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Fascination Issue 162
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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 17, NUMBER 7 July 2017 ISSUE #162
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Welcome to the latest edition of Fascination, the Unofficial Cirque
du Soleil Newsletter.
* * * CIRQUE DU SOLEIL BUYS BLUE MAN GROUP?! * * *
From the "whoa, we never saw this coming" category, comes a bombshell
of a press release by Cirque du Soleil just as we were wrapping things
up this month:
Global entertainment leader Cirque du Soleil announced July 6th the
acquisition of New-York-based Blue Man Productions, a global live
entertainment company best known for the award-winning Blue Man Group
show, performed in over 20 countries and seen by more than 35 million
people worldwide since 1991. The acquisition of Blue Man Group
considerably widens Cirque du Soleil's audience pool, adding to their
portfolio six resident productions established across the United
States and Germany, as well as a North American and a World Tour.
The transaction is in line with Cirque du Soleil's vision for the
future, as the Montreal-based creative powerhouse looks to further
expand globally and diversify its entertainment offering beyond circus
arts. With its original aesthetics, award-winning musical talent and
immersive experience know-how, the acquisition of Blue Man Group also
represents an additional asset for Cirque du Soleil's creative team
and show offerings.
"We want to broaden our horizons, develop new forms of entertainment,
reach out to new audiences and expand our own creative capabilities.
Today, we are taking a decisive step towards materializing these
ambitions", said Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO of Cirque du
Soleil. "We are extremely excited to welcome the iconic Blue Man Group
to our portfolio of shows. Their unbridled creativity makes them a
perfect cultural fit for Cirque du Soleil. Our extensive marketing
research also confirms that Blue Man Group is a strong 'love brand'
with a solid fan base something else our two brands have in common."
For 25 years, Blue Man Group has earned an unrivaled reputation in the
global entertainment industry. With a history and values similar to
that of Cirque, the company was born of a crazy dream in the creative
minds of its three founders. Blending technology, music and comedy,
they created boldly colored, playful and steadfastly interactive
shows. The company currently operates resident shows in New York,
Boston, Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando and Berlin, as well as two touring
productions.
Blue Man Group Co-Founder Phil Stanton explains, "When we began our
Blue Man journey, we set our sights on creating theater that would
bring people together in a celebration of human connection. We have
been humbled, amazed and inspired by the audience responses we have
received over the years."
Co-Founder Chris Wink adds, "Now, we find ourselves on the brink of
our next chapter, and we have big ideas for the future. Only a global
creative powerhouse like Cirque du Soleil could help us achieve our
vision. Their commitment to artistic quality and originality is
unparalleled and their creative resources are vast. It is an honor to
join forces with their organization."
While the news of Blue Man Group being bought by Cirque du Soleil
caught us completely by surprise, one of the questions that arises now
is... what does this mean for Orlando? Blue Man Group has a residency
at Universal Studios Resort while Cirque du Soleil has residency at
the Walt Disney World Resort, and neither are on what you'd call
friendly terms. Behind the Thrills - a theme park news and reviews
website - asked that very same question in their post about the news.
Thrills suggests that in the short term "the Blue Man Group is staying
at Universal Orlando with the latest announcement [but] it is
currently unknown if Cirque du Soleil will do any changes at the Blue
Man Group residency." Only time will tell what the future could hold
for the Blue Man Group residency at Universal. And what of Cirque du
Soleil at Walt Disney World? The site goes on to report...
"As of late March, Cirque du Soleil was in negotiations with Walt
Disney World with Daniel Lamarre, president, and CEO of Cirque du
Soleil being quoted in an Argentina interview that Cirque is "going to
have a new show." Cirque du Soleil wants to create a tribute in the
show to Disney's Animation. It's possible that the tribute to Disney's
Animation could be done as a full show that is an entire tribute to
Disney's Animation such as their tribute show to the Argentinean Rock
Band Soda Stereo in Argentina. However, the plans for this tribute are
only in the preliminary stage."
Check out the YouTube video announcing this acquisition:
< https://youtu.be/Erou1MSIgPE >. And read even more about this news
from an article published by the New York Times within.
* * * CIRQUECAST RELEASES TWENTIETH EPISODE! * * *
CirqueCast is a Vodcast (that's video podcast) for Cirque fans by
Cirque fans featuring artist interviews, Cirque headlines, and the
inside scoop to your favorite Cirque du Soleil shows! Join your hosts
José Pérez (TheChapiteau), Richard "Richasi" Russo (Fascination!), Ian
Rents (Hardcore Cirque Fans), and Dario Shame (a big 'ol fan), as we
bring you a behind-the-scenes look into Cirque du Soleil, complete
with discussions and the latest Cirque news.
In this episode of CirqueCast, we interview Facundo Gimenez. Facundo
is currently touring with Cirque du Soleil's Kurios as The Comic. Join
us on this intimate interview where Facundo talks about his beginnings
in the world of Circus, his experience playing 3 Cirque du Soleil
characters, his side projects, and more. Watch our interview here:
< https://youtu.be/pWuxX_rDbvQ >.
* * * OYEZ! OYEZ! * * *
Besides the Blue Man Group announcement, there've been a number of
other developments since our last issue. Here's a quick round-up:
TORUK CELEBRATES 400th SHOW -- On the evening of June 30th, TORUK-
The First Flight celebrated 400 shows in Manila, Philippines.
Congratulations!
EVEN MORE WEB SERIES COMING -- In addition to the currently running
Make-up Challenge, the Red Bull Making of VOLTA, and the new Cirque
Stories, be on the lookout for "Cirque Stats" coming soon. A new
series from the Cirque Casting team, "see if our team is busy, very
busy, or extremely busy casting the most diverse range of disciplines
in the entertainment business."
TICKETS TO LA NOUBA'S FINAL PERFORMANCE NOW ON SALE -- La Nouba at
the Walt Disney World Resort will hold its final performance on
Sunday, December 31, 2017. Until recently, tickets for the performance
were not available to the public, but they are now! If you want to
see the last ever performance of La Nouba, head over to Cirque du
Soleil's website and get your tickets today.
LUNA PETUNIA TO GET SECOND SEASON -- Luna Petunia, Cirque's animated
show for for children, has received a second season with streamer
NETFLIX. The following eleven new episodes begin streaming on Friday,
July 7th.
S2,E01: "Caterball/Gemhenge"
S2,E02: "Queen Luna/Lil'Rooey"
S2,E03: "Happy Jolly Days"
S2,E04: "Cloudy With a Chance of Balloons/Melvin's Magical Mix-up"
S2,E05: "Big Stretch/Bad Bubble Blues"
S2,E06: "Luna Day/How Does Your Garden Grow?"
S2,E07: "Lights! Camera! Sammy!/Learning to Fly"
S2,E08: "Creepy Castle/Karoo the Great and Powerful"
S2,E09: "Fellinocchio/Big Sleep"
S2,E10: "Tricky Situation/The Perfect Toy"
S2,E11: "Treasure of Amazia"
VOLTA RECORDED -- Although it is still quite early in the show's run,
VOLTA was filmed for an eventual DVD release this past week. The exact
release date isn't known to us, however, Instagram posts from artists
and video editors suggest a viewing in two months, so we could see the
DVD released at the show come October or November!
CREACTIVE EXPANDS -- Now you can enjoy Cirque du Soleil's Creactive
in a second location - Club Med Opio, Alpes-Maritimes. Check out the
following videos of its opening: < https://goo.gl/JkksDP > and
< https://goo.gl/qSXxG1 >.
MORE ON THE NEW KIDS SHOW -- Discovery Kids has partnered with Cirque
du Soleil and Canada's TVO and Apartment 11 on a live-action series
set in a boarding school for young circus performers. The as-yet
untitled English-language series will be filmed in Montreal, where
Apartment 11 is based, and has Argentinean producer Cris Morena on
board as an executive producer and songwriter. It will air on Discovery
Kids in Latin America. It tells the story of an extraordinary group of
young artists, athletes and acrobats aspiring to join the circus.
"The series delivers dream fulfillment through circus performing arts
in a magical and musical context, which is sure to delight our
Discovery Kids audience," said Carolina Lightcap, executive VP and
chief content officer at Discovery Latin America/US Hispanic. "Cirque
du Soleil is looking to develop new forms of entertainment, speak to
new audiences and further expand its global reach," added Kristina Heney,
chief marketing officer at Cirque du Soleil. "This series is a natural
continuation for us in our foray into youth entertainment, after over
30 years of producing world-renowned live shows that appeal to the
entire family. Our vision is to apply our creative kaleidoscope to
build unique worlds that nurture kids' creativity."
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
* CirqueTech - The Technical Side of Cirque
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
* "STELAR: An Overview of SCALADA's Final Chapter"
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
* "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 3 of 16: Le Cirque Réinventé, Part 3 (1989)
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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Russian Standard Vodka Becomes Official Vodka Sponsor
{Jun.01.2017}
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Russian Standard Vodka, the world's #1 premium Russian vodka, has
entered a multi-year sponsorship with Cirque du Soleil as the official
vodka sponsor of touring shows in USA and Canada. The partnership
between these two global brands spans across multiple platforms,
including on-site event activation, co-branded content creation,
online media and retail integration.
"We decided to partner with Cirque du Soleil because it's a successful
and forward-thinking entertainment property reaching millions of
highly coveted consumers," said Leonid Yangarber, CEO of Roust
Americas. "While Russian Standard Vodka has solidified a loyal
following in both US and Canada, we expect Cirque du Soleil to be a
great partner to introduce Russian Standard to new consumers seeking
high quality experiences."
"We are delighted to be partnering with Russian Standard Vodka, a
premium brand that will add another level of engagement, through
creative activations, to the already unique Cirque du Soleil
experience," said Richard L. Davies, Global Head Creative Alliances &
Licensing.
{ SOURCE: PR Newswire }
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Why Cirque du Soleil Has Stopped Employee Reviews
{Jun.03.2017}
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As a company that was built on trailblazing new experiences and
challenging the status quo, it's no wonder that Cirque du Soleil has
taken a radical approach to the way they manage people. Harnessing the
power of energy and engagement, they've steered away from traditional
and archaic methods that are built on utilitarian principles, and
shifted towards starting open and honest conversations, asking for
constant feedback, and promoting shared responsibilities amongst all
members of the company.
"Somewhere along the way, we've forgotten that organizations are human
living systems, essentially a bunch of people coming together every
day," said Valerie Pisano, Talent Manger at Cirque Du Soleil, at a
recent C2 Montreal conference. "We've significantly overemphasized our
focus on system, process, policy, rule
and we've mostly disregarded
everything that science, psychology, and neuroscience have figured out
about how human beings function and what they need to be the best
version of themselves."
Cirque's new aspiration is to create a truly unique employee
experience, and has established these five principles that emphasize
personal development in order to build strong, trust-based
relationships and high performing teams.
1. TALENT DIALOGUES
Cirque has completely moved away from traditional performance
management systems with ratings and criteria. Instead, they've opted
for what they call "Talent Dialogues". Every four months, everyone
shares the responsibility to come together for an open conversation to
discuss how things are going.
In these conversations, they ask five simple questions, both
personally and as a team:
o) "Looking back on the past 100 days, what have been my
contributions, within in our team, and possibly beyond?"
o) "What has been the most difficult? What have I struggled with?
o) "How have I been showing up, and what's been the impact of that
on myself and the people I interact with?"
o) "Is there one thing I'm taking away from myself and that I want
to focus on moving forward?"
o) "What are the priorities we agree to for the next 100 days?"
2. CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP
"We know that our future success at Cirque is going to highly
dependent [on our leaders] to mobilize and grow talent, so we want to
make sure that they have the awareness, the tools, and the support to
expand into the most authentic version as themselves as leaders."
Cirque firmly believes that leadership starts from within, which is
why they've introduced a program that is anchored in intellectual
foundation and analyzes the science of how people function.
3. GLOBAL MINDFULNESS
"We believe you have to train your mind like you do your body, which
is why we've launched on-site and online classes to support this type
of mindful learning." These programs are open to every staff member so
that they can explore meditation and build a personal practice.
4. PEER TO PEER CONNECTION
Research has shown that financial rewards and gifts create an
immediate happiness, but this is short-lived. Emotion is what creates
long-lasting employees, stemming from shared experiences and human
connection.
That's why they've introduced two types of programs, the first called
"Cirque Jam", where a team stemming from different departments comes
together to explore and experiment in work that goes beyond their role
and responsibilities.
The second is called "Panache". This peer to peer recognition program
includes initiatives like passing a white sculpture between each
employee to contribute to, so it eventually becomes a communal work of
art. Through these types of activities, staff are taught to voice
their appreciation, understand that their input matters, and know the
importance of giving and receiving thank you's.
5. EMPLOYEE FEEDBACK TOOL
"We want the voice of our employees and hard objective data to guide
our actions." That's why Pisano explains that they send a 5-minute
survey out to everyone three to four times a year. They ask questions
like what it's like to work at Cirque and what they care about the
most. After this data is collected, each leader is given a personal
dashboard so they can see the results, determine what needs to be
changed, and commit to actions in order to make it happen.
{ SOURCE: Inc | https://goo.gl/6MHAqc }
-------------------------------------------------------
Gabriel Beaudoin Holds Winnipeg Juggling Workshop
{Jun.07.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Gabriel Beaudoin an exemplary juggler from Cirque du Soleil's
Kurios' held a two hour juggling workshop on Monday, June 5th. This
exhilarating event went from 8:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. at the Broadway
Neighbourhood Centre.
People of all skill levels were welcomed to the event, where tips, a
training session, and exploratory juggling' took place. Along with
the hands-on aspect of the spectacle, participating jugglers also
received insights from Beaudoin on his life and journey to becoming
one of the greatest jugglers on the planet.
Beginning with regular ball juggling' Beaudoin had the attendees
practice their 3-5 ball juggling for 20 minutes to kick off the
festivities. Beaudoin then made his way around the room highlighting
several different new moves to incorporate into regular juggling
routines.
The one-handed three ball toss' quickly became a favourite of many of
the participants, as Beaudoin's clinic grew more and more difficult.
The evening concluded with an interactive form of combat club
juggling', where Beaudoin allowed the guests to try to take him down
in a round-by-round styled game.
Beaudoin, now 24, went to school for nine years in Quebec to perfect
his juggling and entertainment techniques, and was the youngest member
of the Kurios production at the time of its debut in 2014 (21).
But for Beaudoin, juggling wasn't always his priority.
In an interview in Seattle, Beaudoin spoke of how it was his constant
fidgeting and hyperactive personality that got him thinking about the
circus.
"When I was young I was really troubled, as a kid with a lot of
energy, always moving around you know?" Beaudoin said. "Always
talking, always hyper. I have some hyperactivity problems. What I love
the most about juggling is that I'm a really hyperactive guy, and
juggling gives me this calm. I can use my energy in a really specific
way, and it teaches me how to focus really well. How to be in the
present and in the right place."
Not only did Beaudoin provide insight into his own childhood, but also
gave thought towards those who much like he did struggle to remain
on task while battling the issues surrounding hyperactivity and other
such issues.
"For all the kids at home who have problems with being all over the
place all the time, if you want to find something to focus you, you
can juggle, maybe you can do piano, but just find a passion," he said.
"That's what juggling is for me. That's the thing that gives me what I
needed in my life to have the right path, and now I've got it and I'm
passionate. Circus is a good mix of everything. It's athletic, it's
also really creative. It's a mix of art and sport. That's what I
needed.
"Beaudoin and his act can be seen with Cirque du Soleil's Kurios A
Cabinet of Curiosities, under the big blue and yellow top at Kenaston
and Sterling Lyon until June 9th. Tickets for the remaining shows
start at $40, and can be purchased here.
Follow this link to see more of Gabriel Beaudoin and his remarkable
juggling abilities: < https://youtu.be/ehYWbgwIXj4 >
{ SOURCE: My Toba | https://goo.gl/TUhRd4 }
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Cirque du Soleil to advise Barack Obama
{Jun.08.2017}
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In the aftermath of his speech at the Palais des congrès de Montréal,
Barack Obama asked Cirque du Soleil to advise him in the design of the
Obama Presidential Center, which will include the all-digital
presidential library, a museum and the Obama Foundation. A set that
will be built in Jackson Park, Chicago.
Barack Obama's request was made this morning during a 30-minute
meeting with Cirque du Soleil CEO Daniel Lamarre, La Presse reported.
The 44th US president is a "big fan of Cirque du Soleil", said Daniel
Lamarre, who joined Barack Obama at his hotel to "have a coffee". He
knows our shows, and he was genuinely very interested in what we were
doing. He had plenty of questions to ask me about creation, about our
projects, our foundation, and so on. I expected to spend five minutes
with him, but eventually we talked for 30 minutes! "
The meeting between the two men was nevertheless solicited by Daniel
Lamarre, who had "two, three ideas in mind" while not "expecting
anything".
When he learned that Barack Obama would be in Montreal, the CEO of the
Cirque made contact with the entourage of the former president to
invite him to the head office. "I was told that his schedule did not
allow him to go to Cirque, but that he would like to meet me very
much," said Lamarre, who has confessed to pinching himself a few times
since this morning.
Barack Obama, who unveiled a model of his future presidential center
in Chicago a month ago, asked the Cirque to advise him on the design
of the future complex.
"I found it very flattering," Daniel Lamarre told us. He was very
intrigued by the technology used in our immersive "NFL Experience"
project, which will be inaugurated in Times Square in November. He
said, "We're in the design phase, you're in the production phase, so
I'd like to see what you're doing to inspire our creators."
An American team will be sent "in the coming weeks" to the Cirque
headquarters in the Saint-Michel district to meet the creators of
Cirque, who will "share their knowledge".
Barack Obama, who is also working on the founding of his foundation,
was also very interested in Cirque du Monde, founded by Cirque 20
years ago. This social circus program for young people from
disadvantaged neighborhoods is present in some fifty countries around
the world.
"The foundation of Barack Obama is also aimed at young people in
difficulty," noted Daniel Lamarre, "so we felt that through our
influence with Cirque du monde, but also by that of Cirque du Soleil,
which is present in 350 cities Of the world, there were surely things
that could be done together. That is one of the ideas I have proposed.
We're going to put our people in touch, who will come back with
recommendations. "
{ SOURCE: La Presse | https://goo.gl/JCVW50 }
-------------------------------------------------------
Body Electric: Cirque Powers Up For Expo 2017
{Jun.08.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Wind turbines may immediately spring to mind. But body-charged
energy, in the form of movement, can also power us into the future
both through technological advances and sheer human inspiration.
Canadian theatrical entertainment group Cirque du Soleil is
spotlighting the latter form of kinetic fuel in Reflekt its
exclusive production for Astana Expo 2017, taking place from 16 June
through 9 September (with approximately 70 shows in all). Beneath a
2,000-person capacity tent, 38 artists are bringing the Future
Energy' theme to life in what Reflekt director Fernand Rainville dubs
a show that is "very strong acrobatically." Rather than address the
expo's green theme in a clinical, scientific way, he has embraced
something central to all Cirque du Soleil productions: movement. "I
brought everything down to human energy, trying to build on what the
future can be the energy of youth and the energy of physical
performance," he says. In one high-voltage number, a crew of nine
young dancers perform with Segways (motorized skateboards). "Future
energy is also how we take care of our kids," he adds.
In Reflekt, the audience is ushered down the symbolic rabbit hole by
the comedic lead character, Arman, a head-in-the-clouds archeologist.
He explores seven elements of Kazakhstani culture joy, wisdom,
success, well-being, height and growth, speed and divine protection
as he navigates the Central Asian republic's past, present and
future. Kazakhstani cultural contributions from yurts to
domesticated horses are a driving force behind this one hour and 15
minute spectacle, which includes aerial work, contortionists, a
trampoline wall, and a wheel of death (an adrenalin-pumping act which
Cirque fans may recall from the show Kooza).
He was also passionate about the country's distinction of being the
first to domesticate horses, thousands of years ago. While animals
are famously not part of the troupe's fresh and modern take on the
circus tradition, Rainville found a way to include this important
piece of Kazakh Steppe history and to marry this with the future
energy theme. "I thought: what are the horses of today?" he asks
rhetorically. His answer: horse power.' "I'm incorporating something
we've never had at Cirque yet: an electric motor bike," says
Rainville of the vehicle, which has been modified for tricks and
stunt riding. Beyond electric motorcycles, he and his talented team
also found a way to highlight solar photovoltaic energy while
retaining the creative spirit of the colorful production. In Reflekt,
Helia, the sun itself an element of the Kazakhstan flag emits
rays' on stage via patterns and imagery fashioned by lighting
designer Nicolas Brion. Another graphic on the national flag, Samruk
the eagle-like bird of Kazakh legend which lays its egg in the tree
of life appropriately features in the show's aerial acts. One of
the symbols of Kazakhstan after the independence is the so-called
Golden Man, discovered in 1969 by archeologists in the Almaty region
dressed richly in red and gold. Rainville explains that while the
production sheds light on such cultural influences, in true Cirque
style, it does not do so with the goal of accurate reproduction. "Our
inspiration is traditional but we haven't redone on stage the
traditional costumes," he says of the some 300 wardrobe pieces made
of custom-printed materials, designed by James Lavoie.
The Eurasian country's historical imprint on Reflekt is miles away
from being "something you would see in a museum," or a documentary-
style showcase, he stresses. In one example, Rainville cites a pair
of Mongolian contortionists whose hair is adorned with a unique take
on classic braiding. "It's very hard to describe. It all of the
sudden becomes like a sculpture." Likewise, the production's
sprawling soundtrack performed by five live musicians and a singer
features indigenous instruments like the two-string dombra, while
updating ancient sounds and arrangements. "It feels very much today.
Then, at times, it goes into a very lyrical and epic feel, where the
music takes you to the Kazakhstani Steppe on horseback," he notes.
In terms of setting the scene, one particular feature of Reflekt is a
Cirque first: a bi-frontal runway stage. This design conveys the
feeling of movement through travel a signature of the nomadic
Kazakh people. "That's going to be very exciting because it brings a
lot of intimacy into a room where you have the spectators placed on
both sides," says the director, "That makes them very close to the
act." Architecture on a grander scale also figures in the theatrical
tableau. Rainville sees such building design as emblematic of the
capital city today and accordingly mentions the Pyramid of Peace by
Norman Foster. "There's some very monumental about architecture in
Astana. I wanted to refer to that in the way we start the show off."
Ultimately, the performance is a reflection of Kazakhstan's past,
present and future identity, as implied by the title Reflekt. Part of
the creative process, according to the director, was to let go of
preconceived ideas about Kazakhstani culture and to reintroduce it in
the 21st century. Rainville concludes: "I hope that the Kazakh people
feel that we've done something specifically that references who they
are and that they feel that we are opening them up towards the
future."
{ SOURCE: CNN | https://goo.gl/kP59Hn }
-------------------------------------------------------
Cirque Unveils its Legacy for Montreal's 375th Anniv
{Jun.08.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
To mark the 20th anniversary of its involvement in the St-Michel
district, Cirque du Soleil inaugurated an art garden, in the presence
of its President and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Lamarre, its
founder, Guy Laliberté, and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre. Offered as a
gift for Montreal's 375th anniversary, the garden presents 16 major
works of art. The project was born out of Cirque du Soleil and Guy
Laliberté's desire to establish art in public spaces for the benefit
of the surrounding community.
The flagship pieces of the new landscape design, which features a
vegetable garden and a labyrinth devised by Cirque du Soleil
employees, include Quebec artworks such as Armand Vaillancourt's
imposing L'Enchantement and the remarkable sculptures Dans le jardin
du roi heureux, by Glen Lemesurier, and La Contorsionniste, by
Philippe Allard. Creations by Catherine Sylvain, Andy Goldsworthy,
Richard MacDonald, Anne-Sophie Morelle, Andrew Rogers, Jim Dine, Tom
Doyle, Simon Gudgeon and Rolf Knie complete the art garden.
The 16 works of art were chosen from the Cirque du Soleil corporate
collection, which includes nearly 1,000 pieces. Launched 20 years ago
to support the artistic community, the collection focuses on young
creators and reflects a variety of art forms, such as painting,
photography and sculpture. The collection also promotes a work
environment that stimulates openness and creativity through contact
with the arts.
"Since creativity is at the core of Cirque du Soleil's DNA, it is
important for us to build inspiring and stimulating work environments.
Art opens the dialogue with employees, artists and creators, who
contribute in their own way to the success of Cirque du Soleil. By
making part of our collection accessible to the community, we want to
highlight the work of artists and position ourselves as an agent of
change. I encourage everyone in Montreal, and especially our
neighbours in the St-Michel district, to come and explore our
magnificent art garden," stated Daniel Lamarre.
Tours of the art garden will be offered for free every weekend this
summer by TOHU. The City of Circus Arts tour is an invitation to
discover the works at Cirque du Soleil, the National Circus School,
TOHU and the St-Michel Environmental Complex. Descriptions of the
works of art and biographies of the artists can be found on the Art
public Montréal website at https://artpublicmontreal.ca/en/parcours/
city-of-circus-arts/
20 years of involvement in St-Michel
Since the opening of its international headquarters in the St-Michel
district in 1997, Cirque du Soleil has contributed to the rejuvenation
of one of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Montreal, with an
investment of over $15 million. One of its local projects is the Arts
Nomades program, which, to date, has benefited over 5,700 students in
the neighbourhood's primary schools. This innovative educational
approach aims to foster the acquisition of artistic, personal and
social skills through circus arts, dance and visual arts workshops.
The new art garden is a continuation of the company's efforts to
develop and maintain solid ties with the community.
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Backstage feats as Creative as what's seen Onstage
{Jun.13.2017}
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As impressive as Cirque du Soleil's OVO show may be on the audience
side of the curtain, equally impressive feats of logistics take place
on the other side, and backstage, as well.
The 19 trucks filled with everything from the show's sound and other
production equipment, to props and costumes, to catering supplies and
even washing machines are now parked outside Budweiser Gardens where
the show will be performed seven times from Wednesday through Sunday.
At the invitation of the travelling show just before it opened at
Kingston's Rogers K-rock Centre last Dec. 7, I travelled to Quebec
City where Cirque du Soleil started 32 years ago to take a
backstage peek at all of the work that goes into the colourful, slick
production about a ladybug that falls in love with a fly and the
(acrobatic) insect world in which they live.
It didn't take long after entering the new Arena Videotron and an hour
before the show was to realize this is like a small community
travelling from city to city.
The first thing I noticed were the six washing machines near a loading
dock door. Cirque du Soleil brings along the machines because the
cast's costumes are washed after each performance.
Signs taped to the washer doors warn the user to remove the costume's
fur trim, should there be any, before putting it in the washer.
On the other side of the hallway sat clothes racks on which the damp
costumes are hung to be dried by fans to ensure they don't shrink or
fade.
In all, there are 1,000 costume pieces. Each character has two
costumes: a heavier, more detailed one for the insect community scenes
and a lighter one for the performer's acrobatic feats. The cricket
uniform, for example, has detachable legs, which each took 75 hours to
create.
The corridors leading from the outer hallway toward the arena floor
were lined with wheeled containers, each marked with what goes inside,
such as "Big Egg in Harness."
What were normally arena dressing rooms and lounges were converted
into makeshift work spaces. There was a room in which the caterers
prepare and serve food to the performers and crew; another for the
physiotherapists and trainers who tend to the performers' aches and
pains, as well as offering training and information sessions to reduce
the risk of injury and promote safety; and yet another for the
communications and promotions team, which travels with them.
Walking the hallways backstage, in addition to the stage crew and
staff, were the performers themselves some sporting the makeup of
their insect characters, some in their costumes as well. Listen
closely and you could hear a variety of languages spoken.
After the show, I got a tour of the backstage, which covers about a
third of what would normally be the ice surface, and had been cleaved
by the stage and a curtain.
The stage, when seen from behind, looks a bit like a dollhouse in that
there are pockets in which the musicians and technicians are set up
and work.
Behind the curtain is where the acrobats warm up before, and during,
the show. The most prominent feature is the towering structure the
performers call it the jungle gym which is about half the size of
the one used onstage, and can be used by a number of the acrobats. A
few worked on floor routines while others took friends and family on a
tour. The majority, however, had already changed and boarded the
shuttle bus to the downtown hotel at which all of the performers and
crew are housed during their run.
The next morning, the performers got back on the bus from the hotel
and headed back to the arena to squeeze in some training before the
two shows that day.
Even though they perform the same act night after night they
typically stay a week in each location because of the extensive,
daylong setup required at each stop there is a rigorous training
schedule, colour-coded for each group of insects, to be followed each
day.
The first group backstage were the ants, foot jugglers by training,
who lie on the mats, talking and laughing among themselves until their
coach called them to attention, at which point they picked up the
ottoman-sized wooden pieces with their legs, start spinning them,
much like a logroller would a tree trunk, and then effortlessly tossed
the kiwi-painted pieces from one to another.
Nearby, the dragonfly entwined himself around the metal structure and
practised his hand-balancing act.
Beside the jungle gym were a few sofa chairs turned toward a large
television on which a few of the brightly clad performers watched the
previous night's performances to see what needed work.
On the audience side of the curtain, on the main stage, a coach
familiarized a new cricket, in full costume, with his tumbling
routine. (Later, backstage, the newcomer was wearing his Russia-
embroidered warmups, likely a leftover from his competitor days).
Toward the back of the stage, meanwhile, a couple of fellow crickets,
trampolinists, casually practised and filmed each other with a new
GoPro camera.
Soon after, the high-flying Russian cradle acrobats tossed spinning
high-flyers six metres from one platform to another.
This day, the acrobats burly men who communicate with each other in
Russian were hoping their work will pay off. They'd been trying some
new things and had invited artistic director Marjon Van Grunsven to
watch in the hope she would ask them to incorporate the new moves into
their daring routine.
Van Grunsven liked what she saw, and was hoping it could be worked
into the routine before the next stop in Montreal, which, like Quebec
City, were special shows "royal shows," she called them like a
band playing a concert in its hometown.
"Our whole team is very active and creative, so that's nice," she said
as we sat on the arena floor, each of us watching the acrobats
peripherally. "I always try to see a positive in these things."
Van Grunsven considers OVO her pride and joy, as she was its artistic
director during the seven years it was performed under the big top,
and helped reconfigure it for an arena. The arena stage is much
larger, so the show had to be larger, she said.
And the vantage points were different.
"You're sitting somewhere back there," she said, gesturing to the
seats up and away from the stage, "and it just feels like you lose the
beauty of when you're in the big top, where you feel very close to the
show. We said, We need to make it bigger, a lot bigger,' so that's a
challenge.'"
The climbing wall with which the crickets perform their trampoline
act, for example, was enlarged, and now images are projected on it.
They've added some new acts, too, she said, and chopped up the acts
featuring the clowns the ladybug and the fly and interspersed them
throughout the show instead of the longer scenes of before, where she
felt there was a sag in the audience's energy.
"We worked on the pacing; it's a lot faster than it was before. The
show is a bit shorter so we could make the pacing shorter."
Our interview was interrupted when one of the floor directors informed
Van Grunsven a malfunctioning piece of equipment might mean part of
the show would have to be shelved out of safety concerns.
"I really think it's a lot better," Van Grunsven continued.
There are not acrobatic elements that need to be incorporated into
each Cirque show, she said. "Sometimes there's similarities between
one show and another . . . ," she started until another text arrived.
She apologized for the interruption.
"Now we will just continue to evolve," she said. "We will continue to
work on the details, and get it better. That's the normal process of
every show. It never stops. But the big changes have been made; there
will not be any other major changes right now."
And then her phone rang. It was another update.
"I'm really sorry," she said. "Crisis mode." And with that she was up
and hurried toward the backstage area.
A few hours later, on my way out of the arena before the matinee's
start, there was a local welder, sparks flying, repairing that faulty
piece of equipment.
Crisis averted, I was told, and yes, I was assured, the show would go
on.
{ SOURCE: Kingston Whig-Standard | https://goo.gl/mS3WhF }
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Discovery Kids Announces Partnership with CDS Images
{Jun.15.2017}
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Discovery Kids a Discovery Networks Latin America/US Hispanic
(DLA/USH) network announced today a strategic partnership with Cirque
du Soleil Images, the multimedia production division of Cirque du
Soleil, on an original English-language live action series to be
produced by Apartment 11 in association with TVOKids. Shot in
Montreal, the upcoming show will feature prolific producer, director
and composer Cris Morena as an Executive Producer and Songwriter for
the series. Leila Basen (Heartland) is Head Writer.
Set at a fictional boarding school for kid circus performers, the show
tells the story of an extraordinary group of young artists, athletes
and acrobats. Together, they must strive for personal excellence while
learning to work as a team, surpassing their own limits. Throughout
their adventures, the artists will develop meaningful friendships
while juggling the ups and downs of growing up in such a unique
environment.
Shot in part at the International Headquarters of Cirque du Soleil,
the show will treat viewers to the astonishing universe of the circus
through artistic direction, costumes, acrobatic coaching and more, as
Cirque du Soleil artists, craftsmen and creative minds work with the
show's young artists and creators.
"Discovery Kids is extremely excited to embark on this venture, and we
could not have chosen better partners than Cirque du Soleil Images,
Apartment 11 and TVOKids," said Carolina Lightcap, ?Executive Vice
President and Chief Content Officer, Discovery Latin America/US
Hispanic. "The series delivers dream fulfillment through circus
performing arts, in a magical and musical context which is sure to
delight our Discovery Kids audience."
"Cirque du Soleil is looking to develop new forms of entertainment,
speak to new audiences and further expand its global reach" says
Kristina Heney, Chief Marketing Officer at Cirque du Soleil. "This
series is a natural continuation for us in our foray into youth
entertainment, after over 30 years of producing world renowned live
shows that appeal to the entire family. Our vision is to apply our
creative kaleidoscope to build unique worlds that nurture kids
creativity."
"I'm thrilled to be working again with Discovery Kids and TVOKids. The
extraordinary nature of the circus and specifically Cirque du Soleil
will allow us to have so much fun telling stories. Every viewer is
going to love this school!" said Jonathan Finkelstein, Apartment 11's
President and Executive Producer.
"The series also builds on TVOKids' long-standing track record of
developing award-winning, innovative content that engages kids while
ensuring parent trust," says Marney Malabar, TVO's Director of Kids
TV. "This show addresses important themes of building resilience,
coping with failure and over-achievement, and instilling confidence.
These are critical for a child's success in school and in life.
TVOKids is incredibly proud to partner in this new project to help
kids build the skills they need for the future."
{ SOURCE: Cirque du Soleil }
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NFL/Cirque du Soleil retail deals win REBNY awards
{Jun.16.2017}
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Retail deals completed on Fifth Avenue and in Times Square were
announced as the top retail transactions of 2016 at the Real Estate
Board of New York's (REBNY) 19th Annual Retail Deal of the Year
Cocktail Party at Club 101 Tuesday night.
Joanne Podell, Executive Vice Chairman at Cushman & Wakefield, was
honored with The Most Ingenious Retail Deal of the Year that
demonstrates exceptional broker acumen (ingenuity and creativity) for
her deal: "From the Back of a Napkin to a Flagship: How Ice Cream
Sundaes Brought Nike to 650 Fifth Avenue". This is her third time
winning a REBNY Retail Deal of the Year Award.
Kenji R. Ota, Executive Director at Cushman & Wakefield, won The Most
Significant Retail Deal of the Year, which recognizes the most
significant retail deal in its overall characteristics and importance
to the New York City retail market, for "Finding the End Zone How
the NFL Connected with Cirque du Soleil for a Times Square Touchdown"
at 701 Seventh Avenue, also known as 20 Times Square. This is his
first time winning a REBNY Retail Deal of the Year Award.
"We congratulate Joanne and Kenji on these much-deserved honors and
the positive impact of their deals on New York City's retail
marketplace," said Andrew Mandell, Managing Partner of Ripco Real
Estate and Chair of REBNY's Retail Committee. "Their diligence and
determination to find solutions for every problem that arose during
their complex negotiations made these transactions a significant win
not just for their clients, but also for the greater retail
community."
"The 14 retail transactions that competed for these prestigious awards
demonstrated great professionalism, service, creativity, and
dedication," John Banks, REBNY President. "Whether for a household
brand, growing retail company, or new concept, the strategy, skill,
and guidance of these outstanding experts played a critical role in
each deal's success. We are proud to highlight their achievements and
salute this year's award winners."
Sponsors of the 19th Annual Retail Deal of the Year Cocktail Party
were: Cushman & Wakefield, Eastern Consolidated, Jack Resnick & Sons,
Lee & Associates, Ripco Real Estate, Rose Associates, and The New York
Times.
The Most Ingenious Retail Deal of the Year
Joanne Podell, an Executive Vice Chairman at Cushman & Wakefield,
brokered one of the largest transactions for a single-brand retailer
in Manhattan: a nearly 70,000-square-foot deal to relocate Nike's
flagship store, Niketown, from 6 East 57th Street, its top New York
City location since 1996, to 650 Fifth Avenue between Victoria's
Secret and Zara. Podell has served as the exclusive representative for
Nike in Manhattan and select markets throughout the country since
2004. This transaction, which started off as an exploratory search in
2008, was initiated in spring 2016 with a rough draft of the deal
sketched out on the back of a napkin while Podell enjoyed ice cream
sundaes with tenant and landlord representatives on Shelter Island.
The eight-month long deal-making process that ensued as Podell
meticulously poured over the high-profile, complex transaction, stayed
largely consistent with the original draft. The deal accounted for
shifting retail market conditions and the draw of Fifth Avenue's high
foot traffic and dynamic retail mix, while providing ingenious
solutions for Nike's need for more space, greater visibility, and
flexible floor plates to accommodate an innovative retail experience,
as well as its standing lease obligations at 6 East 57th Street.
Through negotiations with existing tenants, property owner SL Green
Realty Corp., and Jeff Sutton of Wharton Properties who maintains a
long-term lease for several floors in the 36-story office building,
Podell secured six floors plus the lower level of the 650 Fifth Avenue
for Nike's undisputed global flagship to be delivered in 2020.
The Most Significant Retail Deal of the Year
Kenji R. Ota, Executive Director at Cushman & Wakefield, was honored
for playing an integral role in connecting an unlikely pair, the
National Football League (NFL) and Cirque du Soleil (CDS), to
collaborate on a more than 40,000-square-foot retail lease spanning
four floors at The Witkoff Group's 20 Times Square new development.
Through out-of-the-box solutions, Ota along with former colleague Eva
Santiago, helped all parties navigate multifaceted challenges to set
the stage for the NFL Experience Times Square, Cirque du Soleil's
first official experiential sports venture. While the NFL has operated
pop-up stores in New York City, this transaction marks first time that
both iconic global brands will be establishing a long-term retail
presence here. Securing the 20 Times Square space in 2016which will
include an approximately 350-seat theater, on-site retail, food and
beverage offerings, and morerequired immense canvassing, financial
analyses, and negotiation to overcome obstacles including the
significant project size and unique space requirements, deal
structuring, economics, timing, and tax hurdles due to new
construction. Scheduled to open in fall 2017, this experiential retail
attraction is expected to anchor the north end of Times Square's
Bowtie, establishing the area as an even more viable option for a
variety of retail and entertainment concepts.
{ SOURCE: Real Estate Weekly }
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Thrillist Reviews Cirque at Sea
{Jun.23.2017}
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Once upon a time, cruise ship "entertainment" meant a rousing game of
trivia or lounge singers who couldn't cut it in Reno just a way to
kill some time until the midnight buffet. You were lucky if you got a
second-round contestant from American Idol.
But the bar for fun at sea has been raised. Like, dangerously high,
swinging 180 degrees and topped with four contortionists. One of the
world's biggest ships, the MSC Meraviglia, just sailed its maiden
voyage this month, and with it for the first time came two original
Cirque du Soleil shows that look nothing short of badass.
The performances feature the same caliber of jaw-dropping, I-should-
look-away-in-case-something-awful-happens acrobatics, elaborate
costumes, and trippy set design that you're used to. But these shows
are exclusive to the cruise and offer sights, sounds, and stunts
unlike anything Cirque has done before.
That's partly due to the venue. MSC went all out to custom-design a
$20 million high-tech space, the Carousel Lounge, exclusively for
Cirque du Soleil. And that's not even the most impressive thing on a
ship that also boasts a water park, augmented reality, and a 262-foot
LED dome. This is just the first of four brand new ships that MSC will
be unveiling each of which will feature its own set of original
Cirque shows.
The two Cirque performances are totally distinct experiences. One is
Sonor, which MSC described as an auditory adventure that "conjures a
world of unique sensations, astonishing sounds, bold music and
immersive projections." The other is Viaggio, and though we all know
Cirque plots are about as relevant as they are in Marvel Comics
movies, here goes:
"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."
Seductive, indeed.
The shows are performed twice-nightly over six nights, so you can see
em both. Watch them on loop, if your idea of the perfect vacation is
nonstop Cirque du Soleil.
Seriously, if you've been flirting with the idea of a Mediterranean
cruise, this one might tip you over the edge. The Meraviglia will be
sailing the Mediterranean this summer on seven-night itineraries with
prices starting around $929. Departures go from ten different cities:
Marseilles, Barcelona, Hamburg, Palermo, Naples, Rome, Genoa,
Cagliari, Messina, and Valencia.
Most of those cities are in Italy or Spain. You know what's freakishly
cheap this summer? Airfares to Italy and Spain. So even though the
familiar blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau might not be coming to your
city any time soon, catching Cirque at Sea is well within your reach.
And is definitely a big step up from Lido Deck trivia.
CHECK OUT THE ONLINE POST TO SEE PICTURES RELATED TO THE REVIEW
< http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=10426 >
{ SOURCE: Thrillist | https://goo.gl/m6fxez }
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Blue Man Group Is Bought by Cirque du Soleil,
With Plans to Expand
{Jul.06.2017}
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For almost 30 years, Blue Man Group has pervaded pop culture around
the world with its eclectic, nonverbal percussive performances, zany
lights and comedic movements. (O.K., fine. Dancing.) And of course,
there is the blue body paint from head to toe.
Now, the Blue Men are joining the circus.
Cirque du Soleil, the global performance juggernaut best known for its
acrobatic circus displays, on Thursday announced that it had acquired
Blue Man Productions, with the mutual aim of expanding Blue Man's
reach beyond its five permanent United States shows (in New York,
Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla.), a world tour and one
permanent international show (Berlin).
After the acquisition, Blue Man will be able to tap into Cirque's
worldwide access to theaters and marketers. In particular, both
organizations have their eye on China, home to one of the most
powerful and quickly growing entertainment industries in the world.
"We saw the potential for a marketing and distributing powerhouse like
Cirque du Soleil to be able to distribute Blue Man Group and make
their brand better known internationally," said Daniel Lamarre,
Cirque's chief executive, in an interview. Cirque currently has 18
live shows worldwide.
The purchase provided an opportunity for Cirque to diversify its
portfolio after years of financial tumult. In 2015, the company sold a
majority stake to TPG, a private equity firm in Texas.
"The acquisition of Blue Man, for us, is kind of a breakthrough to
make clear to people that Cirque is going from a circus company to
becoming a global leader of entertainment," Mr. Lamarre said.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, although Mr. Lamarre said
the sale price was in the "tens of millions."
Chris Wink, who founded Blue Man Group in 1991 along with Phil Stanton
and Matt Goldman, said that the idea to sell came about a few years
ago, as the company was looking to gain a foothold in other parts of
the world. China specifically came to mind.
"We started to feel like we needed some help, plus we had some
creative ideas that were beyond our own means," Mr. Wink said in a
phone interview. "We thought of some ways that the Blue Men and their
performances could go on a bigger scale."
It just so happened that for a company looking to find a permanent
home in an entertainment pillar like China (and other large markets),
Cirque was a fit. Along with TPG, the Chinese investment firm Fosun
owns a minority stake in Cirque, and Mr. Lamarre said the circus was
trying to make heavy inroads into China.
Mr. Lamarre said that next week he was headed to China to announce a
seven-city Cirque tour that is to start in October.
Conceptually, China is an ideal destination for Blue Man Group. One of
the biggest challenges facing American productions in China is the
language barrier, an obstacle that doesn't exist for Blue Man's mostly
nonverbal shows.
"I think that to unlock the larger audience in China, it either needs
to be in Chinese or nonverbal," said Marc Routh, the president of
Broadway Asia, a company that produces and distributes tours
throughout Asia. "Blue Man is certainly one of the greatest entrees
into that nonverbal market."
Mr. Routh also said that the demand for theater in China and other
areas of Asia is growing. Over the last several years, Mandarin-
language versions of popular Broadway productions have been visible in
China, including "Into the Woods" and "Mamma Mia!" In 2014, China
announced plans to build a $320 million musical production center near
Beijing. In addition, several theaters have been built around the
country in the last decade, according to Mr. Routh, referring to them
as "mini-Lincoln Centers."
"It's been an explosion," Mr. Routh said.
During the process of finding a prospective partner "Theidea of
letting go of the reins is not an easy one," Mr. Wink said Cirque
seemed like a match for other reasons. Mr. Wink said there was mutual
admiration, even though the companies were in some ways competing over
the same off-the-wall creative turf. Mr. Lamarre, in a separate
interview, agreed.
"Those guys have been able to develop the type of show that is very
unique," Mr. Lamarre said. "A little bit like Cirque."
Blue Man Group was founded in the 1980s as a sort of response to and
rejection of performance and cultural norms. Cirque du Soleil's
founder, Guy Laliberté, was a fire-eater before creating Cirque in
1984, a show that sprang from cultivating street performers near
Quebec. Both companies feature shows that have been traditionally
nonverbal.
After initially starting with 20 performers, Cirque says it has
expanded to almost 4,000 employees (including 1,300 performers from
roughly 50 countries) and brings in roughly $1 billion in revenue
yearly. Its shows are as varied as they are typically well attended,
with 13 million patrons annually. (It has had its flops over the
years, including the calamitous 2010 run of "Banana Shpeel," at the
Beacon Theater, and "Zarkana," which forgettably ran at Radio City
Music Hall in 2011 and 2012.)
Blue Man Group has achieved a level of pop-culture success that would
have been unthinkable in the 1980s. It reportedly brings in hundreds
of millions of dollars a year, although a spokeswoman declined to
confirm that number.
The group was the subject of a long-running and still oft-quoted story
line in the sitcom "Arrested Development," along with being referred
to in countless other movies and shows. It starred in commercials for
Intel, has been nominated for a Grammy and has even founded a private
school in New York City called the Blue School.
However, Blue Man Group has had its own problems. In 2016, a musical
collaborator since the group's inception, Ian Pai, sued Blue Man for
$150 million, contending that he had been underpaid for decades. A
trial is set to begin in April.
There have been no discussions about combining Cirque and Blue Man
onstage, nor has either side expressed hope for such a collaboration.
"The Blue Man Group will keep its autonomy," Mr. Lamarre said. "We're
not going to mix the Cirque du Soleil brand with the brand of Blue Man
Group."
And as far as the Blue Man team is concerned, its shows won't lose any
of the screwball charm that has attracted more than 35 million viewers
since the troupe's founding.
When Mr. Wink was asked what would change about Blue Man Group going
forward, he was frank: "Hopefully, very little."
{ SOURCE: New York Times | https://goo.gl/51x1Um }
***************************************************************
Q&A - Quick Chats & Press Interviews
***************************************************************
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Swing Fever: Fabrice Lemire Talks Quartz/Crystal
{Jun.07.2017}
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Cirque du Soleil is "dancing in new territory," according to its
artistic director and full-time Palm Springs resident Fabrice Lemire.
"Quartz," the upcoming show that Lemire is about to launch, will be
performed entirely on ice.
As (touring) artistic director, Lemire has overseen the development of
Cirque's last three shows, "Quidam," "Varekai" and "Toruk," based on
James Cameron's blockbuster "Avatar." He recently began the three- to
four-month development process of "Quartz."
Lemire sat down for an interview on a warm windy spring evening at his
home in Escena. It's the quiet before the storm. The following day, he
will begin a brief vacation and then embark on the challenging,
creative journey to bring a brand new Cirque du Soleil show to life.
Q. Cirque du Soleil has such a distinct and successful brand. When you
start a new show is there some sort of Cirque bible that you have
to follow?
It's really a clean slate when we start a new show. The company hires
a group of "conceptors" and designers who have carte blanche to do
whatever they want with some parameters like time frame. We have 14 to
15 weeks to deliver a job before its premiere in Montreal. Sometimes,
in the case of "Toruk," I would say we deliver a premature child
(laughs). It may not be the final project, but we still deliver it,
then continue to make changes as the show evolves. For an entire year
after the premiere of "Toruk," we made drastic changes, for the
better. The bible comes later while we are in operation mode. We keep
data on something called the "fil rouge," the red thread, an Internet
platform where we can upload everything pertinent to the creative
process. So we create a bible that is updated throughout the entire
lifespan of a show, sometimes up to 20 years. We are always looking at
what we call the "refreshing" of it to keep it alive, keep it fresh,
and also to keep our performers and our team motivated.
Q. Let's talk more about "Quartz." Where are the conceptors in the
process today, and when will the performers get involved?
The conceptors are already in Montreal having a roundtable discussion.
This is a very important moment where you can discuss all the depth of
an idea and see whether we have the tech support. In June, we bring
the artists to the creative process. So right now we are recruiting
them stage managers, performance medicine therapists, acrobatic
coaches and so on. We are also in the process of hiring performers. We
have not tackled the ice world before which is a challenge for us all.
By hiring ice skaters we are completely dancing in new territory.
Q. What can you tell us about "Quartz" besides the title and that it's
on ice?
At the heart of it, it's about a young person who has fallen through
the ice, and is facing the fear of that trauma. But it may go in any
direction. As I said, the conceptors have carte blanche, and I will
entirely support their vision.
Q. You have put up shows all over the world. What about backstage
drama?
It's not backstage drama, but a touring lifestyle. It's leaving your
loved ones and not being able to go home at night. If a performer has
an argument on the telephone with his girlfriend, let's say, and is
falling apart, this may have an impact on the performance, so we'll
discuss the problem. If the next day I'm not satisfied with the
outcome, I may not put this performer on stage, for his safety and the
safety of the show. I don't call this drama, it's just a normal
reality.
Q. And backstage romance?
There is very little. But talk to me later I have never worked with
ice skaters! For dancers and acrobats, most of them already have
established relationships, or they don't because they don't want them.
Remember the body is a tool for you to deliver a product, so you look
at it differently. What the audience may see as esthetically pleasing
to the eye is different to us as insiders. If you are hanging from one
arm 25 feet off the floor, you need all that muscle and those strong
hands and fingers, so you can hold the apparatus and not fall. When
you live and are in physical contact with someone 24/7 the sexual
tension is not there.
Q. It's smelly; it's sweaty
If it is smelly, you address your partner and say, "Excuse me, honey,
but you got to fix that."
Q. Let's go into the future. The show is developed, and you've had
three or four weeks of previews. Now, the premiere
When we deliver the premiere, it is still a seed that can germinate
for a year or two. Literally, we have done things where I change an
entire act in the afternoon, and it is in the show that night.
Q. Do you have any opening night rituals?
I don't. I leave it to destiny and to the performers and staff. I just
listen to the reaction of the audience and am open to criticism.
Q. What about a cast party?
Performers tend to be known as party people, maybe because the work
frame demands so much concentration, focus and discipline. So when
they take a break from it, they go the mile to have fun, but I will
hit them hard if they come in the next day under the influence or not
in their full mind.
Q. Would you ever bring a show to Palm Springs or develop one here?
I would love to if there was an arena in the Coachella Valley and we
could bring a show here. I chose to live here because it is so
beautiful and inspiring. This valley has everything we need to create
an artistic platform you have a variation of culture and interest,
you have people who have moved here from elsewhere, and people who
have run away from big cities to come here. Those people have been
exposed to the arts. I was thrilled last year because "Toruk" was in
the region. In my community here at Escena, they made an announcement
and about 35 people made a road trip, rented a bus to go to Ontario,
and I loved it.
Q. It is said that performing arts attract a high percentage of LGBTQ
performers. Do you think that's true in Cirque as well?
I think this is a myth. However, what I do believe is that in the arts
at large there is an acceptance if you are gay, so you are more
visible than you might be elsewhere. Therefore, we know there are more
gays there they are more comfortable in their shoes because they can
be.
Q. Although you've mentioned how much you love your position at Cirque
du Soleil, would you ever entertain the idea of being a conceptor?
Absolutely. I have an idea about creating a stage work of "The Little
Prince." A smaller show, but it could have incredible spectacle. It's
in my back pocket. However, give me something else and I'll jump on
board.
{ SOURCE: The Desert Sun }
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A Day in the Life w/ Lana Cencic, Kurios' Bella Donna
{Jun.22.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Some days are crazy. You have a deadline at work, the kids need to get
to after-school activities, dinner needs to happen and, don't forget,
there's laundry. Days like this, you think, I wonder if my life would
be easier if I ran away and joined the circus? If I could reinvent
everything around me? So we tracked down Lana Cencic, who portrays
Bella Donna, the Percussionist in Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities to
get a sneak peek into what it's really like. Turns out she has some
amazing insight to share about how to look at your life.
A typical day on the road: I wake up around 9 or 10 a.m., and drink a
cup of tea. I start with yoga and meditation to set the tone for the
day. I enjoy some breakfast, then practise working on things I'd like
to improve in the show (I have my mobile studio set up in my hotel
room). Then I head out to the site, where I may be booked for an
interview, a TV appearance or a photo shoot. Dinner is at 5:30 p.m.,
then I do hair and makeup. Half an hour before the show, I warm up my
hands on the drumsticks that I play. 8 p.m. is show time! After the
show, around 10:30 p.m., I get in the shuttle bus back to the hotel,
where I listen to music, read or watch a movie. I fall asleep between
midnight and 2 a.m.
What I miss about performing when I'm home: I definitely miss having
meals prepared for me and not having to do dishes or shop for food. I
love cooking but don't like doing the dishes so much. I used to clean
my own home but now I have a cleaning lady. It's a huge blessing!
Although it can be relaxing to clean your own mess, it takes time.
Managing the transition: I spend so much time touring now that touring
has become my home. I take a few things that make my room more homey,
like candles or a diffuser. Some people bring pictures or their own
pillows. And it's good to stay in touch with friends who can help by
making you feel that you're only a phone call away from home.
Carving out "me" time: It depends on what type of person you are. For
me, it's always been a challenge, as I like working, so I often
overwork myself. I always find something to do. But I'm learning and
getting better at scheduling time in for doing something relaxing and
fun that's usually with my boyfriend on my day off.
How to stay connected: Skype, WhatsApp, FB Messenger or FaceTime!
That's something I schedule because it's easy to forget and a week
passes by quickly. My parents and a lot of my old friends are in
Europe, so I have to reach them at an appropriate time. I will
literally write things in my calendar: Call Dad or Try reaching this
friend via Skype, etc. I constantly miss important days in my family's
and friends' lives. That's not easy but I'm diligent about calling on
birthdays and graduations and writing notes and checking in with my
people. And even though I'm not there in person, they can feel my love
and support.
Life lessons from the performance: There are plenty, but I can tell
you what I took away from watching the show for the first time: There
is no end to human imagination and inspiration and it lies within us
all. Life is precious and beautiful, never stop dreaming and believing
in yourself and your capacities. Always stay curious to the magic of
life and use the gifts that you are born with.
{ SOURCE: Canadian Living | https://goo.gl/dqyJ3E }
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For Acrobat Deng Bo Yao it's all in the Balance
{Jun.22.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Balancing at the top of eight chairs stacked seven metres high would
be scary for the average person who isn't used to spending time at
such great heights. As it turns out, it can be scary for professional
acrobats as well.
Chinese acrobat Deng Bo Yao was afraid of heights for years before
conquering his fear. He is in Sydney for the Australian premiere of
the latest show from international circus troupe, Cirque du Soleil,
where he will perform his balancing act on top of a tower of chairs.
Achieving this human feat though took many years of practice.
Bo already had the handstand skills needed for this elaborate
performance, but was initially very nervous about having to do
balancing tricks so high off the ground.
"I'd just set up the eight chairs and stand up there for about an
hour, and do nothing," says Bo.
Getting used to the movement of the chairs, he slowly overcame his
anxiety about falling straight to the ground. Nowadays, other than in
rehearsals he doesn't even wear a harness.
By focusing on performing the tricks, he somehow manages to forget
about the height.
"You're just telling yourself you can do it," says Bo.
After years of practice, his act is so flawless that many people
accuse him of using magnets in the chairs to keep them stable.
A RISE TO THE TOP FROM EARLY BEGINNINGS
Bo began training in acrobat sports at the age of six in his hometown
of Huainan. At the time he had no choice in the matter. His father was
interested in sports, and strongly encouraged Bo to get involved. Once
he began he felt like he couldn't quit because "my father would kick
my ass," he says jokingly. These days Bo couldn't imagine doing
anything else, and credits his family for being the key to his
success. Bo never dreamed he would have a job where he would be
travelling the world.
At 12 years old, Bo joined Anqing company in China, where only 15
children were selected for professional acrobat training. Here he
learnt the techniques of hand to hand, head balancing, straps and
Chinese pole. Bo eventually moved to Shenyang company where he trained
in Chinese chair balancing.
By the end of 2007, the world-famous Cirque du Soleil company
contacted Bo to audition in San Francisco where their show KOOZA was
performing. They were amazed at his level and skill and offered him a
position with the team. He has been with the company for almost nine
years now.
"I'm very proud I'm working here," says Bo.
KEEPING IN PEAK PHYSICAL CONDITION
As a professional acrobat, Bo performs between nine to ten shows a
week. "We always need to keep [up] the energy. It always has to be at
100 per cent," says Bo.
One of the main ways he stays in peak physical condition is by eating
only about 70 per cent of what he actually feels like eating.
Weighing only 54 kilograms, Bo tries to keep his stomach slightly
empty so he won't be at risk of putting on any weight, as even two or
three extra kilos will affect him straight away. He doesn't avoid any
foods though, enjoying everything in moderation.
On the odd occasion he even indulges in a beer or two.
A NINE YEAR RELATIONSHIP
This is Cirque du Soleil's eighth tour of Australia, although it is
only Bo's first visit. He has brought along his wife and two children
to accompany him on his trip, which will last until mid-2017.
The show KOOZA is a combination of the circus traditions of acrobatic
performance and the art of clowning, showcasing the physical mastery
of the human body.
When he and his family eventually return to China permanently in the
distant future, he would love to pass on all the knowledge he has
accumulated over the years and become a coach.
Being an acrobat is the only job he's ever known however, and hopes to
do it for many years to come.
"For me, I have the best job in the world."
{ SOURCE: Australian Plus | https://goo.gl/wPGm3D }
-------------------------------------------------------
7m Tower of Chairs no Sweat for Cirque Artiste
{Jun.22.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
For Chinese national Yao Deng Bo, 39, being an acrobat is his life,
and he couldn't imagine doing anything else.
But one would think so, as Cirque Du Soleil's resident Chinese Chair'
performer has been training in the art form since he was 6 years old.
The native of Huainan picked up gymnastics and acrobatics at the
encouragement of his father an avid fan of the sport.
After winning awards and performing live on TV shows in China, Yao was
asked to join Cirque Du Soleil's Kooza, its brand new show then. That
was in 2007.
In the 10 years since, he has performed the same act the Chinese
Chair', countless of times. The 15-minute performance entails stacking
eight chairs atop one another on a platform, before performing
balancing acts from the peak of the precarious 7-metre high tower.
As part of his training when he was younger, it was not unusual for
Yao to spend his breaks just resting' on a stack of chairs metres off
the ground.
The years of practice shows, as Yao performs with such precision and
fluidity that some critics have even accused him of cheating' by
placing magnets on the chairs to keep them stable.
"(Performing the act) is no longer difficult", Yao admits, but "what
is hard is to be consistent from show to show, day after day".
Even as he approaches his 40th birthday in September, the diminutive
acrobat could easily pass off as someone in his 20s. One gets the
sense he's proud of his how he looks as he teases us to guess his age.
And the secret to his youthful appearance? Resting well and staying
healthy.
For sure, being this fit requires sacrifice, and Yao has consistently
maintained his weight at 54kg for 20 years now thanks to a regime
that includes training, eating healthily, and also ensuring that he
only eats till he's 70 per cent full at mealtimes.
"If I put on just 2kg, I can feel it, and it's harder for me to
perform," said Yao, who thinks his size and stature lend themselves
well to requirements of the act.
The daredevil also boasts that he never used to rely on safety
harnesses or nets until he joined Cirque, where the safety of
performers is a top priority.
It's a thrill Yao gets, as he takes pride in testing his limits and
overcoming what others perceive as impossible.
"Everyone can do a handstand on the ground, but can you do it metres
above the ground, without a safety net? The feeling is different,"
says Yao.
Despite generally having nerves of steel, Yao has his occasional off-
days when anxiety creeps in.
And he does what most of us will do: "I'll take deep breaths to calm
myself down. The hardest part is controlling your mind and emotions."
Ironically, despite his passion for his craft, the proud father of two
doesn't want his children, aged 7 and 3, to follow in his footsteps.
"It's a tough life. You must start when you're really young," said
Yao, whose wife was also an acrobat. The family travels around the
world with him and the troupe.
Despite his regimented schedule as a performer, what spurs him on to
continue and strive to do better show after show, is undoubtedly the
audience.
"The greatest satisfaction (of doing this) comes from the audience'
applause, to have that kind of encouragement is just great," says Yao
with a smile.
{ SOURCE: Asia One }
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Elgin-born dancer follows dream to Cirque du Soleil
{Jun.27.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Trent Jeray spent years as a struggling dancer living on food
stamps, doing street performances, sleeping on a friend's floor for
months while going to auditions and teaching dance lessons.
But it's all paying off now for the Elgin native.
Jeray, 28, whose real name is Trent Jeray Mendoza, now dances in some
of Las Vegas' biggest shows, including his current gig as a soloist in
"Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil."
Earlier this month, he was a contestant on NBC's "World of Dance."
Even though he was eliminated in the first round, he described it as a
life-changing experience.
"It was my first time being in the Hollywood scene
and I'm going to
take what I learned and move forward. I want to be in that energy," he
said.
During a party after the show, the celebrity judges gave Jeray some
positive feedback. Derek Hough complimented Jeray's music and "Memphis
jookin," a style of street dance that involves phenomenal footwork.
Jennifer Lopez also had encouraging words.
"She said, You have something really special about you, and you just
need to keep going forward. You have a special little soul and you're
going to do great,'" he said. "It was really, really motivating."
Jeray was born in Elgin but his parents split up when he was a baby.
So he went to live with his mom in Memphis and spent summers in
Chicago with his father. As a kid, he remembers going outside alone
and trying to imitate Michael Jackson's moves, especially the "Smooth
Criminal" dance video.
"I was just playing around with it. It was something to keep me out of
trouble and gang-related stuff," he said, adding that his teen years
consisted of two things, video games and jookin.
When he was 19, he sat with his grandmother, who was dying of cancer,
and she told him about a crazy dream she had where she saw him dancing
on television and in big shows.
"I wasn't seeing any of that for myself at the time," he said.
But soon after, Jeray decided he wanted to do more with his life than
work warehouse jobs and make sandwiches in the family's barbecue
business. He took a leap of faith to pursue a dance career. He sold
his car, took his small amount of savings and moved to different
places around the U.S. trying to get dance jobs.
"I even auditioned for Chippendales one time. It was horrible," he
said, laughing. "The dancing was super easy, but I was the skinniest
guy in the room."
His family worried about him and begged Jeray to move back home. But
he insisted on finding his own way. He kept practicing his dancing,
while auditioning and working as much as possible.
"That's the journey. Nothing is given. You have to take risks and go
for it and give it a shot," he said. "I didn't think it was going to
fall in my lap and be given to me."
Jeray auditioned for a Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas. He got a
callback almost six months later. He was first cast in "The Beatles
LOVE," then in the Michael Jackson show. He's also danced in some
national commercials and music videos by Justin Timberlake, Taylor
Swift and Pharrell Williams.
When not on a stage in Vegas, Jeray can usually be found jookin while
wearing a baseball hat, a T-shirt (including his Chicago Bulls T-
shirts) and high-top Nike Air Force 1 or Air Jordan 11 shoes.
"They've got good soles and I can get on my tiptoes and do smooth
glides, and it's perfect. You gotta be smooth," he said, laughing.
He teaches his smooth jookin online now and is pursuing acting, too.
He just finished the short film musical "Love and Happiness."
Jeray's advice to aspiring dancers?
"If you see a vision for yourself, go for it. Don't hold back or cheat
yourself. It's for you," he said. "Don't let anyone else tell you, you
can't do something. Once you do that, you're letting yourself down."
{ SOURCE: Chicago Daily Herald | https://goo.gl/GFXbHM }
***************************************************************
CIRQUETECH - The Technical Side of Cirque
***************************************************************
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Cirque's remarkable 3-D Costume Printer
{Jun.02.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Kooza is the first Cirque du Soleil show to have a 3D printer in the
wardrobe department.
The art of costume design has remained mostly unchanged for centuries,
its history writ with needle and thread, but it is now just one of
many industries being revolutionized by 3-D printing.
The Perth season of Cirque du Soleil's Kooza production features
costumes made using a 3-D printer, the first time the Cirque has used
the technology in its wardrobe department.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO ON THIS PROCESS
< https://goo.gl/yt19qc >
Kooza head of wardrobe Jason Brass said the printer allowed costume
pieces, such as the King's crown, which previously took 60 hours to
make in Montreal, to be fabricated in Perth in 16 hours.
The handmade crowns had a lifespan of about four months, while these
new iterations last two years and are made from recyclable material.
Typically, Brass' department would spend eight hours a day, six days a
week, on costume maintenance but the 3-D printer has reduced that to
just eight hours in total for a 10-week Kooza season.
"So far it's been working like a dream," Brass said.
Of course, many pieces still require a human touch Cirque employs
local artisans for each show but the possibilities of 3-D printing
in bamboo, silver and plastic are endless in the hands of such
creative people.
{ SOURCE: The West Australian }
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Indoor drones make history on Broadway
{Jun.14.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
For the first time on Broadway human and drone performances fuse to
create a new form of artistic expression. The magic happened in Cirque
du Soleil's first musical on Broadway: Paramour' at the Lyric
Theatre. The show is themed on the Golden Age of Hollywood and follows
the life of a poet who is forced to choose between love and art. The
contributions of the technology firm Verity Studios include the
choreography of the drone show segment, the frame and lighting design
of the drone costumes, and all underlying drone technologies. The
system was operated by the show's automation team, with Verity Studios
providing maintenance services twice per year. The dancing drones
completed almost 400 shows, including more than 7,000 autonomous
takeoffs, flights, and landings.
Over the past year, 398 audiences of up to 2,000 people witnessed an
octet of colorful lampshades perform an airborne choreography during
Cirque du Soleil's Broadway show Paramour, which ran until April 20th.
The work behind the design and choreography of the flying lampshades,
which turn out to be self-piloted drones, bears the signature of the
Swiss high-tech company Verity Studios.
But how novel is it really that robots have appeared in theater? Since
Karel Capek's science fiction play R.U.R. (short for Rossum's
Universal Robots) introduced the word "robot" to the English language
and to science fiction almost 100 years ago, the technical challenges
of incorporating robots into live performance and theater have been
overwhelming. Before these Broadway drones, nearly all theater robots
were remote-controlled puppets, relying on humans hidden off-scene to
steer their movements and provide their intelligence. What holds for
Broadway, also holds for the even bigger picture.
It is intriguing that the aerial revolution gained momentum on the
ground first: Even though the complexity of most advanced industrial
automation systems found in state-of-the art factories and warehouses
hardly compares to the complexity of drone show systems that allow for
the autonomous navigation of dozens, hundreds, or thousands of drones
in a safety-critical environment, one single example stands out. The
only comparable systems that can serve as a template for operating
large numbers of autonomous mobile robots with high demands for
reliability and safety are those developed by the technology company
Kiva Systems (bought by Amazon for USD 775 million in 2012), where
Verity Studios' founder Professor Raffaello D'Andrea and his former
colleagues developed a solution for automated storage and retrieval in
warehouses. His team unleashed thousands of mobile robots in
warehouses, which started the robotics gold rush in the Silicon
Valley. Now, Professor D'Andrea's team is pursuing an analogous, even
more ambitious goal in the air.
Placing intelligent, autonomous flying machines in live theater
presents a multi-faceted challenge: creating a compelling performance
with safety, reliability, and ease of operation. While the compelling
performance translates into shaping a convincing creative concept
around the drones' choreography, the latter chiefly points to
designing computerized systems in lieu of making use of human pilots:
Verity Studios' drones are flying mobile robots and navigate
autonomously, piloting themselves, only supervised by a human
operator. To navigate autonomously, these drones require a reliable
method for determining their position in space. Since GPS is usually
not available indoors, Verity Studios has built on more than a decade
of research and development at the Flying Machine Arena of
Switzerland's Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) to provide
a novel localization method.
The first groups of autonomous robots are now meeting the live event
industries' high requirements: Initially, Verity Studios set the stage
for widely recognized flying machines in entertainment in 2014, by
collaborating with Cirque de Soleil on Sparked, a short film in which
10 siblings of the similarly dressed 8 quadcopters from Paramour
dance, hover, and flicker around a stunned human actor. Sparked was
named a Winner of the 2016 New York City Drone Film Festival. However,
it is one thing to feature drones in a 4-minute video, where the
makers have the luxury to shoot it 100 times and then choose the best
shot. Live performances on Broadway running 8 times per week in front
of up to 2,000 people every time, by contrast, require the drone shows
to work every single time. Verity Studios has met these requirements
in the best sense: During their one-year run, the drones on Broadway
safely completed more than 7,000 autonomous take-offs, flights, and
landings. How was that possible?
In contrast to the long list of safety incidents involving remote-
controlled drones at events, performance and reliability are key to
Paramour's dancing drones which are custom-made and hand-crafted in
Switzerland. Each of the eight flying machines featured in Paramour
uses 80 sensors to fly and performs roughly 1.5 billion calculations
per second. Each critical calculation is double-checked every time it
is performed in case any of the concerned processors makes a mistake.
In other words, accidents are prevented by self-test and monitoring.
And even if something does happen, a back-up is in place. For example,
on the show of 2017-02-08, the battery from one of the eight vehicles
could not provide sufficient power during the takeoff phase. The
quadrocopter detected the problem and returned to the ground on only
two propellers.
In most cases, the drones withstand any point of failure, but where a
single point of failure is unavoidable, a fail-safe or weakest link
design is used. The failure of any single system component cannot
result in an unmanaged loss of control, but must be handled
appropriately. For instance, a drone should be able to land in a
controlled fashion despite a failure of any one of its motors, any
part of its electronics, any one of its cables or connectors, and any
one of its batteries. Similarly, loss of communication between a drone
and its ground station must not create a dangerous situation. This can
be achieved by designing a fully redundant system, i.e., a system that
can continue operation, or trigger a safe emergency behavior, if any
one of its components fails. While such designs can be more expensive
to create than designs without duplication, they provide much higher
safety (and help reduce insurance costs). Their decades-long history
in the manned aviation industry has shown this approach's
effectiveness and provides a treasure trove of experience and evidence
for the emerging drone industry.
One way to design such a redundant system is to first design a simple
flight-capable system, to then duplicate all its components (e.g.
sensors, processors, actuators) to achieve the necessary redundancy,
and to carefully design switch-over from a failed system to its
backup. Importantly, the design of such a system cannot stop with the
design of fully redundant drones, but needs to extend to all other
critical components of the drone show system, including the
positioning system, communications architecture, e-stop systems, and
control stations. In the end, this uncompromising approach allows for
a degree of safety and robustness that makes those intelligent and
autonomous robots suitable for performance next to theater audiences.
The result is a one-of-a-kind performance that extends the traditional
palette of light, sound, stage effects, and interaction with human
performers by translating an intimate character beat into an
unexpected visual motif.
The enticing reality is that there are many more areas to explore,
ranging from live concerts to active scenography, that offer dramatic
possibilities for performing robots on a much broader scale. Once
again, not only such stage flyers, but also Lucie micro-drones will
make history, not only on Broadway or at Amazon, but all across the
domain of performing arts revolutionizing the scene with a new realm
of creative expression.
{ SOURCE: Christian Hoffmann, Robohub | https://goo.gl/FTyGxt }
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CirqueVR: "Through The Masks Of LUZIA" Launches Today!
{Jun.20.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Cirque du Soleil and Felix & Paul Studios today announced the latest
virtual reality experience created and produced through their EMMY
award-winning collaboration. Utilizing Felix & Paul Studios'
proprietary industry-leading VR technology platform, Through the Masks
of LUZIA takes the audience to an imaginary Mexico, like in a waking
dream, where light quenches the spirit and rain soothes the soul. The
creation is a poetic and acrobatic ode to the rich, vibrant culture of
a country whose wealth stems from an extraordinary mix of influences
and creative collisions.
Through the Masks of LUZIA becomes the first-ever VR experience to be
captured through both hyper-stereoscopy and hypo-stereoscopy
processes. This brand new experience offers viewers an unmatched
degree of immersion, even making them feel like a giant or like a
miniature throughout scenes of mind-bending acrobatics and daring
stunts. To fully benefit the VR attribute and achieve this 14-minute
3D 360° cinematic experience, the Cirque du Soleil creation teams
redesigned the acrobatic performances, thus creating a completely new
experience.
"Through our VR productions, we aim at offering our fans a state-of-
the-art complementary experience to our live shows while reaching out
to new audiences, proposing to them a first deep dive into our
creations," says Sébastien Ouimet, Senior Manager, Content
Partnerships & Distribution, Cirque du Soleil. "The impressive
versatility of VR gives us the opportunity to bring our audience into
a completely immersive world, transposing our shows' artistic
direction in a new creative format."
"Inspired by the simultaneously festive and surreal atmosphere of
LUZIA, we created a VR-native journey through an unexpected world full
of wonder and amazement, incorporating living embodiments of mythology
in a landscape which is part dream, part fantasy, part reality," said
Félix Lajeunesse, co-founder and creative director at Felix & Paul
Studios.
Through the Masks of LUZIA is now available for free on Samsung Gear
VR powered by Oculus, the leading mobile VR solution enabling an
incredible VR viewing experience. Viewers can download Through the
Masks of LUZIA now in the Oculus Store, or watch a 360 video of the
experience below.
Through the Masks of LUZIA is the fifth virtual reality production by
Cirque du Soleil and Felix & Paul Studios, and the third collaboration
with co-director François Blouin. The two Montreal-based companies
began their VR collaboration with Zarkana and then produced the
critically acclaimed Inside the Box of Kurios, which won a 2016 Emmy
Award in the Outstanding Interactive Media Original Daytime Program
or Series category. In October 2016, KÀ The Battle Within was
introduced at the Oculus Connect 3 conference in San Jose, California
and was featured at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of
the Official Selection of the festival's Cutting Edge POP VR line-up.
In January, 2017, Cirque du Soleil and Felix & Paul Studios unveiled
DREAMS OF O' to critical acclaim at CES in Las Vegas, and the
groundbreaking VR experience has since won an Outstanding Technical
Achievement Award at SXSW 2017 and earned a Webby Award nomination.
In addition to releasing Through the Masks of LUZIA, Cirque du Soleil
also announced the upcoming launch of its first-ever VR app powered by
Felix & Paul Studios, to be released in the fall of 2017. Serving as a
centralized hub of VR content for Cirque du Soleil, the app will house
four of the company's productions with Felix & Paul Studios (Inside
the Box of Kurios, KA: The Battle Within, DREAMS OF O', and Through
the Masks of LUZIA) as well as any other future collaborations. The
Cirque du Soleil VR app will launch across all major VR platforms and
allow consumers around the world to have access to this unparalleled
catalogue of experiences.
CHECK OUT THE ONLINE POST TO SEE PICTURES AND VIDEOS RELATED TO THE
LAUNCH: < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=10398 >
{ SOURCE: Felix & Paul Studios }
=======================================================================
ITINÉRAIRE -- TOUR/SHOW INFORMATION
=======================================================================
o) BIGTOP - Under the Grand Chapiteau
{Amaluna, Koozå, Kurios, Luzia, Totem & Volta}
o) ARENA - In Stadium-like venues
{Varekai, TORUK, OVO, Séptimo Día, & Crystal}
o) RESIDENT - Performed en Le Théâtre
{Mystère, "O", La Nouba, Zumanity, KÀ, LOVE,
MJ ONE, & JOYÀ}
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:
Asuncion, PY -- Jul 26, 2017 to Aug 6, 2017
Montevido, UY -- Aug 30, 2017 to Sep 15, 2017
São Paulo, BR -- Oct 5, 2017 to Dec 17, 2017
Rio de Janeiro, BR -- Dec 28, 2017 to Jan 17, 2018
Koozå:
Singapore, SG -- Jul 12, 2017 to Aug 20, 2017
Shanghai, CN -- Oct 1, 2017 to TBA
Beijing, CN -- Dec 15, 2017 to Feb 11, 2018
China City #3 -- TBA 2018
China City #4 -- TBA 2018
China City #5 -- TBA 2018
Kurios:
Winnipeg, MB Jun 2, 2017 to Jul 9, 2017
Edmonton, AB -- Jul 20, 2017 to Aug 13, 2017
Portland, OR -- Aug 24, 2017 to Oct 8, 2017
Vancouver, BC -- Oct 19, 2017 to Dec 3, 2017
Tokyo, JP -- February 2018
Osaka, JP -- 2018
Nagoya, JP -- 2018
&Fukuoka, JP -- 2018/2019
Sendai, JP -- 2019
Luzia:
Denver, CO -- Jun 1, 2017 to Jul 9, 2017
Chicago, IL -- Jul 21, 2017 to Sep 3, 2017
Atlanta, GA -- Sep 14, 2017 to Nov 19, 2017
Los Angeles, CA -- Dec 7, 2017 to Feb 11, 2018
Costa Mesa, CA -- Feb 21, 2018 to Mar 25, 2018
Boston, MA -- TBA 2018
Washington, DC -- April 2018
Monterrey, MX -- TBA 2018
Guadalajara, MX -- TBA 2018
Mexico City, MX -- TBA 2018
Totem:
Sochi, RU -- Jul 1, 2017 to Jul 30, 2017
Brussels, BE -- Aug 31, 2017 to Oct 29, 2017
Madrid, ES -- Nov 10, 2017 to Jan 14, 2018
Seville, ES -- Jan 25, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Barcelona, ES -- Mar 23, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Munich, DE -- TBA 2018
Port Aventura, ES -- TBA 2018
VOLTA:
Montreal, QC -- Apr 20, 2017 to Jul 23, 2017
Gatineau, QC (Ottawa, ON) -- Aug 3, 2017 to Aug 27, 2017
Toronto, ON -- Sep 7, 2017 to Nov 26, 2017
Miami, FL -- Dec 15, 2017 to Feb 4, 2018
Tampa, FL -- Feb 15, 2018 to Mar 25, 2018
------------------------------------
ARENA - In Stadium-Like Venues
------------------------------------
Varekai:
Tarragona, ES -- Jul 6, 2017 to Aug 13, 2017
Oslo, NO -- Sep 1, 2017 to Sep 3, 2017
Malmo, SE -- Sep 6, 2017 to Sep 10, 2017
Tallin, EE -- Sep 14, 2017 to Sep 17, 2017
Riga, LV -- Sep 20, 2017 to Sep 24, 2017
Minsk, BY -- Sep 28, 2017 to Oct 1, 2017
Helsinki, FI -- Oct 5, 2017 to Oct 8, 2017
Stockholm, SE -- Oct 11, 2017 to Oct 15, 2017
Sioux City, IA -- TBA 2017
Springfield, MO -- TBA 2017
Biloxi, MS -- TBA 2017
Lake Charles, LA -- TBA 2017
Hidalgo, TX -- TBA 2017
Sugar Lands, TX Dec 20 to Dec 23, 2017 (FINAL SHOW)
TORUK - The First Flight:
Manila, PH -- Jun 23, 2017 to Jul 2, 2017
Taiwan -- Jul 6, 2017 to Jul 18, 2017
Christchurch, NZ -- Sep 1, 2017 to Sep 10, 2017
Auckland, NZ -- Sep 15, 2017 to Sep 24, 2017
Brisbane, AU -- Oct 5, 2017 to Oct 15, 2017
Sydney, AU -- Oct 19, 2017 to Oct 29, 2017
Melbourne, AU -- Nov 2, 2017 to Nov 12, 2017
Adelaide, AU -- Nov 16, 2017 to Nov 19, 2017
Bangkok, TH -- TBA 2017
Japan -- TBA 2017
China -- TBA 2018
OVO:
Toledo, OH -- May 31, 2017 to Jun 4, 2017
Hamilton, ON -- Jun 7, 2017 to Jun 11, 2017
London, ON -- Jun 14, 2017 to Jun 18, 2017
Brooklyn, NY -- Jul 5, 2017 to Jul 9, 2017
Sunrise, FL -- Jul 13, 2017 to Jul 23, 2017
Miami, FL -- Jul 28, 2017 to Jul 30, 2017
Jacksonville, FL -- Aug 2, 2017 to Aug 6, 2017
North Charleston, NC -- Aug 9, 2017 to Aug 6, 2017
Fairfax, VA -- Aug 16, 2017 to Aug 20, 2017
Baltimore, MD -- Aug 23, 2017 to Aug 27, 2017
Uniondale, NY -- Aug 30, 2017 to Sep 3, 2017
Boston, MA -- Sep 6, 2017 to Sep 10, 2017
Laval, QC -- Sep 13, 2017 to Sep 17, 2017
Zurich, CH -- Oct 5, 2017 to Oct 8, 2017
Geneva, CH -- Oct 11, 2017 to Oct 15, 2017
Salzburg, AU -- Oct 18, 2017 to Oct 22, 2017
Leipzig, DE -- Oct 25, 2017 to Oct 29, 2017
Hamburg, DE -- Nov 1, 2017 to Nov 5, 2017
Berlin, DE -- Nov 8, 2017 to Nov 12, 2017
Mannheim, DE -- Nov 15, 2017 to Nov 19, 2017
Cologne, DE -- Nov 22, 2017 to Nov 26, 2017
Stuttgart, DE -- Nov 29, 2017 to Dec 3, 2017
Nuremberg, DE -- Dec 6, 2017 to Dec 10, 2017
Munich, DE -- Dec 13, 2017 to Dec 17, 2017
London, UK -- Jan 7, 2018 to Feb 11, 2018
Hanover, DE -- Mar 14, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
Oberhausen, DE -- Apr 5, 2018 to Apr 8, 2018
SÉPTIMO DÍA NO DESCANSARÉ:
Lima, PE -- Jun 23, 2017 to Jul 7, 2017
Santiago, CL -- Jul 19, 2017 to Aug 6, 2017
Bogota, CO -- Sep 3, 2017 to Sep 23, 2017
Monterrey, MX -- Oct 19, 2017 to Oct 29, 2017
Guadalajara, MX -- Nov 8, 2017 to Nov 18, 2017
Mexico City, MX -- Nov 28, 2017 to Dec 22, 2017
Select US Cities -- 2018
CRYSTAL - A BREAKTHROUGH ICE EXPERIENCE:
Lafayette, LA -- Oct 5, 2017 to Oct 8, 2017 (PREVIEWS)
San Antonio, TX -- Oct 13, 2017 to Oct 15, 2017
Pensacola, FL -- Oct 19, 2017 to Oct 22, 2017
North Little Rock, AR -- Oct 26, 2017 to Oct 29, 2017
St. Charles, MO -- Nov 2, 2017 to Nov 5, 2017
Minneapolis, MN -- Nov 9, 2017 to Nov 12, 2017
Worchester, MA -- Dec 7, 2017 to Dec 10, 2017
Quebec City, QC -- TBA 2017
Montreal, QC -- TBA 2017 (GALA PREMIERE)
---------------------------------
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
2017 Dark Dates:
o July 12
o September 9 - 13
o November 8
Special Performance Dates:
o Thu, Aug 17, 2017
o Fri, Nov 24, 2017
o Fri, Dec 29, 2017
o Sun, Dec 31, 2017 | 4:30pm & 7:00pm
2017 Single Performance Dates:
o Sat, Jun 17 | 7:00 pm
o Sun, Aug 13 | 7:00 pm
o Sun, Oct 01 | 7:00 pm
o Fri, Oct 20 | 7:00 pm
o Sun, Oct 22 | 7:00 pm
o Fri, Dec 08 | 7:00 pm
"O":
Location: Bellagio, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Wednesday through Sunday, Dark: Monday/Tuesday
Two shows Nightly - 7:30pm and 9:30pm (as of Aug 12, 2015)
2017 Dark Dates:
o June 11
o August 2 - 6
o October 8
o November 29 - December 12
La Nouba:
Location: Walt Disney World, Orlando (USA)
Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark: Sunday/Monday
Two shows Nightly - 6:00pm and 9:00pm
*** CLOSING DECEMBER 31, 2017 ***
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
Schedule: 7:00pm & 9:30pm on Friday, Saturday, Monday & Tuesday
4:30pm & 7:00pm on Sunday
JOYÀ:
Location: Riviera Maya, Mexico
Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark: Sunday/Monday
One/Two Shows Nightly:
9:00pm (Weekdays)
7:00pm & 10:15pm (Fri, Sat & Holidays)
=======================================================================
OUTREACH - UPDATES FROM CIRQUE's SOCIAL WIDGETS
=======================================================================
o) WEBSERIES -- Official Online Featurettes
o) VIDEOS -- Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds
---------------------------------------------------
WEBSERIES: Official Online Featurettes
---------------------------------------------------
*) CIRQUE STORIES
"Cirque Stories," an exclusive Cirque du Soleil YouTube series
which highlights artists' journeys to the circus. Follow along
with us every week as we go behind the scenes and discuss the
path to become a Cirque performer. In these first episodes,
discover how some of the Cirque du Soleil artists from our Las
Vegas shows get there in their own unique #CirqueWay.
o) EPISODE 1 - CHRISTINA JONES
Who is Christina Jones? If you know that she is a Olympic Gold
Medal winning swimmer then you would only be partially correct.
She is also an amazing Cirque du Soleil performer in the show
"O" at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas! Discover
Christina's journey from Medal winner to Circus performer with
our New Exclusive Series "Cirque Stories"!
Christina currently performs in Cirque du Soleil's production
"O" at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip. She is the Host and
Producer for "Cirque Stories," an exclusive Cirque du Soleil
YouTube series which highlights artists' journeys to the circus.
Christina also hosts and contributes as an emcee and panelist
at events including SPARK by Cirque du Soleil, and Tommy
Hilfiger. Christina graduated Magna Cum Laude from UNLV in 2014.
She majored in Journalism and Media Studies, with a
concentration on News and Media Studies, and a minor in
Communications. Christina is a 2015 World Champion and a 2008
Olympic synchronized swimmer. She and her duet partner, Bill
May, brought home the gold from the 2015 World Championships in
Kazan, Russia. Together, they made history when they won the
inaugural Technical Mixed Duet event. She was the on-camera
Olympic Analyst for KSNV News 3, Las Vegas during their
coverage of the 2016 Olympic Games. Her passion for broadcast
journalism developed during her years of being a competitive
athlete. Christina's interaction with the media surrounding
her athletic career motivated her to transition from an elite
athlete into a Journalism and Media Studies graduate. Her
ultimate goal is to be involved in sports broadcasting.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/32Ylh4uxlz8 >
*) MAKEUP SHOWDOWN
o) EPISODE 3 -
This episode's theme is inspired by the history of the Kazakh
nomadic culture, Cirque du Soleil's REFLEKT is a mysterious
tale that explores the idea of renewable human energy as we
journey towards a sustainable future.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/TAV_oHkVUSI >
*) THE WORKSHOP SERIES
o) EPISODE 18 - BMX / WHEEL OF DEATH
Cirque du Soleil has started to expand it's repertoire of
acts, and this includes BMX tricks and performances. In
this episode watch how we experiment with the world of
BMX and the Wheel of Death to twist our everyday reality
even further! Special thanks to Vision Ramps for developing
the ramps and riding in the workshop and to Cut Media
for filming.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/q9G2w57UqXo >
---------------------------------------------------
VIDEOS: Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds
---------------------------------------------------
*) OTHERS...
o) Cirque Celebrates 20 Years of "The View"
Created in 1997 by veteran journalist Barbara Walters, "The
View" is a daytime talk show hosted by women -- including
Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Paula Faris and Sara Haines --
and each offers her take on the day's news during the
opening "Hot Topics" segment. Later, the ladies welcome
various celebrities, who join them in a chat or perform for
the audience. Watch various shows perform "The Slide" in
celebration of reaching this milestone.
JOYA: https://youtu.be/CQ837DTh6ig
KURIOS: https://youtu.be/RdkepKNjuEQ
MYSTERE: https://goo.gl/ysLSfy
OVO: https://youtu.be/ivsZJH0U2mE
o) Watch how Cirque sets up for Varekai...
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/Kjhmd_wqfdA >
o) Can you run a 5K the #CirqueWay?
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/wSxEgrysmB0 >
o) INSANE Chains Aerial Act with NO NET!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/qJ0yk7-cIUI >
o) Flip Your Everyday Reality
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/wWu9VmZ3SIo >
o) Learn how we apply our VOLTA artists' Makeup
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/OkU4WZZRJoU >
o) Happy Birthday Cirque du Soleil!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/hpvQx5wKly4 >
o) Cute Bug Face Paint! | 3 Fun How-To Face Paint Tutorials
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/F7sb6vjsZ-s >
o) What is VOLTA? | Red Bull TV Trailer
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/agEuKqj7wmQ >
o) The Craziest Handstands! | International Handstand Day
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/ERjFMDXkFc4 >
o) Celebrate Pride Month the Cirque Way
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/E8ubz22uyBU >
o) JOYA: See what Claudio Carneiro does in one day.
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/zbxrTe >
o) KA: Follow the antics of the Zany Vallet
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/32BC1j >
o) KURIOS: Kurios Juggler w/150 Winnipeg High School students!
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/ejMtDH >
o) KURIOS: Musicians playing downtown Winnipeg
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/wb8Tuc >
o) LUZIA: 360-degrees Hoop Diving w/Stéphane Beauregard
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/8RwdOJMgSWE >
o) LUZIA: How the Water Works!
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/vC9GFZ >
o) TOTEM: Meet the Fixed Trapeze Love Birds!
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/kU9JhQ >
o) TORUK: The Amazing Journey of Head Coach Michael Ocampo
and puppeteer Rob Laqui!
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/q6KHRB >
o) TORUK: Meet Elizabeth Brown Gagnon, Artist Coach
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/4kv5sS >
o) TORUK: 5@5 with new Artistic Director, Hugo Martins
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/fDbsPS >
o) VOLTA: Trial bike riders tackle a challenge like no other.
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/mWqfaA >
o) Get a sneak peak of REFLECT by 45 Degrees
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/Amyjgz >
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/sqCPW7 >
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/VINcPhnOpAI >
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/1IE01qAowsM >
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/3aDFVK >
o) Cirque Celebrates World Music Day
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/ox9bJo >
o) Montaje Sep7imo Dia - No Descansare en Lima - Perú
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/72ihAggfYUY >
o) Behind The Scenes With Cirque's Superhuman Performers
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/zOHvIfmpZpU >
o) Cirque du Soleil perform at 150 Canada Celebration
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/7UGjxrxP-D8 >
o) MSC MERAVIGLIA Cirque du Soleil By Costi
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/gV7whZy3cBs >
o) La Nouba's Silk Performance
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/sdwZJXwCauk >
=======================================================================
FASCINATION! FEATURES
=======================================================================
o) "STELAR: An Overview of SCALADA's Final Chapter"
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
o) "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 3 of 16: Le Cirque Réinventé, Part 3 (1989)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
"STELAR: An Overview of SCALADA's Final Chapter"
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
What is STELAR? What is SCALADA? And where are these shows performed?
These are all good questions. And over the last few years we here at
Fascination have pointed out these special endeavors by Cirque du
Soleil's Special Events Team - 45 DEGREES - even though we've never
had an opportunity to see most of them. Why? For the most part they're
half a world away from where we're based. And these unique shows,
produced specifically for the host country and/or event, run for a
limited time. SCALADA is a unique and free outdoor event, developed by
Cirque du Soleil's Special Events Team (45 DEGREES) for the
Principality of Andorra.
And where's that you might ask?
According to Wikipiedia... Andorra, officially the Principality of
Andorra, is a sovereign landlocked microstate in Southwestern Europe,
located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and
France. Created under a charter in 988, the present principality was
formed in 1278. It is known as a principality as it is a diarchy
headed by two Co-Princes the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell in
Spain, and the President of France. Andorra is the sixth-smallest
nation in Europe, having an area of 468 km2 (181 sq mi) and a
population of approximately 85,000. Its capital Andorra la Vella is
the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres
(3,356 feet) above sea level. The official language is Catalan,
although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken.
Over the last five years Cirque du Soleil and 45 DEGREES have produced
SCALADA for Andorra, which will end with this year's performance.
LET'S REVIEW
------------
But before we talk a bit about what we've discovered about STELAR,
let's review...
In 2013, the first year, the show was simply titled SCALADA, and
featured the following concept as its storyline: "To capture people's
attention and charm a group of boaters, the four Seasons enter into a
bit of harmless competition. In turn, but keeping to the natural order
Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn the Seasons reveal their charms and
use their most beautiful traits to impress. The competition suddenly
becomes more serious, and the Seasons forget the audience that they
are trying so hard to win over. It then falls to the group of boaters
to show the Seasons that they are already involved in a love affair
with Andorra, no matter what the season."
The show was brought to life by Bastien Alexandre (Creator and
Director),Jean Laurin (Lighting Designer), Stéphane Boko
(Chroeographer), Eric Noguès (Set Designer and Props), and Johnny
Ranger (Video Desinger), using songs from across the Cirque du Soleil
musical catalog to highlight the acrobatic performances...
o) Opening Volo Volando from Corteo
o) Aerial Straps Svecounia from O
o) Skipping Ropes/ Bikes Alambre Alto from Kooza
o) Flying Woman Patzivota from Varekai
o) Clowns Patzivota from Varekai
o) Cube/Korean Plank Battlefield from KA
o) Chinese Poles Qué Viyera from Totem
o) Acrosport Toreador from Totem
o) Trampo-wall Simcha from O
o) Finale Hymn of the Worlds from ZED
* * *
In 2014, between July 5th and August 2nd, Cirque du Soleil presented
SCALADA: MATER NATURA, a show with a similar concept and creation team
from the first years', with some changes to the acrobatic performances
in the show...
o) Opening Jeux d'enfants from Alegria
o) Overture First Incantation from ZED
o) Spanish Web Diables from Kooza
o) Water Bowl Don't Be Afraid from Kooza
o) Hoop Diving Oscillium from Varekai
o) Aerial Pole El Péndulo from Varekai
o) Russian Bars Fiesta from ZED
o) Hand to Hand Kèro Hiréyo from Varekai
o) Flying Duo Trapeze "Duo Trapeze Song" from Les Chemins 4
o) Acrosport Unknown song
o) Cyr Wheel Distorted from La Nouba
o) Death Wheel Ninkou Latora from Dralion
o) Duo Strap The Worlds Meet from ZED
o) Finale Kamandé from Dralion
* * *
In 2015, between July 4th through August 1st, SCALADA: STORIA was
performed. STORIA took patrons on an acrobatic and metaphorical
journey through Andorra's more mystic side to trace the country's
origins and learn its legends: "In a minimalist décor evoking the
vaulted roof of a contemporary cathedral, somewhere between tradition
and modernity, STORIA takes root in the founding legends of Andorra.
The White Lady the patron goddess and divine protectress of this
luminous land will open one-by-one the boxes containing the legends
of this magical STORIA. The boxes will in turn reveal their acrobatic,
aerial and choreographic performances living symbols of the fabulous
secrets of Andorra's past."
The show was brought to life in the following ways...
SCENEOGRAPHY As a counterpoint, at the show they wanted to recreate
a more modern setting. The basis of this scenography are basic
geometric forms (triangles, squares and circles), used to build a
contemporary cathedral where legends come to life. This cathedral may
remind the audience of the well-known architecture of the thermal
centre Caldea, one of Andorra's trademarks. This structure is erected
to be home to a giant modern-looking semicircle stage which will have
a more spiritual aspect. This will represent both the cathedral and
the Pyrenean mountains. This combination of modern and fantasy
elements is the main scenographic challenge of this new show.
MAKE UP The luminous makeup designs created for the mythical
characters of STORIA will have a supernatural look and feel, echoing
the spiritual and sacred context in which the characters evolve.
Contemporary, graphical and minimalistic makeup designs will be
created to convey the emotions of the cast.
SOUNDTRACK Music will also be one of the fortes of the show, which
will include melodies specially created for this occasion. SCALADA:
STORIA will be impregnated with the characteristic range of colours of
this Canadian company's musical work. Without sticking to a particular
style, it will be composed of a range of fusions perfectly combining
various musical categories.
LIGHTING Lighting design stands out for its well-chosen angles,
intensity and colours. These are also aligned with costumes and make-
up. Lighting will enjoy a modern approach, combining the strength and
dynamism of rock shows with the delicacy of theatre plays. Also,
lights will play a key role within the show, since they will mark the
transition among the various tales and the emotions they spark. So,
the transition from one tale to another will go in hand with a change
of colours integrated with accessories directly controlled by artists.
These will also have an effect on ornamental elements, which in turn
will also have integrated lighting.
ACROBATICS -
o) Pre-Show Flea Girls from OVO
o) Opening Toreador from Totem
o) Flying Sphere "Duo Trapeze" from Les Chemins 5 /
Undae from ZAIA
o) Icarian Games Aequor Oris from ZAIA
o) Aerial Cross Wheel Caelestis from ZAIA
o) Slackwire Super Hero from OVO
o) Trampo-wall Birth of the Sky from ZED / Temperatio from ZAIA
o) Interlude Running on the Edge from Amaluna /
Comissatio from ZAIA
o) Rola Bola Aquilex from ZAIA
o) Pas de Deux Ballare from Dralion
o) Fire High Temptation from ZED
o) Russian Swings Fly Around from Amaluna
o) Finale "Banquine Song" from Les Chemins 5
* * *
In 2016, from July 2nd through July 30th, 45 Degrees asked us if we
were ready to experience sensations that we'd never felt before. "Be
captivated by a magical stage design that will take you to a new
dimension. Be swept away by the excitement as the finest acrobatics of
the Cirque du Soleil. Enter a world where the lines between reality
and fiction are blurred through a moving story. In this year's
edition, you will follow the adventures of a brother and sister who
have an indestructible bond between them: a closeness that reflects
the family values of the Andorran culture."
This year's story, brought to us by Mukhtar O. S. Mukhtar (Director),
Alexis Laurence (Scenographer and AudioVisual Designer), Tony Adigun
(Choreographer), Bruno Rafie (Lighting Design), and Jean-Michel Caron
(Sound Design), was unique in a number of ways. It told the story of
"a brother and sister faced with finding themselves separated in a
totally unknown universe. They will arrive in an imaginary, surreal
and futuristic world, where they will travel between reality and
fiction. Throughout their adventure they will come across many
elements of their home town, but in a futuristic form. The little
sister will let herself be ruled by her instincts until she becomes
completely lost in this futuristic dimension. Her brother, meanwhile,
will follow her footsteps in the hope of finding her, while immersed
in a totally different experience. Separately, each of them must make
this journey on their own, overcoming the challenges of their own
reality. Their instincts and the strong bond of brother and sister
will be the key to their meeting again."
Each scene was carried along by the acrobatic, aerial and
choreographic performances, evoked unmistakable aspects of Andorra in
the following ways...
SCENEOGRAPHY This year, the stage makes way for video content to
create a truly immersive atmosphere. The stage is built around the
concept of a modular box that will whirl spectators between the
disparate worlds of a brother and his sister. A series of movable,
deconstructed façades provide a unique and mesmerizing medium for the
event's storyline to unfold.
MUSIC The musical arrangements have been crafted to conjure up two
very distinct worlds: that of the brother and that of the sister. Not
only are these distinctions the backbone of the story, but they will
immerse spectators amidst a sensory experience, rousing a wide range
of emotions. The sounds of a beat-boxer intermingle with the melodies
of a live singer to deliver the event's musical essence, which evinces
the Cirque du Soleil's musical expertise.
COSTUME DESIGN The two distinctive worlds the event revolves around
are further emphasized through the performer's costumes: futuristic
and linear designs mark the brother's world, while colorful,
imaginative and surreal ensembles represent the sister's universe. All
costumes draw from the reality of the brother and the sister,
respectively.
LIGHTING AND VIDEO Lighting is used to further the event's
narrative, while enhancing its acrobatic performances. Video
projections envelop the brother and the sister in their respective
worlds. The brother's universe is evoked using straight lines, a
modern atmosphere, bright lights and a clearly defined tech
appearance. The young sister's world, on the other hand, is more
surreal, organic, colorful and innocent. The video takes on a second
layer of meaning by interacting with the performers. At certain
moments the video content is influenced by the action taking place on-
stage.
ACROBATICS The aerial acrobatics and choreographies were specially
created with video projections in mind. The staging is inspired by a
modular box allowing the main characters to travel between the two
parallel worlds the story unfolds in. A brand new set of magical
acrobatics will take the audience on a journey among these two
dimensions, evoking the same emotions experienced by the event's
protagonists. This year's event boasts more group performances than in
previous years, making it all the more difficult and spectacular!
THREE UNIQUE MOMENTS The City of Lights - The brother experiences,
for the very first time, a futuristic world, made of lights and
videos, where he meets beings from another time who change. These
characters create a fascinating world of movement. Lost amidst the
chaos of that world, where dancers and acrobats perform in unison, he
becomes fearful of it, yet unable to resist its pull. He will have to
find his way through it to complete his quest: finding his sister.
Craving Love - While seeking his younger sister, the brother finds
himself in front of a fallen bridge. On the one side there stands a
magnificent woman. The only thing connecting them will be the long
rope - his only way across the bridge-, upon which they perform a
poetic duo. In a tangible display of sensitivity, the duo bear each
other's weight so they can take flight. It's an intimate moment where
audiences will hold their breath, enveloped by the event's visual
poetry. (Duo Relation Act, created by Rigolo). And The Giant Door
Finale - In the last act, the sister reaches a giant door, which
stands between her and her brother, who is on the other side. She must
find a way to get to him. Using her imagination, which will have
helped her throughout her journey, she conjures up a series of
characters who perform incredible acrobatic feats on a power track.
The more impressive the acrobatics, the wider the door opens.
* * *
AND FINALLY THIS YEAR - STELAR
From July 1 through 31st, Cirque du Soleil & 45 DEGREES presents
STELAR, the last chapter of their SCALADA event series. Dare to fly up
into the sky and discover the sensation of being in the clouds! In the
world of STELAR, altitude rhymes with attitude, as the heights raise
spirits. It is therefore on the highest peaks of Andorra, where the
mountains meet the clouds, causing an exquisite feeling of reverse
vertigo, that STELAR takes off. The show features a gallery of unique
characters including the Dreamer, attracted to the life beyond the
clouds, the very dogmatic Townspeople, the benevolent Giant, who has
feet anchored to the ground but a head in the clouds, and the very
aerial People of the Sky.
Are you ready to unravel the mystery? Are you ready to see the world
from another perspective?
Then let's delve into the world of STELAR...
THE STORY
---------
Peacefully sleeping, a Dreamer is dreaming. She's dreaming of
levitating above her bed and, as if by magic, she starts flying. But
when she opens her eyes, she's immediately plunged into a nightmare,
surrounded on all sides by a horde of invaders - the Townspeople. She
is freed by an unexpected savior, the Rebel, who manages to fight and
repel the Townspeople. That's when she sees a figure walking on a wire
hooked to the clouds. Slowly after beginning her slow ascent towards
the sky, the Dreamer meets a mountain tribe at the summit of the
mountains, who tried, by dint of fabulous incantations, to allow the
Dreamer to tear herself away from the Earth's gravity. But when all
her efforts have failed, a Giant suddenly emerges and, with the help
of a Sherpa, helps her to cross the layer of cloud. In contact with
the inhabitants of the clouds, the Dreamer finds herself endowed with
strange powers. The laws of physics no longer exist; she flirts
majestically with weightlessness and can finally reach her full
potential. Faced with the dilemma of choosing between life in the
mountains and life in the sky, at the very moment when the clouds are
dissipating and the vault of heaven is finally within her reach, the
Dreamer hesitates. But she realizes that even with both feet anchored
to the ground, we are all connected to the infinite - to be
considered, in turn and to dream, together, of greater than ourselves.
THE CONCEPT
-----------
SCENEOGRAPHY For this 5th and final edition of the SCALADA series,
Cirque wished to bring the action closer to the people, making them
part of the action even more. With a new stage concept - presented on
a 2-faced stage (similar to the original Delirium and CORTEO
presentations) - STELAR can be watched from both sides, offering a new
perspective, bringing everyone closer to the action, and delivering a
more intimate big-top like experience. Danielle Labrie's environments
for STELAR are both pure and bold. Through clever designs and modular
elements, simple stenographic statements create a powerful effect and
transport the audience across surreal worlds.
MUSIC The soundtrack created by Felix-Antoine Couturier feels very
cinematographic while tapping in both classical, pop, and folk roots.
Music has always been a great tool for Cirque du Soleil to help convey
the narrative, and this show is no exception. It was important for us
to create original songs that would deliver the fantastic and energy
in each scene.
COSTUME DESIGN Feathers, crystals or sequins. Color combinations.
Contrasts and brightness. The costumes of this edition, signed by Yso
Siphay Southidara, are inspired by creators as disparate as Louis
Vuitton or Nick Cave. Costumes strengthen each one of the characters
that appear at the event. The costumes this year form a clever bridge
between the classic legacy of Cirque du Soleil costumes and modern
avant-garde fashion. Yso Siphay Southidara's, specially made designs,
bring STELAR's characters to life in an impressive way.
LIGHTING This year, Finnish designer Mikki Kunttu is designing the
lights for STELAR. His voluptuous style and innovative vision pair
beautifully with our two-way central stage. And this year's concept
with no projection content- is ideal to let the lighting design shine
(pun intended) and almost become a character in itself.
ACROBATICS & ARTISTS Under Edesia Moreno Barata's trained eye, all
our high-level acrobatic acts are reworked and choreographed so our
artist's prowess's can really translate the epic story of STELAR. She
uses her deep knowledge of Cirque du Soleil's acrobatics to bring the
extraordinary of human performance to a higher level.
o) Hand to Hand Mason Bryce Ames & Valérie Benoit Charbonneau
o) Dancer/Back-up Act Cinthia Pedroso Beranek
o) High Wire Christopher Dafydd Keith Bullzini
o) Russian Bar Carole Demers, Andrei Saladonau, & Anatolie Sandou
o) Swing to Swing Evgeniia Goriacheva, Ekaterina Koroleva, Dina
Krasko, Anastasiia Melikhova, Anastasia Nagibina, Olga
Nikulshina & Anastasiia Sokolenko
o) Trapeze Uuve Hanna Jansson
o) Wheel of Death Rony Sascha Navas Velez & Ray Guthy Navas Velez
o) Dancers Guillaume Quéau, Daniele Sibilli & Thierno Thioune
o) Bungee Loops Laurence Racine Choinière
o) High Stilts Adam John Read
o) Balancing on Chairs Rokardy Rodriguez
o) German Wheel Olivier Sylvestre
o) Acro Lamp Alexis Vigneault
CREATIVE TEAM
-------------
Benjamin Dupont Director
Carine Charaire Co-Director & Choreographer
Olivier Casamayou Co-Director & Choreographer
Edesia Moreno Barata Assistant Director & Acro Performance
Danielle Labrie Stage Designer
Alexis Laurence Scenographer
Félix-Antoine Couturier Composer
Yso Siphay Southidara Costume Design
Edesia Moreno Barata Choreographer
Mikki Kunttu Lighting Design
Eleni Uranis Makeup Designer
BENJAMIN DUPONT / STAGE DIRECTOR -- It's with a degree in Industrial
Design that Benjamin joined Cirque du Soleil in 2008, working in the
R&D and Creative Content teams, developing and staging new equipment
to enhance the company's show performances, like in the award-winning
short film "Sparked. A live interaction with drones", as well as a
designer, working with, for example, Walt Disney Imagineering.
Recently, Benjamin has been working with 45 DEGREES, a division of
Cirque du Soleil, applying his unique conceptual approach to both
shows and immersive experiences.
I COULD NEVER BE A DANCER / CO-STAGE DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHERS -- I
could never be a dancer is an international duo that applies their
pop, conceptual and modern vision into multiple projects. Taking
turns, they've been choreographers, producers, and artistic directors.
Carine Charaire and Olivier Casamayou break the boundaries of dance to
bring it into the fashion, contemporary art and publicity world. From
Centre Pompidou's Comédie Française to great French luxury brand names
like Chanel, Cartier, Hermès, Vuitton, Lacoste or Chloé, and
international pop artists like Kylie Minogue, Willy Moon, Mika, MGMT,
Pet Shop Boys, they love participating in the creation of pop culture
as well as question the codes of conduct to say something about our
time.
EDESIA MORENO BARATA / ASSISTANT STAGE DIRECTOR & ACROBATIC
PERFORMANCE DESIGNER -- Edesia Moreno Barata started her performance
career as an elite athlete with the Rhythmic Gymnastics Spanish
National Team. She is now a leading Acrobatic performance designer and
an Assistant Director at 45 DEGREES, a division of Cirque du Soleil.
Edesia first started at Cirque du Soleil as an artist, touring for 10
years as part of the Saltimbanco and Corteo productions. Her
contagious passion and flair for movement quickly gave her a career as
an Artistic and Acrobatic coach at the International Head Quarters of
Cirque du Soleil in Montreal. She's since then evolved into an
Acrobatic performance designer and Assistant stage director, her
expertise having been sought after for the past 19 years, for 32
different creations to this day. Edesia would say: "To be creative is
freedom of expression beyond imagination and a creative adult is a
child that has awakened".
DANIELLE LABRIE / STAGE DESIGNER -- Danielle graduated with a degree
in Visual Arts and Fashion Design. Enthused by image, she begins her
career as a costume designer and stylist, collaborating with numerous
fashion magazines as well as a personal fashion advisor to Celine for
a few years. Following her passion, Danielle integrates the motion
picture industry as an Artistic designer and director on various
productions. A career which has brought her numerous nominations and
awards throughout North America (GÉNIE, JUTRA, CRÉA and BESSIE
AWARDS). Now specialized in international event design, launching
events and large scale shows, Danielle has now joined the 45 DEGREES
events' team, with whom she's signed the scenography of the launch of
the Fiat Bravo and the Notta Biance show (Italy), the immersive show
Lounge at the National Hotel in Russia, and the Bal du MAC in
Montreal. Danielle now shares her time between scenography projects
with Cirque du Soleil and 45 DEGREES, and cinematography projects,
which keep her imagination running.
FÉLIX-ANTOINE COUTURIER / COMPOSER -- After completing studies in
classical guitar, Félix-Antoine toured around Quebec with the bands
Kodiak and O Linea. His passion for songwriting, composing and musical
direction brings him rapidly to start studio work. In 2014, his first
album, Comme un seul homme, which he recorded and performed entirely
by himself, was unanimously positively received by the critic. He's,
since then, committed to various projects and collaborations,
exploring many genres, from Indie-Rock, pop music, Hip-Hop to Musical
Comedy.
MIKKI KUNTTU / LIGHTING DESIGNER -- Mikki is a much sought-after
lighting, screen content and set designer in Europe. His work has a
lighting, screen, and set designer have been seen in the fields of
dance, music, opera, television, and design. Including: Eurovision
Song Contest (2007, 2013, 2016), collaborations with choreographers
Akram Khan, Tero Saarinen, Jiri Kylian, The Nutcracker (Boston Ballet,
2005), Swan Lake (Royal Danish Ballet, 2015), and Figaro's Wedding
(Finnish National Opera, 2014). Through the years, Mikki has designed
visuals for over 100 dance productions and has designed visual content
for bands such as: Chisu, Apocalyptica and Nightwish. His work has
been recognized multiple times, receiving awards at the Bessie Awards
in New York (2005), Säde and Koura Awards (Finland, 2007), the Venla
Diploma of Merit (2010) and an Engel Award (2014).
YSO (SIPHAY SOUTHIDARA) / COSTUMES DESIGNER -- Born in Vientiane, in
Laos, Yso has been a Montrealer-by-adoption for a while now, this is
where he graduated in fashion design from Collège Marie-Victorin in
1994. A passionate enthusiast for fashion design, artistic direction
and all forms of contemporary creation, he readily contributes his
talents to each of these domains. After beginning with Marie Saint
Pierre and Todd Lynn, he went on to direct his own ready-to-wear line
for women "Yso" in 1999. His experience also extended to the fashion
industry as a freelancer for Parasuco, Samuel Dong and Harricana. A
longtime partner of the fashion designer Denis Gagnon, he has
accompanied him as the artistic director of several fashion shows. Yso
also works as a stylist for Folio Montreal. The artistic contemporary
dance, theater, music, film and visual arts communities have made use
of his talents (Brigitte Haentjens (Sibyllines), Guy Maddin, Lhasa,
Patrick Watson, 45 DEGREES, Cirque du Soleil, Louise Lecavalier, etc.)
ELENI URANIS / MAKEUP DESIGNER -- Eleni Uranis' reputation at Cirque
du Soleil speaks for itself. Her creations for STELAR follow the
minimalist and pure essence of the show, and the new proximity to the
stage allows us to take advantage of her attention to details.
* * *
So, how do I see STELAR?
WHERE: The event will be located in the public car park of Parc
Central, in the centre of Andorra la Vella, and will have a capacity
of 5,000 people per performance. As with the previous editions, THE
SPACE WILL BE ENTIRELY UNDER COVER. There will be a catering area on-
site where food and drinks can be bought.
WHEN: STELAR will be performed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays,
Fridays and Saturdays from 1st to 30th of July, 2017, with a final
performance on Sunday 30th. Performances will be 60 minutes long,
starting at 22:00 hours. There will also be a 30-minute animation
presented before each show with the characters of Scalada: STELAR by
Cirque du Soleil.
HOW: There are three kinds of tickets to Cirque du Soleil in Andorra:
1) Free tickets will provide access to the area in front of the stage,
where there is standing room only. 2) Paid tickets include a numbered
seat in the stands. 3) If you prefer, you can choose a hotel pack that
includes a one-night stay at the chosen hotel plus a seated ticket in
the stands. We will soon be providing information about how you can
book your tickets to Scalada: STELAR 2017.
Purchase tickets here:
< http://scalada.visitandorra.com/ENG/ >
------------------------------------------------------------
"We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 3 of 16: Le Cirque Réinventé, Part 3 (1989)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
A few weeks 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. Last issue was Part 2 of 16: Le Cirque Réinventé, Part 2
(1988); this month we continue looking at 1989's reviews of Le Cirque
Réinventé.
# # #
UNDER THE SMALL TOP
By: John Hughes | Sun Sentinel
April 5, 1989
So here is James Keylon, 41-year-old former pharmacist in black high-
tops and baggy shorts, "le blanc" to Benny LeGrand, wearing little
more than rollerblade skates and a 42-year-old rubber face, "le
rouge." Each is sweating out the gritty business of acting less than
his age under a big top suspiciously free of the smell of elephant
leftovers.
And here in an adjoining tent are youngsters half that age, stretching
their bodies before rehearsing precarious balancing acts that require
as much guts as muscle. A glance says that these kids have ample doses
of each.
Outside are trailers with foreign plates and loaded odometers,
abandoned more than arranged to form a dusty community of vagabonds
inside the more carefully designed northeast Dade County community
that is the Waterways at Aventura.
It is nasty hot inside the blue and yellow tent that marks the site at
Northeast 207th Street as the launching point for 1989's version of
Cirque du Soleil. The troupe arrived from Canada three weeks ago, but
the air conditioner is still on the way, making this a fitting day for
the Circus of the Sun.
Benny LeGrand (translate: The Big Benny?), circles Keylon in
controlled gracelessness, aiming exaggerated and distorted expressions
at the crew overseeing this afternoon rehearsal. LeGrand's ridiculous
behavior is appropriate for the equally ridiculous song he is sort of
singing. It's something about PCBs and hair spray and dioxins, set to
a screechy country- western melody and a Canadian accent.
The crew has seen LeGrand before, yet laughs are unavoidable, even
though predictable. Less predictable is how Cirque du Soleil defines
what a circus ought to be.
Forget what you know about circuses. You haven't seen this one before,
unless you've seen a version of it on a current HBO special. It's
never been in Florida and didn't make it south of the Canadian border
until a West Coast tour late in 1987.
Its motto is "We reinvent the circus."
The reinvention begins with guys like Keylon, who would rather be a
clown than a pharmacist, who prefer traveling with a troupe but would
otherwise perform in the street. "I was a pharmacist for 10 years,"
Keylon says. "I got bored with pharmacy, so I went to Paris and
studied mime at Marcel Marceau's school in Paris." Of course. Then he
became a ballet dancer. Then a clown.
In the language of French-speaking comedy, Keylon is "le blanc," the
white, as opposed to being "le rouge," the red. Reds are the funny
guys. Whites are the straight men. "I'm the intelligent fool," says
Keylon. "I'm a white, and this year they needed a white to be
ringmaster, so they got me." The job takes Keylon way beyond the
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" boundaries of the traditional ringmaster.
It is part of Keylon's role to not simply introduce the next group of
performers, but to help weave a story line throughout the two-hour
performance.
In "reinventing" the circus, Cirque du Soleil combines elements from
the stage, vaudeville, gymnastics and, yes, the Greatest Show on
Earth, into a story, a fantasy tale that mixes dance with daredevil.
There are no animals in this circus and the big top is a relatively
small top, with seats for about 1,700. One ring, one tent, small
enough that you can see the eyes of the trapeze artists. No net. Lots
of talent -- carved from the world's toughest audiences on the streets
of Canada and France. And from athletic competition, as in the case of
two Bulgarians in this year's performance who are world champions in
rhythmic gymnastics. And even from the Canadian Grand Ballet, from
which a Nutcracker defected to the circus.
Cirque du Soleil began in 1984, inspired by street theater and
conceived by Guy Laliberté, who was 24 at the time, a college dropout,
wandering minstrel, fire-breather, stilt-walker and big-time loser
when it came to getting bank financing for his dream cirque.
Laliberté had organized Canadian street festivals since 1981 and based
on their success, the Counseil Des Arts of Canada gave him a grant
that helped pay most of 1984's expenses. That year the Cirque toured
Quebec province to reviews and receptions that sparked its current
success as an almost-self- supported artistic enterprise that tours
eight months a year, with a troupe of about 90, a traveling cafeteria,
communications office and a live band that composes music to fit each
act.
After almost a month of rehearsals, Cirque du Soleil will open on
April 13 for 12 performances.
When it made its U.S. debut in Los Angeles, Cirque was such a hit that
a three-week run was extended by four months. Columbia Pictures bought
film rights. Life magazine did a photo spread; so did Vanity Fair.
When it played New York, theater critic Clive Barnes called Cirque
"Odd, but terrific. Absolutely terrific."
Keylon, the pharmacist-turned-performer, says that Cirque du Soleil
works because it combines so many diverse elements, and takes away one
-- the "fourth wall," which separates theatrical actors from their
audiences. The performers in Cirque du Soleil get right in your face,
Keylon says.
"The theater is going more toward spectacle, with plays like Cats and
Starlight Express," says Keylon, who in addition to being a
mime/clown/ dancer, is also a playwright. "But in theater they use
acting as a base, and try to teach skill. Here, we're using skill as a
base which expands into acting."
Cirque du Soleil's story line is simple and childishly fantastic. It
begins with a group of common people ambling into the circus ring,
where they're magically transformed into exquisite performers. "The
audience can read what they want to into the show -- the businessman,
the housewife, the child who dreams of everything," Keylon says. This
gets them away to a land they never dreamed of."
The story of the ordinary villager who becomes a polished ringmaster
in Cirque du Soleil's fantasy is closer to realism than magic in
Keylon's case. As a pharmacist in Vancouver, Keylon says he was
"happy, but not content."
"There was no upward road," he says. "In pharmacy, there's no place
you can go except to chief pharmacist or something, which is boring."
But if you leave your job as a pharmacist, go to Paris, end up as a
street performer, the upward road is in almost any direction.
Before he was a pharmacist, Keylon might have been a football player.
He played the game in Canada, where he was a high school quarterback
and tight end. Then he went to the University of Oklahoma, where he
was too small to play, even if he'd been asked. But Keylon had a more
prohibitive handicap.
"I liked football because it is a performance," he says. "I was more
concerned with the audience than with the game. I would be out there
during a game and all I thought of was the crowd, and the cheering..."
And the performance. The art.
Keylon says that neither the school in Paris nor the dancing lessons,
not even football, taught him to be a performer. That lesson was
learned on the streets, which is the same school attended by many of
Keylon's colleagues in Cirque du Soleil. In this circus, jugglers,
fire-breathers, bicycle riders and creators of unexplainable balancing
routines -- young gypsies and middle-aged clowns -- find a home and a
stage for street-corner talent.
"The street is spontaneous," Keylon says. "In the streets, the crowd
is much more critical. The street forces you to be good. In the
streets they pay you after the performance."
* * *
AVANT-GARDE CIRCUS
By: Sid Smith | Chicago Tribune
April 6, 1989
Cirque du Soleil, an internationally acclaimed, avant-garde circus
from Montreal, will receive its Chicago debut May 18-28 in its own big
top tent to be erected on an empty lot south of the waterway known as
the Ogden slip. The site is in the Cityfront Center complex, bordered
by the North Pier mall on the north, North Water Street on the south,
McClurg Court on the west and Lake Shore Drive on the east.
The 35-member troupe, created in 1984 to celebrate Quebec's 450th
birthday, takes a novel approach to the traditional circus offerings
of tumblers, clowns, acrobats, aerialists and tightrope walkers. The
presentation is put on in the manner of a stage play with a simple
plot, revolving around a group of villagers who stumble into a circus
ring and magically become entertainers.
The show, which has no animal acts, employs an original jazz-rock
score and staging effects that have been likened to the style of
contemporary video. Cirque du Soleil will be launching a new,
embellished show with its Chicago engagement, featuring the Shandong
Troupe of China in the circus' "rola bola" balancing act and a
championship Bulgarian gymnastic team.
Cirque was founded by Guy Laliberté, a one-time wandering minstrel,
student of nuclear engineering and aficionado of Hawaiian fire-
breathing artistry. The troupe made its United States debut in 1987 in
Los Angeles, playing to sellout crowds and rave reviews there and in
later engagements in San Francisco, New York City, Washington, D.C.,
Santa Monica and San Diego.
While in Chicago, the performers and their directors will reside in a
portable village set up on the Cityfront Center grounds, including
lodging quarters and their own fully-equipped French commissary, which
serves 300 meals a day.
* * *
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL A RAY OF SUNSHINE
By: Pat Curry | Sun-Sentinel
April 13, 1989
They are everywhere, these nimble sprites garbed in swirls of fuchsia
and purple. But it is not enough that they leap and tumble and fly
through the air. In mischievous glee, they draw mortals into their
fog-filled realm of magic, twirling and tugging the hapless humans
like marionettes.
The elegant lady in evening dress becomes a ballerina on the
tightrope, balancing effortlessly on her toes. The frumpy businessman
in thick glasses is crowned the ringmaster in this circus of the sun,
the Cirque du Soleil.
This is a theatrical circus opening tonight in North Miami,
entertainment at its most sophisticated, a new creation upon which a
tradition can be built.
"We try to do with the acts as we would do in theater," said director
Michel Barette, who stepped out of the spotlight as the ringmaster
this year after more than 1,000 performances. "We use them as
emotional triggers to make the audience go from one emotion to
another."
Those who have seen the show in other cities will enjoy a new
production here, which is the South Florida debut and the kickoff for
the 1989 U.S. tour, Barette said.
"The acts are technically improved, and there are new acts, more
comedy," he said. "We have drafted some real actors and dancers. About
65 percent of the music is new because the acts are new. It's a quasi-
new show."
One thing isn't new: There still are no animals in this circus.
Rather, this one-ring circus has Olympic rhythmic gymnasts, Chinese
acrobats, mimes and dancers, bicyclists, jugglers and a flying
trapeze. There is original music, costumes rich in color and texture,
flawless choreography and the funniest use ever of a picture frame and
a piece of string.
The emphasis on theatrics and athleticism always has been the focus
for Cirque du Soleil since it was first produced as a part of the
450th birthday of Quebec in 1984.
"The evolution has been show by show, city by city," said its creator,
Guy Laliberté. "We want always the artists to keep the passion and
pleasure of what they're doing. When you do 300 shows a year, you need
flexibility."
So there are subtle changes in presentation, he said. The chair-
balancing act is as interesting for its vivid colors and geometric
lines as for its acrobatics. The lighting, music and costumes play an
integral part in all the performances.
As with any theatrical production, each act builds upon the last, so
the caution is issued to be seated early. The opening is integral to
following the rest of the performance, Barette said.
"The fairies come in and choose who will perform," he said, once again
outlining the plot. "It's like a circus touring without all its
performers. Then the magic gets in and changes a lot of expectations."
* * *
CIRCUS A CURIOUS BLEND OF ACROBATICS AND ACTING
By: Pat Curry | Sun-Sentinel
April 15, 1989
The Cirque du Soleil, Canada's avant-garde theatrical circus, is
everything you would never expect in a circus.
There are some familiar elements -- a juggler, a tightrope artist, a
trapeze act and teeterboard tumblers. But this is intimate,
sophisticated and captivating theater, as much for its mood as its
technical skill.
The performance opens with a magical tale of ordinary people
transformed into circus performers by playful sprites.
Under a big top with only nine rows to the back of the tent, the
troupe must indeed act as well as perform their routines. Facial
expressions and movement are crucial to conveying the mood of each
segment.
This is a circus where the audience is so close to the performers,
there's no need for the typically extreme makeup. You can see their
faces, their concentration, and the smile breaking through after a
well-executed move.
Aside from a case of opening-night jitters that came through in a few
mistakes, the cast performed stunningly. A do-or-die attitude to keep
trying until a move went off right kept the audience cheering during
the kickoff to the 1989 U.S. tour.
The beginning of the transformation takes place in a chair-balancing
act that is enthralling for its execution and its display.
The first marvel of the evening is juggler and contortionist Frederic
Zipperlin, who emerges from what looks like a giant cellophane ball to
perform an act that combines dance, juggling, acrobatics and
balancing, set to a jazzy beat.
The music, all original, is perhaps as exciting as the performers, and
certainly as integral in moving from comedy to sensuality to haunting
drama. What other circus sells its sound tracks at the souvenir stand?
The audience took in stride an opening half-hour delay, thanks in part
to the circus's two clowns, Benny Le Grand and Balthazar. The 1/2-hour
show is fast-paced and well-choreographed, although some routines
between ringmaster James Keylon and the clowns tend to run a bit
longer than the laughs.
Additions to the show this year include the acrobatics of the Shandong
Troupe of China, a talented and winsome teen-age quartet. The trapeze
act also features an unusual configuration, with two stationary
catchers.
The performance concludes with a bicycle-balancing act and the
astounding skill of Angelo Ballan as a solo bicyclist.
Although Balthazar uses a dust mop for a rather admirable imitation of
a lion, don't look for any animals at this circus. But you won't miss
them, either.
* * *
MAGIC AT THE CIRCUS
By: Sid Smith | Chicago Tribune
May 7, 1989
Benny "Le Grand," a.k.a. Wayne Hronek, a clown and ex-cowboy whose
gypsy, Czech-born grandparents traveled by covered wagon to stake a
Canadian homestead, is unofficial Cirque du Soleil historian:
"I'm an old street performer and so is our founder, Guy Laliberté," Le
Grand says. "Quite a few of us started out that way, you know,
surviving on Kraft dinners and passing the hat. There was a festival
of street performers held every year outside Quebec, in a small place
called Baie St. Paul, quiet, rustic, and a Woodstocky kind of area.
"For one week, hundreds of performers would show up to party, conduct
workshops and put on their acts for tourists, sort of like a
renaissance fair," he adds. "Guy wasn't the owner, but he was the idea
man behind it, and someone eventually said to him, 'Why don't you take
the festival of street performers on the road?' "
Cirque du Soleil ("Circus of the Sun") has since become almost as
cherished a Canadian emblem as the maple leaf. "We reinvent the
circus," boasts the ads, and no one who has seen them would argue the
point. Everywhere they play, they cause at least a minor sensation,
beginning with the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival in Los Angeles, where
they arrived in November hoping to last until Christmas.
They didn't leave until April. ("The Californians really did go crazy
for us," says one of the Montreal-based Cirque's many French-Canadian
workers. "We're very young-the average age of the performers is 22-but
also I think they liked that we're so French. They love to pepper
their conversation with French phrases in California, you know.")
Perhaps, too, the much-maligned Californians know circus ingenuity
when they see it. The Cirque allows no spangles, no stardust and no
Las Vegas costumes. Much of the clothing is sporty, rainbow-colored,
new wave-ish attire, and some of it is even artier, suggesting genies
from a bottle or, in one acrobatic act, human penguins in derbies and
tuxedoes. The lighting isn't garish spotlights, but soft, pink-and-
green theatrical shades, bolstered by such cadgy effects as billows
from a fog machine and one entire sequence lit only by flashlight.
There's no piped-in calliope or organ music either-melodies come from
a live, five-piece rock band.
And the only animals allowed are the trickiest of the litter-the human
ones. Is this, many have asked, really a circus?
Chicagoans can answer for themselves beginning May 18, when the Cirque
opens a 10-day visit to our shores. The shores in this case are
literal. As elsewhere, the Cirque sets up its own big top (an air-
conditioned, blue-and-tan tent) in an otherwise unused area of town,
in this case, a bare plot just west of Lake Michigan, south of the new
North Pier Terminal mall.
Those who go will see plenty of traditional circus fare: trapeze acts,
clowns, teeterboard tumblers, jugglers, tightrope walkers and
handstanding acrobats. But they'll also go on a storytelling journey
more typical of the stage than the circus tent. The show actually
begins in the audience, where a dozen or so performers, clad in an
assortment of street clothes, hide quietly, masquerading as
ticketholders.
The performance begins as they are then "selected," one by one, with a
great deal of fanfare, to come into the ring and put on a little show.
They make up a Capra-esque everyman's village: A slouch-shouldered and
bespectacled businessman, a prim schoolteacher, a little girl, a
teenager in jersey and baseball cap.
Timidly, they perform a few pathetic tricks, showing off a couple of
dance steps or maneuvering a simple handstand. Suddenly, amidst an
explosion of light and smoke, an acrobat in turban and exotic golden
costuming comes sailing out over the heads of these dowdy villagers.
All are transformed (the bedraggled businessman becomes ringmaster in
top hat and tails), and the Cirque is operating full force. Except
that the metaphor of fantasy-invented- before-our-eyes never
completely goes away.
The Cirque is not just a cavalcade of impressive acts; it's also an
ever- changing salute to the imaginary, woven in a spell with an
ending as pointed and moving as a concoction from Italian filmmaker
Federico Fellini. Eventually, the "amateur" players return to the
audience, transformed, on some level, forever. The idea, in part, is
to transform us with them.
"Everyone has imagination, and the idea is that yours can take you as
far as you want," says Giles Ste. Croix, the Cirque's artistic
director. "In the end, when the ringmaster is returned to his street
clothes, he's left with his briefcase and his ringmaster hat. He
throws away the case and keeps the hat. What we're saying to the
audience is, 'Here is our show of magic and fantasy. Now, take it and
use it however you want in your own life. But use it.' "
The nifty frame wasn't always a part of the Cirque. As recently as
1986, it was only in vague outline-figures in trench coats coming into
the ring and suddenly donning red noses. "Now, to put them in the
audience, it means we can't quite sell all the available tickets, and
I get hell for that," admits Ste. Croix. "But it's part of what Le
Cirque has been about from the beginning. At first, we were much more
like a traditional circus, but much of that didn't fit us. Circuses
are part of a tradition, passed from family to family. But we didn't
have that tradition. We had to make it up. A lot of us came from the
theater, so the theatrical elements were a natural place for us to
turn to create our own tradition.
"That's what it all stems from, really," he continues. "So much circus
tradition is American, but we're not American. We're from Quebec.
Everything had to be communicated through our presentation. That's why
it's more like a rock and roll show, with the lighting and music.
That's why, when you first walk into the tent, there's almost a
feeling of entering Ali Baba's cave.
"We can't compete acrobatically with the Russian teeterboard
performers, but we go much farther in the way we present ours."
Indeed, there are any number of individual "acts" of the Cirque,
which, one by one, dazzle the audiences who see them. There's
Pasqualina, the French beauty and tightrope walker, whose skill
includes walking the wire en pointe, in toe shoes; a quintet of
dazzling trapeze artists; Mariela Spasova and Maia Taskova, two
champion Bulgarian gymnasts, whose calisthenics go on as part of a
dance with swirling streamers; and 13-year-old Hou Li, one of the
troupe's Chinese "rola bola" performers, who stands on a contraption
atop a pair of shoulders, steadies himself on a board that balances on
a cylinder, and, one by one, flips a half-dozen china bowls from one
side of this footboard up through the air until they pile, one by one,
on top of his head. ("The Chinese just joined the troupe this year,"
explains Ste. Croix, "and, frankly, the first time we all sat and
watched the act, we were speechless. We couldn't believe it.")
And yet, what distinguishes the Cirque is the way the acts all blend
together, and the many individuals submerge themselves, as in a
theatrical play, into a well-knit ensemble. At any given point, one
can see these "stars" disguised in the Cirque's red workman gear,
setting up for the next act. Everybody takes turns helping out, and
then towards the end, the performers join in multiple acts.
The finale, headlined by the ongoing acrobatic team who make up so
much of the performance, is a bicycle extravaganza, topped when a
single cyclist circles the ring carrying 12 fellow acrobats on his
head, shoulders and anywhere else they can cling. This lone, barely
visible acrobat, somewhat remarkably, and almost anonymously, brings
the show to a finish by shouldering some 1,200 human pounds-in itself
an act of support that mirrors the mechanics and spirit of the Cirque.
"That's the challenge in choosing our performers," says Ste. Croix.
"Nobody's a star. Even a solo actor, like Pasqualina, has to help set
up the trapeze net, serve as stand-in for the bicycle act and take
part in the finale. They have to be open to the idea of
participation."
And to flexibility, to a willingness to learn new skills and take on
new roles, he adds. That accounts in part for the troupe's youth.
Twenty-year-old Stephane Drouard came on board because of his trapeze
background. Now, he's also the turban-clad spirit who flies out over
the heads of the first players to start the show. ("He's unique among
trapeze artists in that he always knows where he is in the air," says
Ste. Croix. "That particular maneuver requires that, because when he
comes leaping out, the floor of the tent is covered with smoke. Few
acrobats can manage that kind of leap not knowing where the floor
actually is.")
But that flexibility is key to some of the older talents as well.
Benny Le Grand, twice the age of many of the performers, stays with
the Cirque for that laissez-faire variability. "I'm like my own
artistic director," he says. "We're building different clown acts all
the time. They'll be different by the time we get to Chicago. You have
that kind of freedom. And naïveté. The youthfulness of it all is
catching."
In North Miami, where the Cirque recently launched its 10-city U. S.
tour, half of its 30 performers brand new to the organization, Le
Grand was strolling along the beach one day and spied one of the
area's telltale, fringed tourist carts, for golfing and beachcombing.
He instantly put it into the act: At one point, during a dispute with
the ringmaster, he takes an audience member backstage and they return
in the cart, Le Grand acting as enthusiastic tour guide.
("In Chicago, it'll be something entirely different," Le Grand says.
"Maybe motorcycles, or even a pizza wagon.")
While on tour, the circus is a traveling community as well as a cast
of players. The 30 performers, 5 musicians and 55 support personnel
eat their meals together at a special tent set up on the circus site
wherever they travel. But they spend plenty of time in their host
community, too, and they make their presence felt.
Along one section of beach in Miami, for instance, two of the acrobats
worked out a deal with a local "jet-ski" operator, doing cartwheels
and other stunts to lure customers in return for free rides. And one
night a bunch of tumblers went to one of the area's more exclusive
restaurants, ordered a fancy meal and then sat back to wait for its
arrival.
Next time, the waiters may try to serve them a little more quickly.
When the servers arrived with the meal, their young customers were
still at the table.
But, much to the astonishment of the rest of the clientele, they were
all standing on their hands.
* * *
OUUUUIIIIIII! THE THRILLS KEEP COMING UNDER CIRQUE'S MAGICAL BIG TOP
By: Richard Christiansen | Chicago Tribune
May 20, 1989
In all the world, there cannot be anything quite as joyous or
enchanting as the Cirque du Soleil, which opened in Chicago Thursday
night in an absolute blizzard of delight.
Cirque du Soleil, which means Circus of the Sun, is a show that comes
to us from its home in Montreal. But do not worry about any of that.
For what this show really is, is heaven-sent magic: the magic that
great theater offers when it takes us from our ungainly world into a
heightened, poetic universe in which grace, beauty and amazing power
become delightfully, deliriously possible for humans even such as we.
For starters, the Cirque is a terrific circus; filled with
unbelievable feats of juggling, balancing, bicycling, tightrope
walking, teeter board bouncing and trapeze swinging. And the clowns,
only two of them, are wonderful, their slapstick as inventive as the
miraculous acts they precede.
(There are no animals in this youthful, spanking fresh one-ring
circus, but the clowns, in a hilarious bit of audience participation,
take care of that, too.)
What elevates the Cirque into sublimity, however, is the ingenious way
in which it metaphorically but also literally takes us out of
ourselves and transports us into a glorious orbit of colored lights,
brilliant costumes and enrapturing sound.
And then, when it's all over, and the final, incredible parade of
extravagant beauty has climaxed, the show gently and joyously returns
us to Earth, leaving us breathless and ecstatic with pleasure. (On a
lovely evening, such as Thursday, coming out of the Cirque's big
striped tent set up at Cityfront Center and into the sparkling skyline
of Chicago's lakefront is an added bit of bewitchment.)
Tremendously sophisticated contemporary stage design has been used to
create this magical illusion. Rock concert lighting, elaborate special
effects, elegant choreography and a never-ending stream of new wave
electronic music provided by a five-man band bring all the elements
together and create a seamless wave of delight.
There are times when the balletic juggler drops a ball or a muscled
trapeze artist misses a hairsbreadth handover; and, in perhaps the
most spectacular act of all, it takes the youngster-who is balancing
himself on a rola bola board perched on a table balanced on the
shoulders of another acrobat who is balancing two young girls and
himself on a rola bola placed on top of another table-a couple of
tries to flip the fifth bowl into the four other bowls already
balanced on his head.
But these imperfections must surely be there to assure us that the
show's 30 young wonders, whom we might otherwise mistake as heavenly
beings, are human after all.
They're glorious. Go see them. You'll have the time of your life.
* * *
THE HIPPEST SHOW ON EARTH
By: Albert Williams | Chicago Reader
May 25, 1989
"I've only been with this company for four months," says Balthazar,
the clown whose animalistic antics highlight the Cirque du Soleil.
"But I've been part of its spirit since the beginning."
The Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil proclaims itself a "hip, new wave
theatrical circus" dedicated to reinventing the ancient form. Founded
in 1984 to help celebrate the 450th birthday of the Canadian province
of Quebec, it sought to combine the stylishness and intimacy of the
European circus with a jazzy festiveness North Americans would enjoy.
One of the company's guiding spirits since the beginning has been Guy
Caron, who four years earlier had founded the National Circus School
in Montreal. Balthazar credits Caron with introducing him to the
circus as a profession.
"Twelve years ago, I was in college in Riviere du Loup, Quebec,
studying to be a cultural organizer," Balthazar recalls. "I happened
to see a group of clowns. One of them was Guy Caron. I really enjoyed
what I saw, and I decided to try and do the same." Over the next few
years, developed his style through street clowning and working private
parties. Now, at 34, he says, "I'm known as an independent clown--I
can work on my own or with a team." When the Cirque du Soleil was
putting together its 1989 international tour, Balthazar was available.
"I've been on the road for four months," he says, "and I don't expect
to get home till 1990."
A native of Quebec, Balthazar is one of 30 stage performers the Cirque
du Soleil has brought with it to Chicago. He and Benny le Grand are
the troupe's two clowns, but they don't usually perform as a team. Le
Grand, outfitted with an Albert Einstein wig and mustache, specializes
in droll, deadpan slapstick interplay with ringmaster James Keylon.
Balthazar, dark haired and clean shaven, is prone to pantomimes. In
one, he imitates a fly trapped in a spider's web. At a recent show, I
happened to be chosen out of the audience to play a lion to
Balthazar's lion tamer. Balthazar waved me into the ring with a
gentlemanly gesture and a polite but insistent gaze, outfitted me with
a lion's mane (a dust mop with the center cut out), and put me through
my paces. Each time I obeyed--sitting on a tiny stool, opening my
mouth and letting him put his head in it--he adopted a bravura pose to
the audience's laughter and applause, and then rewarded me with a
lollipop. When he brought out a flaming metal hoop and encouraged me
to jump through it, though, I handed him back his lollipops.
"Each time it's different," Balthazar says later of the lion-tamer
bit. "I try more and more to put the rhythm of the piece into the
hands of the partner. Some circuses make you do a set routine; here
I've been hired for myself, and the act is my own."
There are no real lions in the Cirque du Soleil, no tigers jumping
about the stage in response to the crack of a whip, no elephants
standing on their hind legs begging for peanuts. This is circus for
the animal-rights era--and for the music-video age,each act is
performed to a live jazz-rock score, with plenty of rock-and-roll
lighting, stage fog, and trippy special effects to add dazzle to
generally standard displays of physical prowess. The colorful
costumes, blending contemporary chic with Renaissance commedia
dell'arte styles, add an extra element of bold whimsy.
The young company--most of the performers are in their teens or early
20s, and several are current or former students at the National Circus
School--delights the all-ages audience with aerial acrobatics, seesaw
jumping, a hand-balancing pas de deux performed by Eric Varelas and
Amelie Demay (two of the troupe's most accomplished athletes), a
tightrope ballet, a chair-balancing display, and "Rola Bola," a
routine in which the Shandong Troupe of China--two boys and two girls
ranging from 13 to 15 years old--balance on boards placed over rolling
cylinders and catch bowls on their heads.
The athletes give the show its excitement; yet, as with all circuses,
it's the clowns that win the heart.
* * *
ALL THE WORLD LOVES A CLOWN
By: Lawrence Bommer | Chicago Tribune
May 26, 1989
Benny Le Grand is one clown who loves to mock his work. At the end of
each night's performance with the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil, now
playing across from the North Pier Terminal, Benny gleefully tells the
crowd they would have been better off if they'd spent the evening with
a six-pack sitting in front of a television set. He even urges them to
ask for their money back. But you can't fool a circus crowd. Despite
his self-effacement, Le Grand- his name especially chosen for its
fulsome grandiosity-knows how to keep folks coming back for more. For
one thing, he changes his act to suit each city the Cirque plays-and
also varies it from night to night depending on the mood of the fans.
Le Grand: "For Chicago, I'm going to make it a little rougher than
usual. Chicago audiences seem pretty awake to me and they can take it."
The "it" is Le Grand's constant sparring, not just with the audience,
but with ringmaster-mime Alfredo Di Carbonaro. Di Carbonaro, it seems,
is what's called in the trade a "white" clown, a sort of straight man
who becomes the butt of ridicule for the Cirque's two wild and crazy
"red" clowns, Le Grand and Balthazar, the other master of mayhem.
Le Grand: "I keep letting the ringmaster know he's boring, unfunny and
without any talent"-which, of course, sets up an ongoing feud full of
pratfalls and slapstick. Le Grand is also one of that rare breed, a
theatrical clown who stays in character and deepens his personality as
the show goes on. "Benny's a klutzy guy who keeps trying to get to the
top but never quite makes it," he says.
Now appearing in what's billed as Benny's "9th Farewell World Tour"
with the Cirque, Benny is so combustible the Cirque playfully issues a
disclaimer: "The Management does not endorse any actions perpetrated
by Benny Le Grand in the Ring or in the stands, and respectfully
apologizes for said actions in advance." Don't say you weren't warned.
* * *
CIRQUE RISES OVER LA AGAIN
By: Misha Berson | LA Times
September 21, 1989
The first time Cirque du Soleil pitched its sky-blue-and-goldenrod-
yellow big top on California soil, it was in Little Tokyo. The year
was 1987; the targeted occasion, opening night of the Los Angeles
Festival. According to Cirque founder-director Guy Laliberté, the
entire future of the Montreal-based troupe was riding on that single
show.
"If the critics didn't like us, we wouldn't have had the money to put
gas in the trucks and get home," said Laliberté recently in San
Francisco, where Cirque was playing to 98% capacity houses. "We were
gambling our whole circus on a one-night deal."
That gamble paid off handsomely. Reviewers loved Cirque du Soleil's
youthful one-ring extravaganza, a glossy animal-free mélange of high-
wire and teeterboard stunts, rambunctious clowning and thrilling
acrobatics, all wrapped up in fanciful costumes and choreographed to a
synthesized rock beat. Audiences loved it too, packing the 1,756-seat
tent nightly. The circus wound up with plenty of gas money for the
ride home to Canada. And they had no trouble returning in 1988, this
time to perform at the Santa Monica Municipal Pier on the first leg of
a triumphant six-city U.S. tour.
Cirque du Soleil is back at the same spot offering another lively
demonstration of the uses of enchantment through Oct. 15. Or, as its
distinctive print ads would have it, "la magie continue. . . ."
But stage magic alone can't account for the wildfire success of this
young circus troupe. In just five years of operation, Soleil has
blossomed from a small upstart circus into a major North American
touring attraction. It now has 150 employees, a budget in excess of
$10 million, an annual audience of more than 500,000, and a mystique
that just won't quit.
"We're successful because we're different," said Laliberté. "We came
from the street as a bunch of 23-, 24-year-old kids. I think we're
changing the whole image of circus. Coming to Cirque du Soleil is like
going to make a picnic."
Cirque du Soleil's popularity, and its special brand of polished
whimsy, have a lot to do with Laliberté's exuberant stewardship. A
former stilt-walker and fire-eater, the blond, puckish 30-year-old
combines a street artist's freewheeling spirit with a sharp instinct
for business.
Speaking in English flavored by a French-Canadian accent, Laliberté
described himself as "a great conceptor. Cirque du Soleil to me is a
show inside a concept."
That concept was born in 1984 as an outgrowth of a street artist's
festival Laliberté produced in the tiny town of Baie St. Paul, Quebec.
On the strength of the festival, the Canadian government agreed to
subsidize Cirque du Soleil's first season. Initially, the group toured
only in Canada, but the United States was much on their minds.
"We already knew we were condemned if we didn't have something for
export," said Laliberté. "A circus can't perform in Canada more than
three, four months a year because of the bad weather. We had to have a
big U.S. market to survive."
In 1985, the group moved a step closer to that goal when Laliberté
came home from a trip to Italy with a spacious new big top. "Everybody
thought I was crazy because we had no money," he said. "I was buying
$400,000 worth of equipment with only $10,000 in my pocket. Then I had
to go out and (find) $2 million to make the season happen."
While Laliberté was out wooing and winning support from Canadian
airlines and other corporate sponsors, the group's artistic staff
perfected a performing style. A marvel of slickness and spontaneity,
Cirque du Soleil blends some of the flash of commercial circuses with
some of the intimacy of one-ring outfits like Circus Oz and the Pickle
Family Circus.
"We had no tradition of circus in Canada, so we were free to do
something new," noted Gilles Ste. Croix, an early Cirque performer and
its present artistic director. "We are really theater people so we
used a lot of references to theater and dance. And we've always been
very careful about our visual aesthetic.
"We are trying to say that through the powers of imagination anyone
can be creative," said Ste. Croix. "Our motto has always been, 'Free
the imagination.' "
The troupe's current edition boasts all new acts and a more
lighthearted, comic flavor than the 1988 edition. Ste. Croix also
points out that last year's entry "was what we call fleur bleue --soft
edges, romance, and characters acting like poupees, little dolls. Now
we have characters more like humans, and the design is more hard-edged
and geometric."
The cast of 35, drawn in part from the company-run National Circus
School, contains familiar and unfamiliar faces. Benny LeGrand, a
splay-haired, mischief-making clown, is back for his fifth consecutive
year. The sexy acrobatic team of Eric Varelas and Amelie Denay has
returned for its second season. Among the newcomers, the Shandong
Troupe of China stands out. This remarkable group of teen-age
balancers defies gravity on the "rola bola" board. Another more
orthodox edition is the graceful gymnastic dance routine by Maia
Taskova and Mariela Spasova, a pair of champion athletes from
Bulgaria.
As Cirque du Soleil embarks on its sixth season, Guy Laliberté talks
enthusiastically about "diversifying." Tours to Japan and Europe are
on the horizon. An entirely new show with a new theme is in the works.
When it's ready, Soleil will have two troupes on the road, Ringling
Bros.-style. The organization is also managing a growing number of
offshoot enterprises: a circus school, a film and video outfit,
several ticket outlets, and a merchandising unit.
Though he refers fondly to Soleil's street-artist past, Laliberté
acknowledges that he is running an entertainment corporation now: "For
the first five years it was a family trip. Now it's become a business.
But a goal and a big step is keeping the family spirit in the
business. In the next five years we'll see just how much we can do
with our success, financially and in the integrity of our performing.
We want to go as far as we can and still keep the soul of Cirque du
Soleil alive."
* * *
LE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL SHINING LESS BRIGHTLY
By: Sylvie Drake | LA Times
September 22, 1989
Has success spoiled Le Cirque? Well, of course not, Jean-Claude.
Spoiled isn't the word for this French Canadian company of upscale
mountebanks who only last Sunday won, of all things, an Emmy (in a
four-way tie for Outstanding Special Event).
Why, the mere sight of Le Cirque du Soleil's encampment as you
approach Santa Monica Pier is a boon for smog-sore eyes. There's still
nothing under the soleil quite as enchanting as that sparkling blue
and gold tent on the beach and the palpable excitement that surrounds
this magical enterprise.
But an enterprise is what it has become much more in the brief span of
two years.
And the changes are subtle.
Le Cirque's founder, Guy Laliberté, for instance, is now listed as
president and CEO of Les Productions du Cirque du Soleil Inc. An
overlong preamble to the start of the show included a welcoming
address by Laliberté that belonged in the boardroom. Saperlipopette,
owners of the Loews Hotels, a Cirque sponsor, were even introduced!
The faintly acrid smell of all that billowing dry ice--a Cirque
staple--has become laced with a soupcon of corporate je ne sais quoi.
Aside from Le Cirque's splendid redefinition of the very idea of
circus (one ring, excellence and only human animals), marketing
shrewdness and general acumen have distinguished this Quebecois
company since it took local audiences by surprise as the spectacular
opening act of the Los Angeles Festival in 1987.
And a lot has happened since, most of it very good for Le Cirque. But
how good is good? The show Wednesday was heavy on clowning and short
one of its key first-act attractions: the Shandong Acrobatic Troupe of
the People's Republic of China. Red tape, not politics, has allegedly
delayed the troupe in China, according to a Cirque spokesman.
Amazingly--and unforgivably-- no announcement was made about it to the
audience.
A lot of slapstick comedy was offered as a substitute, between ring
master James Keylon (new) and Le Cirque's resident clown Benny Le
Grand, master of the active garden hose (a return engagement of
dubious hilarity).
It didn't quite cut the moutarde, in spite of Le Grand's soaking and
smearing of one patron and his ruining of another's necktie.
(Are we having fun yet? . . .)
Le Cirque's real strengths lie elsewhere: in the superiority of their
specialty acts (the superb young jugglers, gymnasts, cyclists, trapeze
artists, aerialists and contortionists) and Le Cirque's exceptional,
extraterrestrial special effects; the resplendent, rainbow-hued
costuming by Michel Crete and Dominique Lemieux; the fantasy lighting
by Luc Lafortune, and Rene Dupere's striking original music, under the
adroit musical direction of Benoit Jutras.
While the second half of the evening was considerably livelier than
the first, there were still not as many breathtaking acts as one
remembered from past incarnations. True, the French trapezistes are
terrific (despite a couple of well-recovered fumbles), but no better
than the trapezistes of 1987. Bulgarian acrobatic dancers Maia Taskova
and Mariela Spasova do nice things with streamers and hoops and balls,
and Frederic Zipperlin's contortionist juggling (with spheres of all
sizes) is admirable, but not nearly as amazing as the contortions of
Angela Laurier in Le Cirque's 1988 visit. These new acts' overall
level of competence appears down a notch from the company's formerly
uncontested A+ level.
All in all, it is the older routines that continue to dazzle most:
gymnasts Eric Varelas and Amelie Demay; the daredevil cyclists, the
balancing chairs, the teeterboard act of the "businessmen penguins."
The fruit of too much success? Perhaps. Or is it simply that when
Gilles Ste. Croix replaced Guy Caron as artistic director the
sensibilities changed? That's more likely. But it's all remediable,
and the arrival of the Shandong Acrobats on Tuesday will probably do
much to relieve this malaise.
Le Cirque is still a remarkable entertainment. It's just that we all
know by now how remarkable it can be and won't settle for less. So cut
the comedy and get on with the acts, because this time you walk out
humming the scenery, lights and, naturellement, the music.
Good but not good enough.
# # #
That's all for in this issue, but there's plenty more to come!
o) Issue #163, AUG 2017 - Nouvelle Expérience, Part 1 (1990)
o) Issue #164, SEP 2017 - Nouvelle Expérience, Part 2 (1991)
o) Issue #165, OCT 2017 - Saltimbanco, Part 1 (1992)
o) Issue #166, NOV 2017 - Saltimbanco, Part 2 (1993)
o) Issue #167, DEC 2017 - Alegría, Part 1 (1994)
o) Issue #168, JAN 2018 - Alegría, Part 2 (1995)
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
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Fascination! Newsletter
Volume 17, Number 7 (Issue #162) - July 2017
"Fascination! Newsletter" is a concept by Ricky Russo. Copyright (C)
2001-2017 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.
{ Jul.08.2017 }
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