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Fascination Issue 168
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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 1 January 2018 ISSUE #168
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Welcome to the latest edition of Fascination, the Unofficial Cirque
du Soleil Newsletter.
* * * GOODBYE VAREKAI, FAREWELL LA NOUBA * * *
It's hard to believe La Nouba is no more. It's through La Nouba I
gained my first glimpse into the world of Cirque du Soleil, coming on
a rather tiresome evening in May 1999. But from the very first moment
the show began, I sat utterly enthralled. It was of little consequence
that I was as far away from the stage as one could get. In that moment
all that was relevant was the artistry and pageantry on display before
me. For truly a door opened; two worlds collided. Dreams clashed with
reality. The mundane mixed with the marvelous. I had truly entered the
dominion of Cirque du Soleil, glowing with spellbinding intensity...
a vibrant kaleidoscope of artistry and daring... a splash of iridescent
genius. I knew the color of imagination and I never looked back! It's
always been there... so to have La Nouba's doors close now after all
that it has done for me is rather surreal, and sad. What I've said
may sound corny (and its usually the way I describe my introduction
to Cirque du Soleil), but it's absolutely true. I will miss La Nouba
more than I can say, and more than you will ever know.
And Varekai too. After 15 years touring around the world with 5,219
performances in 231 cities across 43 countries throughout 5 continents,
VAREKAI also had its final bow last month. Although Varekai was not
the first touring show I'd see (Dralion earned that accolade when it
came through Miami in 2001; Quidam would be second in February 2002),
it would be the first show I'd get to see premiere in Montreal.
But I will take away with me great memories... from meeting Paul
Bannerman and some of the cast and crew of Varekai during premiere
week, to partying with the cast and crew of La Nouba at CirqueCon
2007, to even being part of La Nouba for Cirque's 25th Anniversary
celebrations... yep, I got bike jumped that night! All good memories.
They say all good things must come to an end... and not cry because
it's over, smile because it happened... it's still hard to let good
shows (and the people behind them) go. So, a heartfelt thank you to
the casts and crews of both La Nouba and Varekai for putting on a
top-notch show year after year after year. May you future endeavors
prove fruitful!
See VAREKAI's final bow: < https://goo.gl/Q6DjH6r >
See LA NOUBA's final bow: < https://goo.gl/h6jvSh >
LA NOUBA's Goodbye video: < https://youtu.be/CC18Vp9BkeY >
LA NOUBA's Final Bow Video #1: < https://youtu.be/9bKFo-xwiIc >
LA NOUBA's Final Bow Video #2: < https://goo.gl/spbYg2 >
* * * NEW CIRQUE SHOW IN DEVELOPMENT FOR DISNEY SPRINGS * * *
Now for something a bit happier. Something we've known about for a
while, but now it's official!
Earlier this year, the Disney Parks Blog announced that "La Nouba" by
Cirque du Soleil would be taking its final bow at Disney Springs on
New Year's Eve 2018. As the curtain closes on this fan favorite, it's
fitting that we share some exciting news about the future of the long-
lasting relationship between Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group and
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Nearly twenty years after teaming up to
bring "La Nouba" to the stage, the two entertainment companies are
working together on a new collaboration. This original show will be
created by Cirque du Soleil and will pay homage to Disney's rich
history of animation, with a vivid story told in a way that only
Cirque du Soleil can deliver. Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO of
Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, elaborated, sharing "We are
incredibly inspired by Disney's immense creative universe. We are
convinced that bringing Disney's magic to life on stage will touch
audiences and bring them back to their childhood."
An opening date for the new show has not been announced; however, 2019
has been floated about. Keep an eye here as we'll continue to share
details as they are finalized. Michel Laprise is rumored to be
directing. Benoit Jutras (Composer of Quidam, "O", and La Nouba) has
signed on to compose this new show. Stay tuned!
* * * CRISS ANGEL TO CLOSE MINDFREAK LIVE IN OCTOBER * * *
After 10 years and over 4000 performances, Cirque du Soleil and Criss
Angel Productions announced on December 22, 2017 its collaboration
will culminate with the final performance of MINDFREAK LIVE! at Luxor
Las Vegas on October 28, 2018. The decade-long collaboration between
Cirque and Angel has resulted in some of the most talked-about
productions and most incredible magic ever seen on stage. Tickets for
all remaining performances are on sale now. "It has been an
extraordinary experience working with Cirque du Soleil and Luxor these
past nine years. They have been amazing partners and will always be
part of my family," said Criss Angel. "I am so proud of what we have
created together and I am extremely excited about the new illusions we
will be adding in our final year of MINDFREAK LIVE!"
Jerry Nadal, senior vice president, Cirque du Soleil, said "it has
been a pleasure to work with Criss Angel for the past nine years.
Criss is a visionary artist and watching his illusions come to life on
stage has been an incredible experience. We respect his decision to
explore other opportunities after 10 successful years at Luxor and we
are looking forward to a tremendous final year showcasing Criss' most
spectacular illusions in MINDFREAK LIVE!"
Celebrated as "the most watched magician in history," Criss Angel's
MINDFREAK LIVE! has been called the "Magic Experience of a Lifetime."
Based on Angel's hit TV show MINDFREAK, which smashed records with
more than 100 million viewers each season, MINDFREAK LIVE! showcases
90 minutes of the most unbelievable, original and thrilling illusions
ever performed on stage. Jim Murren, Chairman and CEO, MGM Resorts,
said, "I am inspired by Criss Angel's commitment to the Las Vegas
community and to raising funds and awareness for childhood cancer. I
share both of those passions. In honor of our decade-long partnership
and shared values, MGM Resorts will host a fundraising effort with
Criss next year." Nik Rytterstrom, President of Luxor Las Vegas, said,
"MINDFREAK LIVE! has been a huge hit for our guests and we look
forward to sharing his show with new audiences in the months ahead.
"Criss has been a tremendous part of our Luxor family and we wish him
great success."
The final performance of MINDFREAK LIVE! at Luxor Las Vegas is
scheduled for October 28, 2018. Tickets for all remaining performances
can be purchased by calling 702-262-4400 or by visiting
www.cirquedusoleil.com.
* * * 45 DEGREES ANNOUNCES 2 MORE YEARS IN ANDORRA * * *
45 DEGREES is pleased to announce that Cirque du Soleil will continue
performing in beautiful Andorra la Vella in 2018 and 2019. From June
29th to July 30th, 2018, following the success of the SCALADA series,
a new chapter begins with DIVA by Cirque du Soleil, which will pay
tribute to some of the greatest divas of all time. Relive music's most
celebrated hits through the lens of Cirque du Soleil. This year's
spirited acrobatics will be performed to the rhythm of the songs of
the divas who shaped our history. Learn more at the show's website:
< https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/diva > and see the poster for this
new production here: < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=11197 >.
* * * CIRQUE AT ROYALMOUNT CENTRE? * * *
According to a recent CBC News article, Cirque du Soleil says it is
interested in having a "creative project on the site of Royalmount,"
its spokesperson Marie-Hélène Lagacé confirmed. But what is
Royalmount? Royalmount centre is a massive new shopping and
entertainment complex proposal slated for the Town of Mount-Royal's
industrial sector, not far from the Da la Savane Metro station in
Montreal. CarbonLeo, the company that built Quartier Dix30, a shopping
centre and entertainment complex on Montreal's South Shore, is
undertaking the $1.7-billion project nestled at the junction of
Highways 15 and 40, earning it the nickname Quinze40. The 232,257-
square-metre complex will feature a performing arts space with seating
for 3,000 people, a water park, an indoor cinema complex and an
outdoor cinema on the green roof. The mall will also house
restaurants, terraces, two hotels, an outdoor skating rink and office
space. The project is controversial as opponents suggest the new
centre would multiply traffic and pollution in the area, and that it
would centralize business, hurting the local economy and mom-and-pop
shops, and discouraging people from working and living in the city
core. Proponents look at the opportunity to redevelop a section of the
city overlooked today. In either case, the fact that Cirque du Soleil
is "interested" in having a creative project of some kind on the site
is newsworthy to us. We will, of course, keep our ears open for new
developments on this project.
* * * LIP SYNC BATTLE CELEBRATES THE KING OF POP * * *
Lip Sync Battle returns by moonwalking onto Paramount Network
(formally Spike) with the largest live event of its franchise history.
LIP SYNC BATTLE LIVE: A MICHAEL JACKSON CELEBRATION will be a landmark
television event celebrating the pre-eminent entertainment icon,
Michael Jackson, on Thursday, January 18 9/8c. The one-hour special,
produced by Casey Patterson Entertainment and Matador Content, in
consultation with The Estate of Michael Jackson, will feature larger-
than-life performances LIVE from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. A
special performance by Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil, the
critically acclaimed show in permanent residence at the Michael
Jackson Theater is also scheduled. The live special is executive
produced by Casey Patterson, Jay Peterson, James Sunderland, LL COOL
J, John Krasinski, Stephen Merchant, and 8 Million Plus Productions,
and directed by Glenn Weiss. All songs performed during the special
are featured in Michael Jackson ONE. "The King of Pop is the most
groundbreaking, theatrical superstar of all time and we are thrilled
to be performing and celebrating the electrifying music of Michael
Jackson on our big night," said Executive Producer Casey Patterson.
"We are taking Lip Sync Battle to new heights, LIVE at The Dolby
Theater for the launch of The Paramount Network."
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
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CONTENTS
===========
o) Cirque Buzz -- News, Rumours & Sightings
* La Presse -- General News & Highlights
* Q&A -- Quick Chats & Press Interviews
* Spectacle -- CRYSTAL in the Presse
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
* "O" is Beautiful, Even on the Small Screen -
A look at the ARTE broadcast of "O"
By: Keith Johnson - Seattle, Washington (USA)
* "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 9 of 16: Alegria, Part 2 (1995)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
o) Copyright & Disclaimer
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CIRQUE BUZZ -- NEWS, RUMOURS & SIGHTINGS
=======================================================================
***************************************************************
LA PRESSE -- General News & Highlights
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Why you need to experience Cirque aboard MSC Meraviglia
{Dec.05.2017}
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A new Cirque du Soleil has landed and not somewhere you would normally
expect to see it
Aboard a cruise ship!
Designed to create a unique experience and change the world of
entertainment on cruise ships, MSC have collaborated with Cirque du
Soleil to create an entertainment lounge with a difference. Normally
frequenting theatres and circuses around the globe, Cirque du Soleil
is a synthesis of circus styles from around the world with live music,
performers and breath-taking acrobatics. MSC Meraviglia (one of the
largest cruise ships in the world) set on its maiden voyage last June,
launching with it the first in the world Cirque du Soleil at sea.
When on board you are able to view two different Cirque du Soleil
performances: Sonor and Viaggio. Both are completely unique, telling a
different story and presenting a rare atmosphere so that you can enjoy
both shows with the multi-talented actors performing completely
different roles between them. These are performed twice-nightly over
six nights.
The lounge is custom built for the show and very intimate, seating
significantly less than the number of guests on board with just 413
spaces. Because of this, it is important you reserve your seat to
guarantee entry to the performance - believe us you really do not want
to miss it during your cruise!
Pre-purchase your tickets for MSC cruises Cirque du Soleil to enjoy a
complimentary signature cocktail during the show and if you would like
to treat yourself to a really special evening, you can book in for a
three-course dinner too.
On our time aboard MSC Meraviglia we opted for the Dinner and Show
package which is a must in our eyes.
Dining in the lounge is as atmospheric as it is charming; a musician
performs live on the stage while you relax with a glass of wine and
catch up with your loved ones on the days activities and excursions.
The staff are quick to attend to your every need, giving a thorough
breakdown of the courses before you tuck in. A unique aspect to this
package is that the food is kept a secret until the show, as it
corresponds to what is happening on stage - making for a truly one of
a kind experience. From the starter to the main and the desserts, the
flavours of each course complimented each other faultlessly, teasing
our taste buds - it was a gastronomic delight. Everything was
presented nicely, and it was clear that courses, table setting, and
music had been thought out specifically to complement the show.
Although the menu options are limited they made sure the food was as
good as the performance.
The show we saw was Viaggio, which is described as: "The story of a
passionate and eccentric artist who hears the call of his Faceless
Muse. Mysterious and seductive, she beckons him into the vivid world
of his unbridled imagination to complete his masterpiece. With each
stroke of his paintbrush, the Painter reveals the details of his
grandiose tableau. Electrifying colours fill the space with intriguing
motifs and rich textures. Majestic acts transform the theatre into a
living canvas. Before our very eyes, a masterpiece comes to life."
As we watched the show it soon became clear there wasn't anything the
performers couldn't do. The atmosphere was electric and at points the
entire lounge held their breath - particularly when one performer
balanced another on his shoulders while keeping a ladder upright
unsupported! But that's exactly what brings such joy and excitement
when watching the show. It combines optical illusion, trickery,
lighting and so many moments you can't quite believe what you are
seeing with your own eyes. Utterly sensational, performers switch from
being suspended on straps soaring round the ceiling to juggling on
bicycles, flipping through hoops and creating breath-taking human
towers.
Contortionists, acrobats, smoke and fire, the costumes, acts and
dances are performed with a dramatic yet poetic grace. The trickery,
the acrobats, and the mind-boggling skills culminate to a show unlike
anything you have ever seen - and unlike anything you will ever see
again. Add to the mix that they are on the sea and it's just mind
blowing - a true professional and master in performance. With MSC
Cruises Cirque du Soleil, you struggle to get your head round this is
on a cruise ship in the middle of the sea, it feels like it is in a
main London arena or theatre. And if you are lucky enough to catch one
of the shows on board, you really won't see it anywhere else. This is
because the Cirque du Soleil shows on board the MCS Meraviglia are
exclusive to the ship.
When on board a cruise ship, entertainment is such a huge factor and
one that can make a big difference to your vacation - and this is
truly blown out of the water with Cirque du Soleil on board. This is
real next level entertainment and something which takes cruise ship
activities way above expectations. Cirque du Soleil is something known
and loved worldwide and to get the chance to experience this on a
holiday of a lifetime makes for a trip to truly remember.
We were so impressed with this performance - not only was the show
spell bounding, but the food delicious and the ship extremely
impressive. (Let's face it, if a ship has a staircase made entirely of
Swarovski crystals how couldn't it be?!) If you are looking to book
your first cruise or are looking for something different, we highly
recommend you book yourself onto MSC Meraviglia and experience the MSC
Cruises Cirque du Soleil.
CHECK OUT THE IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THIS ARTICLE HERE:
< http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=11118 >
{ SOURCE: Seen in the City | https://goo.gl/yqGsNc }
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Magic City Announces Strategic Partnership w/Lune Rouge
{Dec.05.2017}
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In the "What is Guy up to lately" category...
Earlier today, Magic City Innovation District announced a strategic
partnership with Lune Rouge, the new company of Guy Laliberté, founder
and creative visionary behind Cirque du Soleil. Mr. Laliberté and Lune
Rouge's team will have a pivotal role in the curation and creative
direction of Magic City's new technology, arts and entertainment
district.
Lune Rouge joins Plaza Equity Partners, a Miami-based real estate
development and investment firm led by Neil Fairman, Anthony Burns and
George Helmstetter; and founding partners Bob Zangrillo of Dragon
Global, a Miami based private investment firm focused on venture
capital and real estate investments; and Tony Cho of Metro 1, a
forward thinking real estate brokerage, management and development
firm.
Magic City Innovation District intends to develop Little Haiti and
Little River neighborhoods to create a distinctive and unique
destination. The goal is to provide Miami with a walkable, campus-like
neighborhood where individuals from all demographic backgrounds can
enjoy a quality life and re-write history on how communities live,
work, play and learn together.
In achieving such, Magic City Innovation District intends to attract
leading innovators with ambition of changing the world through
advanced technologies. The development of the neighborhood could
become a model for real estate development and modern urban
revitalization leveraging the combination of traditional entertainment
and technology.
Mr. Laliberté built Cirque du Soleil into one of the largest live
entertainment companies in the world. He now focuses his attention
towards the entertainment technology sector. He has established Lune
Rouge, a Montreal based company that develops and supports projects
mainly related to the technology, arts, entertainment and real estate
sectors as well as initiatives with a positive social and
environmental impact. Lune Rouge promotes innovation, creativity and
entrepreneurship.
In the short term, the partnership wants to prioritize the activation
of the former Magic City Trailer Park and will be applying for a
Temporary Use Permit (TUP).
"Magic City is an opportunity for us to put all our creativity to the
service of entertainment and new technologies. This collaboration will
allow us to explore new forms of entertainment and make available
multimedia and interactive installations adapted to future Magic City
residents and visitors. Lune Rouge is proud to be a partner in this
important revitalization project," explains Guy Laliberté, founder of
Lune Rouge.
"We are thrilled to have Lune Rouge join us as a strategic partner.
Its team is focused on the entertainment technology sector, and it is
their intention to make Miami the high-tech and innovation center for
next-generation creative entertainment content," said Neil Fairman,
Partner, Magic City Innovation District. "Our team has been working
with institutions and community leaders to ensure that each proposal
embraces the rich culture that has been thriving in Little Haiti for
decades. As we move forward, we will continue to identify partnerships
and opportunities to facilitate their growth and cultural prosperity
in Little Haiti."
To bring this vision to life, the team behind the project also
announced the start of the Magic City Innovation District Foundation
to support the economic, social, and cultural prosperity of Little
Haiti and the diverse population of people who live and work there.
Preserving and celebrating the thriving Caribbean culture of Little
Haiti and the surrounding neighborhoods has been a foremost priority
throughout the development of Magic City. In the process, they have
actively participated in the local community, working alongside
organizations that have been serving the Little Haiti population for
decades.
Throughout this process, Magic City will be working with the Little
Haiti community to ensure that the proposal is inclusive and embraces
the rich culture that has been thriving in Little Haiti for decades.
About Magic City Innovation District (MCID) - Magic City Innovation
District is an innovation district focused on technology,
sustainability, health and wellness and art and entertainment. Magic
City Innovation District is revitalizing the Little Haiti and Little
River neighborhoods to create a world-class destination. It will
provide Miami a walkable, campus-like neighborhood where individuals
from all demographic backgrounds can enjoy a quality life and re-write
history on how communities live, work, play and learn together. Magic
City will serve as a new model for future innovation districts and
real estate development worldwide.
About the Magic City Innovation District Foundation - The Magic City
Innovation District Foundation is a charitable fund at the Miami
Foundation, a 501(c)3. It is committed to the economic, social, and
cultural prosperity of Little Haiti and the diverse population of
people who live and work there. In partnership with community leaders,
activists, organizations and government entities, the Foundation
provides funding and support to programs that benefit the local
community and facilitate sustainable growth.
{ SOURCE: CNW | https://goo.gl/s6fe4s }
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Wisycom Performs Outstanding Audio Feats for VOLTA
{Dec.15.2017}
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When independent Sound Designer Jean-Michel Caron was tasked with the
challenge of providing impeccable sound for the new Cirque du Soleil:
VOLTA Big Top touring production, he knew that Wisycom would be the
perfect fit. Caron relied heavily on the company's wireless microphone
transmitters and receivers, and in-ear receivers for his wireless and
RF needs.
VOLTA, the latest creation from Cirque du Soleil, tells a spellbinding
story about the freedom to choose and the thrill of blazing your own
trail. Inspired in part by the culture of action sports, the show
weaves acrobatics in a visually striking world driven by a stirring
melodic score ultimately celebrating freedom as a movement.
Caron is no stranger to working on the intricate sound set up required
by a Cirque du Soleil production, as he also provided the sound design
for KURIOS: Cabinet des Curiosities. "All RF components are invaluable
to the process," noted Caron. "Each piece of equipment is
interconnected to the rest of the sound system via the digital I/O
available on those units, and can be shared to the front of house and
our monitor system using a Dante(tm) network."
Caron credits his relationship with Transmission Squelch, a Canadian-
based specialist in wireless audio for productions and events, as a
factor in his equipment selection. "Transmission Squelch had nothing
but great things to say about Wisycom and made the introduction. Once
we tested and listened to the different systems and components, the
choice became clear."
For wireless microphones, Caron is relying on Wisycom's MRK960 Modular
Wireless Microphone Receiver System with its MTH400 Wideband Handheld
Transmitters and MTP40S Wideband Bodypack Transmitters. For in-ear
monitoring, the production crew relied on Wisycom's MPR50-IEM Wideband
True Diversity IEM Receivers.
Caron recalled how the Big Top show's acrobatic nature and extensive
set were a major factor in his sound design. "The fact that Wisycom's
system allows us to adjust power and other specific settings has
helped us get maximum coverage for the vast area of the performance.
Wireless coverage on our setup is never an easy task and working on a
complex stage design makes our antenna location limited. We also have
to consider vertical and horizontal displacement as the artists move
around the stage as well as fly above it on a piece of scenery. Our
reception and transmission has never faltered, remaining strong
throughout the area."
According to Caron, he says he was especially impressed with how well
the Wisycom equipment withstood each performance. "The male and female
lead performers both use handheld microphones and in-ear systems in
the show. Each used headset microphones that connect to a bodypack
transmitter, which allowed for better movement while flying on various
scenic pieces or playing an instrument while they sang."
Both wireless transmitters assisted Caron with his decision based off
of each products' unique features. The MTP40S showcases RF technology
along with an enhanced robustness against noise and inter-modulation.
The small, light pocket transmitter is especially designed for easy
and quick use, thanks to its OLED display, dedicated buttons and a
joggle selector. The MTH400 handheld microphone transmitter also uses
OLED display, a joggle selector that includes two buttons for straight
setup of gain and channel selection. MTH400 has been designed for
robustness against noise and self-interference thanks to a special
intermodulation cancellation circuit.
"The MPR50 in-ear wireless system has provided a strong signal from
the performers, who are wearing large costumes and moving around for
the majority of the show," adds Caron. "Wisycom's true diversity
feature gave us quality and stability on the audio feed received to
the in-ear pack." The MPR50 is a compact true diversity receiver
designed for professional in-ear monitoring applications. The receiver
features a unique wide-band tuning range up to 232 MHz.
The Big Top touring show will be performing in Miami and Tampa Bay,
Florida this winter.
About Wisycom
Wisycom is a designer and builder of the most sophisticated RF
solutions for broadcast, film and live production, renowned for their
durability, flexibility, reliability, practicality and cost-effective
price points. Wisycom's design process is driven by attention to
detail, customer feedback and ultimate quality, from the selection of
components to the manufacturing process, which takes place at the
company's Italian plants. The company prides itself on serving as a
technical advisor and partner to every customer. From custom design to
evaluation and dimensioning of systems, the Wisycom team stands by its
customers through every step of the process. For more information,
please visit www.wisycom.com.
{ SOURCE: Live Design | https://goo.gl/5oTnbB }
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Cirque du Soleil's VOLTA will flip you out
{Dec.20.2017}
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No matter what Cirque du Soleil show I see, it's always the same: I am
blown away by the acrobatics, dazzled by the visuals and only
peripherally aware of the story being told.
That is the case with "Volta," now in an eight-week run at Hard Rock
Stadium in Miami Gardens. This show mixes extreme sports such as BMX
riding, bungee jumping and parkour into the usual milieu of work with
trapeze, juggling, contortion, tumbling and Swiss rings.
It's admirable that the creative team at Cirque du Soleil try to weave
a tale into their human-circus shows, giving the entire franchise (22
shows currently up and running) a design theme and a signature
theatrical topspin. They could just show up all shiny and glistening,
with their bendy-stretchy bodies flying through the air and
backflipping around the stage, and it would probably still be one hell
of a performance.
Still, you might need to know going in that the production is centered
on a character named Waz, a game-show host on the wildly popular "Quid
Pro Quo" TV program. Off air and in private, Waz is haunted by his
childhood, when he was taunted for having blue feathers instead of
hair. The population of this fantasy world is divided into three
classes. The Greys are the Everymen, walking in formation and
engrossed in their smartphones. The Greys live for Waz's show, hoping
for instant celebrity if they can win the talent contest. Those who
triumph on the show are elevated to Elite class, and get to wear
metallic, neo-Baroque costumes. On the fringes are the Free Spirits, a
group of open-minded, life-loving travelers who give Waz the
confidence to be his true self and to rock those turquoise tresses.
That's on a lofty level. Here's what really happened.
8:09 p.m. The television pre-show starts, where it is decided who will
appear on tonight's episode. A few Greys appeal to different sections
of the audience to root for them as they compete doing a few flips and
handstands. One poor contestant's less-than-stellar act gets a
withering comment from the emcee, "It didn't blow my mind, but it
certainly blew." The 6- and 5-year-olds sitting in front of me and my
husband, Gary, seem to think this is the funniest line - ever! They
are still giggling long after everyone else has moved on.
8:15-8:17 p.m. Waz is having a flashback, which is shown to us through
video, of him cutting his blue feathers off his head as a child. The
kids in front of us aren't laughing anymore. Trauma trumps everything.
8:18 p.m "Quid Pro Quo" starts its broadcast with some choreography
straight out of "Solid Gold." I say as much to Gary, who replies, "No
one here is old enough to remember 'Solid Gold.' " He's right. I no
longer feel so bad about the translation of trauma a minute ago.
8:20 p.m. The first challenge on the TV show is rope skipping. And
man, oh man, do they skip rope. The tricks get increasingly impressive
from double dutch sequences (two ropes turning in opposite directions)
to handstand hops.
8:23 p.m. The winner of the rope skipping gets to become an Elite,
which means a glossy makeover. Then, there's more jump roping, but
this time with some breakdance moves thrown in.
8:26 p.m. Now, we seem to be in Waz's dressing room. We can hear
children's laughter, so we know there's more trauma coming. Sure
enough, the video screens sputter to life, and we see Waz being teased
over his blue hue hair.
8:27-8:30 p.m. The Greys execute some precision walking choreography
and a woman comes out roller skating. A bald dude starts singing and
sounds a lot like Sting (maybe from the "Brand New Day" period). A guy
comes wheeling out on a unicycle. I've lost the story. I'm just trying
to keep up at this point.
8:30-8:35 p.m. The unicycle man is balancing a woman on his head as he
whirls around the circular stage. She is doing all kinds of splits and
contortion moves in the air. Gary says, "You can really see the
athleticism because everyone is so close to the stage." He glances at
my notepad, which is his way of saying, "Write that down. I'm giving
you gold here about the intimacy of the performance space that seats
2,500 in the round."
8:35 p.m. A guy who looks like Waz grabs hold of a lamp that descends
from the catwalks above the stage and begins soaring through the air,
high above our heads. At times, he's only holding on with his feet. I
think to myself, "This must be Waz's spirit, finally free. Hey! I'm
starting to get this." But later, I read in a run-of-show that this is
a "younger Waz using the light to metaphorically illuminate the
journey ahead." I guess I'm not getting it.
8:39 p.m. The twirling is over, and now a woman starts singing like
Enya. The Grey are back and are engrossed in their cell phones, which
are rimmed with a bright light. I realize, with a sudden pang of
embarrassment that I really want one of those cell phones.
8:41 p.m. The stage begins to break apart as three hydraulic lifts
raise up parts of the stage floor. The Free Spirits bound onstage and
begin doing some free-running/parkour moves, crisscrossing one another
in midair flips and jumps. Then, there's a guy bouncing around on a
high wire 30 feet above us with no safety net. Every time one of the
Free Spirits lands a gymnastic trick, they thrust their chests out,
splay their hands out from their hips "Gladiator" style, as if to say,
"Are you not entertained?" Gary says, to no one in particular, "No
body fat."
8:47 p.m. There's a clowning bit here in which a man, his character's
name is Shood Kood Wood, mimes doing his laundry with some tricky
washing machines. Whichever one he attempts to use is out of order,
right up until he puts the clothes in another machine. This goes on
for seven minutes, and the kids in the audience lose their minds
laughing. I'm still hurting from the "no body fat" observation, so the
charms of the skit elude me.
8:54 p.m. Enya is back, and this time she has a violin, so you know
whatever is about to happen is going to be melancholy as all hell.
We're back in Waz's dressing room, which I'm beginning to think is his
apartment, because he starts watching 8 mm movies (who has a home-
video projector in their dressing room, aside from Matt Lauer?). A
tiny bicycle goes around the rim of the stage, riderless. It's
surreal, but it brings me back into the story. According to the images
in the video, Waz is reminiscing about his childhood and playing in
the yard with his mother. In what becomes a beautifully realized,
dreamlike segment, a BMX flatland rider performs a pas de deux with a
ballet dancer. When she pirouettes, he spins on the bike's back tire.
When she tour jetes, he hops. The cyclist has mad skills, and the
audience hoots and hollers approval.
8:56 p.m. The Free Spirits are back. I don't know how they do it. They
must be exhausted from so much "free spiriting," which is always a
hyper gymnastic thing when it comes to Cirque. This time, they twist,
swivel and sway on Swiss rings. Out of nowhere, two of them drop from
the catwalk high above cords and begin bouncing around between the men
on the Swiss rings. "You can really see the abs," Gary says. Somehow,
I know he isn't talking about me.
9:07 p.m. The "Quid Pro Quo" TV show starts again, but Waz is not
there. "Sting" is singing up a storm.
9:10 p.m. Intermission.
9:40 p.m. The show resumes. Waz wonders around. Two articulated
ladders appear (the scene transitions in "Volta" are seamless), and
two of the performers climb up and begin executing acrobatic figures,
showing incredible strength. I begin to wonder how these athletes
discovered they could do these feats when the Free Spirits begin
stacking octagonal hoops and jumping through them - sometimes
headfirst, sometimes feet first - and tumbling around the stage. I
have no idea what is going on storywise, but this part of the show
feels a lot looser and more improvised than the other bits. When an
athlete misses the target and knocks over one of the hoops, he shrugs,
and they set it up again and start over. It is ab-tastic.
9:59 p.m. OK, this is the part where I felt like I was in a Fellini
film. Shood Kood Wood returns to do a comedy bit where he's in a
jungle and comes upon a tropical plant. So, of course, he eats the
plant and begins to - and mind you, he is acting this all out in mime
- trip balls, rubbing his body in ecstasy. The kids in the audience
seem totally hip to the humor. One of the hydraulic platforms rises
from the stage, and Shood Kood Wood begins riding it like a surfboard
and doing a sort of Maori haka war dance while wearing a loincloth. He
flexes his buttocks and flashes the crowd (he's wearing sequined and
bugle-beaded underwear).
10:06 p.m. A woman sits cross-legged on a cushion. Her hair is
attached to a cord stretching to the top of the tent. Gary leans over
and whispers, "Talk about a topknot." She is then levitated by the
chord and begins swinging above us suspended by what appears to be her
hair. The crowd goes bonkers.
10:12 p.m. There's a tribal drum solo - don't know what that's about -
but then there are four more drummers, and the unicycle couple is
back. This time, they mean business. Waz appears (where was Waz?) as
the unicycle duo conduct a hand-to-hand balancing act teetering around
the stage.
10:17 p.m. A twirler shows up and begins doing her act with three
batons that light up. I have no clue what any of this means, anymore.
I'm just rolling with it, kind of like Shood Kood Wood did back in the
jungle (Molly humor!). Waz throws the twirler a fourth baton. I wonder
if this is symbolic in some way.
10:20 p.m. No kidding. There is an interpretive ballet dance.
10:22 p.m. Waz finds acceptance, blue feathers and all.
10:24 p.m. It's the big BMX finale. Ramps are quickly assembled
onstage (the transitions are truly impressive), and five riders begin
executing bike tricks such as: the Superman (riders extend feet
outward to resemble Superman in flight); Flair (a backflip with a 180-
degree spin); Double Tail Whip (the rider throws the bike to one side,
holding onto the handlebars and spins the bike's frame 360 degrees
twice before catching the frame and standing on the pedals; Flip Whip
(like a Double Tail Whip, but with a backward flip thrown in); and 720
(the rider does two 360-degree spins in a single jump).
10:30 p.m. The crowd loses it. The cast and their abs take well-
deserved bows.
{ SOURCE: Rod Stafford Hagwood | https://goo.gl/mhx6eX }
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LA NOUBA: Thank you for the thrills!
{Jan.02.2018}
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Three cheers to the cast and crew of "La Nouba," which after 19 years
of thrills bowed out with a spectacular performance on New Year's Eve.
Theatergoers were treated to a balloon drop at the show's finale ("La
Nouba, 1998-2017" the balloons read, with "Goodbye" printed in
multiple languages representing the performers' international
backgrounds.)
A souvenir "Au revoir" pin, depicting the show's distinctive white-
tent theater, was also handed out to ticketholders.
But the real treat, as always, was the show itself. The performers
were on fire Sunday night as they nailed trick after trick, stunt
after stunt and feat after feat - despite what must have been an
emotional day for them.
There was one heart-pounding miss - by a trapeze artist, who plummeted
to the safety net below. But that provided a needed reminder that
we're not watching child's play here. The artistry is heightened by
the danger. And when the high-flying troupe repeated the move - with
solid success - the Disney Springs theater practically shook with the
crowd's roar of approval.
A new Cirque-Disney collaboration is in the works, but I won't soon
forget all that "La Nouba" brought to Orlando - partnerships with
Orlando Ballet and Creative City Project were two of its most visible
contributions.
Thankfully, Benoit Jutras' soaring and pulsing music remains to
remind us of this colorful, whimsical, exhilarating burst of
creativity that added diversity to our entertainment landscape while
reminding us to always dream big.
{ SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel | https://goo.gl/6NkfYY }
***************************************************************
Q&A -- Quick Chats & Press Interviews
***************************************************************
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HuffPo: Backstage at Kurios w/Nathan Dennis
{Dec.04.2017}
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For me, Cirque du Soleil is a celebration of life and its
possibilities, a place where the impossible is possible. It opens my
mind and fills my heart with wonder and imagination and leaves me
feeling tremendously inspired.
Whenever I see a show I ponder, "What would it be like to run away
with the Cirque?" It was time to find out.
I was excited to go behind the scenes at the big top in Vancouver with
Nathan Dennis, 31, one of the 46 performers with Kurios - Cabinet of
Curiosities, Cirque du Soleil's 35th production with 122 tour members
from 23 different countries.
Nathan, from Australia, is one of the acro-net artists and the
performer trainer. He was leading a core training session with the
contortionists and I was invited to join in. Although a little
intimidated, I decided to go for it, after all when would I ever get
the chance to train with Cirque artists again?
I felt enormous next to the diminutive and graceful contortionists.
Although they appear to be delicate, they are in fact, strong as
steel. Nathan, with about zero percent body fat, led us through a
series of core exercises. I was mostly able to keep up, surprising
everyone, including myself. I guess being a Pilate's instructor helps.
There was one exercise that eluded me: the hanging leg raise. Hands
gripped overhead, hanging from a pull up bar you lift your legs,
keeping them straight, and touch your toes to your hands. The
contortionists, from Russia and Mongolia, did it effortlessly as if
lifting a feather; I could only pull my knees to my chest.
Backstage is not glamorous, just simple and practical. The area
directly behind the stage is full of props and costumes. The main
performance tent connects to a smaller backstage tent where the
artists hang out. It has an area with a bouncy gymnastics floor, a
trampoline, a trapeze, a large change room, a small weight room with a
Pilates reformer, a living room area with a TV, a large sewing area, a
banquet of mirrors with lights and an area for a massage therapy -
artists have access to a half-hour massage each week. People are
working out, rolling on foam rollers, doing their make-up (everyone
does their own) and practicing routines. Wrapped in heating pads, the
contortionists stretch under a heat lamp for an hour before each show.
In a separate smaller tent there is a dining room where lunch and
dinner are provided six days a week.
Nathan is one of nine acro-net artists touring with Kurios. Acro-net
is a fusion of trampoline and trapeze: an enormous net is stretched
over the stage like a giant trampoline. Dressed in outlandish fish
costumes, six team members stand along the edges of the net jumping in
unison to propel one teammate at the centre of the net skywards,
slingshot style, sometimes almost to the top of the tent. Each artist
creating, sometimes death defying, acrobatic flips as they skyrocket
upwards.
As a child, Nathan was always involved in sports and got into
trampoline at 10, "I always found it interesting watching people flip,
I just wanted to learn it as a hobby, nothing serious." He likes that
gymnastics is the "ultimate test to the human body." He started to get
"kind of good at it" and began to compete. Then, at 13, he saw Cirque
de Soleil and his mind was blown. He decided that it was what he
wanted to do with his life.
He realized that if he wanted to join Cirque he'd have to compete at a
high level, so he started to focus on competing. "I never liked
competing; it was never the fun thing for me, I was only doing it for
Cirque."
His mom has a cleaning business and his dad was a heavy machine
operator. If he hadn't discovered Cirque he says he probably would
have followed in his father's footsteps.
At 21 he sent a video to the casting department, as is required, and
was invited to audition. The audition was a full day affair. The first
stage was flexibility and body control, while many were eliminated, he
made it through. The second stage was acrobatic ability, handstands
and trampoline, again he pulled through. For the final stage they
brought in an acting coach and a choreographer. They tested their
ability to act, sing (he had never sung in front of anyone before) and
pick-up choreography quickly. He passed!
"If you pass you get put on the database of approved candidates",
explained Nathan, and then it's a waiting game for a contract fitting
your profile. "It helps to be good at many things so you can fit into
many roles". Some wait for years, but he got lucky and just four
months later was recruited for Saltimbanco, which coincidentally was
the first Cirque show he had seen. He stayed with Saltimbanco for six
years and then moved to Kurios four years ago, when it was created.
They were creating an all new acro-net segment which had never been
done before, so they brought in artists to play and see what was
possible.
Nathan's not so much into crazy tricks but prefers to make them laugh,
"We can do some crazy fish jumps in the air and the audience goes
wild. I like those reactions more than the shock value of a crazy
trick, I like more the laughter side of it." He never feels his life
is on the line, "We rehearse constantly, it's just programmed into
your body, you just go onstage in the right mindset and you're
concentrated then you're fine. Everything's been triple checked."
Artists are given a one-year contract, halfway through they're asked
if they want to sign-on for another year. He's toured through Europe,
Asia, North America and Australia. Cities that stand out for him are
Chicago and Santa Monica. They usually spend 8 weeks per city,
although it can vary depending on the market, "It's nice visiting all
the cities, you get to live there for 8 weeks, so you get to
experience the city for a good amount of time." They get one week off
between cities and get sent home for two-weeks each year. Cirque will
provide accommodation or they can take the money and rent their own,
sometimes performers choose to share.
His average day consists of getting up around 9am, going to Cross-fit
or to the gym where he does cardio, resistance training and Olympic
lifting to keep the body functioning well. "We've done the show 1,300
times so the body is adapted to that, you don't get more fit by doing
the same thing everyday, so you have to mix it up and do new things".
He works out around 2.5 hours a day, 4 to 5 days a week and they
rehearse as a group on the acro-net twice a week. He hasn't had any
injuries, his secret weapon: keeping the core strong. If he has muscle
soreness, he's put on light duties or may take a little time off. He
goes to the big top around 6pm, has dinner, warms-up and gets ready
for their 7-minute routine. He also performs through-out the show in
supporting roles. They do 8 to 10 shows a week and have Mondays off.
Although he says physically he could continue, after 10 years,
emotionally he's ready to move on. "Mentally I'm ready to move on,
ready to have a life outside of work. The schedule is quite tough;
it's Tuesday to Sunday working, you don't have a normal weekend like
the rest of the people, it's just general life stuff." He's signed an
18-month contract for the Japan tour. Rehearsals start in January and
the show opens in February. Then he's heading back to Brisbane,
Australia to open his own gym. He says he'll feel relieved to settle
in one place.
"It's definitely something I'm glad that I did. I've become very
worldly, I've met many people around the world and gotten to know
different cultures. It's a good way to grow up, instead of being stuck
in just one city, in one little life. I like meeting new people from
different countries and working with them, learning new languages or a
few bad words from them, it's fun." He laughs. "It's a nice way to
grow up, a good way to spend your twenties." The main thing he will
miss is connecting with the audience, "I remember when I first saw
Cirque I was so impressed, it made me feel so happy to watch something
like that, so just to be able to be onstage and give that to somebody
else, that is the most rewarding aspect of it."
Running away with the circus sounds as interesting and exciting as I
expected, maybe in my next life.
{ SOURCE: Alejandra Aguirre, Huffington Post | https://goo.gl/sBjSyL }
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Meet Paul Shihadeh, Bassist at "O"
{Dec.05.2017}
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Paul Shihadeh had been elevated to bass player's royalty in Edmonton
before he split town in 2001.
Oh, go ahead and make any joke you want. What do you call someone who
hangs out with rock stars? A bass player. How do you know when a
bassist is at your door? He rings the bell and still doesn't know when
to come in. These work for drummers, too.
Shihadeh's heard them all, and accepts his role as a fundament of
rhythm section as a "privilege." He says, "What's the highlight of my
career? I don't have that kind of name. I'm a bass player, but my
feeling is that I'm proud to have been able to make a living playing
music. That's the highlight of my career: My career. It's hard to do
that."
On a break from his job as the assistant music director and bassist of
Cirque du Soleil's "O" show in Las Vegas, he plays a "Holiday Reunion"
show at the Yardbird Suite on Thursday. All the old Droogs will be
there.
Shihadeh is what we call a "Heavy Cat." He went to the famed Berklee
College of Music in Boston, and returned (with extra strings on his
bass) to soon became Head of Bass at MacEwan University's music
program. He toured the world with Roger Whittaker. He played in a
local jazz fusion band. He could play whatever and with whomever he
wanted.
Shihadeh might still be here if he hadn't got the "itch."
He and his wife Krista Monson, a choreographer, had an 18-month-old
son when they decided to sell everything, quit their jobs and move to
Los Angeles. They knew it would be hard, but reasoned that they
probably wouldn't want to do it when they got old. It had to be now.
"We just wanted to try it," Shihadeh says. "We loved in here in
Edmonton, but there was that itch in the back of our minds: What would
it be like to at least to experiment with a different market. How
would we do? Would we like it? Would we be successful? Will we feel we
achieved something? And we could always come back."
No shame there, right?
It helped he wasn't the only Edmonton musician who moved to L.A. to
seek their fortune - or at least to make a living in music. Shihadeh's
friend Bill Kole, a recording artist and producer active in Edmonton
in the '70s and '80s, had been there since 1987. Bill helped his
friend find a house in Simi Valley, a quiet little suburb close to
downtown. Shihadeh also did studio work for Tim Feehan, who was famous
in Edmonton for the band Footloose and rode to success in L.A. on the
jet stream of professional hockey (a whole other story). From
Shihadeh's first paying gig in L.A. giving lessons at a music store
that paid a whole $12 (US after taxes), one music job led to another,
and he wound up joining the "Canadian club."
"You just start meeting all these Canadians, and everybody's all open
arms down there, everybody I worked with was super cool," he says.
"The Canadians wanted to bring me into their fold. You're here. We
know what it's like. Let's stick together and make it happen."
He learned a lot. He learned the place is teeming with Heavy Cats, and
people skills count as much as knowing the right people - though if
you have better people skills, the more people you're likely to know
who like to work with you.
"There are a lot of good players down there, and that was kind of an
eye opener," Shihadeh says. "It was definitely a small fish in a big
pond type of vibe. But when you're playing with great players, they
make you sound great. They just bring this extra energy out from you,
and they made me sound better than I actually am, and that was
fantastic. Just the experience playing with heavy guys, and girls, is
great for your creativity. You really figure out what you can do, how
far you can stretch. It's an amazing experience. That's what L.A. gave
me - but Edmonton prepared me."
So they built a great life in Los Angeles, as they had in Edmonton.
Then Krista got a gig with Cirque du Soleil as the artist director for
O - and the family promptly moved to Las Vegas. Paul worked for
another Cirque-ish-like show until he saw the job posting for "music
director and bass player" for O. Obviously he was the perfect guy for
the job (he'd auditioned for Cirque twice before), and they hired him.
He stepped down to assistant MD after five years so he could play
more, and finish his Master's degree, and he's been in Vegas ever
since. Every night. Two shows a day, in fact, doing the same show,
playing the same parts, for years on end.
Wouldn't that drive you insane? Shihadeh says Cirque is always
refining their shows (seven in Vegas alone), and do as much to keep it
fresh and interesting for the performers as the audience. Besides, he
says, "It's 1,800 people a night. Almost all the shows sell out. It's
exciting, even if you've been doing it for X amount of years, you get
out there and think, wow, all these people came out to see this. As an
independent artist and musician you struggle to get 40 people out to
your gig. It's a privilege."
Shihadeh says he misses the rich arts scene and culture of Edmonton.
Vegas doesn't have many festivals - because it's a gong show on the
Strip 365 days a year. Fun for tourists, while most of the residents
live in the sprawling city proper, far away from the casinos. Not a
lot to do, though things are changing.
"It seemed like Vegas was missing some stuff," Shihadeh says. "Now
it's really growing. We have a hockey team now, a new baseball
stadium, and we're probably going to get a pro football team. Not that
I'm into sports, but those kind of things really bring a city
together. That's a good thing. I'm happy about it."
So will he be cheering for the Golden Knights?
"No," he says. "I can't do it. I have to stick with the Oilers."
{ SOURCE: GigCity | https://goo.gl/z8smCh }
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Jewel: Music, Motherhood, Mindfulness, and Cirque
{Dec.06.2017}
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By: Danielle Sariyan
Jewel is one of the most talented and respected artists in music and
entertainment. She is also beautiful, successful, and famous. Yet in
spite of all this, Jewel is humble, authentic, and committed to
enriching the lives of others. With an unwavering respect for nature,
a passion for community, unrivaled independence, and a firm grasp on
her homesteading roots, the artist has channeled her reputation for
hard work into a thriving, multi-faceted entrepreneurial career.
In addition to writing and performing music from the 12 studio albums
she has recorded since 1995, Jewel is also an extremely talented
actress, a producer, a philanthropist, a conservationist, and an
author of five books - including two children's books - and a book of
poetry.
The morning I was scheduled to speak with Jewel, my son woke up
uncharacteristically cranky. When her manager called to confirm, I
voiced concern that my son would interrupt our conversation. Her
manager assured me, "Jewel is a mom. She will understand."
And so, an hour later, with a baby on my hip and a pacifier at the
ready I talked to Jewel about her WHOLE HUMAN entrepreneurial
platform, The Sixth Annual One Night For One Drop event with Cirque du
Soleil, the Handmade Holiday Tour, Project Clean Water, Jewel's Never
Broken Foundation, and her mission to promote self-agency in an
increasingly technology driven world.
Q. I'm excited to talk about all of your projects! Please bear with my
babbling baby!
How old is your little one?
Q. Six months. He is cutting two teeth and found his voice this week.
That's what happens. They are like, "This hurts. I want to talk about
it!"
Q. I considered rescheduling but your manager promised you would roll
with it!
I am all for it. I'm friends with Sara Blakely and I saw a beautiful
post she did where she pulled over on the side of the road to do a
conference call. She couldn't find anything to write with in her purse
so she used lipstick liner and her kids were in the background and she
was like, "This is why businesses should hire moms because we get it
done." We figure it out and we get it done.
Q. Right?! This is my reality.
That's life. Don't apologize. Heck no!
Q. I am eager to talk about the charities and causes you are involved
with. You were quoted as saying, "You have a social obligation."
What sparked your desire to transition success in music and
entertainment into all encompassing entrepreneurial mission of
health, wellness, and equality?
It has always been the core message of who and what I am. I founded
Project Clean Water in 1996 or 1997. When I was homeless, I couldn't
afford enough bottled water. I knew water was going to be a major
issue, if in America, we're not able to drink our tap water and can't
afford bottled water at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale. My
essence, my nature, who I am tends to be very community minded and
very entrepreneurial because I was raised by homesteaders. We had
nothing and had to rely on ourselves in the middle of nowhere to be
innovative and to find solutions. I had a very entrepreneurial
approach to my music. I knew I had an obligation to help people in
need and give people opportunities the same way I needed. I needed
help as somebody who was homeless.
I wasn't homeless because I wasn't willing to work. I was homeless
because I wouldn't have sex with a boss. He fired me for not sleeping
with him and then the car I was living in was stolen. The poverty
cycle is really difficult to get out of. Luckily, I had an opportunity
to get out. I worked my hiney off to get that opportunity, but since
the beginning, I knew I had an obligation to help others have
opportunities. The core mission of my business is around creating
connections, fostering community, and self-agency. The fields I am
branching out into besides music are all around my nature, which is
community, connection, and self-agency. Music has always been the
soundtrack to my journey of finding those things. Now it's about
finding actual business strategies that accomplish those goals.
Q. Your WHOLE HUMAN philosophy led to the creation of Jewel Inc. The
relentless work you do for varied organizations, like Project Clean
Water, Jewel's Never Broken Foundation, Home for the Pawlidayz, and
the homeless youth is completely inspiring. How do you determine
where to channel Jewel Inc. resources?
Anxiety and depression rates are at the highest they have ever been.
As a mother I needed to figure out how to create revenue that wasn't
based on traveling and touring all the time. I said, "How do I
intersect with culture in a meaningful way that's authentic to me,
that adds a value to culture, and that also solves problems for me in
my own life? How do I make money without just touring?" I started
spending a lot of my time in the entrepreneurial space based on
mindfulness curriculums.
The pedagogy that I developed while I was homeless literally just for
survival and then, "How do you thrive and not self implode in this
music business once you are given the chance to do it," ended up
getting proven by a neuroscientist, a scientist named Dr. Judson
Brewer. I post those exercises for free on the website. I base my
mindfulness curriculums for toddlers, middle school students, and
businesses on things I started creating when I was homeless.
Q. You will be marrying philanthropic efforts with your passion for
music as you host The Sixth Annual One Night For One Drop event
with Cirque Du Soleil this March. What do you have in store for
fans attending this year's unparalleled production?
I am incredibly honored Cirque Du Soleil decided to partner with me to
tell my life story imagined by them. If you have ever seen a Cirque
show you know how visually stunning it is. The show will have strong
Alaskan and nature themes. It will be my story, but really it's the
story of everyone. Everyone has experienced love, loss, betrayal,
forgiveness, and understanding. We are the architects of our own
lives. We can look at nature verses nurture and understand how to
connect to our real nature no matter how bad our nurture was. I'm very
excited. The event also aligns charities. My charity, Project Clean
Water, and their water charity are partnering up to do this. I am
donating my life story, my music, and my time. I apparently will be
flying and doing things like that. It will be exciting one way or the
other! You can say that!
Q. That's fantastic!
One thing I am doing to support my desire to foster the community and
philanthropy is creating a craft fair before shows on the Handmade
Holiday Tour. People can come and have an experience, make gifts for
one another, and create self-agency or a sense of self-agency and
community. I am making sure at-risk families or disadvantaged families
can come and not just be part of a toy drive and be given a toy but
instead be given the self respect of saying, "I am capable of making a
gift for my mom," and "I am capable of making a gift for my child." I
am very very excited about that portion of the tour.
Q. The moment I became a mother I felt a powerful urge to get back to
basics, embrace homemade, handcrafted, and local grown. How do you
incorporate aspects of the rural simplicity of your childhood into
your son's world despite the fact that it is not at all like the
one in which you grew up?
I was raised on a homestead by homesteaders. I didn't realize that was
a great setup or that I was being raised to be an entrepreneur. I was
trained to be comfortable with the unknown, with adversity. My
background allowed me to have neural wiring that was comfortable with
the idea of, "Alright. Let me sit down. Let me figure this out. I will
find a solution."
It's strange to raise a child not on a homestead where nature doesn't
teach him. I actually have to solve for it. Not only am I a mother in
a modern culture that relies on technology proven to stunt
neurological development for our children of learning how to do
creative problem solving, but I am also famous and rich which are
another two strikes against me I feel like. I'm in a city, I'm famous,
and I'm rich, so I have to compensate by figuring out opportunities to
allow my son to struggle, to know that I can't do everything for him.
I have to create opportunities where he learns with his own two hands
that he is capable in age appropriate ways. Open-ended toys, staying
away from technology, and letting his creativity turn a stick into a
boat or an airplane or a bridge has been scientifically proven to
create neural pathways that nothing else does.
As parents we really have to educate ourselves. That's why I am
creating a mindfulness cartoon about some of the hallmarks of my
implements of curiosity and observation so that kids learn self-agency
in a culture that isn't helping them do that, where toys and learning
tools do everything for our children.
Q. I applaud you for taking on that platform. Every toy lights up,
makes noise, and requires batteries. I am thrilled to see you stand
up and say there is another way.
It has been predicted that the geek economy is going to increase. By
the time our children are grown the workforce will be sixty to seventy
percent freelance. They have to have skillsets, which allow them to be
comfortable with uncertainty, with pivoting in real time, with
creative problem solving. We have to come up with real practical
solutions as parents.
Q. On Nov. 24 you are kicking off your first annual Handmade Holiday
Tour, where you will be performing both classic and original songs
alongside your family. When was the last time you performed on a
large scale with your family?
My family has toured with me off and on separately. My brother would
open for me on tours or my dad would come out and sing with me, but
this is the first time we have done it all together as a family on the
road. I'm very excited. It's going to be a first as far as that is
concerned.
Q. That's really fun. My girlfriend would kill me if I didn't tell you
we read your poetry book, A Night Without Armor, cover to cover
countless times. I also want to thank you for everything you do,
but specifically for being a woman, an artist, and a mother we can
all admire.
That is so sweet. I really appreciate that. My art is just about
fighting for my own humanity and I am honored anybody cares to fight
along with me and encourage me.
{ SOURCE: The Aquarian Weekly | https://goo.gl/Q7Dos7 }
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Jennifer Marcus - VOLTA's World Champion Baton Twirler
{Dec.13.2017}
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World champion baton twirler Jennifer Marcus has returned to Miami
this winter, but not because she's spending the holidays at her
childhood home in Kendall. Instead, Marcus is back to dazzle audiences
as a performer with the Cirque du Soleil show Volta.
Marcus began baton-twirling at Miami's Heritage Elementary School,
when her mom signed her up for the sport as an extracurricular
activity. She continued throughout her time at Southwood Middle, Miami
Palmetto High, and Florida State University, where she was a featured
baton twirler. A successful Orlando audition with Cirque du Soleil in
2006 placed Marcus in the show's talent bank, and a decade later, when
she was on her honeymoon in Hawaii, Cirque asked her to join the team.
"It's a dream job as it is, and now that I'll get to perform in front
of my family and friends when I grew up seeing [Cirque's] shows, it's
a cliché, but it's a dream come true," Marcus says. "It's exhilarating
and exciting, but it also makes me nervous because I want to impress
everyone I love down here."
Volta's tagline is "Find your free," and for Marcus, that's exactly
what baton twirling has allowed her to do. "I found my free onstage by
sharing and performing my sport," she says.
Marcus performs a solo act in the show, but she is accustomed to
taking center stage. The Miami native has twirled in competitions in
15 countries, and she has earned 33 world championship medals, 16 of
which are gold. Though she loved twirling, Marcus always pictured
herself as a writer. She majored in public relations and minored in
journalism at FSU, where she also completed her master's in sports
management.
"The idea was probably to go into that field, but while still
competing at the top level for Team USA, it wasn't possible to have my
training schedule and travel the world," Marcus says. She had
previously written travel stories and restaurant reviews, but she
began working at Lululemon because the company was "really supportive"
of her commitment to her sport.
Now, as a Cirque performer, Marcus has a schedule that's no less
hectic. When the show is touring, she's constantly on the road. After
a short stint in South Florida, she'll leave again to travel around
North America before heading overseas. Marcus now lives in Fort
Lauderdale, but she's still a Miami girl at heart. In her spare time,
she hopes to check out Wynwood Walls and visit some of her favorite
restaurants and sites in Miami Beach and Brickell.
"I've been on the road for the past year living in other cities, and
it's been incredible, but there's no place like home, and this is home
for me," Marcus says. "This is where my family is and all my favorite
restaurants and coffee shops. I feel like I have a new appreciation of
home by being away."
{ SOURCE: Miami New Times | https://goo.gl/6HrnyE }
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Former FSU Marching Chief performs in VOLTA
{Dec.26.2017}
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Baton twirler Jennifer Marcus has always admired Cirque du Soleil's
surreal and colorful shows. She was dazzled by La Nouba when she
watched it at Orlando's Disney Springs.
But beyond the vibrant stage decor and mesmerizing acts, Marcus was
intrigued by the elite athletes who put on the show.
Little did she know that one day, she'd become one of them.
The Florida State University alumna is an athlete herself - a
professional baton twirler. She twirled with the FSU Marching Chiefs
for four years as an undergrad. She's also a world champion, having
acquired 33 world championship medals, 16 gold.
Eleven years ago, Marcus was performing at an international baton
competition in Orlando when she was scouted by Cirque du Soleil who
invited her to audition. Surprised and elated, she agreed. They then
added her to the talent bank, since no spaces for baton twirlers were
open at the time.
Years went by, and Marcus forgot about that day.
So much happened in the meantime: She continued competing, earned a
master's in sports management, twirled at the Orlando Magic games with
the step team, and worked for sportswear company LuLuLemon. And this
past spring, she got married to her best friend.
But her March honeymoon in Hawaii became even more memorable. The
talent scouts called to offer her a job in Cirque du Soleil's show,
"VOLTA."
After her return to South Florida, the baton twirler packed her bags
with warmer clothing. She was bound for Montreal two days later to
start her new circus job.
"I was always so fascinated watching those shows," Marcus said. "I
can't believe I'm part of it."
The newlywed did have her qualms about leaving her husband at home to
join the circus - but, "everyone reminded me it was a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity," including him.
The show is about a famous game-show host, Waz, "who has lost touch
with his inner self in the pursuit of fame." Marcus, 33, plays one of
the characters called "free spirits," which help Waz "open doors to
his inner soul" he's long-since shut. The show follows his search for
meaning and true identity. Warm amber color palettes blaze the stage
along with a powerful score.
Donned in a vibrant yellow costume laced with blue and red geometric
patterns, Marcus twirls up to four light-up batons, showing Waz the
magical world of her kind. Drummers float overhead, suspended, as the
stage turns during her solo act.
Marcus channels her own free spirit in the show. She joins unicycle
riders and rope skippers, bungee jumpers and ballerinas, to weave a
tale about being authentic to oneself.
"I love performing and it's just so beautiful," Marcus said about the
show.
The cast is now in Miami, Marcus' hometown, for the next several
weeks, performing the show.
VOLTA is as vivid and dreamlike as any Cirque du Soleil show, with a
theme of blazing one's own trail. The show is inspired by the fervent
fury of action sports, bringing the speed of BMX riders indoors on
stage ramps - one of Marcus' favorite scenes. The riders do back-flips
and land close to the audience. She knows how capable they are, but,
"It still makes me so nervous," she said with a laugh.
For Marcus, those high-energy artists have become more than just
fellow performers.
"It really is a family," she said. Together, they train their bodies
to withstand 10 performances per week and celebrate downtime by
relaxing at a quaint coffee shop in whatever city they're performing.
But her blood family is where she first kindled her passion for
twirling.
She comes from a clan of baton twirlers: Her mom is a master-level
judge at world championships and regional competitions. She enrolled
her sister in classes, and Marcus would pick up her baton and try her
hand at it as a curious 3-year-old. Years later as adults, the duo
would teach baton twirling clinics and classes together.
On her own, Marcus loves practicing outdoors to catchy, upbeat tunes
in the Top 100 list. Right now, her favorite is "Swish Swish" by Katy
Perry and Portugal. The Man's "Feel it Still" - but anything by Bruno
Mars or Taylor Swift she's fond of too. The twirler loves performing
any trick with illusions and wields fire baton and fans.
Coming from the world of competition, Marcus says she's had to come to
terms with occasionally making mistakes. She's a performer who is
hyper-aware of every movement, a quality that landed her all those
medals. But when performing in VOLTA, she was too hard on herself - 10
performances a week likely will yield some mistakes.
"Artists are going to make mistakes. It's OK, and you've got another
show," they would tell her.
She looks back on her journey, incredulous, as she remembers that
fateful audition 11 years ago and where she is now.
"It's definitely a dream come true," Marcus said.
{ SOURCE: Tallahassee Democrat | https://goo.gl/jV4AoS }
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Storrington Gymnast Alanna Baker is Living the Dream
{Dec.29.2017}
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Storrington's Alanna Baker comes full circle when she realises her
dream in the Royal Albert Hall.
It was in the Albert Hall at the age of eight that she first watched a
Cirque du Soleil show and decided Cirque du Soleil was exactly what
she wanted to do.
"My parents were like 'OK, well keep dreaming, you never know. Just
keep dreaming.'"
Now she is back in the Royal Albert Hall again, dream fulfilled,
taking to the stage with Cirque Du Soleil's show Ovo (January 7-March
4).
"I can't believe it! I am living the dream," says Alanna who is the
show's only UK performer.
Alanna joined the show in January 2013 and has worked her way up
through the roles. She is now playing the Black Spider in the show, a
celebration of nature and co-existence, with a cast of 50 performing
artists from 17 different countries specialising in various acrobatics.
"I have lived in Storrington my whole life and I have been a gymnast
all my life, from the age of five. I started competing. It wasn't in
the family. Me and my brother used to do handstands and cartwheels,
and I suppose my parents thought 'OK, let's put this into something'.
We were naturally a bit talented. And I just love it. It is so helpful
in everyday life, to be a bit flexible, and I think it is just so
beautiful to watch. To me, it is one of the most exciting things you
can do and see.
"I was competing until 2012. In 2011, I became the European champion,
and in 2012, I was third in the world. I knew my competing career was
coming to an end. We had won the Europeans. There was not a lot more
than I wanted to achieve. I had done what I wanted."
A talent scout for Cirque du Soleil approached her, and she went to
Cirque du Soleil's international headquarters in Montreal where she
did three months formation training - with no guarantee of a contract
at the end of it. But she secured the contract, the only one of the
three trainees to do so.
"It is such an eye-opener. In competitions you are training every day
for one particular competition or maybe for two or three competitions
a year, always training in the build-up to the major events. But to be
a performer you have got to be on your A game all the time. You could
say that it is tougher in some ways, but I never feel like I am
working. I am getting pleasure from doing what I love. I am living the
dream at the age of 25."
With Ovo, Alanna enjoyed working in Australia, Japan and Taipei on a
big-top tour, which then reopened as an arena tour.
"With the big-top tour you have a tent that you go into a city with
and you set up, and you stay there for maybe three months. With the
arena tour you go into the arenas."
It is 50-50 which she enjoys more: "With the big-top you are outside.
With the arenas, you don't actually feel like you see a lot of
daylight."
Either way she loves it, particularly with the New Year Royal Albert
Hall stint: "It is going to be great."
{ SOURCE: West Sussex County Times | https://goo.gl/Et7afV }
***************************************************************
SPECTACLE -- CRYSTAL in the Presse
***************************************************************
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Cirque du Soleil Hits the Ice
{Dec.06.2017}
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Dazzling crowds since 1984, Cirque Du Soleil creates unique theatrical
productions. With their newest show, Crystal, the group brings an
entirely new type of experience to Worcester's DCU Center, 50 Foster
St., Thursday-Sunday, Dec. 7-10. This time, the high-flying
entertainment hits the ice.
Julie Desmarais has worked with Cirque Du Soleil for seven years and
the company spokesperson is well-suited for the current ice-centric
production that hits the East Coast as the cold seasons begins,
saying, "I like the cold, I think it's probably my favorite season."
"Cirque Du Soleil is very special, it's very unique," said Desmarais.
"It's been seven years and I've visited more than 40 countries. It's a
big privilege to meet new people on a constant basis and work with
incredible, talented, members of the tour. I feel very privileged."
Combining Cirque Du Soleil's expectation-shattering production with
acrobatics and ice skating, the show follows its namesake, Crystal, on
a voyage of self-discovery. Falling through an icy pond while skating,
she discovers a surreal world.
"Crystal is a person that feels misunderstood," said Desmarais. "One
night, she ventures out onto an icy pond and breaks through the ice.
From there, she takes us to this world and discovers new
possibilities."
"It's our first ice experience," she continued. "The idea was in the
back of their heads for many years and it was something they were
looking into. The opportunity arose a little over a year ago. It's
Cirque Du Soleil's 42nd performance. There was a lot of intake and
seeing how we can incorporate the ice. We formed a creation team that
started working on the idea. We conducted several workshops to see
what we could bring on the ice while keeping safety in mind and what
Cirque is known for."
Crystal's creation team is diverse and in addition to the executive
directing team of Yasmine Khalil and Daniel Fortin, there are the set,
lighting, prop and costume design teams you may expect. However, this
time around they also include skating performance designer Benjamin
Agosto and synchronized skating designer Marilyn Langlois. Creating an
entirely new experience is a big undertaking, if not one Cirque Du
Soleil is singularly capable of achieving.
"There are a lot of experts. We worked with various experts in their
fields," said Desmarais. "There are 21 different designers and seven
different coaches. There is a lot of different, new technology. Ice
brings a new surface. It has reflectivity. We brought a series of
projections on the ice as part of the story line. Our audience changes
environments without changing space."
To that end, the creative team found new ways to pull the audience
into the experience. Main character Crystal brings the audience to a
new world and the set design has to reflect that.
"The idea was to recreate the surreal world she takes us to," said
Desmarais. "There are a lot of interesting shapes and volumes. It's
quite colorful. The Crystal character is in light and the reflection
is a little darker - same costume, but everything is reversed."
There are 40 artists and 17 skaters involved in the production,
according to Desmarais. Safety, she said, is the team's number one
concern and to facilitate a safe production, a number of new pieces of
technology had to be developed.
"Safety is our number one priority," she said. "There is some skating
and some acrobatics with specific shoes. We developed shoes that had a
combination of crampons and spikes. It allows them to stay grounded.
It allows acrobats to run on the ice and do tumbling and handstands
very safely. There is a lot of training involved in what the artists
do. It also brings new opportunities for costumes and lighting. Our
costumes are waterproof."
Beyond the new experience and technology, the most important part of
the production is what the audience takes home with them when the
curtains close over the DCU Center ice.
When asked about the takeaway of the show, Desmarais said, "I think,
'magic.' We take you on a journey for two hours and where you go to
different scenes. I think everyone can see themselves in the character
at some point, but also the experience and Cirque Du Soleil touch. I
think we wanted to surprise our audiences with something new and bring
a new feel."
{ SOURCE: Worcester Magazine | https://goo.gl/cZfZ4q }
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Worcester, MA Gives CRYSTAL Four Stars!
{Dec.08.2017}
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There is no doubt that in its 30 plus years, Cirque du Soleil has
become a brand name synonymous with lavish costumes, spectacle and
amazing acrobatics blended with dance and other media.
But with the ice show "Crystal," now playing at the DCU Center, the
organization has found way to maintain that reputation while
establishing a more solid footing in storytelling as concept
performance art
plus blending in some seriously impressive skating,
to boot.
In "Crystal," the title character is portrayed primarily by skater
Nobahar Dadui, but the show also features variants of the same
character played by others from the ensemble (referred to as
"Reflections") in areas of expertise which include acrobatics,
skating, and, especially, the swinging trapeze.
There are six scenes, or rather segments, encompassing the first "Act"
which basically involves young Crystal, unhappy with her home life,
beginning to skate along a frozen pond when the ice cracks and she
falls through into the freezing water. As she succumbs, her
imagination brings her to various places, and those she encounters
there make her see she all the things she can be.
The show's nine additional segments in the second "act" are a very
emotional journey as Crystal and her "Reflections" meet extremely
talented skaters, flyers, ice hockey acrobats, trapeze artists,
jugglers and more.
There is an impressive aerial straps act featuring music from
"Amaluna," performed by the Valkyries.
During the second act, members of the ensemble, comprised of world-
class skaters and acrobats, pose as imaginary "Big City" businessmen,
moving transparent panel sets and then stack chairs for a stunt that
is thrilling.
In the segment entitled "Juggling," a Juggler (Jorge Petit, of Chile)
performs amazing tricks with other members of the ensemble, including
a multi-talented "Comic Character" (Nathan Cooper) who also has
numerous entertaining solo moments on the ice as Crystal's odyssey
continues.
In the act one finale 'Playground," a hockey game takes place where
skaters indulge in amazing acrobatic stunts using ramps that transform
into a life size pinball machine.
As with most Cirque du Soleil shows, the pinnacle moments in "Crystal"
are with the trapeze and hand-to-trapeze artists, who stun as the
songs "Chandelier" by Sia and "Halo" by Beyonce are covered to
perfection by the show's rock band, comprised of band leader and
keyboard player Steven Bach, violinist Lucine Zirekyts and musician
Camilo Motta.
During the segment "Poles," which could easily be a reference to
either of the North or South Poles, the synchronicity of the acrobats
includes pole-to-pole jumps which are both suspenseful and
breathtaking.
This is followed by the segment "Tap Dance" which is just pure fun as
four of the ensemble break the fourth wall and simply engage in a
competition for the audience.
In the segment entitled "Ballroom," Crystal is literally held,
elevated, tossed about and returned to earth in a beautifully
choreographed aerial straps and skating pas de deux. It is during this
and the subsequent "Reflections Clump" scene where Crystal's journey
reaches its stunning visual climax as acrobatics and skating merge
with brilliant results.
The show never loses focus and maintains a high energy level
throughout. Lighting and other technical wizardry used in the
production is also used to great effect. The show is so methodically
mapped out, the pacing is absolutely exquisite.
Coming to the peak of the holiday season, the show is the perfect
winter spectacle for families to enjoy.
The show runs two hours and 15 minutes with a 20 minute intermission.
{ SOURCE: Worcester Telegram }
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Montreal Gazette: "Crystal puts Cirque on Ice"
{Dec.16.2017}
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In discussions a few weeks back with the cast and crew of Crystal at
the Sears Centre in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, every
single person connected with the new Cirque du Soleil show very
quickly got to the topic of ice. Crystal, which is set to be performed
at the Bell Centre from Dec. 20 to 31, has many familiar elements from
the Cirque catalogue, including juggling, swinging trapeze, pole
numbers and eye-catching aerial numbers. But there's no escaping the
main difference between Crystal and every other Cirque show: this one
takes place on an NHL-sized rink.
The Cirque took Crystal on the road to secondary markets in the U.S.
in the fall to get ready for its Quebec première, with performances in
Lafayette, La.; San Antonio, Texas; Little Rock, Ark.; St. Charles,
Mo.; Minneapolis and Hoffman Estates. It premièred in la belle
province Wednesday, at Centre Vidéotron in Quebec City.
"I think the challenge for us was to tame the element of the ice,"
said Fabrice Lemire, Crystal's artistic director, sitting in the
stands of the Sears Centre just hours before a performance of the show
there. "Understanding what kind of discipline we can bring into this
element.
"We also had to find acrobats who are willing to learn about the ice -
to not only learn to be comfortable in their own discipline, but also
to learn how to skate. Because all the performers in the show will at
one point be on skates. It doesn't mean they'll do the entire show on
skates, but the acrobats are required to learn skating skills."
How different is Crystal? Well, even the clown, who does some
juggling, is on skates. Eighteen of the 40 performers are professional
skaters, and the other 22 are acrobats. Lemire figures about 10 of the
acrobats had some kind of skating skills before joining the show. The
Cirque brought in some high-powered talent to help with on-ice
technique, including four-time Canadian figure-skating champ Kurt
Browning.
Emma Stones, one of the acrobats in Crystal, hails from Whitby, Ont.,
so perhaps unsurprisingly she already had some skating skills. But the
École nationale de cirque graduate said working on the ice for Crystal
was a whole new ball game. She does her swinging trapeze number
wearing skates.
"It was a huge challenge at first because it changes a lot about
weight and timing," said Stones. "You're used to your own body and
feeling how your own body moves. Having the skates on, it adds this
other weight that you're not used to. Also, the fact that there's a
blade, it changes the way you balance on a trapeze, the way you feel
on a trapeze. We're used to using our feet and feeling everything. So
in the first weeks and months of training, it was really a whole new
adaptation.
"I found it fun, because we're used to doing the same tricks over and
over again. The fact that we added a new element was a new challenge.
It was like learning a new way to do what I've done for so long.
I've never had ice as an element in the performance world, and so just
the fact that our stage is ice changes everything for us. We're so
used to using the ground. Having the skates on for trapeze, it
completely changes the way we do trapeze."
Perhaps it could be dangerous to perform high-wire acrobatics with
sharp blades on the bottom of your feet.
"A lot of people ask me that, but knock on wood, so far our feet tend
to stay away from our face," replied Stones. "So far, so good."
When I first talked to Crystal co-directors Sébastien Soldevila and
Shana Carroll in September, at a media preview of the show at the JC
Perreault sports complex in St-Roch-de-l'Achigan in the Lanaudière
region, they were a little taken aback when I told them grumblers were
already dissing the show on social media. The Twitter complainers were
comparing it to Disney on Ice and suggesting the Cirque was making a
desperate attempt to grab a piece of the lucrative kids' ice-show
business.
At the Sears Centre, Carroll said their hope is that Crystal will be
very different from those Disney-style shows. She said they're
innovating and trying to revolutionize ice shows the way the Cirque
revolutionized traditional circus when it started wowing audiences in
the mid-'80s.
"There are people doing innovative ice shows," said Carroll. "But more
often there's an ice-show format - there's a formula. The point of
this show is to not fall into any formula and create a whole new form.
One of our goals was, people who love skating would love the show but
people who don't like skating would love the show. We wanted to
transcend any of the expectations."
There is a story to Crystal, as much as any Cirque du Soleil
production has a story. It focuses on a young woman named Crystal who
feels alone and misunderstood. One day, while strolling on a frozen
pond, she falls through the ice and ends up in an imaginary parallel
world, where she meets a reflection of herself. Need I tell you that
she ends up learning some important lessons about trusting her inner
creativity? In short, it's a long way from Disney on Ice.
"I believe the story has a depth and a relate-ability for both adults
and children. Whereas Disney on Ice, I brought my child there and she
loved it, but I felt more like accompanying my child but I wasn't
myself having a great cultural experience," said Carroll.
"I think this works on both levels. On the one hand, there's something
the children might respond to, and on the other hand, it's a very
artsy, beautiful show that adults respond to."
* * *
Finding the right footwear was a challenge for Crystal's team.
Julie O'Brien, head of wardrobe for the Cirque du Soleil ice show
Crystal, notes that her department takes care of everything from wigs
to costumes to shoes. In the case of Crystal, the footwear includes
skates.
In the show, the performers wear figure skates, ice-dance skates and
hockey skates. Each artist has three or four costumes, and there are
lots of quick changes throughout the show. All costumes come with
full-length zips that run from ankle to ankle, which allows the
performers to change out of them without taking off their skates.
Shoes were a challenge for the wardrobe department, because they had
to be suited to walking on ice. The Cirque produces its own shoes,
churning out some 1,200 pairs in its Montreal workshop every year, and
they are adapted to each show.
The dilemma was the shoes had to have something metallic on the soles
to dig into the ice, but the performers often land on one another's
hands, so they had to come up with something that wouldn't cause
injuries.
"I've done shoes before, but it's very difficult with ice," said
O'Brien, who has worked in the London theatre scene for 20 years. "I
really had to think outside the box. It's completely different. With
Cirque, our No. 1 priority is safety. They need to be stable, but we
also need the performers not to be stabbed. It was a big challenge to
figure out how to do it. We don't want anyone to be hurt."
The performers also have gloves with a piece of Velcro across the
palm, and a plastic plate that has crampons attached so that they can
put their hands right on the ice and breakdance.
{ SOURCE: Brendan Kelly, Montreal Gazette | https://goo.gl/bwq46K }
-------------------------------------------------------
Topeka artist paints CRYSTAL mural to promote show
{Dec.17.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
As Sara Myer crouched to add another layer of paint to her towering
mural, the wind and leaves whipped viciously around her.
She wore a pair of painter's pants covered in color from earlier
projects, a heavy down jacket, a backward baseball hat and black
aviator sunglasses to keep the wind and sun out of her eyes.
At this point in early December, Myer had put about 60 hours toward
her project - a towering 30-foot by 12-foot mural along the side of
Kaw River Rustics in the NOTO Arts District (901 N Kansas Ave in North
Topeka). The wall has been transformed into a sparkling skyline to
promote Cirque du Soleil Crystal, an ice skating and acrobatics show
coming Jan. 24-28 to the Kansas Expocentre.
Myer is the resident designer at the Topeka Civic Theatre and is no
stranger to painting large scenes. Painting the entire side of a
building in December, however, held its own set of challenges.
"I was afraid, because at the bottom of the wall some of the paint had
chipped away, so I tried to powerwash it to try and get it more like a
usable canvas," Myer said. "But it really wasn't nearly as bad as I
thought it would be, so the paint has been taking to it really well.
That's the one thing I was really fearing, because I thought I would
have to fight the conditions and fight the material, but it wasn't
like that at all."
The inspiration for the mural was to provide a photo spot for visitors
to take a selfie, while making it look like the person was breaking
through the ice crystals.
Myer and Allie Manning, marketing director of the Kansas Expocentre,
worked out the details of the design after Manning saw similar murals
in Nashville, Tenn.
"We wanted to make it something for Topeka to be proud of and want to
share with their friends," Manning said. "When we walked by this one
in Nashville, it had these massive wings, and there were literally 50
people waiting in line to take a picture with this mural, and I
thought it was just the coolest thing."
To create the design for the mural, Myer found inspiration from
watching past shows, and said the idea was always to portray someone
breaking through the ice - it was just deciding on the best way to
make it happen. She also wanted to customize it to Topeka, so she
switched out the skyline used in Cirque's promotional materials for
one she thought Topekans might recognize.
"Their main concern was more say on the placement of the words," Myer
explained of the approval process. "If it would be centered, that sort
of thing. But they let me have a lot of artistic freedom."
Myer said the mural is timeless for Topeka - it doesn't have a date to
age the painting - but with time, hopefully, locals will reflect back
on the time Cirque du Soleil brought its crystal show to town.
While Cirque has performed a variety of these types of shows, Manning
said this is the first show of this type to ever be done on ice, and
the first time this particular show is making its way to Topeka.
"They have professional rollerbladers that have never skated on ice
before and had to completely relearn their craft," she said of some of
the entertainers.
Manning continued, explaining the trapeze artists hanging from the
ceiling, skaters flipping through the air, acrobatic elements and a
handful of other aspects of the show left her in awe.
"You think you can imagine what the show is going to be like, but it's
so beyond what you can even imagine - it's incredible," Manning said.
{ SOURCE: The Topeka Capital-Journal | https://goo.gl/ydQPTR }
-------------------------------------------------------
Review of CRYSTAL's Gala Premiere in Montreal!
{Dec.21.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Crystal, which had its premiere at the Bell Centre Wednesday night and
continues until Dec. 31, is a lot of fun, effortlessly blending the
eye-popping acrobatics of the Cirque with the blade action of an ice
show.
But as so often happens with a blend of two genres, the end result
leaves you a little unsatisfied. It's an ingenuous mix of the two
forms, but it's neither the best of the Cirque nor the best of the
ice-skating game. In some ways, it may be a sign of the new Cirque, a
live-entertainment company that now has newish corporate owners who
are undoubtedly going to be more demanding about nabbing strong
returns every quarter.
There's a jarring moment near the end of the first half, when Crystal,
portrayed by Canadian performer Nobahar Dadui, comes out on the ice
sporting a red Canadiens sweater. It is during the hockey sequence
that is the climax of Act 1, an inspirational choreography that
features skaters flying over skateboard-like ramps and generally
creating much excitement. It's a blast.
It's one of the stronger moments in Crystal, but still. Crystal is
wearing a Habs jersey! Think about it for a sec. This is what the
Cirque has become. It's cross-promotion, baby. Yeah, the sweater
elicited a big cheer from the generally very enthused Bell Centre
crowd, so clearly marketing-wise the Cirque team made the right
choice. But it's a clear-cut sign of the new more commercial Cirque.
This would've been unimaginable 10 years ago.
Co-directors Shana Carroll and Sébastien Soldevila have been at pains
to distance themselves from Disney on Ice, but clearly they'd like to
scoop up some of that audience with this show. Don't get me wrong.
Crystal is way more artistically challenging and poetic than a Disney
ice show, but the Cirque most definitely wants to pull in the kids and
the adults with this.
There are also pop songs here, a first for a Cirque show that's not a
tribute to a pop star like Michael Jackson or The Beatles. There are
hits from Sia, Beyoncé and U2, sung by Quebec artists, and once again
it's a long way from the electro-tinged world music with made-up
languages that was the standard Cirque soundtrack back in the day. In
addition, much of the music is pre-recorded, another change, though
there are three live musicians playing keyboards, violin, wind
instruments and guitar who actually appear on stage on-and-0ff over
the course of the soirée.
The show starts slowly, setting the stage for Crystal's story, and
there's a notable lack of wow moments in the early going. The first
half only really comes to life with the aforementioned hockey
sequence.
The second section works much better, from the sequence with Crystal
stuck in a maze to an amazing swinging-pole routine. There's a hugely
entertaining tap-dancing on skates sequence and then comes the most
moving moment of the night, an aerial straps pas de deux performed to
the tune of Beyoncé's Halo (sung with verve by Gabrielle Shonk) with
French acrobat Jérôme Sordillon literally sweeping Crystal off her
feet (or rather off her skates). It's a thing of beauty.
It all winds down with the entire cast coming back to whoop up with a
little help from U2's Beautiful Day and as you watch that, you can't
help thinking you're watching a whole new Cirque. Cirque founder and
former owner Guy Laliberté was buddies with Bono and the U2 boys, but
their songs never appeared in the Cirque's shows. But the Cirque circa
2017 isn't above using big pop hits to pull in the crowds.
{ SOURCE: Brendan Kelley, Montreal Gazette | https://goo.gl/vxkMXL }
=======================================================================
ITINÉRAIRE -- TOUR/SHOW INFORMATION
=======================================================================
o) BIGTOP - Under the Grand Chapiteau
{Amaluna, Koozå, Kurios, Luzia, Totem & Volta}
o) ARENA - In Stadium-like venues
{TORUK, OVO, Séptimo Día, Crystal & Corteo}
o) RESIDENT - Performed en Le Théâtre
{Mystère, "O", Zumanity, KÀ, LOVE, MJ ONE & JOYA}
NOTE:
.) While we make every effort to provide complete and accurate
touring dates and locations available, the information in
this section is subject to change without notice. As such,
the Fascination! Newsletter does not accept responsibility
for the accuracy of these listings.
For current, up-to-the-moment information on Cirque's whereabouts,
please visit Cirque's website: < http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/ >,
or for a more comprehensive tour listing, visit our Itinéraire
section online at: < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?page_id=6898 >.
------------------------------------
BIGTOP - Under the Grand Chapiteau
------------------------------------
Amaluna:
Rio de Janeiro, BR -- Dec 28, 2017 to Jan 21, 2018
Rosario, AR -- Feb 14, 2018 to Feb 28, 2018
Buenos Aires, AR -- Mar 15, 2018 to Apr 1, 2018
Cordoba, AR -- Apr 16, 2018 to Apr 29, 2018
Santiago, CL -- May 31, 2018 to Jun 14, 2018
Lima, PE -- Jul 22, 2018 to Aug 12, 2018
Koozå:
Beijing, CN -- Dec 15, 2017 to Feb 11, 2018
Senzhen, CN -- TBA 2018
Hong Kong, CN -- TBA 2018
China City #5 -- TBA 2018
Kurios:
Tokyo, JP -- Feb 7, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018
Osaka, JP -- Jul 26, 2018 to Oct 29, 2018
Nagoya, JP -- Nov 22, 2018 to Jan 27, 2019
Fukuoka, JP -- Feb 15, 2018 to Mar 31, 2018
Sendai, JP -- April 2019
Luzia:
Los Angeles, CA -- Dec 8, 2017 to Feb 11, 2018
Costa Mesa, CA -- Feb 21, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
Washington, DC -- Apr 13, 2018 to May 13, 2018
Boston, MA -- TBA 2018
Monterrey, MX -- TBA 2018
Guadalajara, MX -- TBA 2018
Mexico City, MX -- TBA 2018
Totem:
Madrid, ES -- Nov 10, 2017 to Jan 14, 2018
Seville, ES -- Jan 25, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Barcelona, ES -- Mar 23, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Malaga, ES -- Jun 1, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018
Alicante, ES -- Jul 20, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018
Zurich, CH -- Sep 5, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018
VOLTA:
Miami, FL -- Dec 15, 2017 to Feb 4, 2018
Tampa, FL -- Feb 14, 2018 to Mar 4, 2018
East Rutherford, NJ -- Mar 29, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Uniondale, NY -- May 17, 2018 to Jun 10, 2018
------------------------------------
ARENA - In Stadium-Like Venues
------------------------------------
TORUK - The First Flight:
Dubai, UAE -- Jan 4, 2018 to Jan 16, 2018
Sanya, CN -- Feb 1, 2018 to Mar 15, 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
Frankfurt, DE -- Nov 28, 2018 to Dec 2, 2018
Zagreb, Croatia -- Dec 7, 2018 to Dec 9, 2018
Pamplona, ES -- Feb 6, 2019 - Feb 10, 2019
Bangkok, TH -- TBA 2018
OVO:
London, UK -- Jan 7, 2018 to Mar 4, 2018
Antwerp, BE -- Mar 8, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Hanover, DE -- Mar 14, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
Oberhausen, DE -- Apr 5, 2018 to Apr 8, 2018
Krakow, PL -- Apr 13, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Gdansk, PL -- Apr 19, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Saint Petersburg, RU -- Apr 28, 2018 to May 5, 2018
Moscow, RU -- May 8, 2018 to May 20, 2018
Kazan, RU -- May 23, 2018 to May 27, 2018
Tolyatti, RU -- May 30, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018
Ekaterinburg, RU -- Jun 6, 2018 to Jun 10, 2018
Sochi, RU -- Jul 12, 2018 to Jul 29, 2018
Liverpool, UK -- Aug 16, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018
Sheffield, UK -- Aug 22, 2018 to Aug 26, 2018
Newcastle, UK -- Aug 29, 2018 to Sep 2, 2018
Glasgow, UK -- Sep 5, 2018 to Sep 9, 2018
Nottingham, UK -- Sep 12, 2018 to Sep 16, 2018
Leeds, UK -- Sep 19, 2018 to Sep 23, 2018
Manchester, UK -- Sep 26, 2018 to Sep 30, 2018
Birmingham, UK -- Oct 3, 2018 to Oct 7, 2018
Dublin, IE -- Oct 10, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018
Belfast, IE -- Oct 17, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018
Lille, FR -- Nov 8, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018
Bordeaux, FR -- Nov 14, 2018 to Nov 18, 2018
Toulouse, FR -- Nov 21, 2018 to Nov 25, 2018
Montpellier, FR -- Nov 28, 2018 to Dec 2, 2018
Strasbourg, FR -- Dec 5, 2018 to Dec 9, 2018
Nantes, FR -- Dec 12, 2018 to Dec 16, 2018
A Coruna, ES -- Dec 21, 2018 to Dec 30, 2018
SÉPTIMO DÍA - NO DESCANSARÉ:
Panama City, PA -- Jan 23, 2018 to Jan 28, 2018
San Jose, CR -- Feb 14, 2018 to Feb 25, 2018
Guatemala City, GT -- Mar 10, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
Coral Gables, FL (Miami) -- Apr 28, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Inglewood, CA (Los Angeles) -- May 3, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Asuncion, PY -- June 2018
CRYSTAL - A BREAKTHROUGH ICE EXPERIENCE:
Windsor, ON -- Jan 3, 2018 to Jan 7, 2018
Detroit, MI -- Jan 10, 2018 to Jan 14, 2018
Pittsburgh, PA -- Jan 17, 2018 to Jan 21, 2018
Topeka, KS -- Jan 24, 2018 to Jan 28, 2018
Colorado Springs, CO -- Jan 31, 2018 to Feb 4, 2018
Rio Rancho, NM -- Feb 7, 2018 to Feb 11, 2018
Cedar Park, TX -- Feb 14, 2018 to Feb 18, 2018
Phoenix, AZ -- Mar 8, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Tucson, AZ -- Mar 14, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
San Diego, CA -- Mar 21, 2018 to Mar 25, 2018
San Jose, CA -- Mar 28, 2018 to Apr 1, 2018
Portland, OR -- Apr 4, 2018 to Apr 8, 2018
Abbotsford, BC -- Apr 11, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Penticton, BC -- Apr 18, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Prince George, BC -- Apr 25, 2018 to Apr 29, 2018
Red Deer, AB -- May 2, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Saskatoon, SK -- May 16, 2018 to May 20, 2018
Medicine Hat, AB -- May 23, 2018 to May 27, 2018
CORTEO:
New Orleans, LA -- Mar 2, 2018 to Mar 4, 2018
Houston, TX -- Mar 8, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Milwaukee, WI -- Mar 29, 2018 to Apr 1, 2018
Rockford, IL -- Apr 5, 2018 to Apr 8, 2018
Columbus, OH -- Apr 12, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Knoxville, TN -- Apr 19, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Lexington, KY -- Apr 27, 2018 to Apr 29, 2018
Cincinnati, OH -- May 3, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Chattanooga, TN -- May 10, 2018 to May 13, 2018
Lincoln, NE -- May 17, 2018 to May 20, 2018
Oshawn, ON -- Jun 21, 2018 to Jun 24, 2018
Ottawa, ON -- Jun 27, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018
Kingston, ON -- Jul 4, 2018 to Jul 8, 2018
Saint Catharines, ON -- Jul 11, 2018 to Jul 15, 2018
---------------------------------
RESIDENT - en Le Théâtre
---------------------------------
Mystère:
Location: Treasure Island, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Saturday through Wednesday, Dark: Thursday/Friday
Two shows Nightly - 7:00pm & 9:30pm
Extra Performance Dates:
o Fri, Jan 26, 2018 | $35 Dress Rehearsal @ 7:00 p.m.
o Fri, Feb 02, 2018
o Mon, Dec 31, 2018 | 4:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Single Show Dates (7:00pm Only):
o Wednesday, Mar. 7. 2018
o Thursday, Mar. 8, 2018
o Sunday, May 20, 2018
o Thursday, May 24, 2018
o Monday, Nov. 26, 2018
o Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018
2018 Dark Dates:
o Wednesday, Jan 3, 2018
o January 13 thru 24, 2018
o Sunday, Feb 4, 2018
o Wednesday, Mar 14, 2018
o Wednesday, Apr 11, 2018
o June 2 thru June 6, 2018
o Saturday, Sep 29, 2018
o October 27 thru 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 Tues, Feb 20 - 7:00pm & 9:30pm
o Tues, Jul 17 - 7:00pm & 9:30pm
o Tues, Oct 09 - 7:00pm & 9:30pm
o Tues, Dec 11 - 9:30pm only
o Mond, Dec 31 - 4:00pm & 6:30pm
2018 Dark Dates:
o February 4
o March 2, 5 - 13
o June 2 & 3
o August 6 - 14
o September 16
o Novvember 26 - December 11
o December 27
Zumanity:
Location: New York-New York, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark Sunday/Monday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
KÀ:
Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Saturday through Wednesday, Dark Thursday/Friday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
LOVE:
Location: Mirage, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Thursday through Monday, Dark: Tuesday/Wednesday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
MICHAEL JACKSON ONE:
Location: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Two Shows Nightly - Dark: Wednesday/Thursday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
2018 Dark Dates:
o January 3, 4, 10, 11
o January 17 - February 4
JOYÀ:
Location: Riviera Maya, Mexico
Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark: Sunday/Monday
One/Two Shows Nightly:
9:00pm (Weekdays)
7:00pm & 10:15pm (Fri, Sat & Holidays)
=======================================================================
OUTREACH - UPDATES FROM CIRQUE's SOCIAL WIDGETS
=======================================================================
o) WEBSERIES -- Official Online Featurettes
o) VIDEOS -- Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds
---------------------------------------------------
WEBSERIES: Official Online Featurettes
---------------------------------------------------
*) THE WORLD OF...
Each week we're going to get a closer look at one of Cirque
du Soleil's 19 shows that stretch from Las Vegas to Tokyo and
everywhere in between!
o) EPISODE 12 - CORTEO {Dec.01}
Get carried away with life. The clown Mauro has passed, but
his spirit is still with us. Instead of mourning, the funeral
cortege celebrates the here and hereafter with laughter and
exuberance. Rich, extravagant memories frolic with the senses.
The sound of laughter peals around the stage, visions of
joyous tumblers and players fascinate the eyes. Regret and
melancholy retreat in the face of a cavalcade of lively
recollections of a life gloriously lived. A festive parade
that entertains; the perfect accolade for an artist whose
life was dedicated to revelry and making merry.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/BQZBDkzDnEw >
o) EPISODE 13 - "O" {Dec.08}
Head Backstage and Experience an Aquatic Masterpiece. Weaving
a tapestry of artistry, surrealism and theatrical romance, 'O'
pays tribute to the beauty of theatre. Inspired by the concept
of infinity and the elegance of water, world-class acrobats,
synchronized swimmers and divers create a breathtaking
experience. Only at Bellagio, Las Vegas.
LINK /// < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9o_oNV_5TM >
o) EPISODE 14 - MYSTERE {Dec.21}
Laugh along with life. Inside the imagination is a playful
place to be. This world is a jaunty, music-stuffed adventure
bright with color, athleticism and bubbly buddies. Silliness,
insane acrobatics, and gut-busting gags abound. It's a joyous
funhouse... and you're at the front door. Knock, knock...
Who's there? MYSTERE. Discover the lighter side of life,
exclusively at Treasure Island, Las Vegas.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/BYh0DkiBp38 >
o) EPISODE 15 - CRYSTAL {Dec.22}
Crystal is not just an ice show, it's the very first
experience on ice from Cirque du Soleil. Watch world-class ice
skaters and acrobats claim their new frozen playground with
speed and fluidity as they challenge the laws of gravity with
never-before-seen acrobatics. A new kind of performance as
Cirque du Soleil meets the ice to defy all expectations.
Follow Crystal, our lead character, on an exhilarating tale of
self-discovery as she dives into a world of her own imagination.
Feel the adrenaline as she soars through this surreal world at
high speed to become what she was always destined to be:
confident, liberated, empowered.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/lE7YNWN-0xg >
*) GLIDING HIGHER: THE MAKING OF CRYSTAL
Gliding Higher is Cirque du Soleil's weekly backstage behind
the scenes look at their NEWEST show CRYSTAL! Discover a world
of ice, figure skating, and of course Cirque du Soleil.
o) EPISODE 1 - The Big Idea {Nov.15}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/UgtnAJ6iL4g >
o) EPISODE 2 - The Creation {Nov.22}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/CTzvThN2a9E >
o) EPISODE 3 - The Artists {Nov.29}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/_oeSS7YFRiI >
o) EPISODE 4 - Setting the World {Dec.06}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/pLPJaj9Tc30 >
o) EPISODE 5 - The Final Touches {Dec.13}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/kSO-WkLp87Y >
o) EPISODE 6 - The Mystery Island {Dec.19}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/qpKYhN7THS8 >
o) THE NEW CRYSTAL TRAILER {Dec.20}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/Ig2gKhoGbDk >
o) LIVE AT THE WORLD PREMIERE {Dec.20}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/Adnu1ctsYiI >
*) SEPTIMO DIA - BEHIND THE SCENES
Take a behind the scenes look at one of the top Cirque du Soleil
shows: Soda Stereo SEP7IMO DIA - No Descansaré. SEP7IMO DIA - NO
DESCANSARÉ blends the wonder of Cirque du Soleil with the
explosive pop-rock energy of Soda Stereo - Argentina's musical
icons - to immerse spectators in the band's symbolism and poetry.
In a breathtaking display of Cirque du Soleil's signature
artistry and physicality, SEP7IMO DIA conjures a world outside
of time - a place where emotions ebb and flow like the tide,
pulsing to the rhythm of the band's emblematic songs.
o) EPISODE 7 - The Beauty of a Male Performer {Dec.03}
On this behind-the-scenes episode of the Sep7imo Dia series,
we take a closer look at one of the artists, Saulo Sarmiento,
the Spanish 29-year-old, aerial acrobat and male aerial
pole dancer.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/bpaiLM4R-uc >
o) EPISODE 8 - Rocking Costume and Wardrobe {Dec.10}
Micaela Tetamanti is the wardrobe dresser of Soda Stereo
Sep7imo Dia and is always there for when the performers go
through their multiple costume design andwardrobe changes.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/rTyR7T5Nuxs >
o) EPISODE 9 - Septimo Dia is just one Big Party {Dec.17}
Meet our Wardrobe and Props assistants that keep the vibrant
party alive!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/PgwkGgAN0Yw >
*) OVO ON TOUR
o) EPISODE 1 - Get Up Close and Personal {Jan.05}
OVO has 100 people from 21 different countries, working
closely together to create a unique experience. Get a glimpse
of what it's like to be on tour with OVO by Cirque du Soleil
and come behind the scenes to meet the artists who contribute
to creating this amazing show night after night!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/PDoStucwT6g >
*) MUSIC VIDEO w/LYRICS
o) LA NOUBA - "Once Upon a Time" {Dec.05}
Once upon a time began a tale, said the story teller...
Stories hold our laughter and tears,
in a corner of our mind...
Sung:
Der zeit der zeit ist nicht gekommen
Der zeit der zeit oh
Die rad der zeit die bruder haben
Ist nicht gemacht für im
Es ist nicht gemacht für im
Es ist nicht gemacht für die kinder
Es ist sehr gefärlig
Ah, Ahhhhh
Gefärlig
Warum weifs ich nicht
Ah
Aber weiss ich nicht
Spieelen, spielen mït der rad
Aber nicht mit mir
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/BzAtsw0Ych8 >
o) VAREKAI - "Vocea" {Dec.19}
Napred da hodis mcloh
Certozité bezmalvina
Nétadnotoh poznayé
Svéta da obnavim luna
S'douh pleumen vâ garditéna
Da polétim da heudim smé
Svéta da obnavim luna
Hât vibri nad monité dzan zfi
Nad monité
Napred da hodi mélo
(repeat 3 times)
Certozidézda
Napred da hodis mcloh
Certozité bezmalvina
Nétadnotoh poznayé
Svéta da obnavim luna
Napred da hodi mélo
Certozidézda
Napred da hodis mcloh
Certozité bezmalvina
Nétadnotoh poznayé
Svéta da obnavim lunaq
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/P2HrOPWBfb0 >
---------------------------------------------------
VIDEOS: Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds
---------------------------------------------------
*) AMALUNA FEATURE FRIDAY
o) Meet the Banquine artists
https://www.facebook.com/Amaluna/videos/1741078319286793/
o) Meet the Performance Medicine Team
https://www.facebook.com/Amaluna/videos/1741078319286793/
o) Meet the Rigging Crew
https://www.facebook.com/Amaluna/videos/1749112878483337/
o) Meet the Sales & Customer Experience Team
https://www.facebook.com/Amaluna/videos/1755268457867779/
*) OTHER CIRQUE VIDEOS
o) BEHIND THE SCENES OF VOLTA {Dec.14}
Go behind the scenes with the incredible backstage photo
shoot that created the amazing VOLTA images that you are
seeing today!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/tyKpstvjRFM >
o) 21 DAYS OF CIRQUEWAY {Dec.25}
Celebrate 21 days of CirqueWay festivities with us as we
feature a different Cirque du Soleil show every day. How are
you celebrating this Holiday, the CirqueWay?
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/YRjagi3YZT8 >
o) CRYSTAL: Watch Nobahar as she shares her backstage life
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/xS9x4x >
o) WWE & WWE NXT Superstars become Circus Performers? {Dec.27}
From aerial silks to hoops and trampoline wall to juggling,
in this episode of #Cirqueshop, we give famous WWE and WWE
NXT Superstars and Wrestlers some Circus lessons in Juggling,
acrobatics, and gymnastics at the La Nouba stage in Orlando,
Florida. How will they fare with their new stunts? WWE and
WWE NXT Superstars include: Sonya Deville, Kassius Ohno,
Mandy Rose, No Way Jose, Fabian Aichner, Scott Garland,
Ember Moon, Montez Ford, and Angel Dawkins.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/uqaMPdVsI20 >
=======================================================================
FASCINATION! FEATURES
=======================================================================
o) "O" is Beautiful, Even on the Small Screen -
A look at the ARTE broadcast of "O"
By: Keith Johnson - Seattle, Washington (USA)
o) "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 9 of 16: Alegria, Part 2 (1995)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
"O" is Beautiful, Even on the Small Screen -
A look at the ARTE broadcast of "O"
By: Keith Johnson - Seattle, Washington (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
Though Cirque du Soleil's big top shows have a pretty good track
record of being preserved on video (and of late have been getting even
faster, witness DVD's of Toruk, The First Flight and Luzia), the same
can't be said of their resident shows. For the longest time fans
assumed that Cirque's contract with the host properties meant there
could be no recording or broadcast.
Then in November, 2004, a fully-recorded version of La Nouba, Cirque's
resident show in Orlando at Walt Disney World was put on sale. (It
was also broadcast, in April, 2005, on the US cultural network Bravo
(where Cirque had a broadcast contract at the time)). The resultant
video release gave fans a glimmer of hope that more resident show
recordings might be forthcoming.
In 2007, news of KÀ being filmed rocked the fan world. While several
Las Vegas Cirque productions had been rumored in the past to have been
filmed in their entirety, nothing had ever been broadcast. The
resulting production airing on the European cable network ARTE was a
ground-breaker. Not only was it the entire production, but it was
also accompanied by a 90-minute behind-the-scenes documentary meant to
run in sync with the program through ARTE's website. (And by way of
completeness, Editor Ricky also notes that Amaluna also aired, in a
50-minute version, on ARTE in May, 2013.)
We have asked about the "policy" (and its notable exceptions) in our
exclusive interviews with two Cirque executives. In our 2010
conversation with Daniel Lamarre, CEO of Cirque (available here <
http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=1923 >) he addressed the issue
with these words. "It's not by contract, it's more the philosophical
approach of the casino. They're afraid we will lose clientele, which
as a matter of fact, is totally contrary [to what we've found].
Because when we put our shows on video it entices people to come to
the show."
A later conversation with Jerry Nadal, VP of the Resident Shows
division (found here < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=2283 > gave
us more insight and filled in details on the exceptions. "[The
contracts] don't forbid it, but they have exclusivity. And we've never
felt there was value [in doing a video]. And the casinos didn't feel
that there was a value in broadcasting the show or making it
available. They wanted that exclusivity, that if you want to see it
you have to come [to Las Vegas] to see it."
In the case of the Disney World-based La Nouba, (benefiting from its
non-casino based location) recording and broadcasting the show had a
positive effect. "[As opposed to Las Vegas] you're going down [to
Orlando] with a different mindset; you're going down there for the
theme parks and everything. Because of our deal with Bravo at the time
[after the broadcast of La Nouba in April of 2005] we actually saw an
increase [in sales]. People would say they saw it on TV and it was
something that interested them. It did [increase sales] and we've said
that to people. But the hotels say they want to maintain that
exclusivity and we don't have a problem with that."
So how does that policy square with the broadcast of KÀ on ARTE-TV
back in late December of 2008? "It was an opportunity that came to us
from the TV station; they asked to do it. It was [broadcast] over two
nights over a holiday period. One night was [the show] and one night
was behind-the-scenes. We thought it was a good opportunity. At the
time because of the growing international market we thought there was
great value in showing what was there, the size and scale of it,
because what we've had through Europe have been touring shows. So we
thought there would be good value there. And we knew that through
social media and YouTube there would be chunks that would end up
making the rounds. I don't think it's hurt the show at all."
That idea of introducing Europeans to the grand scope and larger size
of the Las Vegas resident Cirque shows continues, as ten years on the
world is rocked again, as ARTE-TV (Association Relative à la
Télévision Européenne, a French-German TV network, www.arte.tv) has
filmed and broadcast "O," what some fans testify is the pinnacle of
Cirque's creativity. Filmed in October 2017 at the Bellagio Hotel and
Casino in Las Vegas, the show was first broadcast on December 26,
2017, and put online as a stream soon after.
Now, before reading further - Stop. Go check it out (if it's still
possible). You'll thank me later.
It's available in two languages, either German or French (which really
only matters during the introduction).
For German go to: < https://arteconcert-
a.akamaihd.net/am/concert/076000/076600/076634-000-A_SQ_0_VOA-
STA_03416125_MP4-2200_AMM-CONCERT-NEXT_syEh1Kq24F.mp4 >
For French go to: < https://arteconcert-
a.akamaihd.net/am/concert/076000/076600/076634-000-A_SQ_0_VF-
STF_03416121_MP4-2200_AMM-CONCERT-NEXT_syDs1Kq0Gi.mp4 >
If you can download it, do so. Right now. Don't hesitate! Do it!!
And, as an additional bonus, while you're thinking of it, also
download the "Behind The Scenes" video that accompanies the broadcast!
For German go to : < https://arteconcert-
a.akamaihd.net/am/concert/079000/079600/079669-000-A_SQ_0_VO-
STA_03416109_MP4-2200_AMM-CONCERT-NEXT_syCu1Kpzjs.mp4 >
For French go to: < https://arteconcert-
a.akamaihd.net/am/concert/079000/079600/079669-000-A_SQ_0_VO-
STF_03416105_MP4-2200_AMM-CONCERT-NEXT_syCr1Kpzds.mp4 >
Got both nestled safely on your hard drive? Ok, we can proceed.
Let's talk about the "Behind The Scenes" featurette first. Its 6:45
long, with the same technical specs as the full show (which we discuss
below). It includes interview bits with the following:
o) Daniel Lamarre - CEO (speaking English)
o) Gabriel Pinkstone - VP, Show Quality (English)
o) Jerry Nadal - VP, Resident Shows (English)
o) Benoit Jutras - "O" Composer (French)
o) Katy Savoie - Synchronized swimmer and coach (French)
o) Dominique Lemieux - Costume Designer (French)
Other than the interviews, there are very few shots presented here
that aren't in the show, though most of the new shots are from
underwater showing divers helping artists, and are interesting in that
regard. Other than extolling the virtues of "O" in the pantheon of
Cirque shows, there is not much new info for Cirque fans. Though in
discussing why the show has such a strong reputation, Mr. Nadal points
out that after Bellagio opened in 1998 there were no new casino
properties opening for another 3 years. This gave "O" three years as
'the new shiny object' on the strip and allowed it to build its
reputation uninterrupted.
Three of the interviewees speak French, so I can't tell what they're
saying (anybody want to translate?) It's interesting to note that,
despite ARTE being a French-German collaboration, Lamarre and
Pinkstone don't also speak French in the piece.
So, after that "pre-show animation" how is the actual show recording?
The resultant MP4 program is 1.5 GIGS of data, for a total running
time of 93 ½ minutes. It is in pretty good quality for a download,
measuring 1280 frames wide by 720 frames high (called "720"), with a
transfer rate of 2.3 megabits per second. The audio is also not
shabby, with a transfer rate of 125 kilobits per second.
Okay, enough about the specs, how is the program? Pretty much the
entire show from start to finish! But first you must sit through two
minutes of introduction, in German or French. Introducing Vegas, the
various Cirque shows, and the importance of "O" in Cirque's inventory.
The show then begins with the pre-show animation, where an "innocent"
audience member is plucked from the audience to become part of "O"'s
world.
Other filmed Cirque productions generally pick up after pre-show
animation and warnings, as the show really begins. But here it is
important to understand the character Guifà's (Philemon) part in the
story of the show. He is seduced by his beauty Aurora, and is
escorted to the stage to read the warning announcements, before being
lifted into "O"'s watery world. From what I can remember, including
warning announcements in a show video hasn't been done before.
The show then begins, and from what I can tell includes all the acts
in their regular order over the following 83 ½ minutes, though there
may have been some small cuts. (Editor Ricky noted that the cadre act
(Zebras on a tilting grid of squares) is not the full act, as some
choreography, including walking upside down on the apparatus, was
missing here.) The show is well-lit and bright, and the high detail
of the download is better than the KÀ recording (placed online in a
lower definition "480" format), or nearly any other "unofficial"
resident show recording to make the rounds of fannish circles.
Unlike other Cirque videos, once the show proper starts there are next
to no audience reaction shots. Once you enter the world of "O" you
are submerged for the duration. A number of camera angles capture the
action, including from the sides of the stage, behind the stage, from
high in the rafters, even occasional underwater shots. The shots tend
to be rather quick, which can cause a disruption in following the
action.
The director, Benoît Giguère, invites us deeper into the many
storylines by focusing on small bits of character action in between
individual tricks or larger stage actions. The camera will focus on
the Zebras, or the Comets, or Eugen, who will have some small bit of
business or a reaction, but it adds so much to the show. I see things
here I have not noticed in our viewings of the show. (And new bits,
like Eugen holding up a cell-phone-photo-encouraging "Photo Op" sign
during the curtain call.)
I looked carefully for edit points, where they could trim in order to
make a 90-minute runtime. I couldn't find any, even in the two clown
interludes which look to be presented in their entirety. It would
have been very easy to eliminate one of those completely in order to
save time. Yet here they are.
In an interesting twist, the credits are presented in English. Though
it would have been nice if the artists had been referenced by their
main act or character name rather than in one lump as they are here.
An artist with the show mentioned online that there were several
"regulars" who were not performing when the show was recorded, but it
didn't look to us to have affected the show.
The sheer beauty that is "O" is well preserved here. The director,
Benoît Giguère and Producer Sébastien Ouimet (who also produced the
Toruk, The First Flight video), and the rest of the team at Cirque du
Soleil Images are to be commended. Though I don't expect it to be
available on DVD or Blu-Ray anytime soon, it will be available in
fannish circles for years to come.
You got your copy while you were reading this - didn't you?
------------------------------------------------------------
"We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 9 of 16: Alegria, Part 2 (1995)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
A few months ago, as I was flipping through a few classic Cirque du
Soleil programme books (as is my wont), I was happily caught off-guard
by a brief history of the company that it had written about itself in
Saltimbanco's original European Tour programme, published sometime in
1996. Not because the historia was in English, French, and Spanish,
but rather I found the wording a bit more colorful
haughty
than what
you'd find from the company today. Something about its whimsical and
heady nature spoke to the way Cirque du Soleil saw itself then,
containing a youthful verve and arrogance that is simply no longer
present. When did Cirque lose this dynamic sense of self, this
liveliness, and vivacity about its past, present, and future?
Unfortunately, not long after. Thereafter the speak becomes less joie
de vivre and more lié aux affaires, and Cirque du Soleil turns from a
rag-tag band of street performers into a bona fide corporate entity
right before our very eyes. This is not a new revelation - far from
it in fact - but this re-discovery struck a chord of curiosity within
How did others see Cirque du Soleil during this period?
Think about it: as Cirque's multitude of shows travel around the globe
in either arenas or under the big top, at each stop, in each city,
there is a write-up in the local press. Sometimes the coverage is just
a brief blurb about the show and its theme, occasionally there's a
short interview with a performer, a stage hand, or creation director,
and other times it's an assessment of the show itself, evaluating its
technical and acrobatic merits with what had come through before. But
the reviews we see today are too current, discussing these shows
through a contemporary lens; shows that have/had 15 to 20 years
touring the globe, shows we would refer to as "classic" or
"signature". What I'd become interested in knowing was what some of
the first reviews, peeks, and evaluations of these shows were as they
took their first steps across North America. How did the press see Le
Cirque du Soleil in 1998, 1994, 1990, 1987?
It was time to peck through the archives.
What I found was extraordinary, and more than I expected. And I'm
sharing these discoveries here in Fascination through a series of
collections, beginning with the 1987 tournée of Le Cirque du Soleil
(better known today as Le Cirque Réinventé), and continuing on from
there. This month we continue on with 1995's reviews of Alegria.
# # #
THE CIRQUE CALL OF LIFE
By: Jan Herman | LA Times
January 19, 1995
Backstage between shows at Cirque du Soleil, dozens of performers
saunter into the company bistro tucked behind the blue and yellow big
top. They look nothing like the exotic creatures who have just taken
their bows to the wild applause of happy, dazzled circus-goers.
They've shed their fabulous costumes in less time than it takes to say
"Alegria"--the name of this spectacular production--and they are
chatting breezily in half a dozen languages: French, English, Russian,
Walloon, Mandarin and even Mongolian.
The bistro hums with gossip about everything from newborn babies to
holiday travel. It is just days to Christmas here in Santa Monica. The
whole globe-trotting company has a month's vacation before the next
stop on its North American tour--a six-week stand in Costa Mesa,
beginning Tuesday and ending March 5.
Everybody is itching to take a break. Some will be heading for ski
resorts, others for the tropics. Many will be flying home to see their
families for the first time in a year. Ulan Batur, here they come.
Look out, Moscow.
"I like this life," says Emilie Therrien, 17, a slim Canadian acrobat
who hails from Sherbrooke, Quebec. "But now it's a lonely time. I've
been too long (since early October) in the same city."
Therrien, who intends to become a circus choreographer, earned her
high school diploma on the road. When was that? "I graduated in San
Jose," she replies. Cirque's touring performers tend to think
geography is chronology. The troupe was in San Jose in August and
September.
Jean-Luc Martin, 29, a veteran of several tours, measures the years in
countries. He joined the Montreal-based company in 1990 and has
performed since then in Cirque productions all over Europe.
A tumbler, aerialist and juggler, Martin leads "Alegria's" crusty old
gaggle of not-too-bright "nostalgia birds." They personify the core
theme of the show--the old versus the young--and seem to have lost
their bearings in the cosmic barnyard.
You'd never recognize Martin out of his weird chicken get-up. He not
only looks as handsome as Prince Valiant, but also knows exactly where
he belongs.
Martin is a Louisiana native who moved to Canada at 13 and took up
rock-climbing at 17. Before he ever thought of becoming a circus
performer, he made the mountain walls of British Columbia his home
away from home.
"What excites me most right now is just doing my job," he says. "It's
work that is set in stone. But every morning when you wake up, the
stone crumbles. You're always changing something. There's always
someone injured, or something unexpected happens. You have to make
adjustments.
"The other day a father put his child on the edge of the stage and
turned around to fix his chair. Well, this child kept staring at me.
So I got him to come to me. He held my finger, and the two of us
became an act--me in my bird costume and this child in his innocence."
Martin notes, as every good clown will: "You can never predict what's
going to happen. You have a formula to follow, but you have to be able
to improvise. You keep your nose in the wind and your eyes open."
Of course, circus performers don't always see life on the road through
the same lens.
"I was just talking to one of the little girls," Martin says. "She
plays a nymph. I think she's 16. She said, 'My God. I wake up, go to
school, practice, do the show, go to bed, wake up, go to school,
practice, do the show, go to bed. My life is always the same.'
"For me, the routine has more variation. I've made a lot of friends in
L.A."
Meanwhile, the Tongan fire-knife dancer Tovo Lisiate Tuione is just
getting used to circus life. He joined "Alegria" in San Jose in
September, after the artistic directors realized the production lacked
an essential element.
It had music (folksy). It had risk (breath-taking). It had humor
(bittersweet). It struck dark chords (despite the title, which means
"joy" in Spanish). It had a strong man (not too friendly). It had
contortionists (young). It had brilliant acrobats and aerialists
(many). It had humanity (clowns). It had hoops (gorgeous).
But their stellar back-to-basics show, a $3-million production
intended to celebrate Cirque du Soleil's street-performance roots, was
missing--what?
Of course! A fire act!
They dispatched one of their talent scouts to the Pacific. He found
Tovo in Hawaii.
Costa Mesa will be Tovo's third stop on the tour. But already this
spectacular 18-year-old performer can't get enough of it.
"This is my first time off the islands," he says. "I want to get
around, see the world."
There are plenty of women out there who want to show it to him, too.
Tovo has been getting mail. Lots of mail, with hand-drawn hearts.
More, it seems, than any Cirque performer since that flamboyant
Russian heartthrob of four years ago. (Remember Vladimir Kehkaial in
"Nouvelle Experience"? He soared like a spectral Icarus and looked
like a smoldering tease who set pulses fluttering with a mere toss of
his jet-black mane.)
Rest assured, Tovo is no tease. He swoops out of the darkness,
carrying a flaming baton, wearing nothing but fringes of leather. In
the yellow glare of the firelight, his smoothly muscled body has the
glow of burnished teak. His million-watt smile takes care of the rest.
Then he begins to do things--dangerous things. He eats the fire, and
he's not timid about it, either. He doesn't take a split-second lick.
He makes it a three-course meal. Then he dances with the fire,
twirling one and two and even three flaming batons. And he does it all
with remarkable grace and relaxation.
"I love performing," he says, sitting demurely in jeans and a T-shirt
at one of the bistro's corner tables. "My manager told me I'm supposed
to make the dance look hard, not to make it look easy. But it's hard
to make it look hard."
It's only when he's injured--Tovo reveals scars on his feet and taped
burns on his hands--that his act is difficult, he says.
But nobody else in the cast seems to agree. The heat from his flaming
batons is so intense that even the show's most agile acrobats won't
grab them without three-foot tongs.
Pavel Brun, a lanky, blond Russian, works behind the scenes. He is the
major-domo, officially titled the "artistic coordinator-on-tour,"
which suggests a desk-bound corporate bureaucrat.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
"I'm the pompous entertainer for everybody here," he quips, pulling up
a chair and gesturing toward the crowd behind him. "I keep them all
alive. I'm the crop and the carrot, the baby-sitter, the shoulder to
cry on."
Brun, 37, has the right experience. Born and raised in Moscow, he
trained in pantomime, juggling, acrobatics, classical and modern
dance. He made his escape to the circus as a teen-ager, "if nothing
else to protest against my parents," he says. "They wanted me to
become a designer or an architect, just like them."
Instead, at 14, Brun began performing with a troupe of pantomimes "in
the Moscow underground." By that he doesn't mean the subway. He means
"unofficial performances." It was the '70s. "Everything was illegal,"
he says, "rock music, jazz, avant-garde painting. We had a very tough
government. Very stupid, not just tough. If you were in pantomime, it
meant you were gay. If you were gay, you were not normal. If you
expressed yourself without words, it meant you must have something
secret to say."
At 16, Brun realized he needed serious circus training. He auditioned
for Russia's most prestigious company, the Moscow Circus, and won an
apprentice slot. For each slot, he says, there were 150 applicants.
In the late '80s, working as a choreographer, he was creating new acts
at the experimental workshop of the Moscow Circus when Gilles Ste-
Croix, Cirque du Soleil's founding artistic director, invited him to
Canada. Brun loved what he saw.
"They were doing what I was always thinking about," Brun says. "It was
a totally different kind of circus performance. It was a fusion of the
arts--music, theater, acrobatics, singing, dance. It was crazy and
romantic."
In 1992, he left the Moscow Circus to become assistant choreographer
for the Cirque's "Saltimbanco" show, which toured North America for
two years, went on to Japan for six months and will begin a two-year
tour of Europe in March.
Ironically, Brun's own kids want no part of circus life--"They're lazy
intellectuals," he says in jest--and he's not about to push them. His
daughter Valeria, 19, visited him on the tour but left it in San
Francisco in July and returned to Moscow, where she attends the
Russian Academy of Theater Arts.
"My daughter did not follow me," Brun says. "She is a historian of
theater. When I need to know something now, I ask her."
He says he has seen "many frustrated circus families with very well-
trained kids. They perform at a very high level, but they have no fun
doing it. It is a paradox."
On the other hand, there's Bochka, the backstage mascot of "Alegria"
who just had his fifth birthday and already thinks he's the Cirque du
Soleil ringmaster.
Bochka's mother, Otgonjargal Shirnen, who hails from Ulan Batur,
Mongolia, and coaches the contortionists, says Bochka has seen every
performance of the show since Montreal, where the tour began 10 months
ago.
"He knows the acts by heart," she says. "He thinks he can do all of
them."
Bochka, rapidly becoming bilingual, agrees. Asked in English whether
he wants to join the circus, he shakes his head up and down. His
answer is vigorous and to the point.
"Yes!" he says, grinning like a magnificent imp.
* * * * *
CIRQUE CITY: STATE OF THE ART
M. E. Warren | LA Times
Jaunuary 16, 1995
COSTA MESA - Rain soaked the big top, but nothing short of a tsunami
could have dampened the enthusiasm of audience and performers alike as
Cirque du Soleil opened its latest extravaganza, "Alegria," at the
South Coast Plaza mall Tuesday.
Alegria means "joy" in Spanish, and in its best moments, when bodies
are free falling in curlicues or snaking themselves into outlandish
profiles, this new Cirque production conjures whoops and laughter. At
its not-quite best, it still works an alchemy of incredible
athleticism and pure showmanship that rivals anything, anywhere.
The story of "Alegria," however, doesn't come together as compellingly
as we have come to expect of Cirque du Soleil. Instead of focusing on
the persona of a central master of ceremonies, "Alegria" features a
trio of wistful clowns and a chorus of old birds mincing about in
plumped suits and feathered hats.
The slightly sardonic edge that characterized the humor of previous
Cirques is gone, too. The clowning is often touching rather than
hilarious, and the pervasive bird imagery is engaging but thematically
elusive. The overall impression is of a kind of contemplative ecstasy,
of the human spirit in flight, yet anchored to life by the melancholy
that is inextricably part of the human condition.
The magic of human grace and strength in Mikhail Matorin's spectacular
cube act is combined with the kind of visual poetry that is Cirque du
Soleil at its most triumphant. Spirit and space in conflict and
balance, Matorin and his cube brought images of Leonardo da Vinci to
mind, particularly that famous drawing of the man with his arms
outstretched standing in the midst of geometric patterns. So fluid is
the Russian artist's suspended performance on the rings that the cube,
which he manipulates around himself with his feet, seems to be moving
him.
The undeniable queens of the evening, 10-year-old contortionists
Ulziibayar Chimed and Nomin Tseveendorj from Mongolia, mesmerize with
the unearthly flexibility of their bodies. These girls bend in ways
that make you wonder whether the parts will stack up again when they
straighten. They leave you questioning whether they are actually put
together like other people.
For those of us who cannot keep even a Hula-Hoop off the ground, the
extraordinary performance of Elena Lev is humbling. This Russian
artist is too young to have hips, but she doesn't need them. She can
swing a hoop in any position with any part of her body, and she
doesn't stop at one hoop, either. Her finale is a dynamite impression
of a human slinky.
Acrobatic displays abound in "Alegria," starting with Fast Track, a
crisscrossing trampoline routine that is as graceful as a polished
ballet and looks like the kind of fun kids have when they fly out over
a river on a long rope.
Multiple flips and gainers are tossed off by the golden-clad Fast
Trackers and later by the silvery Russian bar artists. The Russian bar
is half tightrope, half balance beam suspended on human shoulders.
The act that crowns the evening, the Flying Lev, is trapeze artistry
taken to untraditional heights by eight aerialists who fell from the
top of the tent almost as steadily as the rain beat down outside.
Promotional material claims that "Alegria" aims, in part, to hark back
to the street-theater, carnival roots of circus. Rick ZumWalt's
strongman act certainly evokes images of 19th-Century sideshows, but
director Franco Dragone has yet to find a jazzy way to showcase a
Sampson. ZumWalt undoubtedly is very strong, but his routine isn't.
There's nothing weak about the production design, however, which
features Dominique Lemieux's fabulously expressive costumes and a Luc
Lafortune's three-dimensional lighting design that makes the spinning
cube look liquid and sews the air with spangles.
Rene Dupere has created another powerful score, performed to
perfection by the six-member orchestra and augmented by chanteuse
Francesca Gagnon.
* * * * *
AN ARRAY OF BEASTS WITH ONLY TWO LEGS
By: Jon Pareles | New York Times
March 31, 1995
Should a circus lead viewers to contemplate mortality and geometry?
Should it evoke Russian winters, European cabarets and tropical rain
forests? For those who think so, the Cirque du Soleil -- whose latest
production, "Alegria," will be under its big top at Battery Park City
through May 14 -- is the only game in town, and perhaps in the world.
Cirque du Soleil, which is based in Montreal, is probably the most
pretentious circus anywhere, but it earns every pretension, using
costumes, music and balletic motion to turn a variety show into a
dreamlike unity. "Alegria" provides laughs and gasps, as a circus
must; it also has a note of apocalyptic melancholy. Its trilingual
(Italian-English-Spanish) theme song, declaimed by Francesca Gagnon
with husky Edith Piaf peaks, calls for joy in an elegiac minor key.
In "Saltimbanco," its 1993 New York production, Cirque du Soleil was
sleek and otherworldly. "Alegria" looks earthier and more baroquely
costumed, full of fringes and glitter, with hints of Fellini and
Hieronymous Bosch, "Cats" and Hindu temple carvings. Its music, by
Rene Dupere, also gets around, from klezmer to tango, from cabaret
waltzes to wordless pomp suggesting Pink Floyd.
While Cirque du Soleil does not use animals, it has not forgotten
them. For "Alegria," its trapeze artists are exotic birds, its
gymnasts gold-lamed fish, and the screeches of jungle birds and
monkeys fill the tent as the audience enters.
Cirque du Soleil's acrobats, clowns, fliers and contortionists perform
feats that are common to circuses everywhere. They offer the bread-
and-butter astonishments of bodies twirling through the air toward
perfect catches and landings. In a trampoline-and-gymnastics routine,
an androgynous corps of acrobats liquefies air and space, as their
ranks criss-cross the stage in flips and somersaults with pinpoint
timing, faster and faster. They return for a different test: Russian
poles, long flexible boards held on the shoulders of a pair of
comrades, on which they land after leaps of ever-increasing
difficulty. Trapeze teams pose in midair, or whirl across the tent's
dome toward catchers' waiting arms.
There are also children so poised and limber they seem to be another
species entirely. "Alegria" includes a pair of 10-year-old Mongolian
contortionists whose paired bodies twist and invert themselves so
smoothly they might almost be morphing, and a 13-year-old Russian
gymnast, Yelena Lev, who twirls one silver hoop on a toe extended
straight above her head, another around the knee of the leg supporting
her.
As the children perform, there are onlookers onstage: a clown in
shabby clothes on extra-long crutches, standing on a single stilt, or
a gaggle of birdlike harpies, wearing jowly masks and gray wigs. Those
harpies, along with a scuttling, big-bellied, hunchbacked character in
a red tail coat, silently introduce the show and hover at its edges,
reminders that even the most vigorous and graceful bodies cannot
conquer time. They hold up ornate frames to the other performers, as
if to suspend them while their perfection lasts.
The oval frames are part of the play of geometry in "Alegria," as are
spherical lanterns and Miss Lev's gleaming circles. During the second
half, Mikhail Matorin appears with the skeleton of a silvery cube. He
is bare-chested, holding the cube with his arms outstretched like a
Christ figure; as organ music plays, he is raised aloft, resurrected.
Later, he spins another cube around himself, while the lights turn its
reflective surfaces into streaks of red and blue; then he sinks to the
floor, prostrate, awaiting another rebirth.
The clowns in "Alegria," part of the circus's infusion of talent from
the former Soviet Union, are existential sad sacks, perpetually
wandering. One shadows another in a Marxian (Groucho and Harpo)
pantomime, with its slapstick turned mysterious by slow, spooky music.
In another routine, a clown hangs up an overcoat, puts one arm into a
sleeve, and enacts a couple's tender parting. A rope ladder becomes
the railroad for the train to take him away, into the wind and snow of
an enveloping storm.
Circuses show off mastery, the triumphs of trained bodies. "Alegria"
makes that mastery seem more precious, revealing the circus as a
temporary refuge from time and fate.
* * * * *
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL'S ALEGRIA
By: William Stevenson | Back Stage
April 21, 1995
Blending expert acrobatics, haunting music, existential clowning, and
extravagant costumes, Cirque du Soleil is not your typical circus.
There are no animals--just humans who perform incredible feats with
their bodies. And there is never a dull moment in this year's fast-
paced edition, "Alegria," which is a credit to director Franco Dragone
and artistic director Gilles Ste-Croix.
After an introduction offering superfluous plugs for the tour's
sponsors, the fairy tale-like show opens with a parade of company
members, who come from around the world but are based in Montreal.
Then two young trapeze artists, Xavier Lamoureux and Caroline
Therrien, perform a difficult routine that is all the more exciting
because it's done without a net and close to the audience. Its
mysterious mood is partly due to Rene Dupere's evocative music,
smokily sung by Francesca Gagnon.
Three clowns get ample opportunity to shine. And a crew of gymnasts do
double backflips with ease. After a superb performance by Elena Lev,
in which she stretches her body unbelievably while spinning one or
more hoops, the first act ends with more clowning and a kind of indoor
tornado that blows confetti into the audience.
The second act includes Mikhail Matorin, who ably maneuvers on rings
with a giant metal cube, which he supports himself. Then the gymnasts
return, this time performing double backflips on hand-held balance
beams. After more clowning, two tilly contortionists, Ulziibayar
Chimed and Nomin Tseveendorj, bend themselves into unfathomable
positions. Finally, Andrei Lev's troupe ends the evening with a
rousing trapeze act in which each member soars through the air to be
caught by another.
Every act is individually remarkable, but all are fused into a unified
production, with fine sets by Michel Crete and excellent lighting by
Luc Lafortune. With its neo-Baroque music, lighting, and costumes, the
whole affair might be laughable if it were not so beautifully
realized. Cirque du Soleil creates its own enchanted world, and
considering the troupe's international popularity, it's clearly a
world that audiences want to return to often.
* * * * *
BIG TIME BIG TOP CIRQUE DU SOLEIL SHINES ON
By: Richard Christiansen | Chicago Tribune
July 23, 1995
In the beautifully illustrated book that celebrated the 10th
anniversary of Cirque du Soleil in 1994, there is a black-and-white
photo, taken in 1982, that shows Gilles Ste. Croix, a lean,
mustachioed, long-haired stiltwalker, setting off on a solitary
walkathon to help raise funds for a new circus entertainment that he
and his street-performer colleagues had launched in Quebec.
Now move forward 13 years. Ste. Croix is still lean, but he no longer
has a mustache or long hair. For a fund-raising device, he has traded
in his stilts for a cellular phone, through which he keeps in touch
with the ever-expanding, far-flung empire of the Cirque.
The little summer festival that he and his friends started just
outside Quebec City in 1982 grew into a full-blown circus that they
put under a blue and yellow striped tent and called Cirque du Soleil
(Circus of the Sun, and so called because founder Guy Laliberte
believes he gets his best ideas under the influence of a tropical
sun) in 1984.
Their first circus cost $50,000, employed 62 people and ran for a
little less than three summer months in Quebec. The performers brought
their own costumes.
Today, with year-round operations on three continents, the Cirque
spends about $2.5 million on each show and charges a top ticket price
of $41. The organization's annual budget runs around $55 million and
there is a payroll of 600 persons. There are 45 performers wearing 90
costumes in the latest creation, "Alegria," with each costume custom
designed for the particular magical environment of this production.
The astounding growth of Cirque du Soleil is evident in miniature in
the attendance figures for its Chicago visits alone. When Cirque first
set up its tent in 1989 in the Cityfront Center area, it played to
about 65 percent capacity in a 1,750-seat big top. In 1991, on its
second visit, but now in a 2,500-seat tent, it played to 84 percent,
and two years later, it did a near-capacity business of 99.84 percent.
Similar sell-out business is expected for "Alegria," which opens a 4
1/2-week run Wednesday in its old stamping grounds at 400 N. McClurg
Ct.
And Chicago is only one stop on a long trail of engagements that
various forms of Cirque are now playing across the globe. Since its
breakthrough United States engagement in Los Angeles in 1987, Cirque
has extended its audiences far beyond Canada.
"Alegria," which goes to Boston, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta after
it leaves here, is nearing the end of a two-year North American tour
that began in 1994 in Montreal. In 1996, it will tour Japan; after
that, in 1997, it will move on to Europe.
Meanwhile, "Saltimbanco," which was created in 1992, wrapped up its
American visits in 1993, went to Japan in 1994 and is now in Europe
for another two-year tour.
Earlier this year, "Mystere," a new, different Cirque show, opened at
the Treasure Island Resort in Las Vegas, in a permanent theater
designed especially to accommodate a lavish circus production.
Back home at its headquarters in Montreal, the Cirque creative team is
busy developing the early stages of their next offering, due to open
in 1996, which will repeat the now-established five-year cycle of
American-Japanese-European touring.
On other fronts, Ste. Croix says, Cirque management is preparing a
television series and a feature film, either for theatrical release or
cable or network showing. By spring of 1998, an even larger theater
for Cirque attractions should be ready to open in Las Vegas.
Shrewd merchandisers that they are, the Cirque people also have
developed a line of Cirque souvenirs--T-shirts, jackets, caps, masks,
mugs, posters, key rings, watches, tins, pins, shopping bags, compact
discs, videos, scarves, ties and dolls. And if you don't get the
chance to buy them in the Cirque shop attached to the big top, there's
a mail order catalogue from which you can order.
The amazing thing about this phenomenal expansion is that it has been
accomplished by the same crew of ragamuffin players who began so
modestly in 1982.
Composer-arranger Rene Dupere, who provides the Cirque's special
sound, was a music teacher and tuba-playing street musician before he
linked up with Cirque. Today he's an integral part of the Cirque's
creative group, blending synthesizers, drums, percussion, violin,
accordion and saxophone into the fusion that distinguishes each new
edition.
In addition to recording his Cirque scores for best-selling albums, he
also is working on separate film projects in Canada.
The creative team for costumes, scenery, lighting and music has
remained basically the same over the last decade, and the concept
behind each Cirque edition has not radically changed.
Cirque derives some of its presentational style from earlier circus
pioneers as far removed as China and Switzerland; and its performers-
clowns, aerialists, acrobats, tightrope walkers, contortionists and
magicians (but no animals)--are traditional circus artists.
But the individually talented Cirque members, gathered from around the
world and then schooled in the ensemble style at the home base in
Montreal, are forged into a tightly integrated group of players and
are placed in a unique, unmistakably Cirque aura through their bizarre
make-up, glittering costumes and complex theatrical lighting.
Though all Cirque shows since 1984 have had similar design and musical
identities, each one has maintained a fresh, individual stamp.
"We came from nothing," Ste. Croix says. "We have grown from street
players to company managers, but we have tried to make that a
comfortable growth. . . .
"At this stage, we are the originals, still running the show and still
carrying the original spirit, but now we must learn to spread that
company spirit with new people whom we invite to sit around our table.
"The flame continues to burn inside of us, but we must be able to pass
that flame on to the right people in the future."
* * * * *
CIRQUE RETURNS WITH ITS MAGIC SPELLS
By: Richard Christiansen | Chicago Tribune
July 27, 1995
There is no form of theater on this Earth that better transports its
viewers to a state of enchantment than Cirque du Soleil.
The factors used to create the Cirque's illusory world make up an
astounding blend of the oldest traditions of circus performance, the
basic laws of physical science and the latest innovations in
technological resources. Sound, light, costumes and scenery are woven
into a single, mesmerizing spectacle, and the skillful use of music,
song, dance and physical beauty creates a unique and spellbinding
environment, into which the audience is totally immersed.
In its fourth biennial visit here on the banks of the Chicago River at
Cityfront Center, Cirque appears even more sophisticated and
spellbinding than in the past.
"Alegria," as this edition is called, has, as usual, a superb lineup
of circus performers: 40 in all, ranging in age from 18 to 45, and
including contortionists, tumblers, trapeze artists, a fire-knife
dancer, tightrope walkers, highfliers and a trio of endearing clowns.
Good to begin with, they are made magnificent by the bravura
theatricality with which they are presented.
When Elena Lev, a slip of a girl whose body is made up of elastic
bones, sets a battery of bright metal rings swirling around her in a
supreme example of brilliant Hula-Hoop maneuvering, that's sensational
enough. But "Alegria" raises that difficult stunt to the realm of
magic by focusing a series of colored spotlights on the hoops so that
they seem to sparkle in glints of red and blue and green.
A troupe of incredible young acrobats leaps through amazing feats of
balance on the Russian bars, which is impressive enough, but the
daring of these athletes is made even more sensational by their own
spidery white costumes and chalk-faced, red-nosed makeup, and by the
background of awe and wonder created by the precisely choreographed
movements of a crowd of fellow circus creatures who are watching them.
It's one thing to send on a parade of tumblers who perform
unbelievably high, swift flips on the trampoline; it's quite another
thing to train those tumblers to become dancers, so that their act
becomes a ballet, as well.
This is, in every step, a circus ballet, from the clown who seems to
split himself in half to the gossamer, fairylike creature (Isabelle
Corradi) who wafts through the show, helping to weave it together with
her siren song of "Alegria."
The tricks that the Cirque plays can be very simple, as when an old
coat and hat suddenly become animated through a few deft movements by
the great clown Slava Polunin, or they can be technically complex, as
when a grid of lights criss-crosses the muscled form of Mikhail
Matorin as he hangs high above the audience, within the gleaming metal
framework of a cube.
The jokes, too, are as basic as a clown whooshing past on a skateboard
or as complicated as a wind machine-driven storm of paper bits sailing
into the front rows of the crowd.
Under director Franco Dragone, the Cirque's ingenious production team
of Dominique Lemieux (costumes), Michel Crete (sets), Luc Lafortune
(lighting and special effects) and Guy Desrochers (sound), Debra Brown
(choreography) and Rene Dupere (music) fuse their talents into a
seamless whole, each element contributing to the total envelopment of
an almost extraterrestrial style.
By themselves, the percussion and the wail of Dupere's score for six
musicians and the fanciful shimmer of Lemieux's costumes are marvelous
pieces of invention. Bring them together in the aura of magic that
Cirque engenders and they are even more dazzling in their impact.
It's a fifth dimension, a new universe, a world of wonder. Adult or
child, you're going to become a part of it and surrender to it gladly.
* * * * *
HARMONY OF MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT KEEPS CIRQUE'S PERFORMERS IN SHAPE
By: Bob Condor | Chicago Tribune
August 24, 1995
Not much appears ordinary when Mikhail Matorin is lifting, balancing,
spinning and hanging off a gigantic see-through cube during his solo
act in the Cirque du Soleil, currently under the big tent at North
Pier.
For one thing his upper body is perfect biceps upon perfect pectorals
upon perfect abdominals-and without any hint of the bodybuilder freak
look. The definition in his muscles translates to all languages,
including the the small talk among female fans who inevitably wait for
another glimpse of "the Cube Man" after each Cirque performance and
husbands who openly agree this guy's torso is, well, perfect.
Or consider Matorin's dexterity with the cube, which is a three-
dimensional framework of aluminum tubing that weighs 30 pounds and
measures what would seem an unwieldy 6 feet on all sides. It's as if
he is manhandling some sort of Jungle Gym or juggling the scaffolding
you might see at a construction site. He spends eight precious Cirque
minutes going through the paces of a high-intensity gymnastics workout
that would shame most any Olympian.
The 30-year-old Russian just doesn't seem human. But that changes when
he addresses the question of just how he and fellow performers in the
avant-garde circus stay in the shape needed to pull off their many
amazing athletic feats since arriving in town July 26 with a show
called "Alegria"--everything from cube spinning to flying trapezes to
trampoline ballet to tightrope walking to acrobatic flips on a moving
beam called the Russian bar.
"My body is never 100 percent," said Matorin over a cup of lemonade at
a backstage trailer cafe. "I am always nursing minor injuries and
simply block out the pain during the act. When I practice some of the
more difficult moves , I say to myself, `Oh, my God, that hurts! ' "
Unlike others in the traveling company, Matorin has used the actual
performances as the primary way to stay in shape over a grueling nine-
city, 19-month American tour that started in May 1994.
"We do 10 shows each week," he explains, "so I only practice twice a
week for about an hour each time. Other than that, I walk a lot and go
to the gym to use the weight machines only when I'm hyper."
Of course, Matorin shrugs off his ritual hour of warm-ups before each
show, in which he goes through an extensive set of stretching and
strengthening exercises that includes enough pull-ups (30) to spread
over a week for the rest of us. He said the pull-ups especially help
him to "wake up the body."
Power and grace Emilie Therrien, a tumbler in the "Fast Track"
trampoline number and costumed bird and angel in other parts of the
show, draws strength from a different approach. She attends dance
class at the nearby Bryant Ballet school every morning for two hours
to supplement the three official tumbling practices each week. She
also travels with a bike, which she has been riding frequently on the
city's lakefront trail.
"The ballet strengthens my ankles," said Therrien, an 18-year-old
French Canadian from Montreal who has notched more than 450
performances and thousands of flips, cartwheels and handstands in her
two years with Cirque. "But I really do it because I love dance, and
the classes give me energy I can take back to my job."
It isn't surprising that Therrien and other "Fast Track" tumblers have
ballet roots. Many of the trampoline movements among women and men
contain a clear element of dancelike grace, particularly as the
tumblers hold the final flips like a competitive diver elongating
before slipping into the water.
Therrien missed a week of performances earlier this year in Santa
Monica, Calif., when she sprained an ankle while doing a rapid series
of six flips.
"I sort of hopped off the stage," said Therrien. "The directors had to
make some fast adjustments to fill my spots. Sometimes we have to take
something out of the show if a certain person is hurt."
Working through the doldrums
Even when they are healthy, the performers occasionally find it hard
to complete their appointed moves. Like a baseball hitter or weekend
golfer, the Cirque players can fall into a slump.
"You might have trouble getting up enough speed or jumping high enough
on a flip," said Therrien. "Maybe your arms are bending too much and
you have lost the good feeling. The only way out is practice."
The Cirque troupe has no physical trainer and only a few informal
coaches. Yet it was clear during a recent visit to the backstage areas
that the performers are serious athletes. They seemed to eat all the
right foods before a performance--high-carbohydrate items such as
fruits and bagels and split-pea soup--while drinking plenty of water.
What's more, there was an impressive amount of proper stretching being
done as showtime drew closer. Nobody seemed to be just going through
the motions--in contrast to any given number of professional athletes
on any given day.
There were even some psych jobs in progress.
"I concentrate on what I will be doing with the cube," said Matorin.
"I don't want to talk to anybody in the half hour before we get
started."
After the show is another story. The personable, self-described
"citizen of the world" enjoys mingling with the crowd--even if fans
don't always recognize his surprisingly compact 5-foot-8-inch, 140-
pound frame when it's covered with a shirt. He looks bigger and more
imposing onstage.
"It happens all the time," said Matorin, laughing. "I walk out with a
friend, and he hears some people talking about how they are waiting
for the Cube Man. My friend points to me, and the people say, `This is
the Cube Man?' We have to convince them I'm the same guy."
# # #
That's all for in this issue, but there's still more to come!
o) Issue #169, FEB 2018 - Quidam, Part 1 (1996-1997)
o) Issue #170, MAR 2018 - Quidam, Part 2 (1998)
o) Issue #171, APR 2018 - Dralion, Part 1 (1999-2001)
o) Issue #172, MAY 2018 - Dralion, Part 2 (2001-2003)
o) Issue #173, JUN 2018 - Varekai, Part 1 (2002)
o) Issue #174, JUL 2018 - Varekai, Part 2 (2003-2004)
o) Issue #175, AUG 2018 - Varekai, Part 3 (2005)
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COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER
=======================================================================
Fascination! Newsletter
Volume 18, Number 1 (Issue #168) - January 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., and
Créations Méandres, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No copyright
infringement intended.
{ Jan.07.2018 }
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