAUNDRY
If an article of clothing touches the body, it is cleaned every day.
That makes for a lot of loads. Cirque du Soleil travels with five
washers and four dryers. Mr. Vaughan said he spends two days training
the laundry person, who washes some pieces by hand. Cleaning the
"Dralion" animal costumes alone -- each of which is worn by two people
-- takes 12 hours. Fur is involved, and hundreds of little snaps.
"It's a huge logistical nightmare," he said.
A MAJOR CAMPSITE
The day after the tent raising was spent setting up more technical
equipment, including the stage (41.67 feet in diameter, larger than
any Cirque du Soleil stage before) and the metallic scenery wall (59
feet wide and 26.25 feet high, larger and heavier than ever before).
There are no nets in the circus; the performers are attached to
cables.
Cirque du Soleil hires 21 technicians for the show, though only 16 are
needed to run it; they work in rotation to allow one another days off.
There are seven musicians and two singers.
In total, 160 travel with Cirque, and 150 more are hired
locally."We're operating one of the largest campsites in North
America," said Mr. Clark, the technical director. "And the people who
work here find ways to make it work, day after day."
The other elements requiring construction include restrooms,
concession stands, the box office, fences, seats, the V.I.P. tent and
the kitchen. This was supposed to continue last Friday, but because of
the wind and rain, the site was closed. The tent stood, buffeted and
soaked, alone and uninhabited.
"We hadn't anticipated losing a day," Mr. Beaudry said. "Having to
make the decision to send everyone home was not an easy one."
Work picked up over the weekend, and Tuesday was spent preparing for a
dress rehearsal at 7:30 p.m. Viktor Kee, 30, an expert juggler, was
warming up in the artistic tent a couple of hours before the show. He
said he appreciated Cirque du Soleil's mix of dance, circus art and
theater. And is it difficult to have a social life on the road? "From
the point of a serious relationship?" Mr. Kee asked. "Yes. To have
fun? No."
As show time neared, invited guests began to file in, including
suppliers, photographers and some people in a youth-at-risk program.
Souvenirs were on sale. Popcorn machines were up and snapping. The
show left people cheering.
Despite having been on break from the show for a while, the performers
seemed to know exactly how to conjure their particular brand of
contorted, gravity-defying magic. And that, say people who work on the
circus, is exactly what keeps them going.
"Some days you get tired," said Mr. Vaughan of wardrobe. "If I'm not
feeling the love for the circus today, I will go watch the top of the
show."
"It just is a big recharge," he continued. "And I think: 'O.K., this
is what this is about. This is why you're doing this.' "
* * * * * *
BIG CHANGE UNDER THE BIG TOP
By: Lola Smallwood | Chicago Tribune
June 20, 2001
For months they have traveled from Montreal to Miami to New York,
turning hundreds of performers, more than 1,000 costumes and countless
feats of technical wizardry into the theatrical bonanza called
"Dralion."
But ask these two longtime artistic designers with Cirque du Soleil to
pinpoint what audiences can expect from the troupe's latest offering,
and perplexed expressions creep across their faces. Could it be just
more of the same: funky music, wild acrobatics and cool lighting?
"No!" they say emphatically in heavy French accents, each one sitting
up a little straighter in his plush red velvet chair.
"I've seen [`Dralion'] so many times, and each time I take something
different away from it," says the show's artistic director Sylvie
Galarneau, who describes the show as a vortex of color and movement.
Lighting designer Luc LaFortune says "Dralion," which begins a four-
week run at the United Center on Friday, is full of youthful purity
and a splash of the unexpected.
"Dralion" is a celebration of the artistic contributions of Eastern
and Western culture as well as a tribute to the four elements of
nature: air, earth, water and fire. Boasting the largest cast of
acrobats of any Cirque production, "Dralion" marks the formation of
new creative team, which has put a global spin on the production.
RECIPE FOR SUCCES
"It's new. It's change, and it probably will be totally different from
the next show that we create," says Galarneau, who has been with
Cirque since 1990. "It's supposed to be that way. People come to
Cirque du Soleil with an expectation that they are not going to get a
recipe. All the shows create a kind of emotion and a feeling that is
unique to them."
Built on being different, Cirque has evolved into a household name
since being unveiled 17 years ago by creator Guy Laliberte. The
dramatic spectacle of outrageous costumes, circus art and street
entertainment, magical lighting, and original music first became a hit
in Canada and then expanded to other parts of the world, including
Chicago, where it debuted in 1989.
Its success hasn't gone unnoticed, as others have tried to emulate
Cirque's concept of no animals but plenty of theatricals. Last year,
"Barnum's Kaleidoscape," a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
production, came to Chicago, complete with a one-ring carpeted tent
furnished with sofa chairs. The year before, Cirque Ingenieux brought
its fusion of Broadway fanfare and European spirit to the Shubert
Theatre, where it was dubbed simply as a Cirque du Soleil knockoff.
"It makes us feel good that there are people out there who like what
we do enough to copy it," Galarneau says.
CIRCUS IN CONSTANT CHANGE
Since the success of its first production, "La Magie" in 1984, Cirque
has created a dozen others; "We Reinvent the Circus" was the first
U.S. production, in 1987, and made its Chicago debut two years later.
Today, "Quidam," which came to Chicago in 1994, is midway through a
four-year European tour; "Saltimbanco" continues a three-year stint
through Asia-Pacific via Japan; and "Alegria," a 1992 production, was
taken out of retirement earlier this year to travel to New Zealand and
Australia.
If that isn't enough, three shows enjoy permanent residency in the
U.S., including "La Nouba," based in Walt Disney World Resort in
Orlando, and "Mystere" and "O," both housed at casino hotels in Las
Vegas. And in a daring attempt to branch out to the big-big screen,
Cirque released an IMAX production called "Journey of Man" in January.
Galarneau and LaFortune say the myriad productions do not dilute the
company's creative juices but rather squeeze invention out of everyone
involved with the development of new shows.
"We can't afford to become routine or to become what people expect
from Cirque," LaFortune says. "If you do what you think people will
want or what they expect rather than what pleases you, then [the work]
lacks conviction, it lacks intention and truth."
EACH SHOW IS ORIGINAL
He says each show begins as an original idea from the show's creative
team, which outlines the concept. That concept is then presented to a
second-tier of designers for lighting, acts, costume, sound and
casting, where it is honed into an actual show. The project is further
tweaked as performers attempt to do what has been put down on paper.
"In a sense it's never finished. It starts like a funnel with the wide
part open for ideas and a year and a half later it narrows down,"
LaFortune says. "In some ways, it's difficult because when you come up
with something the director will say `No, you are repeating yourself,'
and then you have to go back and come up with something that is
unique."
They say "Dralion" is a fresh approach. Missing are the gray,
dreamlike tableaus and the European pizazz.
With 56 performers from eight countries, including China, Brazil,
South Africa and Ukraine, "Dralion" features costuming and
choreography that seems to be influenced by East India, West Africa
and Aboriginal Australia.
But that does not eclipse stunts like "Ballet on Lights," in which
seven women, on pointe, perform ballet on light bulbs or "Skipping
Rope," involving a 10-man pyramid jumping rope.
"There are no tableaux, just non-stop energy. The show is very much
alive," Galarneau says.
* * * * * *
CIRQUE RAISES THE BAR
By: Chris Jones | Chicago Tribune
June 25, 2001
Cirque du Soleil, back in town with a huge new show called "Dralion,"
knows all about expectations and danger. Despite various appearances
to the contrary, these are, after all, circus people.
When Chicagoans found a weird tent pitched at North Pier in 1992, few
knew what to expect from a bunch of obscure Canadians offering a
"Nouvelle Experience." The seats were hard and the tent stuffy, but we
still thrilled to the novelty of a revisionist circus that eschewed
animals in favor of a signature post-modern blend of dance,
performance and circus arts.
It was immediately clear that this could revolutionize the American
circus. It did. Imitators multiplied. Even the powerhouse Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey had to create a knock-off called
"Kaleidoscape," which came through town a year or so ago. It was a
poor imitation.
Even though it now comes to Chicago only every three years, Cirque has
reached the point where it has to please a core audience that has
probably by this time seen at least one of the troupe's high-tech
permanent installations in either Las Vegas or Orlando. Vegas'
stunning "O" is performed in a huge pool of water. And "Mystere" has
hydraulic lifts that can make the entire playing area disappear. It's
tough to follow that in a tent.
Then there are the memories of the previous touring extravaganzas.
"Quidam" evoked both Atom Egoyan and Magritte. "Saltimbanco" seduced
with bungee chords and unforgettable characters called "Baroques." And
even after a decade, who can forget Vladimir? This beautiful flying
man had the power to break up marriages and subsequently landed his
own show in Vegas.
By now, the ever more upscale Cirque has raised its own bar -- not to
mention ticket prices -- to such heights that the gravest threat to
its franchise is its own successes. More dangerous still, there has
also been a changing of the creative guard.
Andrew Watson's name is gone. Former artistic director Guy Caron, who
was absent for Cirque's big 10 years, returned to direct "Dralion" as
part of a new team headed by Gilles Ste-Croix, Cirque's director of
creation.
Fans need not worry -- there has been no fall-off in show quality or
entertainment value.
More culturally specific, spectacle-driven and overtly Chinese in
influence, Caron's harder-edged "Dralion" lacks the dreamy,
surrealiste quality of this company's earlier work. Former composer
Rene Dupere has never been equaled. And the harsher and more frenetic
pace of "Dralion" reflects, perhaps, the unfortunate trend in live
entertainment toward a sampling culture and a fear of aesthetic
reflection.
There are no hauntingly meta-theatrical images in this show that stamp
the mind quite like its predecessors. That's a shame.
Having said that, Cirque cannot be faulted for moving with the times
or ensuring its appeal to younger audiences (its work is still aimed
primarily at adults and teens rather than young children). By
necessity, this spectacular show has also grown enormously in
technical sophistication and production budget.
Borrowing from lessons learned in Vegas, the razor-sharp "Dralion"
benefits from a ring with a basement exit, as in "O." And fans of
"Mystere" will enjoy the numerous and bizarre mechanical creatures who
also strut around "Dralion" in the same spectacular fashion as they do
at Treasure Island.
The sumptuous visuals of "Dralion" are far and away the most
extravagant ever to tour. At least you can see where some of your
money has gone. (By the way, avoid the top ticket prices. The seats in
the rear are in some ways the better ones).
Overall, you are left with the sense that this show was aimed to
compete not with the Big Apple Circus but with Madonna.
In the accepted sense, at least, Madonna doesn't come with clowns. But
the quartet of funnymen in "Dralion" wisely eschew the usual boring
abuse of the audience in favor of a slew of accessible, inventive and
fabulously funny routines that deftly parody Cirque's own signature
conventions. Clowning at the Cirque often has been a weak spot in the
past, and these warm guys are this troupe's best ever.
But the real highlight of "Dralion" is its feast of Chinese acrobats.
In all previous shows, what Cirque likes to call its "house troupe"
have played a supporting role and showed up in between the big circus
acts to shift sets and stare meaningfully. Technology can now do that.
So Ste-Croix and Caron nixed that component and cast a crackerjack
troupe of frenetic, friendly and youthful Chinese performers who jump
through hoops, create impossible human pyramids and generally dominate
the show.
We love them more and more because each time they return to the ring
they seem to get better and better.
Despite its state-of-the-art techno-tent, corporate sponsors, Yuppie
ambiance and gourmet hors-d'oeuvres, the Cirque knows it still needs
to connect with an audience's inner child. That's what brings in the
money.
* * * * * *
CIRCUS OF THE COSMOS
By: Unknown | Globe & Mail
December 15, 2001
They've come a long way since their first performance in an 800-person
tent in Gaspé, and the Cirque du Soleil's tradition of flamboyant
theatricality continues to amaze with a new television special,
Dralion.
Back when it started in 1984, Cirque's first claim to being different
was its performer-driven show that made no use of lions or tigers or
elephants. With magical costumes and an innovative approach, Cirque
took recognizable big-top acts and made them unrecognizable,
revolutionizing circus arts and making it cool again. Sure there are
jugglers, acrobats and trapeze artists, but always with a twist.
Dralion is no different.
The premise of the 90-minute show is the marriage of cultures, with a
particular focus on Chinese circus arts, since Cirque directors Guy
Laliberte and Guy Caron had long wanted to pay tribute to the
culture's expertise.
"Dralion is kind of a East-meets-West deal," says Luc Lafortune, part
of the creative team behind Cirque and who designed the lighting for
Dralion. "There is a very strong Chinese presence, in excess of 40
performers, but we didn't want to put them in Chinese costumes set to
Chinese music and do their Chinese performance. So what we did is take
them out of their context and gave them costumes that were probably
more neutral in that sense and much more evocative on a broader level
without being specific to a culture."
Even the name of the show is suggestive of a hybrid, says Lafortune,
combining the words dragon and lion to create a show that seems
mythical, powerful and symbolic.
And this hybridization is not only thematic. Fifty-six highly skilled
artists from eight countries were retrained to learn special
choreography for Dralion resulting in a cosmopolitan fusion of
techniques. Put them in luminescent costumes making use of materials
as odd as Christmas decorations and horsehair, add a New Age
soundtrack, and you have the future of circus.
At first, Dralion seems like an allegorical narrative: a young boy
appears with an hourglass. He is soon followed by a burst of four
characters, each of whom represents one of the four elements, but also
stands for four of the major regions on the planet: Africa, India,
South-East Asia and Europe. Then the fun begins.
Teeterboard artists, brightly clad in green, launch each other into
the air, serpentine jugglers use every body part to keep the balls
from falling, acrobats madly tumble across the stage and dive through
rings, Chinese dragons turn somersaults and a beautiful pas de deux is
performed in mid-air.
In case this sounds a little too serious, Cirque lightens the tone
with its own brand of clowns (after all, it wouldn't be a circus
without clowns). But don't expect any flowers squirting water, and
there are no little cars in sight.
Skeptics might call it a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
And surely if you've seen one, one-hand balancing act, you've seen
them all. But Lafortune says the purpose of the show is to defy easy
definition. He is reluctant to assign a particular story to Cirque's
shows, because he feels it limits the audience's interpretations of
and reactions to the performances.
"It's like going to an art gallery. When you look at the paintings,
some move you and some don't, and the paintings that do move you, you
don't necessarily know why. And you don't begin to decipher the
meaning and try to understand the reasoning why there is such a
character in such a context - it's not a necessary part of the
process.
"Every act is a different painting and you go from one to the next,
you're being transported."
Lafortune started with Cirque in 1984 immediately after he graduated
from Montreal's Concordia University with a degree in fine arts
specializing in theatre arts. Back then Cirque du Soleil was strictly
a Canadian concoction, with headquarters in Montreal, mostly Quebecois
performers and funding from the Quebec provincial government.
"I remember when we first headed out, we rented a minivan and left St.
Therese in Montreal, and drove 14 hours straight to Gaspé. That's
where we had the world premiere of Cirque du Soleil - in a tent that
wasn't ours because we had some problems with ours - it was kind of ad
hoc," he says laughing. "When we first headed out, there were 65 of
us. Now there's 2,500."
At first it took him a while to understand how to design the lighting
for the shows since the performers had special and sometimes bizarre-
sounding requirements for the acts.
"If you're doing a tightrope or hand-balancing act, there are certain
things that need consideration and take precedence over the aesthetic
of the design,' he says. "When they were doing hand balancing or when
they had to do somersaults they told me they needed light on the
ceiling. And I couldn't understand why they needed light on the
ceiling when they had light on the floor. What I eventually
understood, is that they need to see the floor and ceiling because
they need more than one record as to where they're at in space.
"Probably the biggest challenge any time that you're lighting an
acrobat performance in the context of Cirque du Soleil is to balance
the theatricality of the lighting design with the lighting that's
required by the artist to do what they do."
While the televised performance doesn't have the same intensity as
seeing Cirque du Soleil in person, the benefit of it is that you get
better angles and close-up views of performers as they mentally
prepare for that next balancing act.
Plus there are some great aerial views of the spectacular
performances, particularly the pas de deux, revealing just how
detailed the choreography is. You also don't have to wait while the
carneys get the equipment for the next act ready (although the
commercial-free broadcast makes it harder to break for peanuts and
popcorn).
True to Cirque tradition, Dralion is one of the most colourful
spectacles you will see on television, in no small part due to the
dedication of its staff.
"I think that most of us do it because of a passion for what we do,
and the mandate we give ourselves is that we want the people who see
our shows to be moved just as we are," sums up Lafortune.
* * * * * *
REVIEW: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: DRALION
By: Lawrence Christon | Variety
March 7, 2002
"Dralion" is among the more robust of Cirque du Soleil's programs, and
among the funniest Guto Vasconcelos, Phillipe Aymard, Colin Gee and
Gonzalo Munoz are the clowns who parody some of the acts in addition
to inflicting mayhem on each other. Some of it is spectacular,
especially in the double trapeze act of Han Yan, Zhu Sha, Zhou
Chunmei, Wang Dongguo, Zhang Hongwei and Hao Desheng, whose moves
appear designed not just around athletic prowess but mathematical
possibilities. And some of it is plain beautiful, as when pas de deux
aerialists Igor Arefiev and Colette Morrow rise and descend and swoop
gracefully around the ring in one of ballet's most poignant joys
freedom from Earth's gravity.
"Dralion" is no different than when it made a 1999 tour stop in Santa
Monica. Yet there's still a lot to appreciate in how far the music and
design team of Cirque du Soleil, not to mention the more than 55
performers, has blended a succession of acrobatic novelty acts into an
art form that expands the possibilities of dance, theater and the
circus.
One of the most consistent pleasures here is not just the unfolding
sight of the human body in graceful fusion of strength and physical
perfection, but the body set to music. As impressive as any of the
sounds and spectacular light designs, it's the human form and its
amazing power of expression that gives "Dralion" and the Cirque du
Soleil's other programs their primary appeal.
Many of the acrobats' acts are so old that Marco Polo's Silk Road must
have been littered with the broken bones of teeter-board aerialists
who missed, or aging hoop divers who had fallen and couldn't get up.
The format isn't exactly fresh, either. As described in the promo kit,
the theme of "Harmony Among the Elements," consisting of Air (Colette
Morrow), Earth (Henriette Gbou) Water (Amrapali Ambegaokar) and Fire
(Benjamin Pring) suggests the kind of vaporous uplift that makes you
want to stay after school to petition for world peace.
Music and costumes evoke Third World cultures; harem pants, the
American Indian Trickster dance, those hoopsters done up in Australian
aboriginal body paint, Japanese drums and modern funkadelic supply
diversity without bombast.
Cirque du Soleil is so unlike any other circus group that its only
competition has been with itself. Much of "Dralion" has been seen
elsewhere, tricked up in different ambient settings. You have to
wonder what it would be like if this brilliant creative team set its
mind to a phantasmal narrative classic, like Dante's "Inferno,"
Homer's "The Odyssey" or "Orpheus and Eurydice." The Cirque du Soleil
revolutionized the circus. If the members put their minds to it, they
could probably revolutionize theater, too.
* * * * * *
IN THE EYE OF DRALION
By: Misha Berson | Seattle Times
July 26, 2002
After testing the waters with a hit local run of "Saltimbanco" two
years ago, Canada's Cirque du Soleil troupe is returning to the
Seattle area soon with another nouvelle circus extravaganza.
Opening Thursday, in a blue-and-yellow big-top tent pitched on the
same spot next to the Renton Boeing Plant where "Saltimbanco" played,
is the long-touring Cirque du Soleil show "Dralion." The title refers
to the "half dragon, half lion" dancing spirits who appear in the
production.
Dragons? Lions? This spectacle is unique among Cirque du Soleil
efforts, in the way it draws inspiration (and the majority of its 55
performers) from the esteemed circus culture of China. Many of the
super-agile acrobats, bamboo-pole climbers, hand balancers, hoop
divers, rope skippers and foot jugglers in the ensemble hail from
China's Red Flag Circus Troupe.
Director Guy Caron, and others in the "Dralion" artistic team,
traveled to China to recruit them, and to immerse themselves in
venerable Chinese circus traditions. But "Dralion" artistic director
Sylvie Galarneau, who is responsible for keeping the 1999 show fresh
as it continues to tour, emphasizes that this is first and foremost a
typically pan-cultural Cirque du Soleil event.
"We have clowns from Chile, America, Brazil and France in the
ensemble, a juggler from the Ukraine and a pas de deux team from
England and Russia. Most of our musicians are American and Canadian.
We're like a little U.N. on tour."
Her description is backed up by the condensed cable-TV version of
"Dralion," which earned three Emmy Awards and is available on DVD and
VHS.
Onscreen, the show promises to be an eye-popping Cirque du Soleil
fantasia, pulling from many cultural sources to evoke an imaginary
universe where supple, colorfully adorned creatures perform amazing
physical feats to ethno-fusion music.
"The result of our trips to China was a meeting, a hybrid, of Soleil's
signature style and some major Chinese content," Galarneau explains.
"But it is not strictly a Chinese show."
Like the six other active productions currently in the prosperous
Montreal-based troupe's empire, "Dralion" is gauzily wrapped in a
cosmic theme.
"The main images here are of the four major elements earth, air,
fire, water," says Galarneau. "And we've added a fifth, a Chinese
element we call 'strength of soul.' Our director wanted to show all
these little unending circles of life, which all need to join together
in balance to survive."
The world-class skills of the performers, hypnotic world-jam score
(with lyrics in a made-up language) and seductive marketing ploys have
been intrinsic to all Cirque du Soleil exports, since the company
became a major entertainment draw in the late 1980s. (Soleil's four
touring productions, and three resident shows in Las Vegas and
Orlando, sold 7 million tickets last year.) But the dazzling visual-
design work is also critical to the troupe's success.
French Canadian costume designer François Barbeau drew on his
extensive experience in theater, film and ballet to create the vibrant
dream-wear for "Dralion."
"Basically, the costumes are simple, and the accent is very much on
color," says Barbeau, who won an Emmy for his "Dralion" designs. "The
colors are very, very powerful there are no pastels. When we deal
with the element of water it is all green, because looking down at
China from the airplane I saw many green lakes below, like pieces of
jade.
"Fire is red, of course. The earth is represented with browns and
ochre and reddish browns, and the air is blue. It's very basic, but
quite sophisticated."
One challenge for Barbeau was making the shimmering, "sculptural"
costumes durable enough to hold up well on tour: "The fabric is dyed
in spectacular ways, but each piece is designed to last," he states.
He adds that typically a performer will wear five different costumes
in the show, and must make presto offstage changes so the visual spell
is never broken for audiences.
"Dralion" comes to Seattle after an extended Portland run. Due to
advance ticket demand, the Renton engagement has already been extended
a week, through Sept. 8.
* * * * * *
THE MARVEL OF CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
By: David Yonke | The Toledo Blade
July 20, 2003
To find the limits of what the human body can achieve, take one part
dragon, one part lion, and the four elements of fire, water, air, and
earth. Add a traveling troupe of 55 athletes, acrobats, and artists
from around the world and you've got "Dralion," the latest
entertainment spectacle from Cirque du Soleil.
The Montreal-based Cirque, which will bring its newest production to
Columbus for a three-week engagement beginning Thursday, has become a
show-business marvel by combining displays of strength and agility
with elaborate choreography, colorful costumes, high-tech staging and
lighting, and a contemporary musical backdrop.
Since it was founded in 1984 by Guy Laliberte, who started by
organizing a show featuring jugglers, stilt walkers, and other
Montreal street performers, Cirque du Soleil has traveled to 90 cities
and entertained more than 37 million spectators.
Kati Renaud, artistic director of "Dralion" (pronounced "drah-lee-
OWN"), said in an interview last week that she is still amazed by the
athleticism displayed in such acts as the double trapeze, single-hand
balancing, the teeterboard, hoop diving, and juggling.
"I've been with the show two years and sometimes I look at it and
think, `That's incredible!' But that's what good training is all
about. A lot of the artists have been doing this since they were
children."
At the center of "Dralion" is a troupe of 39 Chinese acrobats, who
travel with five coaches and three interpreters. The show also
features performers from nine other nations - Brazil, Canada, Chile,
France, Ivory Coast, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United
States.
A large part of Renaud's job is to rehearse the choreography and to
keep the acts "tight," she said, and directing artists from 10
different nations presents a number of challenges.
"Most of the non-Chinese seem to speak English," she said. "But for
the Chinese, we always have one interpreter stuck to us when we're
training. Everybody knows a little bit of Chinese and we always have a
Chinese-English dictionary."
Renaud, a native of Montreal, was a dancer with another Cirque du
Soleil show, "Mystere," for four years before becoming artistic
director. Having been a performer herself makes it easier for her to
direct "Dralion" artists.
"I'll speak to them more on a one-on-one basis, rather than a boss to
employee," she said. "And I can do that because I've been where
they're at. It's good for them and it's also good for me. Sometimes I
really do feel like a mom."
"Dralion," which debuted in Monreal in April, 1999, is the 15th Cirque
du Soleil show and the eighth that is currently being performed. Five
of the productions are on tour in North America, Europe, and Japan,
while three are permanently based - "O" at the Bellagio and "Mystere"
at Treasure Island in Las Vegas, and "La Nouba" at Walt Disney World's
Pleasure Island.
There is no specific story behind "Dralion," Renaud said, but the
fast-paced show offers a fantasy theme based on the four elements,
each associated with its own "family" of artists in corresponding
colors. Blue represents air, green symbolizes water, red is for fire,
and ochre represents the Earth.
The costumes, designed by Francois Barbeau, are fitted for each artist
and made from combinations of natural and synthetic fibers including
lycra, silk, leather, and cotton, accented with everything from emu
feathers to Styrofoam.
The makeup for each performer requires between 20 minutes and an hour
to apply for each show, Renaud said. The person who plays the Fire
Element has the most extravagant makeup, which initially took two
hours to apply. With practice, the daily task has been reduced to
about an hour.
"Dralion," presented inside an enormous blue-and-yellow circus tent,
has a set that includes three large metallic rings hanging 42 feet
above a shock-absorbing floor made of Taraflex. A metallic wall,
covered with perforated, semi-transparent aluminum, serves as both an
orchestra pit and a stage wing.
Cirque du Soleil is constantly scouring the planet for more
performers, sending talent scouts around the world to search for top
athletes who also possess an intangible ability to "express their
inner creativity," Renaud said.
One of the major attractions for the artists who join Cirque du Soleil
is that the choreographers and designers don't just dictate the roles,
but during the development stages work closely with performers to make
the best use of their individual talents.
By contrast, Renaud said, she was trained in ballet, which leaves
little room for the artist's interpretations.
"In ballet, the choreographer comes and shows you the steps. You learn
the steps and then you execute them. But Cirque is different," she
said. "The artist has as much input as the creative team can accept or
absorb. It's really 50-50, in terms of choreography. Cirque uses the
artist's positive traits to make the show more beautiful and well-
executed."
A production as physically demanding as Cirque eventually results in
injuries - "we call them little boo-boos," the motherly Renaud said -
but to keep the cast's ailments to a minimum, "Dralion" travels with
three physiotherapists.
"One works with the artists on training during the afternoons," Renaud
said. "Another works on body conditioning to keep the artists strong
and, if injured, to bring them back to health. And one is there at
night during the shows, of course."
"Dralion" also has its own traveling kitchen in order to meet the
dietary demands of its diverse cast and crew. The menu always includes
rice, fish, and vegetables, she said. "There are the occasional French
fries, but most of the time, being health-conscious is a priority."
# # #
That's all for in this issue, but there's still a little bit more!
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 5 (Issue #172) - May 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.
{ May.09.2018 }
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