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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 12 December 2017 ISSUE #167
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Welcome to the latest edition of Fascination, the Unofficial Cirque
du Soleil Newsletter.
As always, there's a lot to discuss... but before we get started,
congratulations are in order for the cast and crew of JOYA, who
celebrated reaching their 1,000th performance on November 30th! A
special 9:15pm dinner and 10:15pm show marked the occasion. Earlier
in the month, on November 9th, LUZIA also had reason to celebrate:
the Waking Dream of Mexico celebrated its 600th performance - right
here in Atlanta! (Unfortunately, though, I couldn't attend.) In
any case, congrats! Unfortunately, though, we do have to say good-
bye to two fan favorites: Varekai (on December 23rd) and La Nouba
(on December 31st). Thanks to everyone - cast and crew alike - who
have labored (with love) to produce these shows for us. You, like
the shows themselves, will be missed.
* * * CIRQUE DU SOLEIL REBRANDS - NEW LOGOS! * * *
Perhaps one of the biggest bombshells to hit the fan community this
month was the update Cirque du Soleil gave its logo. In a video
posted across its social media footprint, Cirque du Soleil shocked
the fan community with a re-branding effort that would, in their
words, "take the company into the future of entertainment."
The sun is shining even brighter for Cirque du Soleil as we
introduce two new logos that embrace and respect our heritage
at the same time as evolving with us: a logo for the Cirque du
Soleil Entertainment Group and one for our circus arts brand.
Follow the inspiration and evolution of these distinct visions
of our iconic #CirqueduSoleil sun.
VIDEO /// < https://youtu.be/CO-N7j7zfU4 >
Our world is evolving... ever expanding / Times change and we
reinvent ourselves everyday / Staying true to our core, our
essence / Building on our heritage / But now simplifying,
refining, and improving / To move forward / This is our core /
A new interpretation of the sun / A symbol of life, energy,
fun, and folly / One that defies conformity / And shines a
light on worlds of / infinite possibilities / A new icon /
One that travels much further / Crossing all barriers /
This is the heart of Cirque du Soleil.
See the new logos < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=11056 >
and read more about this rebranding within. Meanwhile...
* * * BIG TOP 2018?! * * *
Here's a bit of something else that caught us all by surprise - it
appears Cirque is prepping a new big top show for 2018! The news is
surprising because, to be honest, the last we'd heard, the Cirque
was taking a year off and would produce their next big top touring
show in 2019... why there's been a change of heart we're not at
liberty to say, however, the recent job postings have some insights
into what Cirque expects from this tour: "Touring in unexplored
markets: be the first Production Manager to set up the Big Top in
countries and towns where no other Cirque show has gone before; Be
the first Company Manager to lead a team eager to put on shows in
markets Cirque has yet to explore!" Past rumors suggested that Cirque
du Soleil wanted to break into the Chinese market with a market-only
touring show... could this be that show? Time will tell. In the
meantime, this will be The Cirque's first new back-to-back-to-back
big top production since early days. And what of 2019? Oh, stay
tuned!
* * * "O" AT BELLAGIO, FILMED * * *
Sit down for this one folks, you might need a chair! Reports began
circulating last month that video cameras were seen filming "O",
Cirque du Soleil's aquatic show at Bellagio, over a few nights
at the end of October (much to the chagrin of some of the patrons).
We know that Cirque du Soleil does film its shows for posterity, and
for archival purposes (such as La Nouba, or Viva Elvis, or Zarkana
at the Kremlin). Sometimes these recordings are packaged and given
to the artists (like ZAIA, ZED, Zarkana's Final Show in Las Vegas,
and IRIS). But what makes this news exciting is the fact that these
cameras had the logo of a European media company, and 'lo and
behold, ARTE - the French/German TV channel will be broadcasting
the show on Wednesday, December 27 at 8:15pm local time. (ARTE, you
may recall, was responsible for broadcasting KA back in 2007, and
an edited version of Amaluna in 2012). To say we're excited here
at Fascination would be an understatement! We can't wait to see it!
Check out of the following link for more: https://goo.gl/2yJCqG).
* * * CORTEO IS BACK! * * *
It's been a long time coming - first announced way back on July 21,
2016 (http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=8756) - but it's now
official: CORTEO makes its arena premiere on Friday, March 2, 2018!
(You can thank CRYSTAL for the delay...)
Corteo first premiered in Montreal in 2005 and has visited more than
60 cities in 19 different countries as a Big Top show before trans-
forming into an arena show, enthralling more than 8 million people.
In the remount process (which you can thank CRYSTAL for the delay),
a completely new stage and acrobatic structure have been fabricated.
A good portion of the original design had to be adapted, with only
a small adaptation to the original storyline...
"Get Carried Away With Life"... The clown Mauro has passed, but
his spirit is still with us. Instead of mourning, the funeral
cortege celebrates the here and hereafter with laughter and
exuberance. Rich, extravagant memories frolic with the senses.
The sound of laughter peals around the stage, visions of joyous
tumblers and players fascinate the eyes. Regret and melancholy
retreat in the face of a cavalcade of lively recollections of a
life gloriously lived. A festive parade that entertains; the
perfect accolade for an artist whose life was dedicated to
revelry and making merry.
And some new acts!
Hula-Hoop -- At the height of a frenzied moment, a gypsy performer
emerges, causing everyone to stop. Using her entire body and all
her limbs, she dazzles them with her ability to spin and twirl a
multitude of hoops. [This act will replace the Duo Adagio,
according to the Press Kit.]
Suspended Pole -- Accompanied by the distant sounds of guitar and
impassioned vocals, a young ingénue discovers the sheer pleasure
of exploring movement and contortion-like shapes while flying
above the ground on a suspended pole. [This act replaces the
Tightwire act, again according to the Press Kit.]
Check out our online post for an image of the show's new poster:
< http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=11042 > and our ITINERAIRE
section for the show's current tour stops.
* * * LUNA PETUNIA: SEASON THREE * * *
For those of you who have little ones (or just happen to like Luna
Petunia), the third season of SABAN and Cirque du Soleil Media's
animated show began airing on NETFLIX Friday, November 17th. The
new episodes are:
1. "A Big Stretch / Learning to Fly"
After Sammy gets all stretched out, the friends help him
accept his new shape. The gang pitches in to teach an
embarrassed baby bat how to fly.
2. "Lil' Rooey / How Does Your Garden Grow"
When a distracted Karoo loses Lil' Rooey in a maze, the
gang rushes to find him. The friends face a tough decision
after a thief raids their garden.
3. "Super Gloop / Perfect Toy"
After getting Donnie's super-strength gloop on him, Karoo
must learn to be gentle. Karoo needs his pals' help after
breaking Lil' Rooey's special toy.
4. "Luna Day / The Big Sleep"
Luna's pals panic when their big Luna Day party plans hit
some snags. The gang climbs high to see a late-night mega
meteor, but Karoo falls asleep.
5. "Plant Power / Caterball"
Luna plucks a rare flower without asking, causing an uproar
in the Jelly Jungle. Luna struggles to learn caterball, but
her pals jump in to help.
6. "Treasure of Amazia"
Luna and the gang go on a quest to find the Lost Treasure
of Amazia, following clues and solving puzzles to unravel
a mystery and make a new friend.
And according to KidScreen - the leading international trade publi-
cation serving the informational needs and interests of kids
entertainment professionals - NETFLIX has ordered a fourth season
of Luna Petunia. The upcoming season, which will feature new
characters and a new land, is set to launch in early 2018. WOWZA!
* * * MSC CRUISES NAMES 3RD MERAVIGLIA-CLASS SHIP * * *
MSC Cruises celebrated construction milestones for two of their ships
on November 15th at the STX France shipyard. The traditional coin
ceremony was held for MSC Bellissima, as well as the cutting of the
first steel for the first Meraviglia-Plus class ship. As part of the
steel-cutting ceremony, the name of the Meraviglia-Plus ship was
revealed: MSC GRANDIOSA. The second part of the festivities was the
coin ceremony for BELLISSIMA, where two commemorative coins were
placed into one of the ships blocks as a sign of blessing and good
fortune for the ship, her crew, and guests. The two mega ships are due
to enter into service in March 2019 and November 2019. The Meraviglia-
Plus ships are a further evolution of the Meraviglia design, which
includes both MSC MERAVIGLIA that launched in June 2017, as well as
BELLISSIMA. They are 181,000 gross tons and can hold a whopping
maximum capacity of 6,334 guests. The plus class ships will feature
the first fine art museum at sea, with a collection of both classic
and contemporary art. Another highlight aboard both ships will be
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL AT SEA. The longterm partnership between MSC and
Cirque du Soleil will see the worlds leader in artistic entertainment
create a total of eight original shows just for MSC Cruises
Meraviglia and Meraviglia-Plus ships. Each of the four vessels will
feature two contrasting shows two of which (Viaggio and Sonor) have
already debuted aboard MSC Meraviglia earlier this year. Learn a bit
more about Viaggio and Sonor in our news section below.
* * * IN THE ISSUE * * *
Although the NFL Experience opened for previews during the month of
November before it's grand premire on December 1st, CRYSTAL is
still the talk of the press. So you'll find most of the CRYSTAL-
related posts this month under the banner "SPECTACLE - CRYSTAL IN
THE PRESS" again this month. And for those who are interested in the
NFL EXPERIENCE, check out their collected articles under the BEYOND
THE BIGTOP banner in our news section as well. We continue our look
back at classic show critiques with 1994's reviews of Alegria, and
conclude our three-part series on JOYA, by hearing from some of the
show's creators and artists. And plenty more!
Okay, so let's go!
/----------------------------------------------------\
| |
| Join us on the web at: |
| < www.cirquefascination.com > |
| |
| At CirqueCast: |
| < http://www.cirquecast.com/ > |
| |
| Realy Simple Syndication (RSS) Feed (News Only): |
| < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?feed=rss2 > |
| |
\----------------------------------------------------/
- Ricky "Richasi" Russo
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CONTENTS
===========
o) Cirque Buzz -- News, Rumours & Sightings
* La Presse -- General News & Highlights
* Q&A - Quick Chats & Press Interviews
* Spectacle -- CRYSTAL in the Presse
* Beyond the Bigtop -- NFL EXPERINCE in the Presse
o) Itinéraire -- Tour/Show Information
* BigTop Shows -- Under the Grand Chapiteau
* Arena Shows -- In Stadium-like venues
* Resident Shows -- Performed en Le Théâtre
o) Outreach -- Updates from Cirque's Social Widgets
* Webseries -- Official Online Featurettes
* Videos -- Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds
o) Fascination! Features
* "CIRQUE DU SOLEIL REBRANDS: The New Le Groupe du Soleil?"
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
* THE BOOK OF JOYÀ - BRINGING CIRQUE TO MEXICO
Part 3 of 3: "Sweet, Savory, and Surreal"
Edited by: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
* "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 8 of 16: Alegria, Part 1 (1994)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
o) Copyright & Disclaimer
=======================================================================
CIRQUE BUZZ -- NEWS, RUMOURS & SIGHTINGS
=======================================================================
***************************************************************
LA PRESSE -- General News & Highlights
***************************************************************
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Cirque du Soleil Shines Spotlight on C&W
{Nov.06.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Cohn & Wolfe has scooped up global PR duties for Cirque du Soleil, the
Montreal-based entertainment company that bills itself as the worlds
largest theatrical producer.
The WPP unit will staff teams in New York, Austin and Shanghai to
handle corporate positioning, media relations and events for the
Circus of the Sun.
Expansion into the Chinese market will be another focus of the company
that has entertained more than 180 people in more than 450 cities
since it was founded in 1984.
Fosun Industrial Holdings, a Chinese investment company; TPG Capital,
private equity firm; and Quebec Deposit and Investment Fund bought a
90 percent stake in Cirque du Soleil.
{ SOURCE: ODwyers | https://goo.gl/GSWNms }
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LV Community Unites For Vegas Strong Benefit Concert
{Nov.07.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Las Vegas entertainment industry is uniting in unprecedented fashion
in support of the victims of the October 1 tragedy. On Friday,
December 1 at 7:30 p.m., T-Mobile Arena will host the Vegas Strong
Benefit Concert, a special evening of entertainment featuring Boyz II
Men, Cirque du Soleil, David Copperfield, Imagine Dragons, Penn &
Teller, The Killers, and others soon to be announced. Proceeds from
the event will benefit the Las Vegas Victims Fund.
Tickets ranging from $75 $125 go on sale Wednesday, November 8 at 10
a.m. and will be available online at www.AXS.com or by calling the AXS
Call Center at 888.929.7849. In-person sales begin Thursday, November
9 at 10 a.m. at any MGM Resorts International Box Office or Concierge
Desk.
FROM THE ARTISTS ON PARTICIPATING IN THIS SPECIAL PERFORMANCE:
Boyz II Men
Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men said, Las Vegas has embraced us since
the moment we arrived. We are honored to be part of this event, and
play a role in the healing process for the community and all those
impacted by this tragedy.
Cirque du Soleil
Jerry Nadal, Cirque du Soleils Senior Vice President of the Resident
Show Division said, We look forward to standing together with this
amazing city to pay tribute to all those affected by the October 1st
tragedy and show the strength and resilience of this community.
David Copperfield
What happened last month was such a tragedy, but people came together
immediately to support each other and help ease the pain. Im honored
to be part of this benefit as we continue to show the love and
strength of the Vegas community.
Imagine Dragons
Las Vegas is our home, and its an incredible, tight-knit community.
The world has seen the resilience, unity and heart of the city this
last month, said Imagine Dragons. This show is about raising money
to help those impacted by the tragedy and about experiencing the
healing that comes from gathering to celebrate the bonds we share.
Penn & Teller
Teller and I are humbled to be asked to pay tribute and to help those
affected and those who aided in last months tragedy. Mr. Rogers once
said we should Look for the helpers, during difficult times. We are
proud to join our fellow Las Vegas entertainers in giving a little
help to the real helpers and heroes in our incredible community, said
Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller.
The Killers
For us, Las Vegas is a vital part of who we are as a band and who we
are as human beings. We are humbled to be from a place where people
rise in the face of tragedy to do whats right. Please join us as we
do what we do best in honor of those who lost their lives and
celebrate the heart and humanity that keeps us united, said Ronnie,
Mark, Dave and Brandon.
T-MOBILE OFFERS TEXT-TO-GIVE TO SUPPORT VICTIMS
Anyone can donate directly to the relief of those affected by the Las
Vegas shooting by simply texting VEGAS to 20222 to give $10 to the
National Compassion Fund. T-Mobile customers will see the donation on
their next T-Mobile bill. Message & data rates may apply for customers
who arent with T-Mobile.
The National Compassion Fund continues to support the immediate and
long-term needs of the victims of the October 1 shooting in Las Vegas,
Nevada and donations are providing critical support to the victims and
their families. 100 percent of the funds raised will be distributed to
the victims of Las Vegas.
For more information on text-to-give, visit:
< http://www.mobilegiving.org/terms-and-conditions/ >
{ SOURCE: PR NEWSWIRE }
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MSC reveals details of Cirque aboard MSC Meraviglia
{Nov.08.2017}
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The long-term partnership between MSC Cruises and Cirque du Soleil has
seen the creation of the entertainment concept Cirque du Soleil at Sea
and will result in a total of eight original shows that will be
exclusively available on MSC Cruises four Meraviglia generation
ships, coming into service between 2017 with MSC Meraviglia and 2020.
TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Mr. Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises, had the vision to take
the entertainment offered on board to the next level. Since MSC
Cruises always seeks to work with innovative, world-class leaders, it
was only natural that they would look to approach Cirque du Soleil. A
first contact was made back in 2013, through Cirque du Soleils events
and special projects division, 45 DEGREES. That led to a trip to Las
Vegas with Mr. Vago, architect De Jorio, and other members from MSC
Cruises to experience two of their shows. From there, a dream was
born; MSC Cruises began to work with Cirque du Soleils 45 DEGREES
team to create a purpose-built entertainment lounge and the first two
Cirque du Soleil shows for MSC Meraviglia.
FOUR YEARS IN THE MAKING
Work began on the partnership in back in 2013 and the plans for the
purpose-built Carousel Lounge were integrated in the ship design with
construction beginning in 2015. In 2016 the creative process began and
the concepts for the two shows were finalised. Cirque du Soleils 45
DEGREES team then recruited the cast and began workshops in Montreal.
The performers and creative team moved on board whilst the ship was
still at the shipyard in St Nazaire to finalise the shows in May
earlier this year and rehearsed in the space, putting the finishing
touches to the performances. The first show was then performed at the
Christening in Le Havre on June 3rd.
EIGHT UNIQUE EXCLUSIVE SHOWS
The Cirque du Soleil at Sea shows have been specially created for MSC
Meraviglia and cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. For each
ship there will be two very different, contrasting shows, each with a
different concept, ambiance and storyline. Each show features an
original soundtrack, staging and costumes. Work is already underway
for the next two new shows for MSC Bellissima, which comes into
service in 2019.
A CAST OF VERY SPECIAL ARTISTS
All of the artists were carefully selected by Cirque du Soleil to meet
the specific needs of the shows. Some of the artists had performed in
other Cirque du Soleil shows whereas others were chosen specifically
for the Cirque du Soleil at Sea shows. All of the artists were
selected for special skills and trained to the high standards required
of Cirque du Soleil performers., The Cirque du Soleil team needed to
find artists that were multi-disciplinary, with a background in
dancing and character work for most as the artists all would have to
have a very strong presence on stage due to the intimate nature of the
theatre.
THE CHALLENGES OF A SHOW AT SEA
For the shows on the ship the artists needed to get used to performing
at sea and we have worked on ensuring that the shows can be adapted to
the sea conditions all the while ensuring that the audience
experiences the same quality of show each night.. The shows are
tightly choreographed but always have different scenarios so that if
conditions are rough or an artist is injured, the performance can be
adapted. Finding their sea legs has been easier on some then others!
DESIGNED FOR THE CAROUSEL LOUNGE
The Carousel Lounge is one of the most intimate venues that Cirque du
Soleil has created a show for, challenging the Creative team to expand
the boundaries of their imagination with this performance space. The
ceiling height is a much lower than for a usual show, so one of the
challenges was to look at different kinds of aerial acts and to
incorporate new and fascinating visuals. The Carousel Lounge abounds
technical elements: a 40 metre LED screen, a rotating stage, lifts,
retractable staircase, to name a few, all elements that gave fuel to
the creative team in dreaming the concepts of both shows. Some acts
you can find in the shows: aerial hoop, silk, straps, roue Cyr
juggling, cheerleading, dancing, acrobatic duets, ladder and a beat-
boxer.
{ SOURCE: World of Crusing | https://goo.gl/wjURTX }
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What is François Girard up to now?
Hochelaga: Land of Souls
{Nov.14.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Montreal is celebrating its 375th anniversary this year. And to mark
the occasion, the celebration committee turned to François Girard, the
art house director of Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould and
The Red Violin, to tell the story of Hochelaga, the 16th century
city that resided in modern day Montreal.
Though Girard has worked in film, opera and with Cirque du Soleil
(ZARKANA and ZED), he said at TheWraps Awards and Foreign Screening
Series of his film Hochelaga: Land of Souls that hes never truly
captured his home in his artwork.
For my own sake, I needed to dig into my own roots, Girard told
TheWraps Steve Pond at the Landmark Theatres in Los Angeles Monday
night. I felt the need to go from my roots, dig and understand better
who I was at that point in time.
Hochelaga was an Iroquoian fortified village near present day Montreal
that welcomed the explorer Jacques Cartier in 1535. Girards film
gives fictional characters this historic background, and Girard uses
the metaphor of a sinkhole spontaneously opening in the ground as a
portal to uproot the past and trace a line back to the present.
Hochelaga jumps through 750 years of history in a non-linear
narrative and incorporates six different languages in a sprawling,
ambitious portrait of Montreal.
In telling this story, Girard and producer Roger Frappier went into
painstaking detail to recreate the films many time periods. They
solicited the advice of native Algonquin experts and archaeologists to
portray the immense scope of the native civilization. They said they
knew that if Hochelaga were to be about the identity of modern
Quebec as much as ancient Canada, they needed to get their facts
straight.
If you launch a rocket, you better know where it lands, Girard said.
What they talk about is tied to history, but they themselves are
fiction. And that distance is very useful. Even if you want to
represent the truth, sometimes, historical figures are an obstacle.
Frappier said researchers are continually unearthing new details about
the exact location of Hochelaga, and he believes the location they
shot on is the closest yet. Hochelaga is Canadas official
submission to this years Oscars Foreign Language race, so he
considers it a great privilege to represent his country in multiple
ways.
This year were one of 92 films, so its recognition not only for us
at home, the movie will be released in January, so already being able
to represent Canada, its made awareness for the people, Frappier
said.
I feel lucky to keep going back to school with every film, Girard
added. For the team, theres something special that happened digging
for my roots and everybody elses roots. Its not Rogers next film or
my next film, it was a little more than that. It was a collective dig.
We were making a movie yes, but we thought we were into something
bigger than that.
{ SOURCE: The Wrap | https://goo.gl/jK4xTb }
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Bloomberg: The Future of Cirque Isnt the Circus
{Nov.29.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
In the past three decades, Canadas Cirque du Soleil has reimagined
the notion of a circus by crafting visually arresting aerial
extravaganzas that are a world away from P.T. Barnums brassy Greatest
Show on Earth. Yet at the new Cirque-designed NFL Experience in New
Yorks Times Square, the closest thing to acrobatics comes from the
onscreen football players that audiences witness up close as theyre
immersed in the game through a combination of video, sound, moving
seats, and even smells.
Many visitors may remember the 11-minute multisensory film ride as
the highlight of this four-story permanent paean to all things
gridiron, slated to open on Nov. 30. But for the 33-year-old Cirque,
the joint venture with the National Football League is a chance to
showcase how the creative minds behind its trademark shows can be
harnessed for different formats as it expands into new markets with
the backing of private equity firm TPG Capital LP.
They can do anything, from a permanent location on Broadway, to a
traveling show that pops into towns for two to three weeks, to a show
that just appears for a day on a football field, says NFL Chief
Marketing Officer Dawn Hudson. That is easy to say and very hard to
execute.
The collaboration, which uses digital technology and old-fashioned
memorabilia to put visitors in the shoes of an NFL player, is one of
several new directions for the Montreal-based company. Its now
offering performances on cruise ships, developing a theme park in
Mexico, adding its first show on ice, and expanding in China. Four
months after the acquisition in July of music and comedy act Blue Man
Group, the company even changed its name to reflect broader ambitions:
Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group.
A major influence behind the transformation is TPG, which has a
majority stake in talent management company Creative Artists Agency
LLC and co-founded film and television studio STX Entertainment; it
hasnt disclosed its percentage ownership in STX. After acquiring a 55
percent stake in Cirque when founder Guy Laliberté sold 90 percent of
the company in a deal with a total value of about $1.4 billion in
2015, the buyout firm overhauled management and helped develop the
growth strategy. Seventeen of its 22 highest-ranking executives are
new to the company.
We saw this as Wow, we have this unique capability; weve got this
global, recognized brand. Theres a lot more we can do,? says David
Trujillo, a TPG representative on Cirques board. Diversifying the
company opens up options for its future, including going public, he
says.
TPG helped beef up marketing to revitalize sales in Las Vegas, where
Cirque runs seven permanent circus and musical shows in casinos.
Tickets are now easier to buy on mobile phones, and prices fluctuate
with demand. Cirque also has adopted more aggressive social media and
corporate sales strategies. All this has helped revenue per available
seat rise 20 percent this year, Trujillo says.
An additional 11 shows are on tour in places including Madrid,
Shanghai, and Perth, Australia. Cirques long-standing relationships
with promoters and venues are being used to negotiate new stops for
Blue Man shows, says Chief Executive Officer Daniel Lamarre. Thanks
to our distribution strength and our many promoters around the world,
weve just given the Blue Man Group a new impetus, he says. Were
seeing benefits faster than we thought.
Cirques headquarters complex in Montreal brings together creative
teams, costume and accessory makers, as well as artists practicing
acrobatics or learning how to do their own makeup. Instructions at the
gym come in five languages, a reminder there are about 50
nationalities among the 4,000 employees.
Lamarre hasnt spent much time there lately. In October he traveled
twice to China, where Cirque will inaugurate its first permanent
mainland show, in Hangzhou, in early 2019. Half the artists in that
production will be Chinese. Shanghai-based Fosun International Ltd.,
which owns 25 percent of Cirque, is helping it expand in China, where
one show is already touring. A second show set to hit the road will be
Cirques adaptation of the film Avatar, which was a huge success in
China. The companys overall ticket sales could double within five
years thanks to China, says Lamarre.
New growth avenues would be a welcome addition for Cirque, whose
credit rating is weakly positioned because of the large amount of
debt taken on to complete its leveraged buyout, says Alina Khavulya,
an analyst at Moodys Investors Service Inc. Expansion beyond circus
shows could change that. Its a broader opportunity, she says. I
dont know that its less risk.
Other corners of the Cirque empire have moved beyond their circus
roots. At 45 Degreesa special projects unit named after Montreals
latitudethe team recently helped design the show of German singing
star Helene Fischer, featuring a 30-foot wall on which acrobats
perform and a dress made of cascading water. Cirques multimedia arm,
4U2C, has worked on the concert tours of Bon Jovi and Justin
Timberlake and pitched in on the NFL Experience.
Cirque officials had already collaborated with the NFL on Super Bowl
entertainment in 2007 and 2012, but the Times Square project treads
new ground. Visitors walk through locker rooms, are taught a play by
former NFL coach Jon Grudens hologram, see themselves on screens
dressed as players, throw real passes in competitions against other
visitors, win the Super Bowl, and watch themselves on big screens
running before cheering crowds. But nowhere will they see the Cirque
name.
Thats just fine with CEO Lamarre, who says the TPG-led owners have
helped his team recognize the great potential the company has beyond
circus performances. We believe our expertise is in creation and in
productionits for live experiences, he says. Thats the DNA of
Cirque du Soleil.
{ SOURCE: Bloomberg BusinessWeek | https://goo.gl/mxSnbt }
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Helene Fischer fills Arenas, but Americans
Never Heard of Her
{Nov.30.2017}
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Helene Fischer is almost completely unknown in America. But in
Germany, she is seemingly more popular than Volkswagens.
You want measures of that popularity? Her CD and download sales over a
recording career that began in 2006 run to greater than 9 million. (If
that seems less than dazzling, remember that Germanys population is
only about 82 million.) Her mega hit, Atemlos Durch die Nacht
(Breathless Through the Night), holds the record for the most
downloaded German pop song in history.
She is currently on a 70-concert tour, and is doing multiple shows at
every stop, with most being sold out.
Punch Shaw, from the Star-Telegram, caught up with the current Fischer
tour for the first of five shows in the 12,000-seat Arena Leipzig on
Oct. 10. Punch had seen the YouTube videos and the DVDs of previous
live performances and been gob-smacked by the energy the singer can
bring to a concert hall. But nothing could have prepared Shaw for the
visceral intensity of being in the same room with the Fischer
phenomenon.
FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE
Fischer, 33, was born in Siberia, but her family moved to Germany when
she was young, and she has blossomed into the quintessential Teutonic
pop icon of her second homeland.
She has parlayed her good looks and tremendous vocal and dancing
talents into a career in a genre of music the Germans call schlager
an extremely elastic term that they often describe as folk music
(Fischer herself has likened schlager to our country music). But to
Americans, it likely sounds nothing like those forms.
Instead, we would label it as Top 40, Euro pop, or just pop. Her
catalog is filled with catchy numbers that are most often synthesizer
driven, along with a slew of affecting ballads that cross over into
many genres. She usually sings in German, but also sometimes in
Russian.
Want another measure of her popularity? Consider the list of non-
German artists with whom she has performed or recorded duets. They
include Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, Il Divo, Chris Botti, Tom
Jones, Ricky Martin, Adam Lambert and Michael Bolton.
The aforementioned list does not include her duets with filmed
performances by great singers of the past, including Frank Sinatra and
Bing Crosby. Topping those is a duet from the 2016 installment of her
annual television special Die Helene Fischer Show, which airs
Christmas night with Elvis Presley, singing the relatively unknown
Just Pretend.
As if that werent enough, she invited Priscilla Presley up to the
stage for a chat before the number. That is the kind of clout she has
in Germany.
Its also an example of the general fearlessness of Fischer. She will
test her abilities against a great opera singer or a legend of rock
with seemingly equal sangfroid.
While Fischer is focused on her new, eponymous, double CD on this
tour, previous shows have seen her doing works by composers ranging
from Lady Gaga to Martin Luther. She also appears to get a kick out of
country music, and is especially adept at negotiating her way around a
show tune.
INCREDIBLE PHYSICALITY
As the concert opens in Leipzig, Fischer makes an immediate impact by
participating in the unexpected drumline intro to Nur mit dir (Only
With You). Fischer, glitzed out in a sparkling blue leotard, hammers
away in sync with a half-dozen of her supporting players (her concert
features about a dozen dancers, a six-piece band and three backup
singers).
Her fearlessness extends to the physicality of her concerts. In
addition to extensive and demanding choreography, Fischer and company
engage in a great deal of Cirque du Soleil-esque acrobatics (the show
was designed by 45 Degrees, the design division of the Cirque du
Soleil company).
On the pulsating, dance-club-ready Herzbeben (something like
Pounding Heart), Fischer is pulled up out of a jungle gym-like
sphere and onto a tether and pole that then rises better than 20 feet
above the stage. There, she continues to sing and make gymnastic dance
moves while dangling on the grip of a single dancer. Only a safety
line stands between her and certain disaster.
CULTURAL ICON
Beyond being just another pop star, Fischer occupies a place in German
culture that does not have a parallel in this country. Perhaps the
most stunning proof of her degree of fame came when the German
national soccer team won the World Cup in 2014. When the team returned
to Germany and was taken to Berlins iconic Brandenburg Gate to
celebrate with fans, the players were greeted not by Chancellor Angela
Merkel or some other politician, but by Fischer, who hoisted high
their newly won trophy.
She then led what seemed like all of Germany in a sing-along of her
hit Atemlos Durch die Nacht.
NEW CD, NEW CONFIDENCE
Riding high on such popularity, Fischer could have played it safe and
gone through the motions with her new release. Instead, the 24-track
CD has not a single clunker on it. Fischer sings with a new level of
insight and confidence throughout, and she does so across a surprising
range of genres, including country music.
Back in Leipzig, she and her band are line dancing at the front of her
massive stage while performing the boot-scootin Dein Blick (Your
Gaze) a faithful remake of Hayden Panettieres Telescope, except
in German. It is followed by the Billy Bobs-ready Mit dem Wind
(With the Wind). It is a strange sight to see.
Judging by the Leipzig crowd and those seen on her DVDs, Fischers
core audience is women of all ages and middle-aged men. But while
those were the dominant demographics in Leipzig, there also were more
males under 40 than have been seen at past concerts, an indicator of
her musical growth..
Unlike other female artists like Celine Dion, Fischer does not rely on
the big note that soaring finish used to make an impact. Instead,
Fischer wins her races in the straightaways with exceptional phrasing.
She does go for spectacle when it comes to costumes. In the only song
for which she stands still during the delivery in Leipzig, Fischer
appears as a water fountain. Her white top is ordinary, but from the
waist down, she is attired in a circular cascade of water in the shape
of a dress. Incredible.
WHY NOT AMERICA?
So if Fischer is knocking them dead across the German-speaking world,
why is she completely unknown in America? She has performed with
American artists, has a love of American musical theater, and has good
command of the English language.
The answer, in short: Its a mystery. A request for an interview with
Fischer, or anyone in her camp, was ignored.
It may simply be that Fischer is too busy counting euros to be
interested in dollars.
"ATEMLOS DURCH DIE NACHT"
Back in Leipzig, the crowd is not the least bit concerned about
Fischers lack of support from the States. It is gearing up for
Fischers big finale.
Few singers have been as closely and indelibly linked to a specific
song as Fischer and Atemlos Durch die Nacht (Tony Bennett with I
Left My Heart in San Francisco is among the few that might come
close). Since she introduced the song on her album Farbenspiel
(Play of Colors) in late 2013, it has been her signature number. A
video of a performance of the song from the Swiss television show
Hello Again, for example, has drawn more than 50 million views.
She typically performs the song twice: the first time through is for
the audience to sing it. It is an astonishing thing to witness,
because while the audience is joyously singing every verse, Fischer is
just laying over a couple of lyrics and a few long notes as accents.
So the audience and the subject of their adoration are, in effect,
doing a duet.
Then Fischer takes it over and brings the thumping anthem home in
spectacular fashion from a swing hung from the rafters, with a rain
of what looks like golden leaves.
Then, more than three hours after it began, the show ends. In the
sudden quiet, illuminated by the house lights, several fans weep. A
few others sit stunned, as if trying to comprehend what has just
happened to them. But most patrons ease out with broad smiles and a
slight glow brought about by the all the musical and kinetic energy
they have just vicariously absorbed.
For my part, I am hoping that I someday see another concert I enjoy as
much as I did this one. But it looks like I might have to go back to
Germany to achieve that.
{ SOURCE: Star-Telegram | https://goo.gl/ob8ceY }
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Jean-Francois Bouchard: The man behind C2
{Dec.01.2017}
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Jean-Francois Bouchard had given up on attending business conferences
by the time he decided to create his own.
Basically at some point I stopped attending business events because I
thought they were awfully boring, he says. Always set in the same
generic venues serving the same plastic chicken and there was a lack
of originality.
The founder and chief-executive of Canadian advertising agency Sid Lee
came up with the concept for C2 in partnership with one of Canadas
most famous exports, Cirque du Soleil.
With Cirque du Soleil as a partner we thought it was possible to do
something in a radically different way and something that would truly
amount to an experience, Bouchard says. Using our background in
entertainment and creativity we set ourselves the ambitious goal of
completely reinventing the business conference.
Bouchard says he was prepared to take the risk to fail and the first
C2 was held in Montreal in 2012.
Im not sure we understood what we were planning for the first year,
we just jumped into it in a very naive way, he says. Thank God it
worked out because it could have been a massive failure. It was
basically our first event and we went from knowing nothing about this
business to hosting 3000 people in a very progressive setting. It was
typical entrepreneurial behaviour to jump in first and then figure out
how to swim.
Bouchard is jumping in again as, after six years in Montreal, C2 will
host its first ever international event in Melbourne in October.
Bouchard and his team provided a taster of the main C2 Melbourne event
on Friday.
At the preview C2 transformed the large hall in Melbournes Convention
Centre into a series of eco systems with huge cloud like structures
filled with mist and pits filled with plastic balls like a childrens
play centre for networking with a difference.
Bouchard says the secret to creating an organisation like C2 that
swells to a team of 300 and operates with a $10 million budget comes
down to identifying the entrepreneurial spirit in others.
The one thing that is a big learning from all of them is how
important it is to surround yourself not just with great people but
with other great entrepreneurs, he says.
I really believe that companies in this day and age should be led by
a collective of entrepreneurs not the heroic lone wolf mystique. The
world has become so much more complex so the level of talent that is
required in so many fields is staggeriang. When you hit a rough patch
you can really survive difficult moments and even emerge stronger when
you have a really solid team. For me it is about finding the right
people for this entrepreneurial journey.
{ SOURCE: The Sydney Morning Herald | https://goo.gl/4o9mEm }
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Why you need to experience Cirque aboard MSC Meraviglia
{Dec.05.2017}
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A new Cirque du Soleil has landed and not somewhere you would normally
expect to see it
Aboard a cruise ship!
Designed to create a unique experience and change the world of
entertainment on cruise ships, MSC have collaborated with Cirque du
Soleil to create an entertainment lounge with a difference. Normally
frequenting theatres and circuses around the globe, Cirque du Soleil
is a synthesis of circus styles from around the world with live music,
performers and breath-taking acrobatics. MSC Meraviglia (one of the
largest cruise ships in the world) set on its maiden voyage last June,
launching with it the first in the world Cirque du Soleil at sea.
When on board you are able to view two different Cirque du Soleil
performances: Sonor and Viaggio. Both are completely unique, telling a
different story and presenting a rare atmosphere so that you can enjoy
both shows with the multi-talented actors performing completely
different roles between them. These are performed twice-nightly over
six nights.
The lounge is custom built for the show and very intimate, seating
significantly less than the number of guests on board with just 413
spaces. Because of this, it is important you reserve your seat to
guarantee entry to the performance believe us you really do not want
to miss it during your cruise!
Pre-purchase your tickets for MSC cruises Cirque du Soleil to enjoy a
complimentary signature cocktail during the show and if you would like
to treat yourself to a really special evening, you can book in for a
three-course dinner too.
On our time aboard MSC Meraviglia we opted for the Dinner and Show
package which is a must in our eyes.
Dining in the lounge is as atmospheric as it is charming; a musician
performs live on the stage while you relax with a glass of wine and
catch up with your loved ones on the days activities and excursions.
The staff are quick to attend to your every need, giving a thorough
breakdown of the courses before you tuck in. A unique aspect to this
package is that the food is kept a secret until the show, as it
corresponds to what is happening on stage making for a truly one of
a kind experience. From the starter to the main and the desserts, the
flavours of each course complimented each other faultlessly, teasing
our taste buds it was a gastronomic delight. Everything was
presented nicely, and it was clear that courses, table setting, and
music had been thought out specifically to complement the show.
Although the menu options are limited they made sure the food was as
good as the performance.
The show we saw was Viaggio, which is described as: The story of a
passionate and eccentric artist who hears the call of his Faceless
Muse. Mysterious and seductive, she beckons him into the vivid world
of his unbridled imagination to complete his masterpiece. With each
stroke of his paintbrush, the Painter reveals the details of his
grandiose tableau. Electrifying colours fill the space with intriguing
motifs and rich textures. Majestic acts transform the theatre into a
living canvas. Before our very eyes, a masterpiece comes to life.
As we watched the show it soon became clear there wasnt anything the
performers couldnt do. The atmosphere was electric and at points the
entire lounge held their breath particularly when one performer
balanced another on his shoulders while keeping a ladder upright
unsupported! But thats exactly what brings such joy and excitement
when watching the show. It combines optical illusion, trickery,
lighting and so many moments you cant quite believe what you are
seeing with your own eyes. Utterly sensational, performers switch from
being suspended on straps soaring round the ceiling to juggling on
bicycles, flipping through hoops and creating breath-taking human
towers.
Contortionists, acrobats, smoke and fire, the costumes, acts and
dances are performed with a dramatic yet poetic grace. The trickery,
the acrobats, and the mind-boggling skills culminate to a show unlike
anything you have ever seen and unlike anything you will ever see
again. Add to the mix that they are on the sea and its just mind
blowing a true professional and master in performance. With MSC
Cruises Cirque du Soleil, you struggle to get your head round this is
on a cruise ship in the middle of the sea, it feels like it is in a
main London arena or theatre. And if you are lucky enough to catch one
of the shows on board, you really wont see it anywhere else. This is
because the Cirque du Soleil shows on board the MCS Meraviglia are
exclusive to the ship.
When on board a cruise ship, entertainment is such a huge factor and
one that can make a big difference to your vacation and this is
truly blown out of the water with Cirque du Soleil on board. This is
real next level entertainment and something which takes cruise ship
activities way above expectations. Cirque du Soleil is something known
and loved worldwide and to get the chance to experience this on a
holiday of a lifetime makes for a trip to truly remember.
We were so impressed with this performance not only was the show
spell bounding, but the food delicious and the ship extremely
impressive. (Lets face it, if a ship has a staircase made entirely of
Swarovski crystals how couldnt it be?!) If you are looking to book
your first cruise or are looking for something different, we highly
recommend you book yourself onto MSC Meraviglia and experience the MSC
Cruises Cirque du Soleil.
CHECK OUT THE IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THIS ARTICLE HERE:
< http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=11118 >
{ SOURCE: Seen in the City | https://goo.gl/yqGsNc }
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Magic City Announces Strategic Partnership w/Lune Rouge
{Dec.05.2017}
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In the What is Guy up to lately category...
Earlier today, Magic City Innovation District announced a strategic
partnership with Lune Rouge, the new company of Guy Laliberté, founder
and creative visionary behind Cirque du Soleil. Mr. Laliberté and Lune
Rouges team will have a pivotal role in the curation and creative
direction of Magic Citys new technology, arts and entertainment
district.
Lune Rouge joins Plaza Equity Partners, a Miami-based real estate
development and investment firm led by Neil Fairman, Anthony Burns and
George Helmstetter; and founding partners Bob Zangrillo of Dragon
Global, a Miami based private investment firm focused on venture
capital and real estate investments; and Tony Cho of Metro 1, a
forward thinking real estate brokerage, management and development
firm.
Magic City Innovation District intends to develop Little Haiti and
Little River neighborhoods to create a distinctive and unique
destination. The goal is to provide Miami with a walkable, campus-like
neighborhood where individuals from all demographic backgrounds can
enjoy a quality life and re-write history on how communities live,
work, play and learn together.
In achieving such, Magic City Innovation District intends to attract
leading innovators with ambition of changing the world through
advanced technologies. The development of the neighborhood could
become a model for real estate development and modern urban
revitalization leveraging the combination of traditional entertainment
and technology.
Mr. Laliberté built Cirque du Soleil into one of the largest live
entertainment companies in the world. He now focuses his attention
towards the entertainment technology sector. He has established Lune
Rouge, a Montreal based company that develops and supports projects
mainly related to the technology, arts, entertainment and real estate
sectors as well as initiatives with a positive social and
environmental impact. Lune Rouge promotes innovation, creativity and
entrepreneurship.
In the short term, the partnership wants to prioritize the activation
of the former Magic City Trailer Park and will be applying for a
Temporary Use Permit (TUP).
Magic City is an opportunity for us to put all our creativity to the
service of entertainment and new technologies. This collaboration will
allow us to explore new forms of entertainment and make available
multimedia and interactive installations adapted to future Magic City
residents and visitors. Lune Rouge is proud to be a partner in this
important revitalization project, explains Guy Laliberté, founder of
Lune Rouge.
We are thrilled to have Lune Rouge join us as a strategic partner.
Its team is focused on the entertainment technology sector, and it is
their intention to make Miami the high-tech and innovation center for
next-generation creative entertainment content, said Neil Fairman,
Partner, Magic City Innovation District. Our team has been working
with institutions and community leaders to ensure that each proposal
embraces the rich culture that has been thriving in Little Haiti for
decades. As we move forward, we will continue to identify partnerships
and opportunities to facilitate their growth and cultural prosperity
in Little Haiti.
To bring this vision to life, the team behind the project also
announced the start of the Magic City Innovation District Foundation
to support the economic, social, and cultural prosperity of Little
Haiti and the diverse population of people who live and work there.
Preserving and celebrating the thriving Caribbean culture of Little
Haiti and the surrounding neighborhoods has been a foremost priority
throughout the development of Magic City. In the process, they have
actively participated in the local community, working alongside
organizations that have been serving the Little Haiti population for
decades.
Throughout this process, Magic City will be working with the Little
Haiti community to ensure that the proposal is inclusive and embraces
the rich culture that has been thriving in Little Haiti for decades.
About Magic City Innovation District (MCID) Magic City Innovation
District is an innovation district focused on technology,
sustainability, health and wellness and art and entertainment. Magic
City Innovation District is revitalizing the Little Haiti and Little
River neighborhoods to create a world-class destination. It will
provide Miami a walkable, campus-like neighborhood where individuals
from all demographic backgrounds can enjoy a quality life and re-write
history on how communities live, work, play and learn together. Magic
City will serve as a new model for future innovation districts and
real estate development worldwide.
About the Magic City Innovation District Foundation The Magic City
Innovation District Foundation is a charitable fund at the Miami
Foundation, a 501(c)3. It is committed to the economic, social, and
cultural prosperity of Little Haiti and the diverse population of
people who live and work there. In partnership with community leaders,
activists, organizations and government entities, the Foundation
provides funding and support to programs that benefit the local
community and facilitate sustainable growth.
{ SOURCE: CNW | https://goo.gl/s6fe4s }
***************************************************************
Q&A - Quick Chats & Press Interviews
***************************************************************
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Meet TORUKs Peter Kismartoni
{Nov.02.2017}
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Peter Kismartoni didnt want to go to the gymnastics lesson the first
time his parents took him along.
He was just five years old, but with two sporty parents, a sister
already enrolled and a younger brother not far behind, he soon found a
passion for the sport that would set him up for the extraordinary life
he lives now.
This week, 10 years after his YouTube videos of mock-fight scenes and
daredevil antics were shown to recruiters, Peter Kismartoni, from the
Melbourne suburb of Croydon, returns home for the first time as a star
in Cirque Du Soleils TORUK The First Flight.
Cirque du Soleil creatives approached the veteran Hollywood director
and film producer, James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic, The Terminator
trilogy) for inspiration for a new show.
It was in Las Vegas where Peter got his first taste of circus life
after a former gymnastics coach alerted scouts, who happened to be in
Melbourne at the time, to his talents.
He was offered a job in the City of Lights almost straight away and
within weeks was on stage performing two shows a night for the masses
in the MGM Grand Resort and Casino, on the famous Las Vegas Strip.
After seven years and over 3,000 appearances in the martial arts-
inspired show KÀ, Peter jumped at the opportunity to be a part of a
new global touring show that was still in its infancy.
TORUK began its creation stage in Montreal in 2015, where artistic
directors and performers worked together for months to develop the new
characters and choreography from the concepts inside the minds of the
shows bosses to a full-blown arena spectacular.
Peter loves his life on the road but admits it can be tough,
especially on his mum who would love to have him come home.
My mum just misses me but of course shes happy with what Im doing,
he said.
My dads the opposite though. He says, No, dont come home, its an
awesome way to see the world, dont save your money, just live.'
The adoring crowds and non-stop adventure around the world can be
exhilarating but for Peter, being able to perform for his parents in
frontof a home crowd in Melbourne will be the greatest thrill of all.
This is where everything began for me. This is where I learnt my
skills and its just like coming full circle being back here and
performing, he said.
Not only for my family who took me to gymnastics for so many years,
but for all the people Ive trained with and sweated with.
TORUK takes place in the mythical world of Pandora, thousands of years
before the events depicted in the 2009 blockbuster Avatar.
Cameron has previously said that Cirque du Soleils dreamlike
sequences and artistry inspired his vision for the film which went on
to become the worlds highest grossing movie of all time.
What began in the 1980s as a group of street performers in a small
village near Quebec City, in Canadas French speaking region, has
sprouted and grown into a global artistic super-power, reaching over
150 million people in 300 cities around the world.
Cameron has had a big influence on the creative direction of the show
and everything from new choreography to the details of the elaborate
costumes and makeup are run past him for approval.
The Hollywood-heavyweight is often known to be backstage after shows
giving glowing praise to the performers who bring his mythical world
to life each night.
{ SOURCE: ABC Australia News }
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Meet LOVEs Jennifer Muccioli
{Nov.13.2017}
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It might be hard to imagine being just out of college and in your
dream job, but Fallston High grad Jennifer Muccioli already has the
only job shes ever wanted.
When Muccioli was 10 years old, she saw La Nouba, a Cirque de Soleil
show, in Orlando, Fla.
Thats what made me want to be a performer and work for Cirque, said
Muccioli, whos been dancing since she was 2 ½ years old. They were
so athletic, so passionate, so entertaining. It was just a crazy
moment and I thought, Thats what I want to do.
Thirteen years later, at 23 years old, as a dancer in Cirque Du
Soleils Beatles LOVE in Las Vegas, the 2012 Fallston High graduate is
doing what she set out to do.
And shes loving every single minute of it.
What I like most is entertaining people, making people feel
something, mostly happy, Muccioli said during a visit home to Forest
Hill at the end of the summer. I enjoy happiness and making other
people happy.
When shes performing, Muccioli always has a smile on her face and
says she does things people can connect to, she said.
She enjoys performing for people who arent familiar with dance,
because they have more real, natural emotions.
Thats why I love the show Im in everyone can understand every
single part, Muccioli said.
Full of joy and happiness, the show is what the world needs, Muccioli
said.
Thats what I love about LOVE, the whole show celebrates joy and
happiness, she said. Its so perfect right now and I love
contributing to it.
GROWING UP
Mucciolis mom, Karen, was a dance teacher at then Towson State
University. But since the school didnt have any programs for students
Jennifers age, she began dancing at Harford Dance Center.
A few years later she started at Harford Gymnastics and was on the
competitive team.
Eventually, though, because of the demands of each, Muccioli had to
make a choice.
If she chose gymnastics, there would be no dance. If she chose dance,
she could still do gymnastics, Karen Muccioli, owner of Rage Box
Dancer Center in Forest Hill, where her daughter trained most of her
childhood, said.
I took full force with dance, Jennifer Muccioli said. I was so
young when I made the choice, 7 or 8. I think I chose it just because
it was more familiar to me.
She was still able to take tumbling classes, so gymnastics wasnt
completely eliminated.
Im very happy I made the choice, she said nearly 20 years later.
After graduated from Fallston High in 2012, Muccioli attended Point
Park University in Pittsburgh, a conservator of performing arts that
is one of the top five arts colleges in the country with dance,
theater and acting.
Muccioli majored in dance performance, jazz specifically, but really
studied a little bit of everything.
Thats how that school is, they want you to cover it all, Muccioli
said.
Growing up, Muccioli trained all the time, taking classes from as many
people as she could, learning as many types of dances as she could, to
make herself as diverse as possible.
Fortunately, she said, she grew up at Rage Box in Forest Hill, the
dance studio owned by her mother that offered every style of dance she
could imagine, Muccioli said.
After graduating from college, Muccioli worked on a cruise ship, where
she learned how to ballroom dance.
It was one thing I didnt know, she said.
She had also done some acting, landing stints on television shows
enough for a SAG card, because Cirque is always a character. Youre
never playing a normal person.
I really try to spread out to be good at everything I possibly can,
Muccioli said, and perfect at everything I can.
Your strength is your versatility, Karen Muccioli told her daughter.
GETTING INTO CIRQUE
Its not easy at all, Muccioli said, and its quite nerve-wracking.
For many performers, it takes multiple auditions. Muccioli made it on
her second try.
The first time, Muccioli was still in college. She spent two days
auditioning and was cut after three to four rounds on the second day.
I was totally OK, I was happy I made it as far as I did, she said.
In January 2016, I was so ready, feeling so good about it, Muccioli
said.
What started as 300 people ended with 15 girls and 15 guys earning
parts in Beatles LOVE Muccioli was one of them.
The audition started with a jazzy, contemporary number, she said, that
the performers had to pick up immediately. They auditioned in groups
of five and had to show emotion, do the moves correctly with proper
technique.
After those cuts came a hip hop number, then more cuts, an acting
exercise, then more cuts.
By the end of the first day, 70 people were left.
I was exhausted. I was focused so much in the nine to 10 hours of
audition, about not getting cut, Muccioli said.
As the audition pool was narrowed down, the performers began doing
numbers from Beatles LOVE, including the finale, Sergeant Pepper.
It felt so comfortable for me, Muccioli said, but I was trying to
block those feelings.
After one more acting exercise, producers told Muccioli shed made it
into the database.
Performers can be in the Cirque database for years without ever being
called to perform. But its a huge deal, Muccioli said.
I bawled my eyes out, she said. I still get chills when I think
about getting into the database.
Being in the database meant Muccioli could be hired for any Cirque
show, anywhere.
While she waited to see when, or if, she would be called to perform,
Muccioli moved to Las Vegas. She arrived in May to see what was there,
and in a few days, she was dancing in a fashion show.
Not long after she moved there, Muccioli received an email asking if
she was interested in a position with Beatles LOVE.
Obviously I said yes, she said.
Its a dance heavy show and they needed good dancers, so I felt good
about my abilities, Muccioli said.
She started rehearsals on June 29 and was in her first show less than
three weeks later, on July 17.
Maybe it was the nerves of the first day at her dream job, but in her
first show, Muccioli was late off her entrance I missed it by a
hair.
I was supposed to run on stage screaming, as a groupie running. I had
so much energy, I was so excited, she said.
After the final number of the show, confetti rained down in front of
the peace sign and Muccioli was ready to cry.
It was the greatest experience. I still feel that way after every
show, she said. The talent in the show is so inspiring. Ive never
felt as inspired as I do when I go to work.
Muccioli signed a six-month contract which is up in November, when she
and the producers will decide whats next another temporary contact
or full-time.
I hope they keep me around, she said.
YOU DONT STOP
Mucciolis schedule is grueling. She works five days a week, an
average of 10 shows a week, Thursday through Monday. She works from 3
p.m. to about 12:30 a.m. doing two shows a night.
She also has physical training, rehearsals, costume fittings and
makeup to be done.
Its very physically demanding. You dont stop, she said.
Her weekend is Tuesday and Wednesday. Some of her down time is spent
with the cast, with whom she quickly formed a close relationship,
Muccioli said.
It took one day to feel like part of the case. They were so
welcoming, she said. They want to know everything about you.
If shes not with the cast, Muccioli can be found in her apartment,
playing with her cat or watching television.
She planned to do some hiking in Red Rock Canyon with her girlfriend,
Carlee Lund, who moved to Las Vegas with Muccioli.
The two have been friends since their days together at Homestead-
Wakefield Elementary.
ONE PROUD MOM
Karen Muccioli and her husband, Gerry, a senior vice president of
Colombo Bank, were in Las Vegas for their daughters early shows.
Karen Muccioli calls her daughter, and others like her, Swiss Army
knife dancers, because they can do a little bit of everything.
Jennifer, she said, is the epitome of what she and her staff train
young dancers at the Rage Box to be.
She knew her dream, and it was kind of my dream as well, Karen said.
There were times it wasnt always easy to be the directors daughter
when Muccioli was growing up, but Karen Muccioli said it made her
daughter tough.
Shes probably the strongest and toughest kid I know, Karen Muccioli
said. Im one proud mom.
{ SOURCE: Baltimore Sun | https://goo.gl/2A3TxV }
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Circus Life Fits Zumanitys Jonas Woolverton Just Right
{Nov.16.2017}
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Las Vegan Jonas Woolverton began his career in a small Montreal circus
before landing a gig in Cirque du Soleils Zumanity in 2008. Las Vegas
Weekly talked to the New York native about learning to wrestle from an
ex-WWE star and a recent injury, which was no match for Woolvertons
tenacious drive.
Q. Why did you want to become a circus performer?
I saw one of the Cirque shows, Dralion, and the clowns just blew me
away. So I got into the Clown Conservatory in San Francisco. I was
fortunate enough to see Daniel Cyr, the founder of the Cyr wheel,
perform, and I said, Thats the apparatus I want to do. Ive been
doing circus professionally for 15 years, and Cyr wheel professionally
since 2003.
Q. What about the Cyr wheel fascinated you?
I think its sort of a mystical apparatus. Its not really obvious how
it works. Theres something about whirling dervishes that is very
entrancing. Its something thats very fundamental. When were kids we
liked to spin around until we get dizzy.
Q. How did you develop your Zumanity character, Casanova?
When I first got here I was doing an S&M-based actI had two
dominatrices whipping me and blindfolding me. Over the years it just
evolved. I became the gigolo, and I renamed him Casanova and gave him
my own spin. Casanova is a ladies man from Sicily, and hes got ADD
with women. In the act, he sees this shadow woman, [and] all of a
sudden hes entranced by this imaginary woman. The whole act for me is
a metaphor for being in love and falling out of love and that feeling
of elation when youre in love. I also invented this scrim projection
on the Cyr wheelthats something I developed with another artist
friend of mine, Joel Howard from [The Beatles] Love.
Q. You were recently out of commission for nine months due to a knee
injury.
Yeah. I consider myself kind of lucky. Ive had a 15-year performing
career in circus, and it was my first surgery. It was a freak thing,
and it happens; its a hazard of the trade. But luckily I have amazing
physios who take care of me. [With] Cirque, youre treated like an
elite athlete, because you are. So the recovery is really quick. Ive
been back in the show since August, and Im doing my act again.
Q. How did you stay busy during your recovery?
I was reading plays with my actor friends in town, and I was directing
some music videos. Cirque has the Choreographers Showcase, [for]
which I choreographed a piece. I ran into Mix Master Mike from the
Beastie Boys, and he is an incredible creative spirit. He and I hit it
off right away and created an acrobatic breakdance pieceit had some
capoeira in it; it had Cyr wheels in it. It turned out incredibly
well. I think the audience was super-pleased with it.
Q. You have some experience with wrestling, too.
Last fall, Cirque allowed me to be in a piece at the Cockroach Theatre
called The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Its a Pulitzer-nominated
play about professional wrestlers. They needed to cast somebody who
was physical, who could do the wrestling. I had a crash course with
Sinn Bodhi, whos formerly of WWE and now has a company here in Vegas
called Freakshow Wrestling. I had to learn how to wrestle in like five
sessions, doing really advanced moves. It was a massive challenge, and
it felt really rewarding.
Q. It sounds like youre always working in some capacity. What do you
do in your free time?
I hang out with my son a lot. He goes to circus camp every Saturday
and afterwards we spin on the wheel and jump on the trampoline. He
really loves circus, and hes going to be a way better performer and
wheel artist than I could ever be. Or maybe hell be a lawyer. Who
knows?
Q. Is there any advice youd give to someone interested in performing
in the circus?
You have to really love it, because its really hard. Just train every
day. You take the hits and you take the injuries and you just push
through them. Its just the persistence of doing something you love
over and over again until you become good at it, because there is a
point where you do become good at it. When I started out I didnt know
how you get in to Cirque du Soleil. I thought you had to be somewhat
born into a circus family.
Q. Whats the best part about working for Zumanity?
Its got its own vibe. We use a lot of audience members, and its real
audience participation. The show kind of hinges on what theyre going
to do and how theyre going to actthats where a lot of the humor
comes from. Thats the beauty of the show. Its so ephemeral, and its
hilarious.
{ SOURCE: Las Vegas Weekly | https://goo.gl/nf4A8S }
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A Q&A w/Varekais Jamieson Lindenberg
{Nov.20.2017}
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Jamieson Lindenberg is just one of 50 artists from 19 different
countries who will be performing in Cirque du Soleils VAREKAI at the
Liacouras Center November 22-26. Jamiesons first contact with Cirque
du Soleil was at the age of 16, when he became an usher for Quidam
while it was touring in the US. After pursuing a career in theater,
Cirque du Soleil came knocking in 2008 and offered Jamieson the
leading singing position on Quidam. A full circle, as he says. The
show pays tribute to the ancient and rare circus tradition of Icarian
games and Georgian dance, along with Russian swings, aerial straps &
hoops, handbalancing on canes, dancing on crutches, and Cirques
famous clowns!
Debra Danese of the Phindie, a source dedicated to independent
coverage of Philadelphia theater and arts, recently sat down with
Jamieson to ask him his thoughts about his time with Cirque du Soleil.
Q. What was the training and rehearsal process like for VAREKAI?
Training for singers begins at the International Head Quarters for
Cirque du Soleil in Montreal, Quebec. It can last anywhere from two
weeks to two months depending on the role and timeline. For VAREKAI, I
had three weeks of training. I worked daily with a vocal coach who
helped me learn the lyrics of the made-up language I sing in, as well
as the musical score. An acting/staging coach helped me with character
development and the actual staging of my role. I also had daily class
with a professional -usually Pilates, Yoga, or sometimes Tai-Chi. It
is kind of like your recess at the end of the day.
Q. What is the most challenging aspect of the show?
For me, it is the amount of singing and time that I spend on stage.
You may not notice because we float in and out- but the singers are
pretty much on stage and singing the entire show. The average acrobat
spends roughly 10-15 minutes on stage for their act and a few
transitional cues. However the musicians and singers live out on that
stage. In Act 2, I have three really vocally challenging songs back to
back. Each show is like a vocal marathon.
Q. What is your favorite part of being on tour?
Seeing the world and getting a taste for other cultures and places.
This really changes your entire perceptive on life when you get to
learn from our neighboring countries. I draw on those experiences
daily. I think it should be mandatory that everyone who turns 18 has
to visit a foreign country. Also, I love having movies nights at the
hotel with friends on tour. Ordering pizza, grabbing some drinks and
binge-watching a series in our pajamas is like adult summer camp all
year long.
Q. VAREKAI is a large-scale production. What is it like behind the
scenes of the show?
You would be surprised how little drama there is backstage. Because we
perform roughly 300 shows per year, we all really get into our zones
when its show time. There is usually a group hackeysack game,
warming up and stretching on the mats, lots of phones and swiping,
candy crushing and always lots of practical joking backstage.
Q. There are thousands of wardrobe pieces in the show. Tell us about
some of the costumes used in VAREKAI.
VAREKAI has approximately 2,000 costume pieces such as shoes, wigs,
hats and other accessories. Each artist can have up to six pieces and
every costume is specifically designed for them. Our vibrant and
colorful costumes were designed by the famous costume designer, the
late Eiko Ishioka (1938-2012) who has had a hand in movies like Bram
Stokers Dracula and The Cell. Eiko explored unusual creature shapes
to show the artists movements, enhancing their beauty and grace.
Q. As a performer, you apply your own make-up for the show. How long
does this take and how do you keep it consistent?
Yes, its part of our daily ritual and is Zen time for many of us. I
like to pop in some tunes and paint away. Each day is a little
different depending on my mood. It takes me roughly 45 minutes to
apply, and 1 minute to remove after the show. I have been performing
with Cirque since 2008. I cant even imagine how much makeup I have
slathered on this face over the years! We often joke about sleeping in
our makeup, and how much extra sleep we would have on a 6 show
weekend. It does take a toll on the skin, but hey, thats Show-Biz,
Kid!
{ SOURCE: Phindie | https://goo.gl/8NZ66e }
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Jewel: Music, Motherhood, Mindfulness, and Cirque
{Dec.06.2017}
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By: Danielle Sariyan
Jewel is one of the most talented and respected artists in music and
entertainment. She is also beautiful, successful, and famous. Yet in
spite of all this, Jewel is humble, authentic, and committed to
enriching the lives of others. With an unwavering respect for nature,
a passion for community, unrivaled independence, and a firm grasp on
her homesteading roots, the artist has channeled her reputation for
hard work into a thriving, multi-faceted entrepreneurial career.
In addition to writing and performing music from the 12 studio albums
she has recorded since 1995, Jewel is also an extremely talented
actress, a producer, a philanthropist, a conservationist, and an
author of five books including two childrens books and a book of
poetry.
The morning I was scheduled to speak with Jewel, my son woke up
uncharacteristically cranky. When her manager called to confirm, I
voiced concern that my son would interrupt our conversation. Her
manager assured me, Jewel is a mom. She will understand.
And so, an hour later, with a baby on my hip and a pacifier at the
ready I talked to Jewel about her WHOLE HUMAN entrepreneurial
platform, The Sixth Annual One Night For One Drop event with Cirque du
Soleil, the Handmade Holiday Tour, Project Clean Water, Jewels Never
Broken Foundation, and her mission to promote self-agency in an
increasingly technology driven world.
Q. Im excited to talk about all of your projects! Please bear with my
babbling baby!
How old is your little one?
Q. Six months. He is cutting two teeth and found his voice this week.
Thats what happens. They are like, This hurts. I want to talk about
it!
Q. I considered rescheduling but your manager promised you would roll
with it!
I am all for it. Im friends with Sara Blakely and I saw a beautiful
post she did where she pulled over on the side of the road to do a
conference call. She couldnt find anything to write with in her purse
so she used lipstick liner and her kids were in the background and she
was like, This is why businesses should hire moms because we get it
done. We figure it out and we get it done.
Q. Right?! This is my reality.
Thats life. Dont apologize. Heck no!
Q. I am eager to talk about the charities and causes you are involved
with. You were quoted as saying, You have a social obligation.
What sparked your desire to transition success in music and
entertainment into all encompassing entrepreneurial mission of
health, wellness, and equality?
It has always been the core message of who and what I am. I founded
Project Clean Water in 1996 or 1997. When I was homeless, I couldnt
afford enough bottled water. I knew water was going to be a major
issue, if in America, were not able to drink our tap water and cant
afford bottled water at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale. My
essence, my nature, who I am tends to be very community minded and
very entrepreneurial because I was raised by homesteaders. We had
nothing and had to rely on ourselves in the middle of nowhere to be
innovative and to find solutions. I had a very entrepreneurial
approach to my music. I knew I had an obligation to help people in
need and give people opportunities the same way I needed. I needed
help as somebody who was homeless.
I wasnt homeless because I wasnt willing to work. I was homeless
because I wouldnt have sex with a boss. He fired me for not sleeping
with him and then the car I was living in was stolen. The poverty
cycle is really difficult to get out of. Luckily, I had an opportunity
to get out. I worked my hiney off to get that opportunity, but since
the beginning, I knew I had an obligation to help others have
opportunities. The core mission of my business is around creating
connections, fostering community, and self-agency. The fields I am
branching out into besides music are all around my nature, which is
community, connection, and self-agency. Music has always been the
soundtrack to my journey of finding those things. Now its about
finding actual business strategies that accomplish those goals.
Q. Your WHOLE HUMAN philosophy led to the creation of Jewel Inc. The
relentless work you do for varied organizations, like Project Clean
Water, Jewels Never Broken Foundation, Home for the Pawlidayz, and
the homeless youth is completely inspiring. How do you determine
where to channel Jewel Inc. resources?
Anxiety and depression rates are at the highest they have ever been.
As a mother I needed to figure out how to create revenue that wasnt
based on traveling and touring all the time. I said, How do I
intersect with culture in a meaningful way thats authentic to me,
that adds a value to culture, and that also solves problems for me in
my own life? How do I make money without just touring? I started
spending a lot of my time in the entrepreneurial space based on
mindfulness curriculums.
The pedagogy that I developed while I was homeless literally just for
survival and then, How do you thrive and not self implode in this
music business once you are given the chance to do it, ended up
getting proven by a neuroscientist, a scientist named Dr. Judson
Brewer. I post those exercises for free on the website. I base my
mindfulness curriculums for toddlers, middle school students, and
businesses on things I started creating when I was homeless.
Q. You will be marrying philanthropic efforts with your passion for
music as you host The Sixth Annual One Night For One Drop event
with Cirque Du Soleil this March. What do you have in store for
fans attending this years unparalleled production?
I am incredibly honored Cirque Du Soleil decided to partner with me to
tell my life story imagined by them. If you have ever seen a Cirque
show you know how visually stunning it is. The show will have strong
Alaskan and nature themes. It will be my story, but really its the
story of everyone. Everyone has experienced love, loss, betrayal,
forgiveness, and understanding. We are the architects of our own
lives. We can look at nature verses nurture and understand how to
connect to our real nature no matter how bad our nurture was. Im very
excited. The event also aligns charities. My charity, Project Clean
Water, and their water charity are partnering up to do this. I am
donating my life story, my music, and my time. I apparently will be
flying and doing things like that. It will be exciting one way or the
other! You can say that!
Q. Thats fantastic!
One thing I am doing to support my desire to foster the community and
philanthropy is creating a craft fair before shows on the Handmade
Holiday Tour. People can come and have an experience, make gifts for
one another, and create self-agency or a sense of self-agency and
community. I am making sure at-risk families or disadvantaged families
can come and not just be part of a toy drive and be given a toy but
instead be given the self respect of saying, I am capable of making a
gift for my mom, and I am capable of making a gift for my child. I
am very very excited about that portion of the tour.
Q. The moment I became a mother I felt a powerful urge to get back to
basics, embrace homemade, handcrafted, and local grown. How do you
incorporate aspects of the rural simplicity of your childhood into
your sons world despite the fact that it is not at all like the
one in which you grew up?
I was raised on a homestead by homesteaders. I didnt realize that was
a great setup or that I was being raised to be an entrepreneur. I was
trained to be comfortable with the unknown, with adversity. My
background allowed me to have neural wiring that was comfortable with
the idea of, Alright. Let me sit down. Let me figure this out. I will
find a solution.
Its strange to raise a child not on a homestead where nature doesnt
teach him. I actually have to solve for it. Not only am I a mother in
a modern culture that relies on technology proven to stunt
neurological development for our children of learning how to do
creative problem solving, but I am also famous and rich which are
another two strikes against me I feel like. Im in a city, Im famous,
and Im rich, so I have to compensate by figuring out opportunities to
allow my son to struggle, to know that I cant do everything for him.
I have to create opportunities where he learns with his own two hands
that he is capable in age appropriate ways. Open-ended toys, staying
away from technology, and letting his creativity turn a stick into a
boat or an airplane or a bridge has been scientifically proven to
create neural pathways that nothing else does.
As parents we really have to educate ourselves. Thats why I am
creating a mindfulness cartoon about some of the hallmarks of my
implements of curiosity and observation so that kids learn self-agency
in a culture that isnt helping them do that, where toys and learning
tools do everything for our children.
Q. I applaud you for taking on that platform. Every toy lights up,
makes noise, and requires batteries. I am thrilled to see you stand
up and say there is another way.
It has been predicted that the geek economy is going to increase. By
the time our children are grown the workforce will be sixty to seventy
percent freelance. They have to have skillsets, which allow them to be
comfortable with uncertainty, with pivoting in real time, with
creative problem solving. We have to come up with real practical
solutions as parents.
Q. On Nov. 24 you are kicking off your first annual Handmade Holiday
Tour, where you will be performing both classic and original songs
alongside your family. When was the last time you performed on a
large scale with your family?
My family has toured with me off and on separately. My brother would
open for me on tours or my dad would come out and sing with me, but
this is the first time we have done it all together as a family on the
road. Im very excited. Its going to be a first as far as that is
concerned.
Q. Thats really fun. My girlfriend would kill me if I didnt tell you
we read your poetry book, A Night Without Armor, cover to cover
countless times. I also want to thank you for everything you do,
but specifically for being a woman, an artist, and a mother we can
all admire.
That is so sweet. I really appreciate that. My art is just about
fighting for my own humanity and I am honored anybody cares to fight
along with me and encourage me.
{ SOURCE: The Aquarian Weekly | https://goo.gl/Q7Dos7 }
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SPECTACLE -- CRYSTAL in the Presse
***************************************************************
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Ice dancer from St. Charles co-stars in CRYSTAL
{Nov.03.2017}
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Madeline Stammens ice skating has taken her from St. Charles to
cruise ships and now to a main role in Cirque du Soleil Crystal.
The show is the Montreal-based theatrical producers first to mix its
fabled acrobatics and circus stylings with action on ice.
When Stammen auditioned, she was taking six months away from skating
and thinking about acting on her acceptance to the school of
engineering at New York University. That was after a stint in summer
2016 in an ice show at the Pleasure Beach Arena in Blackpool, England,
called Obsession.
Their summer production is a pretty big show a lot of skaters wind up
doing, Stammen said. And it was nice to be in one place for a bit.
Stammen, 23, says that because she launched her professional skating
career at sea. For several years, she performed on cruise ships.
I skated up to the senior womens level (in ice dancing and freestyle
skating) until I was 18 and only in the United States, said Stammen,
a St. Charles East High School graduate. I always enjoyed the
performance aspect of skating (more than competition) anyway, so it
was a natural progression. A month after turning pro, I popped up on a
ship. It was a blast.
Ice shows at sea involve working on a rink an eighth of the size of
arenas, Stammen said, and the ground moves as youre skating. She
wound up having four cruise ship contracts that took her to ports in
the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Asia and Australia.
Her parents, John and Christina Stammen, who still live in St.
Charles, caught all her nautical shows, and her three brothers and one
sister made the ones they could.
My parents are my number one fans, and the shows were an excuse for a
vacation, Stammen said.
After the land-based job is England, though, Stammen wasnt sure what
she wanted to do.
But God or the world pushed me to apply (for the Cirque du Soleil
show), she said.
She sent in a video to show her skating skills, then Cirque provided
her a piece of music to which she was to improvise a routine and
videotape her performance of it. Stammen said she was hired within the
week.
This is a new thing for Cirque du Soleil. Theyve never employed
skaters before, so its been two worlds colliding and collaborating,
Stammen said.
Rehearsals began in June in Montreal.
We are all athletes, so we understand each other in that sense. But
we have different processes. Acrobats and the circus performers with
Cirque come from a place where they are open to trying to create
something different. Skaters tend to use moves that are part of a set
arsenal, Stammen said.
The Cirque performers are kicking my butt, she said. I was like a
T-Rex, with strong legs but no upper body strength. Now I can do pull-
ups.
Stammen plays The Reflection, the alter ego of the titular character
Crystal. The story involves the misfit Crystal seeing her reflection
on a lake, then meeting that reflection under the water. The
Reflection is the dark side of Crystal, Stammen said, and takes
Crystal through an underworld to look back on her life.
The shows tour began in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Oct. 5, and is using
smaller markets to develop in advance of the official premiere in
Montreal Dec. 20. Publicist Julie Desmarais said the plan is for
Crystal to be a roadshow for five years or so.
Cirque du Soleil Crystal comes to Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates Nov.
16 19. Stammen said the tour is the first time she has skated
professionally in the United States.
It will be kind of cool for my coaches and my friends to come see me
and what I do. It should be special, Stammen said. She learned to
figure skate from Jill Carson, then Candy Brown Burek, training at Fox
Valley Ice Rink in Geneva and All Seasons Ice Rink in Naperville.
I remember trying at 3 years old and thinking I could do what the
teacher did, then falling. I was one of those kids who sat on the
bench and cried all the time, Stammen said. From what my mom tells
me, I asked to go back again when I was 6, and the rest is history.
The show takes a break after the Hoffman Estates performances, so
Stammen said she is looking forward to getting to spend a bit of time
at home.
The first chance I get, Im going to the All Chocolate Kitchen in
Geneva, Stammen said.
{ SOURCE: Chicago Tribune }
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Cirque du Soleils CRYSTAL Will Wow Audiences
{Nov.04.2017}
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Jerome Sordillon is an aerialist with Crystal, Cirque du Soleils
new show on ice that opens at The Family Arena this weekend. He
performs the acrobatic portion of the show, swinging dozens of feet
above the ice, suspended only by a pair of wrist straps.
At one point, during a beautifully choreographed ballroom dance,
Sordillon lifts the main character off her skates and they soar
through the air together. Im holding on to her, he said. Shes not
holding on to anything. So it takes a lot of trust.
Trust, and plenty of practice. Do they use a net? No, Sordillon
said, I am the net.
Originally from Lyon, France, Sordillon has been performing in
circuses for over a decade, since he was 19 years old. Hes been on
tour with Crystal since June.
And hes just one of 83 cast and crew representing 19 different
nationalities that make the show possible, said Crystal publicist
Julie Desmarais.
Desmarais explained that show-goers are in for a treat. Crystal is
the story of a girl who has her head in the clouds, shes a dreamer,
and shes not super comfortable in the environment shes in. One day
she ventures out onto a frozen pond, and the ice breaks. She falls
into a surreal underworld than opens her up to new possibilities.
Desmarais said Crystal is Cirque du Soleils first production on ice
in its 33-year history. Its something that weve wanted to do for a
very long time. We really wanted to explore the speed, fluidity and
reflection that ice provides.
She thinks the show would appeal to the whole family. I think well
see a lot of audience members finding an element that reaches out to
them. Its a brand new experience. And it will feature pop songs as
part of the storyline that people will recognize.
She said audiences could look forward to remixes and covers of songs
by Beyonce, Sia, U2 and more.
{ SOURCE: St. Charles Patch }
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How St. Charles skater got on the ice with Cirque
{Nov.07.2017}
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After seeing her first Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas five years
ago, professional figure skater Madeline Stammen had a chance to hang
out with some of the cast members. She told them how impressed she was
by the performances and choreography in the water show O.
I remember saying that night, If Cirque du Soleil ever employs ice
skaters, Id love to work for that company. We laughed about it, she
said.
Fast forward five years, and now Stammen, from St. Charles, is
starring in Cirque du Soleils first ice show, Crystal. Its in the
midst of a world tour and comes to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates
Thursday, Nov. 16, through Sunday, Nov. 19.
Its so funny how life works sometimes. Its like, be careful what
you say, because it might happen, she said.
Stammen, who turns 24 Thursday, was planning to take a break from ice
skating when she got the job. Shed been accepted to New York
Universitys engineering school and, having been home-schooled most of
her life, looked forward to being a full-time college student.
When the friends she met at Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas sent her an
application to try out for Crystal, she dismissed it.
People kept recommending me and pushing me to do it. Its like God
was telling me something and pushing me to apply, she said. Finally
I just sent in an application and threw together a last-minute video.
Stammen got the job and, weeks later, she was in Montreal for the
three-month-long rehearsals.
Ive applied to school three times and gotten into these awesome
universities. And every time, something in entertainment or ice shows
has come up and pulled me back, she said.
Skating has consumed her life she since was a kid. She grew up
idolizing Olympic figure skaters Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen.
Stammen would train for three to six hours a day, five to six days a
week. When she reached high school, her parents enrolled her at St.
Charles East High School part time, so she could experience things
like homecoming, dances and graduation.
Stammen had the same coach as Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek for a
while, Candy Brown Burek, and among her many accomplishments, Stammen
earned gold medals in the United States Figure Skating Associations
ice dancing and freestyle skating competitions.
I was really always in skating for the performance aspect of it. I
always loved being in shows, Stammen said. The best part, for me,
was performing in front of a crowd. Thats what got me exhilarated.
She stopped competing and spent four years working on Royal Caribbean
Cruise Lines, doing shows on the ships ice rinks. She also was a
regular for four years in the Hot Ice show in England.
I got to see the whole world doing what I love, she said.
When off contract, she helps out with coaching and choreography at
the places she used to train, Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva and All
Seasons Ice Rink in Naperville.
The Crystal show is unlike anything Stammens done before because it
includes so many special effects. Cirques circus acrobats have helped
her learn some tricks. In return, she helped teach them how to ice
skate.
They made me do push-ups and all sorts of difficult things, she
said, laughing. The fact that Cirque has employed ice skaters is such
a big thing in our industry. The circus world and the ice skating
world are collaborating.
Like most Cirque shows, Crystal uses abstract storytelling. The
story centers on a girl named Crystal who falls through the ice and
finds herself in an alternate world. She meets her reflection
underneath the ice, and that reflection takes her on an adventure.
Stammen plays Crystals reflection.
Im kind of like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland,' she
said. Im taking her through this crazy, surreal version of her own
life.
Crazy and surreal are good words to describe Stammens life, too,
but in a good way.
If youd have asked me a few years ago, I would have never said Id
be working for the circus, she said. But its cool the way
everything has worked out. I am just taking it as it goes and going
with the flow.
{ SOURCE: Daily Herald | https://goo.gl/7YVbBK }
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Some Official Acts from CRYSTAL
{Nov.08.2017}
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Cirque du Soleils website has the following four acts/scenes from
CRYSTAL featured, they are...
REFLECTION -- Crystal sees her Reflection skating upside down on the
ceiling. She then joins her Reflection on the ice for a poetic skating
duo.
PLAYGROUND -- A hockey game on the pond turns into a high-octane romp
on ramps where extreme skaters do crazy flips, twists and jumps at
breakneck speed, until the ice turns into a giant pinball machine.
BALLROOM -- The couple performs a spellbinding aerial straps/skating
pas de deux that blurs the boundary between ice and sky.
TEMPÊTE -- Acrobatics and skating collide in this high-energy number
where the vocabulary of banquine, hand-to-hand and tumbling is
intricately interwoven with jumps, flips, spins and gliding on blades.
{ SOURCE: Cirque du Soleil }
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Cirque Finds the Coolest Setting for CRYSTAL?
{Nov.15.2017}
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Three times in her life, Madeline Stammen has sat down at her computer
and pressed send on a flurry of college applications, convinced that
perhaps it was time to put her ice skating dreams on hold and instead
pursue a scholarly degree.
And three times, the phone rang, and she was off to another adventure.
Her latest adventure just might be her most rewarding, as the St.
Charles native is starring as the character Crystals Reflection in
the brand new Crystal by Cirque du Soleil production that arrives in
Chicago for a string of shows this weekend at Sears Centre Arena.
I was planning to go to NYU to go to engineering school, but then
Cirque was looking for skaters, Stammen explained in a recent phone
chat. We always laugh because my mom would say we are going to spend
all this time and money on college and she will end up being the back
of a horse in some ice show.
Of course, this is no ordinary ice show. Marking the first time the
world-renown Cirque du Soleil has tackled the slippery surfaces of an
ice stage, the show utilizes the talents of both skaters and
acrobats to produce a production that defies imagination.
Not only does the ice offer the metaphor of coolness but it also
allows us to project a number of images onto the ice, allowing for the
completely evolution of the entire stage, explained the shows
artistic director, Fabrice Lemire. This company is always looking for
ways to push boundaries, so exploring the ice element was just another
piece of their story.
The production follows the story of Crystal, a young woman who
attempts to fulfill her destiny despite lifes challenges, and
discovering that sometimes, you must walk on thin ice to find your
true potential.
While Cirque Du Soleil has been around for more than 30 years and lays
claim to more than 40 productions, adding the element of ice brought
with it a slew of challenges.
There were just so many logistics involved, said Lemire. How could
we re-create for the ice the elements that Cirque de Soleil is known
for? The ice ended up bringing not only a speed element, but also an
emotional element.
There was only one problem: The acrobats werent skaters, and the
skaters werent acrobats.
Many of the acrobats had absolutely no skating experience, so we had
to train them a whole new set of skills to already advanced acrobats,
explained Lemire, who coincidentally studied dance as a child because
he dreamed of becoming a professional ice skater. We also have
accomplished skaters that had no acrobat skills, so yes, it can be a
challenge.
Another challenge for the production was the relatively short time the
performers had to prepare for it.
A Cirque show usually takes nine months to prepare, and this one was
just a little over two months, said Stammen. Everything was done in
hyper speed. In fact, we are still morphing the show a tad each night.
I had to do a ton of aerial training. As a skater, I have never had
to work my upper body as much as I am doing now.
And while the show is touring cities throughout the United States and
Canada throughout mid-2018, Lemire says there is always a chance that
the show might find a permanent home somewhere. That hasnt been
talked about quite yet, but its something that I would assume that
they would explore in which we could have a residency somewhere on the
ice, he says. You just never know what ones future holds.
{ SOURCE: Chicago Sun-Times | https://goo.gl/h8r6DL }
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The Montreal Gazette on CRYSTAL
{Nov.17.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
Just how different is Crystal from other Cirque du Soleil shows? Well,
even some of the technicians have to wear skates on the latest Cirque
creation, which is set to play the Bell Centre in Montreal from Dec.
20 to 31.
It is the Cirques first ice show, and that has added a whole new
dimension to the job description of everyone working on this
production, from the technicians to the performers to the costume
designers. Some Quebec journalists were given a tour Thursday behind
the scenes of Crystal at the Sears Centre in the Chicago suburb of
Hoffman Estates, just hours before its première at this 11,000-seat
rink 40 kilometres outside of the Windy City.
The show has been playing secondary markets in the U.S. before its
première in Quebec in December. The tour began in Lafayette, La. in
early October and has touched down in San Antonio, Tex.; Little Rock,
Ark.; St. Charles, Mo.; and Minneapolis, Minn.
There is no stage for Crystal. The stage is quite literally the ice
surface, with the show taking up 170 feet of the 200-foot NHL-size ice
surface. The Cirque also makes much use of video footage with the ice
surface as a giant screen. There are 160 moving lights in the show,
and they hang 75,000 pounds of equipment from the rafters.
The ice surface is basically a canvas for us to use the entire time,
said Mike Naumann, Crystals production manager. Its like at the
Bell Centre at the beginning of the hockey games, you see that. So
its the same concept here. We have a lot of new technology.
So the lights will track the artists, following them, and this is
incorporated into the video.
So theyre able to skate during the show and it traces (images) on to
the ice, Naumann said. At the very end of the show, they write The
End on the ice. So theres several times in the show that youll see
a trail behind the artist in the video.
And they have already run into some big-time ice issues.
Lafayette was challenging because it was an older venue, Naumann
said.
In Minneapolis, the ice floor at the Target Centre was not working, so
at the last minute they had to hire an outside company to install a
temporary ice floor.
The high concept behind Crystal is that it melds the classic Cirque
acrobatic circus arts with skating finesse, and the 40 performers are
almost evenly split between professional skaters and acrobats. But
many of the circus performers, including acrobats and jugglers, had to
learn to skate for the show.
So you have Cirque standards like trapeze, aerial straps and hand to
hand mixed and matched with speedskating, hockey and skaters zooming
over on-ice ramps.
The ice makes it enormously different (from other Cirque shows),
said Shana Carroll, who directs the show in tandem with Sébastien
Soldevila.
There was a learning curve involved in terms of using it to its
potential, just with the speed and the sudden breaking. The ice itself
is like a huge character. Also working on the ice. Anything I knew
about directing or choreographing in a studio, its just a whole new
ball game. I had to put on my crampons and inch my way out there (on
to the ice). It took me a while to realize that the ice rink is
basically just a big playground. Everyone just gets up and starts
skating around.
But I think it was so stimulating for the cast. With half acrobats
and half skaters, that exchange was so stimulating and it really gave
us this positive atmosphere and it was contagious.
{ SOURCE: Brendan Kelly, Montreal Gazette | https://goo.gl/Kw8HCZ }
***************************************************************
BEYOND THE BIGTOP -- NFL EXPERIENCE in the Presse
***************************************************************
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NFL putting permanent Experience in Times Square
{Nov.28.2017}
-------------------------------------------------------
The NFL is taking its game to Times Square. Literally.
Currently in previews, the NFL Experience will open to the public in
the mecca of Manhattan on Friday, one day after a grand opening that
Commissioner Roger Goodell and assorted football celebrities and Hall
of Famers will attend. While this Experience is patterned after the
exhibits the league has done for years at the Super Bowl and draft, it
has a new and different feel thanks to a partnership with Cirque du
Soleil.
Cirque du Soleil has been involved with our team on things and with
the Super Bowl, says Dawn Hudson, the leagues chief marketing
officer. We wanted to not just do an experience like anything else,
but to have creativity and imagination and to really think about the
things we would do. We thought about the power of what we know about
the NFL and to try to reimagine that with a company that looks at the
world in a totally different way could create magic for the fan.
A $30 million project that has taken 2 1/2 years in development, the
Experience has something for kids, teens, and adults, mixing high tech
and traditional displays into an immersive attraction.
DISNEYLAND MEETS HALL OF FAME
Want to read about and see clips from your favorite franchise, or view
memorabilia? Theres a room for that, whether through tablets or
visual displays.
Want to virtually dress up in full uniform and equipment like a player
from your team? Do drills as if you were a draft prospect at the NFL
combine? Take a history lesson of football sort of an NFL101 or
create a touchdown celebration dance? Go ahead, theres a place for
all of that, too.
Visitors can act the part of coach and quarterback with the help of
Jon Gruden as he calls and diagrams a play (Dice Right 61 Bullseye X
Individual), then allows fans to run the play on a video screen.
Displays of all the Super Bowl rings and tickets and the Lombardi
Trophy are on hand. A replication of an equipment room and the
underneath areas of a stadium is part of the four-floor tour, which
takes anywhere from one hour to 90 minutes, depending on lines, though
there will be timed entries.
But theres plenty to do even while waiting for something else to do.
We look at this as Disneyland meets the Hall of Fame in Times
Square, says Danny Boockvar, president of NFL Experience Times
Square.
NFL FROM PLAYERS' POINT OF VIEW
The centerpiece certainly will be a 4D film that has Cirque du
Soleils touch artistically and in reality. Its Cirque du Soleils
first experiential venture.
Before watching the film in the Experiences Stadium, theres even a
warning for people who are prone to motion sickness to beware,
although the seats in the theater are adjustable to limit the amount
of jerking around a viewer takes. Doubt they have those out on the
field for the players.
The movie by NFL Films pretty much covers every aspect of how a player
prepares, feels and what he, well, experiences when running for
touchdowns, being sacked, or winning a championship. Its as fast-
paced as a Tyreek Hill sprint, as powerful as a Von Miller tackle, as
memorable as a Drew Brees touch pass.
It even comes with a weather surprise.
Part of the trick is make sure to appeal to kids who are 8 and adults
who are 80, to the hardcore fan and the novice, and the people from
overseas, Hudson says, noting that 20 percent of foot traffic in
Times Square is from Europe.
Visitors can finish off the visit in a dining area featuring favored
items from the 32 NFL teams. The New York item being highlighted
recently was a reuben sandwich.
DEPARTURE FROM LOCAL ATTRACTIONS
The NFL Experience is one of several sites opening near Times Square
this year that are a striking departure from the unique local
attractions: Broadway theater; world-class museums; world-famous
landmarks such as the Empire State Building, along with authentic
neighborhoods, shops and eateries.
New York isnt known for its Southern food or country music, but the
Grand Ole Opry is opening a venue soon promising the best of
Nashville food and entertainment in Times Square. National Geographic
Encounter opened in October with an immersive experience using high-
tech visuals and soundscapes.
I would say the primary thought was not a movement to enhance Times
Square, Hudson says. People want things that are high-sensory
experiences they can do with friends and they can talk and share, and
that dont take a huge amount of time.
We considered other places and cities. We knew we needed to have an
area with a lot of visitors and fans, an area that would require heavy
foot traffic. New York is the home of the NFL, it has two teams, and
so many or our other teams are not so far away. This is five blocks
from our headquarters. Our people can be here every day and make sure
everything is authentic.
{ SOURCE: Associated Press }
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Cirque Partnered with Thinkwell Group for NFLX
{Dec.01.2017}
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In partnership with the NFL and Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group,
world-renowned experience design company Thinkwell Group has announced
its involvement in the NFL Experiencea high-tech attraction launching
today in Times Square that lets visitors immerse themselves in
Americas favorite sport. Thinkwell provided a wide range of creative,
design, and production services to bring the NFL Experience to life,
including technical, lighting & audio design, in-field art direction,
and installation and construction oversight.
Cirque du Soleil approached us with a unique challenge, said
François Bergeron, Chief Operating Officer at Thinkwell. How could we
turn this space into an interactive NFL exhibitbetter yet, into an
engaging fan experience? We realized we could use the same technology
and design principles that help us design and produce museums and
theme parks to turn the NFL itself into an attractionand eight
engaging experiences backed by augmented reality and other cutting-
edge, interactive technologies were born.
Thinkwell drew on its expertise creating attractions and experiential
exhibits around iconic franchises like Harry Potter and The Hunger
Games to create this larger-than-life experience worthy of the NFL
brand. Its innovative design uses high technology and interactive
elements to take visitors on a complete journey through the football
experiencefrom fan to player to on the field at the Super Bowl.
Its not enough to watch NFL games on TV anymorenew technology like
augmented reality is making it possible for consumers to actually
become a part of their favorite events, explained Chris Durmick,
Principal, Attractions & Museums at Thinkwell and Creative Director
for the NFL Experience. Our cutting-edge technology doesnt just give
consumers a front-row seat at their favorite teams gameit puts them
right into the heart of the game itself.
ABOUT THINKWELL GROUP
Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Beijing and Abu Dhabi,
Thinkwell Group is a global experience design and production agency
specializing in the creation and master planning of theme parks,
destination resorts, major branded and intellectual property
attractions, events & spectaculars, museums & exhibits, expos, and
live shows around the world. Founded in 2001, Thinkwell is a creative,
collaborative team with extensive experience in strategy, planning,
design and production of location-based entertainment projects
worldwide. The award-winning company has become a leader in
experiential design by bringing a unique holistic approach to every
creative engagement, delivering extraordinary results to notable
clients over the years, including Fortune 500 companies, movie
studios, museums, theme parks and destination resorts.
For more information about Thinkwell,please visit:
www.thinkwellgroup.com.
{ SOURCE: Business Insider }
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NFL Experience Opens in Times Square
{Dec.02.2017}
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December 1st, the NFL and Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group
unveiled NFL Experience Times Square in the heart of New York City.
The attraction, located on the corner of West 47th Street and 7th
Avenue at 20 Times Square, spans 40,000 square feet and four floors,
bringing fans the most interactive and extensive football experience
in the world. NEW YORK, NY Today, the NFL and Cirque du Soleil
Entertainment Group unveiled NFL Experience Times Square in the heart
of New York City. The attraction, located on the corner of West 47th
Street and 7th Avenue at 20 Times Square, spans 40,000 square feet and
four floors, bringing fans the most interactive and extensive football
experience in the world.
NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL and Pro Football Hall of Famer MICHAEL
STRAHAN welcomed the NFL FLAG 13-14 BOYS AND GIRLS NEW YORK REGIONAL
WINNERS to kick off NFL Experiences opening last night in Times
Square. The two teams will compete for the title in their respective
divisions during the NFL FLAG Championship.
We partnered with Cirque du Soleil to create a captivating and
authentic football experience that enables fans to step into the
locker room and onto the field of an NFL stadium, said GOODELL.
Whether you are a seasoned veteran or new to the game, NFL Experience
Times Square takes you on an unforgettable journey where you enter as
a fan, become a player, and leave as a Super Bowl champion.
Blending state-of-the-art technology with hands-on activities, NFL
Experience transports visitors directly into the game for an
interactive exploration of football, from the practice field to the
Super Bowl. Fans can test their skills to see how they measure up to
professional football players, learn game strategy from Coach JON
GRUDEN, and experience the adrenaline-pumping action of the NFL in an
immersive 4D movie theater.
NFL Experience Times Square is a next-generation entertainment
attraction that will quickly join the list of unique, must-see New
York City destinations, said NFL Experience President DANNY BOOCKVAR.
We are tremendously proud to open our doors and bring New Yorkers and
those visiting from across the country and the world closer to the
action than ever before.
Going through NFL Experience brouht me back to the game and triggered
the emotions that I cherished as a player, said STRAHAN. As someone
who spent 15 years in the League, I think the NFL Experience offers
the most authentic look at the game outside of playing on Sundays.
NFL Experience Times Square is Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Groups
first experiential sports venture, blending the companys extensive
knowledge as a world-renowned live production company and the
excitement of the NFL into one venue.
As we expand our entertainment offering beyond performing arts into
immersive experiences, we are thrilled to partner with the worlds
leading sports brand. This project has not only allowed us to push our
creative boundaries to showcase the NFL from a whole new perspective,
but also open the fascinating world of professional sports to Cirque
du Soleil Entertainment Group, said DANIEL LAMARRE, President and CEO
of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group.
NFL Experience brings football to life for visitors in unique ways,
including:
o) The Stadium (4D Theater): The artistry of NFL Films combines with
the thrill-ride of a rollercoaster in a 180-seat state-of-the-art
theater featuring a 10-minute, thrilling show. Four-dimension
special effects bring fans onto the field with the weather elements
and aromas from NFL games, and motion seats recreate the movement
from plays.
o) The 32s: Explore team traditions, fun facts, top plays, and even
get a look inside home stadiums around the country all available
on displays throughout the exhibit. Fans will get to test their
knowledge or vote for favorite players, and take a tour through all
32 teams with authentic club treasures on display.
o) The Equipment Room: Guests will enter the training grounds and
measure their skills with a combination of digital and physical
tracking activities. Blocking dummies will measure tackle strength
and guests will see how their vertical jump compares to NFL players
and friends. Finally, fans will get inspired by postgame speeches
from NFL coaches and view gear worn by the stars themselves.
o) Suit Up: Guests will pick their team, select a jersey number, and
suit up as a real player with the help of digital face-tracking
technology, turning them into a computer-generated image of their
favorite star.
o) Game Plan: Meet former NFL Coach Jon Gruden and get ready for the
big game by learning a real NFL play: DICE RIGHT 61 BULLSEYE X
INDIVIDUAL. This projection system gives guests the experience of
virtually taking part in a quarterback meeting with Coach Gruden.
o) Huddle Up: An immersive point of view experience that puts fans
inside the team huddle to call DICE RIGHT 61 BULLSEYE X INDIVIDUAL
as taught by Coach Jon Gruden. Custom media monitors and
interactive game play allow guests to be the quarterback, pick the
receiver and run the play, earning the praise of the coach.
o) Quarterback Challenge: Guests will become the quarterback of their
team and watch as their favorite receiver runs the play. In three
attempts, they will pass the football to the receiver on screen and
compare performance stats such as speed and completion percentage
against their teams quarterback.
o) Super Bowl Celebration: Every year, one team feels the euphoria of
standing on the field in a shower of confetti after winning the
Super Bowl. An augmented reality experience will put guests amongst
the winning team for the biggest NFL celebration. Fans will also
experience the thrill of a virtual post-Super Bowl Gatorade dunk
and take home a memorable photo capturing the fun.
o) Champions Stage: All the hard work, sweat and tears culminate with
the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and guests will commemorate their
triumph with a photo beside the iconic symbol. Additionally, guests
can get an up-close look at every Super Bowl Championship ring,
from the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl I ring to the New England
Patriots Super Bowl LI ring containing 283 diamonds.
o) Postgame Tunnel: The closing postgame tunnel gives guests a one-of-
a-kind perspective into the game from both the player and fan
perspective with exclusive, never-before-seen footage.
o) Food and Beverage: The only place fans can eat through all 31 NFL
stadiums. The space features a food court and bar overlooking Times
Square, serving dishes specific to each stadium. Bringing in
locally sourced ingredients from every NFL hometown and input from
all 31 stadium head chefs, the rotating menu will change based on
the big game of the week.
o) Special NFL Player Appearances: Hall of Famers, current players,
and NFL Legends from around the league will make appearances and
participate in fan experiences throughout the year.
Tickets to NFL Experience Times Square begin at $39 and can be
purchased on-site or online at NFLExperience.com.
{ SOURCE: NFL Experience }
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NFL Experience Immerses You in Football Through Tech
{Dec.04.2017}
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Have you ever been curious about how it feels to be hit by an NFL
linebacker? Or how hard it is to complete a pass to a receiver? Have
you ever wanted to know exactly what goes on between the quarterback
and his coach before every play? And what the cryptic names assigned
to plays actually signify?
Well, youre in luck.
The NFL in partnership with Cirque du Soleil opened on Friday the NFL
Experience Times Square, an interactive look inside football that, in
the words of NFL Experience President Danny Boockvar, takes you from
fan to player to champion using a combination of high-tech
installations and low-tech displays.
It was a strategy, and that said first of all, theres a narrative:
fan to player to champion, and I like that and I think that really
serves us well, Boockvar said. Virtual reality is deliberately left
mostly out of the experience.
The NFL Experience seems to be the natural extension of previous,
event-based efforts to create a lasting culture around the NFL
product. It also represents an opportunity for the NFL to keep fans
involved throughout the year, especially from the Super Bowl to
Kickoff weekend eight months later. For Dawn Hudson, the NFLs chief
marketing officer, the NFL Experience also gives the league a way to
create other exhibitions around the world that further fans
engagement with the NFL.
What it gave us a flavor for is we can build more things that give
people different ways to interact with our brand experiences, if you
will
, Hudson said in a phone interview. The NFLs really good about
creating a calendar of events; we were really focused on, for this
project and for others, how do we create things in between, other ways
people can interact?
THE EXPERIENCE
You begin on the fourth floor with an opportunity to take a picture on
a green screen with Gatorade being poured on you as if you won the
Super Bowl. From there, a video teaches the basics of football; if
youre already well-versed in the game but want to find out more about
its teams and history, a number of touch screens can deliver that
info. Authentic memorabilia is placed throughout the exhibition floor.
For those who already know the game well, the fourth floor might take
a back seat to the more interactive elements further along. But the
NFLs first truly permanent fan-centric space is likely geared more
toward the American and international tourists who account for half of
Times Squares foot traffic.
Youve got 66 million people coming in across the street, many of
whom you know, we have 100 million NFL fans, 5 percent of whom have
ever been to a game, Boockvar mentioned. Plus all the internationals
who have seen Lady Gaga at the Super Bowl or maybe theyve had one
game in London, theyre going to come in here and be like, Wow, I get
it, I understand what its like to step into the game, step into the
eyes of the player.'
From the fourth floor, you enter a 180-seat 4D theater that immerses
you completely in the life of an NFL player. NFL Films provided real
game footage that was synced with sensory seating by D-Box to mimic
the feel of a tackle; wind and falling snow; and powerful audio to
nearly mimic the feel of being on the field. Boockvar, and other
officials SportTechie spoke with, compared the experience to Disney
World.
NFL Films, 4U2C, and D-Box worked in almost perfect cohesion to ensure
that the theater was ready, Boockvar explained, despite the
difficulties of installing a theater and control room, and installing
fiber optic cable, in an active construction zone in the heart of one
of NYCs busiest tourist spots.
Its been a collaboration between 4U2C, which is part of Cirque du
Soleil, and NFL Films, so NFL came up with the idea of the actual
video itself all out of their archives, so its got a very realistic
style, Tim Durant, 4U2Cs (unsure of position), told SportTechie.
And then were a design company, through technology and video, so we
helped build that into an immersive experience based on what NFL Films
had.
THE INTERACTION
On the third floor, you enter into an equipment room with a number
of physical challenges calling your name. Want to assess your strength
against NFL standards? Attack a blocking dummy and see if your force
output is All-Pro-caliber. Been envisioning yourself as an NFL player
forever? Stand in front of a screen that uses Xbox Kinect technology
to detect your body and overlay your favorite teams uniformnow you
are one.
Next, learn an actual play call from a hologram of Super Bowl-winning
coach Jon Gruden, who explains the motions behind Dice Right 61
Bullseye X Individual. Then go under the hood and into the huddle to
call the play and get the ball to a receiver. An embedded microphone
picks up your play call and prompts you to hike the ball. Complete all
three passes? Youre the starter.
The huddle-up with Gruden, where we created that custom video game,
we made a purposeful choice not to do computer-generated images,
Boockvar said. We filmed real people tight ends and wide receivers
running Dice Right 61 Bullseye, X Individual, so then we created a
video game, and you pick the tight end and wide receiver. Thats
awesome. That doesnt exist (anywhere else).
Finally, grab a football, choose your team, and again try to complete
throws to your receiver under the pressure of time, much like NFL
quarterbacks do when they drop back to pass. Complete even one pass,
and touchdown it is. QB Challenge, as this final interactive is
called, also measures your accuracy and speed using vertical and
horizontal sensors that track your throw.
The technology and the interactives and all that, its all about
supporting the storyline. So youre a fan, you become a player, you
train, you suit up, you go to the coach, the coach is going to teach
you a play or two, and then you implement those plays
, Francois
Bergeron, the COO/CFO of Thinkwell, which helped design the NFL
Experience, said during the tour. Every piece of equipment is
supporting that storyline.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP FEELING
Descend the stairs to the next level and now youre a Super Bowl
Champion. Stand in front of a screen to see yourself in augmented
reality enjoying the confetti-covered celebration. Next, examine the
tickets from every Super Bowl ever played, or gaze at a real Lombardi
Trophy. If youre a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, admire all six
championship rings among the 52 currently in existence.
The Super Bowl display resonated deeply with a particular New York
Giants wide receiver: Brandon Marshall was here (Tuesday), and he
said, Im so inspired to get back in the game,' Boockvar said
excitedly. If this can inspire a player, it will inspire the fans to
step into the shoes of the player.
The benefit of the space like the NFL Experience Times Square versus
the Super Bowl Experience is that its fixed, so you can put more
technology into it that you couldnt afford it wouldnt work to take
it on the road, Hudson said. You also have more space limitations,
so what you might do when you allow people to run the dash or try to
kick a field goal, you dont have the space for in New York. So youve
gotta create other ways and you have to use technology to give people
the sense of scale of football while being in a relatively small
space.
The exhibition ends on the second floor into the souvenir shop and
café, where a number of vendors offer featured items from the menus at
all 32 NFL stadiums; during the season, weekly matchups determine
which teams food the ingredients are locally sourced from their
home cities is available. Grab a bite and look out over Times
Square.
Or better yet, have a seat at the bar on a Sunday, watch a game, and
realize that maybe your time at the NFL Experience brought you that
much closer to the action on the field.
{ SOURCE: SportTechie | https://goo.gl/ziiUtZ }
=======================================================================
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:
São Paulo, BR -- Oct 5, 2017 to Dec 17, 2017
Rio de Janeiro, BR -- Dec 28, 2017 to Jan 21, 2018
Rosario, AR -- Feb 14, 2018 to Feb 21, 2018
Buenos Aires, AR -- Mar 15, 2018 to Apr 1, 2018
Cordoba, AR -- Apr 16, 2018 to Apr 29, 2018
Koozå:
Shanghai, CN -- Oct 2, 2017 to Dec 3, 2017
Beijing, CN -- Dec 15, 2017 to Feb 11, 2018
Hong Kong, CN -- TBA 2018
China City #4 -- TBA 2018
China City #5 -- TBA 2018
Kurios:
Vancouver, BC -- Oct 19, 2017 to Dec 31, 2017
Tokyo, JP -- Feb 7, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018
Osaka, JP -- Jul 26, 2018 to Oct 29, 2018
Nagoya, JP -- Nov 22, 2018 to Jan 27, 2019
Fukuoka, JP -- Feb 15, 2018 to Mar 31, 2018
Sendai, JP -- April 2019
Luzia:
Los Angeles, CA -- Dec 8, 2017 to Feb 11, 2018
Costa Mesa, CA -- Feb 21, 2018 to Mar 25, 2018
Washington, DC -- Apr 13, 2018 to May 13, 2018
Boston, MA -- TBA 2018
Monterrey, MX -- TBA 2018
Guadalajara, MX -- TBA 2018
Mexico City, MX -- TBA 2018
Totem:
Madrid, ES -- Nov 10, 2017 to Jan 14, 2018
Seville, ES -- Jan 25, 2018 to Mar 4, 2018
Barcelona, ES -- Mar 23, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Malaga, ES -- Jun 1, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018
Alicante, ES -- Jul 20, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018
Zurich, CH -- Sep 5, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018
VOLTA:
Miami, FL -- Dec 15, 2017 to Feb 4, 2018
Tampa, FL -- Feb 14, 2018 to Mar 4, 2018
East Rutherford, NJ -- Mar 29, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Uniondale, NY -- May 17, 2018 to Jun 10, 2018
------------------------------------
ARENA - In Stadium-Like Venues
------------------------------------
Varekai:
Biloxi, MS -- Nov 29, 2017 to Dec 3, 2017
Hidalgo, TX -- Dec 6, 2017 to Dec 10, 2017
Fort Worth, TX -- Dec 13, 2017 to Dec 17, 2017
Frisco, TX - Dec 20 to Dec 23, 2017 (FINAL SHOW)
TORUK - The First Flight:
Bangkok, TH -- TBA 2017
Dubai, UAE -- Jan 4, 2018 to Jan 17, 2018
Cologne, DE -- Oct 25, 2018 to Oct 28, 2018
Hamburg, DE -- Oct 31, 2018 to Nov 4, 2018
Berlin, DE -- Nov 7, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018
Frankfurt, DE -- Nov 28, 2018 to Dec 2, 2018
Zagreb, Croatia -- Dec 7, 2018 to Dec 9, 2018
China -- TBA 2018
OVO:
Nuremberg, DE -- Dec 6, 2017 to Dec 10, 2017
Munich, DE -- Dec 13, 2017 to Dec 17, 2017
London, UK -- Jan 7, 2018 to Mar 4, 2018
Hanover, DE -- Mar 14, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
Oberhausen, DE -- Apr 5, 2018 to Apr 8, 2018
Krakow, PL -- Apr 13, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Gdansk, PL -- Apr 19, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Saint Petersburg, RU -- Apr 28, 2018 to May 5, 2018
Moscow, RU -- May 8, 2018 to May 20, 2018
Kazan, RU -- May 23, 2018 to May 27, 2018
Tolyatti, RU -- May 30, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018
Sochi, RU -- Jul 10, 2018 to Jul 29, 2018
Lille, FR -- Nov 8, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018
Bordeaux, FR -- Nov 14, 2018 to Nov 18, 2018
Toulouse, FR -- Nov 21, 2018 to Nov 25, 2018
Montpellier, FR -- Nov 28, 2018 to Dec 2, 2018
Strasbourg, FR -- Dec 5, 2018 to Dec 9, 2018
Nantes, FR -- Dec 12, 2018 to Dec 16, 2018
SÉPTIMO DÍA NO DESCANSARÉ:
Mexico City, MX -- Nov 28, 2017 to Dec 23, 2017
Panama City, PA -- Jan 23, 2018 to Jan 28, 2018
San Jose, CR -- Feb 14, 2018 to Feb 25, 2018
Guatemala City, GT -- Mar 10, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
Coral Gables, FL (Miami) -- April 2018
Inglewood, CA (Los Angeles) -- May 2018
Asuncion, PY -- June 2018
CRYSTAL - A BREAKTHROUGH ICE EXPERIENCE:
Worchester, MA -- Dec 7, 2017 to Dec 10, 2017
Quebec City, QC -- Dec 13, 2017 to Dec 17, 2017
Montreal, QC -- Dec 20, 2017 to Dec 31, 2017 (GALA PREMIERE)
Windsor, ON -- Jan 3, 2018 to Jan 7, 2018
Detroit, MI -- Jan 10, 2018 to Jan 14, 2018
Pittsburgh, PA -- Jan 17, 2018 to Jan 21, 2018
Topeka, KS -- Jan 24, 2018 to Jan 28, 2018
Colorado Springs, CO -- Jan 31, 2018 to Feb 4, 2018
Rio Rancho, NM -- Feb 7, 2018 to Feb 11, 2018
Cedar Park, TX -- Feb 14, 2018 to Feb 18, 2018
Phoenix, AZ -- Mar 8, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Tucson, AZ -- Mar 14, 2018 to Mar 18, 2018
San Diego, CA -- Mar 21, 2018 to Mar 25, 2018
San Jose, CA -- Mar 28, 2018 to Apr 1, 2018
Portland, OR -- Apr 4, 2018 to Apr 8, 2018
Abbotsford, BC -- Apr 11, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Penticton, BC -- Apr 18, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Prince George, BC -- Apr 25, 2018 to Apr 29, 2018
Red Deer, AB -- May 2, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Saskatoon, SK -- May 16, 2018 to May 20, 2018
Medicine Hat, AB -- May 23, 2018 to May 27, 2018
CORTEO:
New Orleans, LA -- Mar 2, 2018 to Mar 4, 2018
Houston, TX -- Mar 8, 2018 to Mar 11, 2018
Milwaukee, WI -- Mar 29, 2018 to Apr 1, 2018
Rockford, IL -- Apr 5, 2018 to Apr 8, 2018
Columbus, OH -- Apr 12, 2018 to Apr 15, 2018
Knoxville, TN -- Apr 19, 2018 to Apr 22, 2018
Lexington, KY -- Apr 27, 2018 to Apr 29, 2018
Cincinnati, OH -- May 3, 2018 to May 6, 2018
Chattanooga, TN -- May 10, 2018 to May 13, 2018
Lincoln, NE -- May 17, 2018 to May 20, 2018
Oshawn, ON -- Jun 21, 2018 to Jun 24, 2018
Ottawa, ON -- Jun 27, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018
Kingston, ON -- Jul 4, 2018 to Jul 8, 2018
Saint Catharines, ON -- Jul 11, 2018 to Jul 15, 2018
---------------------------------
RESIDENT - en Le Théâtre
---------------------------------
Mystère:
Location: Treasure Island, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Saturday through Wednesday, Dark: Thursday/Friday
Two shows Nightly - 7:00pm & 9:30pm
Special Performance Dates:
o Fri, Dec 29, 2017
o Sun, Dec 31, 2017 | 4:30pm & 7:00pm
2017 Single Performance Dates:
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 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
---------------------------------------------------
*) THE WORLD OF...
Each week we're going to get a closer look at one of Cirque
du Soleil's 19 shows that stretch from Las Vegas to Tokyo and
everywhere in between!
o) EPISODE 9 - TORUK-THE FIRST FLIGHT {Nov.03}
Cirque du Soleil in a stunning new light inspired by James
Cameron's Avatar, Cirque du Soleil transports you to the
world of Pandora in a visually stunning live setting.
Experience a storytelling odyssey through a new world of
imagination, discovery and possibility.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/89SKQEnvTOU >
o) EPISODE 10 - KURIOS {Nov.10}
Head behind the scenes and step into the curio cabinet of an
ambitious inventor who defies the laws of time, space and
dimension in order to reinvent everything around him. Suddenly,
the visible becomes invisible, perspectives are transformed,
and the world is literally turned upside down.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/Vb-cgr0zZY4 >
o) EPISODE 11 - VOLTA {Nov.17}
VOLTA tells a spellbinding story about the freedom to choose
and the thrill of blazing your own trail. Inspired in part
by the adventurous spirit that fuels the culture of action
sports, the show weaves acrobatics in a visually striking
world driven by a stirring melodic score. VOLTA is a story
of transformation. It is about being true to oneself,
fulfilling ones true potential, and the power of the group
to make that possible. It celebrates freedom as a movement.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/MHF11DNuWfY >
o) EPISODE 12 - CORTEO {Dec.01}
Get carried away with life. The clown Mauro has passed, but
his spirit is still with us. Instead of mourning, the funeral
cortege celebrates the here and hereafter with laughter and
exuberance. Rich, extravagant memories frolic with the senses.
The sound of laughter peals around the stage, visions of
joyous tumblers and players fascinate the eyes. Regret and
melancholy retreat in the face of a cavalcade of lively
recollections of a life gloriously lived. A festive parade
that entertains; the perfect accolade for an artist whose
life was dedicated to revelry and making merry.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/BQZBDkzDnEw >
*) GLIDING HIGHER: THE MAKING OF CRYSTAL
Gliding Higher is Cirque du Soleil's weekly backstage behind
the scenes look at their NEWEST show CRYSTAL! Discover a world
of ice, figure skating, and of course Cirque du Soleil.
o) EPISODE 1 - The Big Idea {Nov.15}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/UgtnAJ6iL4g >
o) EPISODE 2 - The Creation {Nov.22}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/CTzvThN2a9E >
o) EPISODE 3 - The Artists {Nov.29}
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/_oeSS7YFRiI >
*) SEPTIMO DIA - BEHIND THE SCENES
Take a behind the scenes look at one of the top Cirque du Soleil
shows: Soda Stereo SEP7IMO DIA - No Descansaré. SEP7IMO DIA NO
DESCANSARÉ blends the wonder of Cirque du Soleil with the
explosive pop-rock energy of Soda Stereo Argentinas musical
icons to immerse spectators in the bands symbolism and poetry.
In a breathtaking display of Cirque du Soleils signature
artistry and physicality, SEP7IMO DIA conjures a world outside
of time a place where emotions ebb and flow like the tide,
pulsing to the rhythm of the bands emblematic songs.
o) EPISODE 1 - How do you even train top Athletes? {Oct.15}
Behind the scenes with Coach Igor Arefiev
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/qLHpFHzUsEo >
o) EPISODE 2 - The Automation and Machinery {Oct.22}
How does a show with so many high flying stunts run? With
a world-class Automation Department of course! Watch to
learn more about how this master team keeps our Cirque
performers rockin'!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/uGyg-s2p4LQ >
o) EPISODE 3 - Master Gymnastics Tumbler {Oct.29}
Learn more about Kasper in this behind the scenes feature
of Gymnastic Tumbling master Kasper.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/yTHk3Go3vqo >
o) EPISODE 4 - Can You Play Guitar Underwater? {Nov.05}
Learn about apnea specialist and Cirque du Soleil artist
Derek Broussard's experience on Sep7imo Dia!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/5wVX5bFSf2Q >
o) EPISODE 5 - How does her hair NOT break?! {Nov.12}
Learn about hair handing Cirque du Soleil artist Zendra
Tabasco's experience on Sep7imo Dia!
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/pWcvNfQ7Y8A >
o) EPISODE 6 - The Biggest Wheel in the Circus! {Nov.26}
On this episode of our series, learn about Cirque du Soleil
Big Wheel Artist Aleksandr Lytvyshchenko. The Ukrainian
Russian that performs in Argentina for a Montreal circus
company! How's that for world wide?
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/UIsyxdqCczQ >
o) EPISODE 7 - The Beauty of a Male Performer {Dec.03}
On this behind-the-scenes episode of the Sep7imo Dia series,
we take a closer look at one of the artists, Saulo Sarmiento,
the Spanish 29-year-old, aerial acrobat and male aerial
pole dancer.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/bpaiLM4R-uc >
*) OTHER CIRQUE WEBSERIES
o) CIRQUE STORIES: EPISODE 5 - WHO IS BRIAN DEWHURST {Oct.26}
Who is Brian Dewhurst? Only a legend in the Cirque Community.
He is currently the oldest Cirque du Soleil Performer as the
clown in Mystère. Bryan has performed in many other shows, as
well has continued his family legacy with many relatives
performing in Cirque as well! Listen to his wise and
historical story in this week's episode of Cirque Stories.
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/5JA36IhjSh0 >
o) CARVING CRYSTAL: EPISODE 4 {Nov.02}
See how CRYSTAL fuses groundbreaking circus arts with
exceptional ice skating in the latest and final episode
of Carving Crystal. Stay tuned for more exciting behind
the scenes action coming soon!
LINK /// < https://goo.gl/5wNmtM >
o) MAKEUP SHOWDOWN: EPISODE 5 {Nov.27}
In this new episode of Makeup Showdown, MAC Cosmetics &
Cirque du Soleil's Makeup artists' skills are being tested
in a face-off challenge. Who will have what it takes to defy
imagination and create the most innovative designs in make-up
artistry?
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/gpqcCTi7nKo >
*) MUSIC VIDEO w/LYRICS
o) SEPTIMO DIA - "De Musica Ligera" {Nov.07}
Ella durmió al calor de las masas
Y yo desperté queriendo soñarla
Algún tiempo atrás pensé en escribirle
Y nunca sortié las trampas del amor
De aquel amor de música ligera
Nada nos libra, nada mas queda
No le enviaré cenizas de rosas
Ni pienso evitar un roce secreto
De aquel amor de música ligera
Nada nos libra, nada más queda
De aquel amor de música ligera
Nada nos libra, nada más queda
Nada más queda
Nada más queda
Nada más queda
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/DbDS6OnPXCE >
o) VAREKAI - "Patzivota" {Nov.14}
Sinè moï
Patzivota
Skritiya ù tébè tjar
Sinè moï
Sinè moï
spurting power, spurting power
Sinè moï
Patzivota
Skritiya ù tébè tjar
Y vélékon
Lépendahar
Smiza haldouk
Bezmi harten
Nezpré tanno
Vekna bodi
Nètlenenn smi dourkinen, dourkinen
Sinè moï
Patzivota
Skritiya ù tébè tjar
Y vélékon lépen
Y vélékon
Lépendahar
Smiza haldourken (x 2)
Smiza haldouk
Bezmi harten (x 2)
Nezpré tanno
Vekna bodi
Nètlenenn smi dourkinen
Nezpré tanno
Vekna bodi
Nètlenenn smi dourkinen
Nezpré, nezpré, nezpré
Tanno, tanno
Sinè moï
Patzivota
Skritiya ù tébè tjar
Y vélékon
Lépendahar
Smiza haldourken
Dourken, dourken
Y vélékon lépendahar (x 2)
Dahar smiza haldourken
Smizel dahar
Smizel, smizel dahar
Dourken smiza
Haldouk
Bizmé harten
Nezpré tanno
Vekna bodi
Nètlenenn
Smisé léhanda
Hundahé
Smismala hundé (x 2)
Sinè moï
Patzivota
Skritiya ù tébè tjar
Y vélékon lépen dahar
Y vélékon
Lépendahar
Y vélékon lé
Y vélékon lépen dahar, dahar
Smiza haldourken (x 2)
Bezmi harten
Nezpré tanno
Vekna bodi
Nètlenenn
Smi, smi, smidourkinen
Dourkinen
Sinè moï
Sinè moï
Sinè moï
Patzivota
Skritiya ù tébè tjar
Y vélékon
Lépendahar
Smiza haldouk
Bezmi harten
Nezpré tanno
Vekna bodi
Nètlenenn smi dourkinen, dourkinen
Sinè moï
Patzivota
Skritiya ù tébè tjar
Y vélékon
Lépendahar
Smiza haldouk
Bezmi harten
Nezpré tanno
Vekna bodi
Nètlenenn smi dourkinen
Nezpré tanno
Vekna bodi
Nètlenenn smi dourkinen
Sinè moï
Patzivota
Skritiya ù tébè tjar
Y vélékon
Lépendahar
Smiza haldouk
Bezmi harten
Nezpré tanno
Vekna bodi
Nètlenenn smi dourkinen
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/090YgAHmzU4 >
o) O - "Tzelma" {Nov.28}
Ma ya ke dé-é bella ka
ka la ere son deso nadosé
Ma ya ke dé-é bella ka
ka la ere son deso nadosé
Ma ya ke dé-é bella ka
ka la ere eso nadosé
(x4)
LINK /// < https://youtu.be/olQHVtuBBFc >
o) LA NOUBA - "Once Upon a Time" {Dec.05}
Once upon a time began a tale, said the story teller...
Stories hold our laughter and tears,
in a corner of our mind...
Sung:
Der zeit der zeit ist nicht gekommen
Der zeit der zeit oh
Die rad der zeit die bruder haben
Ist nicht gemacht für im
Es ist nicht gemacht für im
Es ist nicht gemacht für die kinder
Es ist sehr gefärlig
Ah, Ahhhhh
Gefärlig
Warum weifs ich nicht
Ah
Aber weiss ich nicht
Spieelen, spielen mït der rad
Aber nicht mit mir
=======================================================================
FASCINATION! FEATURES
=======================================================================
o) "CIRQUE DU SOLEIL REBRANDS: The New Le Groupe du Soleil?"
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
o) THE BOOK OF JOYÀ - BRINGING CIRQUE TO MEXICO
Part 2 of 3: "Sweet, Savory, and Surreal"
Edited by: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
o) "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 7 of 16: Saltimbanco, Part 2 (1993)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
"CIRQUE DU SOLEIL REBRANDS: The New Le Groupe du Soleil?
Edited by: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
-----------------------------------------------------------
On November 21, 2017, in a video posted across its social media
footprint, Cirque du Soleil shocked the fan community with a re-
branding announcement that would, in their own words, take the company
into the future of entertainment.
Originally composed of 20 street performers in 1984, Cirque du Soleil
completely reinvented circus arts and went on to become a world leader
in live entertainment. Today, on top of producing world-renowned
shows, Cirque du Soleil extends its creative approach to a large
variety of entertainment forms, such as multimedia productions,
immersive experiences, theme parks, and special events.
With this ever-evolving self-reinvention, Cirque du Soleil needed a
new identity - and a new name - one that would embrace and respect
their heritage while at the same time evolve with the company's new
mission. Thus two new distinct logos were released as part of this
announcement: a modified sunburst for the CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
ENTERTAINMENT GROUP (the new umbrella company), and a roundel
featuring the Cirque Sun-face motif in its center, labeled CIRQUE DU
SOLEIL (the circus arts brand).
A bombshell.
Cirque du Soleils original logo was created in 1984, by Josée
Bélanger (a stiltwaker who, along with Gilles Ste-Croix, Serge Roy,
Carmen Ruest, and Guy Laliberte, founded the non-profit Club des
talons hauts to promote stilt-walking events in Quebec, the forerunner
to Cirque du Soleil), and is based on a tarot card representing the
sun. The sun as a symbol is important because it embodies youth,
energy, and dynamism - like Cirque du Soleil itself. Up until now the
logo had evolved only slightly since its debut - from a multi-color
tarot-inspired painting to the sun-burst we've known these 25-plus
years (colored either blue or gold) - with only one other change of
note: the extension of the Q's tail under the U in CIRQUE DU SOLEIL in
mid-2006.
These icons will join the other subsidiaries of the new Cirque du
Soleil, some of which you probably already know, like 45 DEGREES (so
named after Montreal's latitude) and BLUE MAN GROUP (which Cirque
purchased 4 months ago). But there are a few subsidiaries (and
partnerships) listed that haven't received as much attention in the
past, and therefore, may be less familiar to fans - 4U2C, EGB, and
OUTBOX.
Who or what are these all about?
WHAT IS 4U2C?
-------------
Founded in 2013 by Cirque alums Yves Aucoin and Stéphane Mongeau, 4U2C
specializes in creating and producing video, scenographic design, and
any form of multimedia experience for the entertainment industry.
Combining scenography, lighting, video, and 3D effects/mapping, the
company's modus operandi is to bring visual environments to life. The
company's in-house studio offers everything needed to create engaging
imagery, including concept research and storyboarding, HD filming and
editing, 2D and 3D animation, motion design, special effects, green-
screen shooting, compositing and post-production. Since its debut,
4U2C has developed more than 100 projects for sporting events and
festivals such as...
185 Bravos (February 2014) -- Along with the 40th of the Jean-Duceppe
theatre company, the 50th of the Place des Arts, and the 80th of the
Montreal Symphonic Orchestra, 4U2C was commissioned to direct an epic
outdoor sound and light show that celebrated the 15th anniversary of
the winter festival Montréal en Lumière. In short, it was a giant 185
candles blowout for some of the pillars of Montreals cultural
community, one that lit up the sky and literally engulfed the
awestruck crowd. 4U2C masterfully orchestrated a multidisciplinary
team of collaborators in the combined production of original music,
large-scale architectural projections and fireworks displays.
Veracruz Games (Opening Ceremony 2014) -- 4U2C shined on international
shores when they company produced the visual media content for the
Opening Ceremony of the Central American and Caribbean Games. 4U2C
took the 30,000 spectators on a breathtaking journey from the mystical
galaxy to the majestic Tajin pyramid through traditional Mexican
dances and celebratory sport rituals. Under the artistic direction of
ANIMA Inc., 4U2C brought the three-tiered stage to life with a vibrant
combination of mapped 3D animation, illusion effects and live shot
footage. Researched, storyboarded, designed and produce over 120
minutes of video content for the ceremony while providing efficient
on-site collaboration with the multidisciplinary team to ensure that
our projection mapping integrated beautifully with the lighting, stage
design and live performances.
Celine Dion (2013) -- When internationally acclaimed artist Céline
Dion made special appearances in Quebec and Europe, 4U2C was there to
create the lighting and stage design. Using a combination of
animation, graphic design, recorded footage and real time shots of the
singer, 4U2C filled giant screens across the immense Plains of Abraham
in Quebec City for 40,000 patrons, and then tailored the production
design for two new venues in Belgium and Paris.
Igloofest (2014 & 2015) -- Igloofest attracts thousands of electronic
music enthusiasts to the Old Port of Montreal in the dead of winter
with its igloo village, its urban vibe, its program of the best in
local and international DJs and its powerful architectural
projections. 4U2C was there to prove that even in deep-freeze
temperatures they can turn up the heat with their dramatic and vibrant
lighting and projection scenography. In 2014, 4U2C designed and built
one of the performance spaces. The organizers loved it so much that in
2015 they asked the company to create the entire lighting design for
Igloofest, including two stage areas, public spaces, architectural
projection systems and show ambiance lighting.
Summer Festivals -- 4U2C collaborated on the stage conception and
produced the lighting design as well as custom video content for
Osheaga, Heavy MTL and Ile Soniq, all large-scale, outdoor events
catering to tens of thousands of spectators. In collaboration with
Evenko, 4U2C developed a unique turnkey production approach comprising
multiple stages hosting simultaneous performances, unexpected
gathering spaces, art installations, and other facilities. From heavy
metal in the park to techno under the sun, from art direction to
lighting, and site design to VJing, 4U2C does it all.
Sporting Events -- When the legendary Montréal Canadiens hockey
franchise asked 4U2C to produce their 2014 playoff pregame show, they
were thrilled. The show turned into such a viral sensation that the
Canadiens asked the company to up the ante in 2015. The success
attracted other sports teams in hockey and basketball, including
Torontos Maple Leafs and Raptors. 4U2C's unparalleled projection and
mapping solution for ice rinks and large arena surfaces gave the
original multimedia content unmatched resolution and puts us one step
ahead of the competition.
In fact, 4U2C collaborated with Cirque du Soleil on TORUK-The First
Flight and has worked with 45 DEGREES on many of their special events
and projections over the years. The subsidiary's website is currently
under re-construction, but keep a weather eye on http://www.4u2c.com
for future developments! (And yes, you do pronounce it: for you to
see!)
WHO IS EBG?
-----------
Established in 2001, Entertainment Benefits Group (EBG) today is one
of the largest privately held travel and entertainment providers in
the United States. Headquartered in Miami, with offices in Orlando,
New York and Las Vegas, the company operates a network of consumer and
Business-to-Business (B2B) businesses that reach over 60 million users
and sell more than 6 million admission tickets annually. Its Corporate
Programs Division, made up of TicketsatWork, Plum Benefits and Working
Advantage, is the largest, most comprehensive corporate travel and
entertainment benefits program in the country serving 40,000
corporate clients and 50 million employees.
EBG has a proven track record of establishing successful and
innovative website portals and partnerships. Owning 100 percent of its
technology, EBG has developed a customized point-of-sale ticketing and
administration system that supports a continuously growing
infrastructure. EBG also operates consumer sites, including
Showtickets.com, BestofOrlando.com and BestofVegas.com, over 45 retail
locations in Las Vegas, Member Deals and the largest Premier Ticket
and Operations Center in Orlando located minutes away from the Walt
Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort.
I was thrilled for Cirque to partner with EBG after meeting Brett and
learning about the companys early proven success in the Orlando
market, said Cirque du Soleil president and CEO Daniel Lamarre. EBG
accounts for a significant amount of ticket sales across Cirques
domestic productions, and they enhance our efforts in selling tickets,
with their corporate program becoming an extension of our own team.
In 2010, Cirque du Soleil partnered with EBG to launch the exclusive
"Cirque Insider Access" backstage experiences at THE BEATLES LOVE and
"O" (which were later expanded to also include KA). Packages included
an exclusive and intimate backstage tour of the show, received a
special Insider Access VIP lanyard, plus a special limited edition bag
with Cirque du Soleil merchandise items. Most importantly, guests
enjoyed the show from special reserved seating from the best seats in
the theaters and enjoyed front of line concession passes. (Read more
about these experiences here: http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=6635).
And in 2011, the two companies partnered to launch the "Cirque du
Soleil Gift Card", applicable towards Cirque du Soleil show tickets.
We reviewed the product at the time (http://www.cirquefascination.com/
?p=2999); you can still purchase the Cirque gift card here should
you be interested: < https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/gift-cards >.
WHAT IS OUTBOX?
---------------
Outbox AXS was founded in 2011 by concert promotion giant AEG, Cirque
du Soleil, and industry veteran Jean-Francoys Brousseau as a rival to
Ticketmaster. Outbox offers a strong ticket selling tool in some 20
countries and in 10 different languages using signature interactive
seat maps, 3D customized venue plans and one page checkout. Outbox
leverages its know-how to find customized, innovative and relevant
ways to help its clients better sellout seats. Clients are typically
major live event global venues or international promoters looking for
integrated, specialized solutions. Outbox helps manage ticket window
sales, call center service, group sales, season tickets and special
events. Partners using the Outbox Platform for their ticketing needs
are: Cirque du Soleil, Evenko, Montreal Canadiens, Juste pour rire
(Just for Laughs), Amphithéâtre Cogeco, Vidanta, Centre Bell, Treasure
Island Las Vegas, Osheaga Music and Arts Festival, HEAVY Montreal,
AXS, MARVEL Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N, SISMYK, QuébéComm, and more. Get
more information about OUTBOX at their website:
< http://www.outbox.com/ >.
LE GROUPE DU SOLEIL?
--------------------
It might surprise some of you to know that this new grouping isn't
really all that new. Back in the late 1980's, Cirque du Soleil
organized its various divisions and subsidiaries under a similar
moniker - LE GROUPE DU SOLEIL.
Names and labels like "Créations Méandres", "Tous Azimuts",
"Télémagik", and "Enterprises Nâga" were prominent on various Cirque
du Soleil programmes, videos, CDs, and other merchandise world-wide
when Cirque du Soleil had just found its footing. But having seen one
of these names one might ask: how did they fit into the overall
corporate picture of a young Cirque du Soleil?
"Le Groupe du Soleil" was and in many cases still is an interesting
piece of Cirque's corporate puzzle from the very beginning of this
enigmatic troupe. For example, from its initial creation through to
1989, Le Cirque du Soleil was produced by "Club des Talons Hauts,
Inc.," the same group Cirque was born from. In that instance Cirque du
Soleil was produced by that entity. But later that same year (August
1989), the last year the creators had given themselves to firmly
establish their art, Cirque du Soleil as a Company changed and morphed
into "Le Groupe du Soleil", completely shedding their "High-Heals
Club" roots. Under the guidance of Daniel Gauthier (a one-time Cirque
Treasurer, President and founding member), this moniker encompassed
many of the derived companies that sprang up in support of the artists
and their product at the time. Many you'll recognize; many are still
around today (albeit under different names and in different forms)...
o) Le Cirque du Soleil Productions -- Spark. This is the starting
point; "the locomotive; the raison d'être". This part of the Groupe
specialized in mounting tours, staffing its workshops and studios,
and managing its vehicle fleet and specialized equipment.
o) Créations Méandres -- Creativity. This division managed the
authors rights and copyrights, and took charge of recruitment and
training of artists, and was responsible for publishing the music
for the shows. This division was also known as Les Productions
Méandres Inc. The musical publication part became CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
MUSIQUE in 2004.
o) Tous Azimuts Enterprises -- Investment. Tous Azimuts was an
investment company handling the creation and development of other
related companies for Cirque du Soleil. Tous Azimuts was also
responsible for the marketing and publishing of CDs, programmes, T-
shirts, and other products bearing the Cirque du Soleil logo and
likeness.
o) Télémagik -- Filmworks. This division was formed early on and
released the original 90-minute version of "Le Magie Continue", as
well as "Le Cirque Réinventé", "Nouvelle Expérience",
"Saltimbanco", and the documentaries "Quel Cirque!", "Saltimbano's
Diary", "Alegría: The Truth of Illusion" and "Full Circle: The
Making of Quidam". Télémagik was renamed CIRQUE DU SOLEIL IMAGES in
May 1997 to better brand the multimedia company with its parent,
and the division has gone on to release a plethora of other shows
and documentaries by Cirque du Soleil.
o) Enterprises Nâga -- Services. This division provided a range of
services from snack-bars to the creation, production, distribution,
and management of Cirque du Soleil's promotional products.
Enterprises Nâga released the CD and Vinyl editions of "Cirque du
Soleil", the original 1987 tour music.
o) Admission/Microflex -- Tickets. This company was started with the
assistance of Cirque du Soleil to distribute tickets for its shows
as well as other cultural and sporting events throughout Quebec.
Together with Microflex, a software company that specialized in
computerized ticketing, it became the largest ticket-sales network
in the province and later grew to encompass events throughout
Canada and the United States. TicketMaster acquired Admission /
Microflex in 2000; today this part of Cirque du Soleil is served by
OUTBOX, as noted above.
* * *
What's past is prologue.
In either case, going beyond its various creations, the new CIRQUE DU
SOLEIL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP aims to make a positive impact on people,
communities, and the planet with its most important tools: creativity
and art. With a new name and a new attitude, the company seems to feel
it is now in the right position to capitalize on its talents to fuel
its future endeavors. Change is definitely afoot and it'll be
fascinating to see where Cirque du Soleil is as a company in the
coming years.
Meanwhile, keep up with the CIRQUE DU SOLEIL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
through their new website: < http://www.cdsentertainmentgroup.com >.
------------------------------------------------------------
THE BOOK OF JOYÀ - BRINGING CIRQUE TO MEXICO
Part 3 of 3: "SWEET, SAVORY, AND SURREAL"
Edited by: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
-----------------------------------------------------------
As you've turned the pages of this article series, you've been given a
glimpse into the reasons why Iván Chávez, Executive Vice President of
Grupo Vidanta, sees JOYÀ as "a gift for Mexico, for Riviera Maya, for
Vidanta, and for all of us."
He continues to say: "The theater is a work of art and a marvel of
architecture. The grounds are a testament to the beauty of the Mayan
jungle and to the power of preservation. The dinner is truly
spectacular, as creative as the show itself. The show brings smiles,
laughter, and gasps of delight every night. The story is steeped in
the rich history of Mexico and its many cultures. JOYÀ is more far
more than just a show - it's an enchanting night full of new sights,
sounds, flavors, and memories. We are so proud to work with the
hundreds of performers, artisans, designers, chefs, servers, and crew
who come together to make JOYÀ possible. They are an incredible team."
Indeed they are. And in this final installment - "INNOVATOR PROFILES"
- we'll meet some of those incredible team members.
-----------------------------
THE BOOK OF JOYÀ, PART THREE:
"INNOVATOR PROFILES"
-----------------------------
"The reason we are working with Vidanta is because they share
the same values as Cirque du Soleil, which is first and
foremost creativity." - Daniel Lamarre, CEO of Cirque du Soleil
RICHARD DAGENAIS, Director of Creation
"Our goal in creating JOYÀ was to tell a story completely inspired by
the energy of Mexico. Without using clichés and stereotypes, every
scene had to have its seed in the history, culture, or values of
Mexico. My role as Director of Creation was to assemble and support a
team of creators who understood this mandate and who could deliver an
experience that would create long-lasting memories in the minds of the
audience. With JOYÀ, we wanted to show audiences a side of this
beautiful and rich country, its humanity, and the care it shows future
generations. JOYÀ is more than a show, it is a rare voyage into the
heart of a culture hungry to learn and to pass on lifes secrets.
MARTIN GENEST, Stage Director
When I have the opportunity to create a show with people from a
culture other than mine, I always try to find what unites me with
them. This is what has touched me and inspired me to create JOYÀ.
Since the beginning of time, every spring, monarch butterflies leave
the volcanic peaks of Mexico and fly for months to Canada where they
lay their eggs. Small and fragile, they take turns from generation to
generation, between our two countries, to complete the annual cycle
that ensures the continuity of their species. I invite you to discover
the stupendous history of Mr. Zelig and of JOYÀ. To experience a
playful and exciting adventure, where the love for life is passed from
one generation to another, like the instinct that guides the monarch
butterflies on their great journey.
JAMES LAVOIE, Costume Designer
The process of designing and creating the costumes for JOYÀ was as
dynamic and exciting as the show is to watch. I spent six months
researching, sketching, and collaborating with the rest of the
creative team. When then worked at the Cirque du Soleil costume shop
in Montreal for six weeks, exploring different techniques, designing
custom fabric prints, and, of course, sewing and cutting. Then in
Mexico, we spent two months with 10 Cirque du Soleil costume makers,
as well as several local tailors, to create all of the costumes for
the premiere. Finally, after almost nine months of preparation, filled
with many ups and downs, from the snow of Montreal to the beaches of
Riviera Maya, we opened. I remember a mix of emotions, but mostly
pride, wonder, and joy. (Some of the masks worn by Zeligs masters
have over 10,000 beads and jewels, each one glued by hand. It took
over five months to create them.)
NATHALIE GAGNE, Makeup Designer
For JOYÀ, we used a lot of a white in the makeup concepts. I wanted
to bring out the purity and light in the story. The two main
characters, Zelig and JOYÀ, are albinos. This is their family link
they are beings of the light. The Masters, underneath their animal
masks, wear white makeup with lines to represent their animal family.
This was done in a simple and graphic manner like a childs drawings,
as if JOYÀ had drawn them in her notebook. For some actors, I applied
special Swarovski crystals to their faces to capture the light and
enhance their look. After more than six months of preparation, we saw
all the elements come together on opening night artists in makeup
and costumes, the lighting, dancing, and performances. We all, with
tears in our eyes, felt an incredible sense of satisfaction from all
the hard work.
JEAN LAURIN, Lighting Designer
The inspiration for the lighting design of JOYÀ costumes from the
surroundings of the Theater and old European museums (for Zeligs
Naturalium). From our first site visit to Mexico, we could feel
something special that was deeply linked to the story for the show.
The nature, the ocean, and the sky were all references that I used to
create different visual looks. JOYÀs lighting design is complex
because it must work on many levels the action happens on stage, but
also in the air, on the mezzanine level, and in the audience. I wanted
to highlight the performances while keeping the atmosphere of each
scene bold and unique. With that in mind, I was able to evoke new
feelings, create a sense of time and place, and change the ambiance
for each specific act.
GUILLAIME LORD, Set Designer
Inspiration for the JOYÀ set came from many places, but nature was
the main source for our style. The backbone for designing the space
was to create a seamless link between the Theater and the set. Martin
Genest came up with the general story, and together we sketched
different environments that would enhance the situations the
characters would go through. Lots of ideas and design options later,
in collaboration with the technical team, the sketches became
drawings, and then they became set elements. After lots of sweaty days
in Mexico building the set, I was happy that we were ready for the
premiere. A lot of time and energy went into JOYÀ, and being a
creative on a show of this magnitude was, for me, a life-changing
experience.
PIERRE MASSE, Acrobatic Equipment and Rigging
Our biggest influence was the wonderful storyboard created by Stage
Director Martin Genest. We were also very influenced by the beautiful
nature, history, architecture, and people of Mexico. My main duty was
to make the storyline come alive, acrobatically and technically. We
designed the acrobatic elements to fit each scene and to meet the
needs of our incredibly talented performers. From the first sketch and
the drafting of construction plans, to the fabrication and validation,
it sometimes took three months to design each act. Opening night was a
mixture of both excitement and nervousness. For me, the end of a
creation is always a moment of satisfaction and accomplishment. But,
above all, it was a great opportunity to meet wonderful people and be
able to call them friends.
PHILIPPE AUBERTIN, Acrobatic Performance Designer
When our job is done on a creation like JOYÀ, there is always a mix
of feelings, like nostalgia and happiness. During the premiere, I
remembered all the stages of development we went through for each act,
like a movie played fast forward. I was sad that it was over, but I
was extremely proud that my friends were going to carry on and spread
more joy to our audiences. My goal is always to make a show that will
inspire the audience for a long time after their journey to our
special universe comes to a close.
JULIE MEASROACH, Prop Designer
Designing and building props for JOYÀ was a unique experience for me,
because I had to make them be magic, somehow alive. For my research, I
found inspiration from old alchemist books and the fascinating
sketches of botanists, entomologists, or inventors from a few
centuries ago. Their vision of nature often portrayed the world more
like a large delirious dream than true reality. It was then our turn
to find solutions, like how to give a giant book an illuminated heart,
giving life to captured larvae in a jar, and how to fill this great
library with curious objects that may or may not be alive.
Aesthetically, JOYÀ has been a fantastic universe to explore, opening
up an infinite world of possibilities to its creators, as nature often
does with the truth.
ANDRE MORENCY, Script Writer
When I was a child, my father would travel to the four corners of the
world for his work. His returns were always a celebration. Around the
dinner table, he would tell us about his encounters and exploits, and
it would fill our dreams with faraway travels and adventures. He would
take out his notebook and pencils, and then he would illustrate his
stories on these large sheets of paper the wind would swell the sail
of a ship; horses would gallop on the edge of a fjord; a smiling
farmer welcomed you while raising his glass of gin. For JOYÀ, it is my
father who inspired me: a storyteller who, while never imposing it,
conveyed a passion to me what I am passing on to my children without
even realizing it the passion to tell a good story!
HAROLD RHEAUME, Choreographer
As a contemporary dance choreographer, I found JOYÀ to be across the
board a unique a unforgettable artistic and human experience. I had
the privilege to work with an experienced artistic team. I also worked
closely with the Cirque du Soleil artists to refine their acts. JOYÀ
was challenging for me because I had to understand the acts of the
show, as well as the technical and executional challenges, in order to
create cohesive movements. The night of the premiere, a great sense of
accomplishment and pride came over me. The success of JOYÀ was a
testimony to the collaborative effort between the artistic, technical,
and production teams. The sad part in all of this was that I had to
leave such a beautiful place and the JOYÀ team that is filled with
such talented, professional, and generous people.
JOEL BERGERON, Show Director
The making of JOYÀ was a completely unique experience. We combined a
cast and crew from all over the world and created an unforgettable
experience. That is what normal Cirque du Soleil shows do, have
performers from all over the world, but JOYÀ is different. The
Theater, the dinner, the whole area is unique for a Cirque du Soleil
show. And all of the bar, kitchen, and waitstaff are from Mexico. They
are a part of the experience just like the performers and crew. For
me, JOYÀ is a constant learning experience just like the theme of the
show. I love working with people from different places and different
backgrounds. JOYÀ is very special because we offer the audience, if
only for a little while, the opportunity to dream, to escape to
another world.
JACQUES BOUCHER, Sound Designer
JOYÀ is a fantasy-based story, which I love, so I tried to make the
sound design compliment it. In my field, the challenges are many how
to create the sound system design, integrate it, mix the music, and
produce all relevant sound effects. You have to then balance all these
in harmony with the staging. One of my favorite moments of JOYÀ is
when the skeleton pirates collapse at the end of their choreography. I
used zombie and bone sounds to add more humor. Of course, I was very
proud of our collective effort for the premiere. I knew that the
audience would be pleased and would have a good time attending the
show. One of the best parts of my stay in Riviera Maya was the
kindness of the Mexican people. I will never forget that.
MARC LESSARD and GUY DUBUC, Composers
What a blessing it was to work on JOYÀ! During the creation process,
our first goal was to compose music inspired by the Mexican culture
that would sustain the script and the acrobatic numbers with an
original cinematographic approach. As for the final result, the music
of JOYÀ is a subtle mix of classic sounds intertwined with
contemporary effects, with a touch of Mayan percussion, mariachi, and
Mexican jazz. Sometimes festive and danceable, sometimes melodic and
warm, we wanted to create a trip for audiences into a musical
environment with many feelings.
IRINA NAUMENKO, Hand Balancer & Contortionist
One of the most talked about moments of JOYÀ is when Irina Naumenko
descends from the sky and puts on a thrilling display of hand-
balancing and contortion. From a small town in Russia called Marks,
Irina joined the Russian State Circus Company at age 18 and has been
performing for over 21 years. The small size of the Theater demands
that the performers work very closely with the audience Irinas
scene takes place directly on top of a table where VIP guests sit and
enjoy dinner. There is no room for errors, so I have to keep an eye
on glasses and plates so I dont accidentally touch them, she says.
Before joining the cast of JOYÀ, Irina spent 10 years touring with the
Cirque du Soleil show Varekai, where she was the lead female
character.
SOPHIE GUAY, Previous Vocalist
One of the standouts of the JOYÀ performance is the incredibly
talented Sophie Guay, an accomplished vocalist from Lac-St-Jean, in
Quebec, Canada. She comes to JOYÀ from Corteo, a Cirque du Soleil show
she joined in 2011. To prepare for JOYÀ, Sophie spent five weeks
training with vocal coaches to build the endurance to perform 10 shows
per week. She also had to overcome the challenge of singing while in a
harness floating above the audience. She says the voice is a fragile
instrument and takes good care of hers by drinking lots of tea and
water, and always spends 30 minutes warming her voice up before each
show. Of her experience with Cirque du Soleil, Sophie says, Working
with Cirque du Soleil, you get to travel the world, meet new people,
experience other cultures, and learn new languages and traditions.
Its a dream to do all of this while doing what you love.
BRYDEN BAIRD, Trumpeter
Before becoming the much-adored trumpeter of JOYÀ, Bryden Baird
trained as a classical jazz musician in Toronto, Canada, and traveled
around the world as a background musician for various artists. Bryden
enjoys performing the JOYÀ score, because he believes it does an
amazing job of complementing the action without upstaging the
performance. And even though JOYÀ is the first time hes had to play
5-10 shows per week a very demanding schedule for a musician he
loves working with the international cast and crew to make JOYÀ
possible. His inspiration comes from seeing other musicians truly
playing from the soul, which is something he tries to do each night.
Bryden adds, I know that 99% of the audience is seeing JOYÀ for the
first time. They deserve the same magic that I initially felt when I
first saw the amazing acts.
ABRAHAM G. BUCHANAN, Drummer
Honored to be part of the first resident Cirque du Soleil show in his
home country, Abraham G. Buchanan, from Aguascalientes, Mexico,
masterfully works the drums for JOYÀ. Abraham is a passionate musician
who trained at the Berklee School of Music and works very hard to
bring raw emotion to each performance. I want people to really feel
something when I play each night, he says, and I really try to
support the cast and crew with my music.
JOE HUNDERTMARK, Bandleader & Guitarist
To create the one-of-a-kind sounds of the magnificent JOYÀ score,
bandleader and guitarist Joe Hundertmark plays three guitars during
the show a Martin Parlor acoustic guitar, a Boutin flamenco guitar,
and a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar and deftly moves between
the different paces, moods, and genres to enhance the performance. Joe
says of his role in JOYÀ, Its a thrill to conduct the music as the
bandleader and to be part of an intimate show like JOYÀ, very
different from the huge scale of Zarkana. I have more responsibilities
here and its very rewarding.
* * *
"JOYÀ is a truly special part of the Vidanta family. It's
a milestone on our journey together - a step towards a
totally re-imagined vacation experience for you and your
family. When happiness is the goal, anything is possible.
Only one last thing to say - enjoy the show!" - Iván Chávez,
Executive Vice President of Grupo Vidanta
JOYÀ is an homage to Mexico, a triumph of creativity, a celebration of
nature, and a tribute to the power of friendship and family. And as
you can tell by the images and words in this book, JOYÀ has made a
profound impact on everyone whos been a part of the special
experience so far, and on the thousands of guests whove shared the
magic. Vidanta and Cirque du Soleil brought together the finest people
from every artistic and technical discipline to bring JOYÀ to life.
And JOYÀ is a first in many ways Latin Americas first resident
Cirque du Soleil show, the first show of its kind at a resort, the
first Cirque du Soleil show to include a dinner experience and the
first of many collaborations between Vidanta and Cirque du Soleil. We
invite you to experience JOYÀ for the first time or the tenth time.
JOYÀ reminds us all that we have important stories to tell, and
somewhere inside all of us there is a curios child who wants to
play and a spark of imagination waiting to ignite.
On that day, I inherited our ancestors legacy. Zelig gave
me wings so I could fly on my own and continue his work so
that his knowledge will be passed on to future generations.
- JOYÀ
{fin}
------------------------------------------------------------
"We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques"
Part 8 of 16: Alegria, Part 1 (1994)
By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
------------------------------------------------------------
A few months ago, as I was flipping through a few classic Cirque du
Soleil programme books (as is my wont), I was happily caught off-guard
by a brief history of the company that it had written about itself in
Saltimbanco's original European Tour programme, published sometime in
1996. Not because the historia was in English, French, and Spanish,
but rather I found the wording a bit more colorful
haughty
than what
you'd find from the company today. Something about its whimsical and
heady nature spoke to the way Cirque du Soleil saw itself then,
containing a youthful verve and arrogance that is simply no longer
present. When did Cirque lose this dynamic sense of self, this
liveliness, and vivacity about its past, present, and future?
Unfortunately, not long after. Thereafter the speak becomes less joie
de vivre and more lié aux affaires, and Cirque du Soleil turns from a
rag-tag band of street performers into a bona fide corporate entity
right before our very eyes. This is not a new revelation far from
it in fact but this re-discovery struck a chord of curiosity within
How did others see Cirque du Soleil during this period?
Think about it: as Cirque's multitude of shows travel around the globe
in either arenas or under the big top, at each stop, in each city,
there is a write-up in the local press. Sometimes the coverage is just
a brief blurb about the show and its theme, occasionally there's a
short interview with a performer, a stage hand, or creation director,
and other times it's an assessment of the show itself, evaluating its
technical and acrobatic merits with what had come through before. But
the reviews we see today are too current, discussing these shows
through a contemporary lens; shows that have/had 15 to 20 years
touring the globe, shows we would refer to as "classic" or
"signature". What I'd become interested in knowing was what some of
the first reviews, peeks, and evaluations of these shows were as they
took their first steps across North America. How did the press see Le
Cirque du Soleil in 1998, 1994, 1990, 1987?
It was time to peck through the archives.
What I found was extraordinary, and more than I expected. And I'm
sharing these discoveries here in Fascination through a series of
collections, beginning with the 1987 tournée of Le Cirque du Soleil
(better known today as Le Cirque Réinventé), and continuing on from
there. This month we continue on with 1994's reviews of Alegria.
# # #
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL AIMS HIGH, FALLS SHORT
By: Dion Nissenbaum | UPI
July 13, 1994
In the 10 years since a group of Canadian street performers found
their home under a blue and yellow big top, Cirque Du Soleil has
transformed the stagnant circus world into an evolutionary art form.
By combining live music, theater and Broadway-influenced costume
design with the traditional circus elements of breathtaking artistry,
athletic prowess and -- lest we forget -- pratfalling clowns, Cirque
Du Soleil has helped reinvigorate the circus. Now returning to the
United States with their latest incarnation, 'Alegria,' the Montreal-
based troupe continues to set its sights on the heavens, but falters
slightly by relying on many of the staid elements that once set it
apart from the crowd. Making their U.S. debut in San Francisco Tuesday
night under their trademark blue and yellow tent, the newest members
of the international Cirque Du Soleil family captivated the audience
with two hours of aerial acrobatics, modified trampoline work and a
pair of young contortionists. Using the Spanish title expressing
jubilation as its starting point, 'Alegria' relies on ethereal and
bird-like imagery to touch on themes of revolutionary change and the
constant tension between resistant elders and idealistic youth. In
that vein, the clear stars of the show are a young Chinese tightrope
act and a pair of Mongolian contortionists. Balancing a modified
wishbone-shaped pole with a tightrope upon her shoulder, 12-year-old
Li Sha Zheng delicately crossed the stage as 11- year-old Hui Kang
performed an amazing series of flips, backflips and spins on the thin
wire above the crowd.
In the second act, Nomin Tseveendorj and Ulziibayar Chimed, two 9-
year-old Mongolian arists, flawlessly performed as contortionists. Not
to be outdone by the youngsters, the older acrobatic performers spun,
flipped and soared through a 'fast track' modified trampoline
performance and ended the show with a graceful synchronized trapeze
act featuring seven artists in constant motion. Cirque Du Soleil has
always prided itself on combing the globe for unique acts and adds
Russian-born Mikhail Matorin to its list. Matorin manipulates a large
transluscent cube in his aerial acrobatic ring performance, adding a
new element to the routine. Such artists have been a mainstay of
Cirque Du Soleil and have helped establish the group's reputation as a
thinking-person's circus that appeals to both adults and children. But
'Alegria' falls back on more conventional performers that detract from
its continuity and mystique. The cadre of clowns spent more time
filling space than providing levity, and strong man Rick Zumwalt
seemed quite out of place in the group, but still drew cheers by
tearing a Yellow Pages in half and arm-wrestling two men at once.
Still, Cirque Du Soleil rises to the challenge with 'Alegria' and
continues the troupe's growing tradition for elevating the circus to
new heights. As always, the musicians, led this time by the raspy
chanteuse Francesca Gagnon, set the circus apart from the others with
a unique blend of styles. 'Alegria's' run over the next year will take
the performers to San Jose, Calif., Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, Calif.,
New York, Toronto, Chicago, Boston, Washington, DC, and Atlanta.
* * * * *
THE CIRQUE'S GLOBAL STRATEGY
Irene Lacher | The LA Times
October 2, 1994
Looking like a star is one thing. Acting like one is something else
entirely.
And so when Cirque du Soleil's very own Flying Fabio, more prosaically
known as Vladimir Kekhayal, and his chair-balancing compatriot Vassily
Demenchoukov arrived from Russia with all the attitude they could pack
in their bags, their star quality was considered, well, a bit de trop.
"It was like 'If I'm here, I'm the star, so you have to treat me as a
star,' " says Gilles Ste-Croix, Cirque's artistic director.
Au contraire, mon frere.
"I would say, 'Listen. Cirque du Soleil is not like this. Everyone is
the star. But if I need you to bring a carpet for another performer,
if you need them to bring you something for your number, we all
share.'
"They said, 'But that's communism.'
"I said, 'Yeah, that's Quebec communism. But that's how it works.' "
So went the occasionally rocky debut of Cirque du Soleil's first
Russian imports for its early '90s show "Nouvelle Experience." To get
them to Cirque's base in Montreal, Ste-Croix had grappled with Russian
bureaucracy and an American producer for six months in the thick of
perestroika in 1989. But at least Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms had
propped open the gates for Russian artists to perform abroad. And with
the fall of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, even more of Russia's
best talent has made an exodus. This year, Cirque du Soleil has
plucked its largest Russian contingent ever--16--for its latest
shimmering production of circus theater, "Alegria," which opens
Thursday at the Santa Monica Pier and on Jan. 24 at South Coast Plaza
in Costa Mesa.
The Russians' arrival heralds growth for the 10-year-old Canadian
company, which has become increasingly multinational as Cirque du
Soleil evolves far from its street-performing roots. It's also fitting
that so many Russians should be part of Cirque's eighth production,
which celebrates the era's global changes in power. Unlike traditional
circuses, which string together unrelated acts, Cirque du Soleil
cloaks its acrobatics and clowning in lavish costumes, lighting and
dance, all designed around a theme. And for "Alegria"-- joy in
Spanish--the phrase that shapes the evening is: "The fools have lost
their king."
"Everybody now has a global concern, but they're also living in a
world of uncertainty and complaining a lot about this," Ste-Croix
says. " Alegria is like a scream of joy, a scream of life against the
moroseness. We would say, 'The king is dead. Alegria !' Because there
is life after death in the sense that something new is coming."
In this $3-million production, something old is evoked in Cirque-
speak, a visual language that may not be immediately decipherable. The
old regime, for example, is represented by feathers and performers in
bird costumes, inspired by the "gilded year" at the turn of the
century ruled by railroad and petroleum barons.
As for the new world, simply look down. "Alegria" has more performers
under 18 than any other Cirque production.
"When you have a child of 12 who does incredible feats and comes
straight at you on the stage and looks at you in the eyes with a smile
and goes, 'Hey!' " Ste-Croix says, "you are really taken by that power
because they are there to be the future, whereas the old birds
represent the period that we are living through that is dying."
If Cirque's 12-year-old Mongolian contortionists are prized for their
youth--and preternatural flexibility, to a degree peculiar to
Mongolians, Ste-Croix says--the Russians are sought after for their
aerial abilities. That's because many former Russian gymnasts and
acrobats with Olympic aspirations turned to the circus later in their
career, says Pavel Brun, Cirque's artistic coordinator and
choreographer of Andrei Lev's Flying Trapeze Team in "Alegria."
Cirque du Soleil's first attempt to build a Russian act after the fall
of the Soviet Union went much more smoothly than earlier enlistment
efforts. In 1992, the mayors of Moscow and Montreal signed an
agreement joining the innovative Cirque with the more traditional
Moscow Circus in staging a flying trapeze act.
The deal called for the Russians to recruit a group of 25 trapeze
artists, from which Cirque selected 12. Then Brun and another coach
worked with the troupe at the Moscow Circus' elaborate $50-million
facility. The act was designed for Cirque's show "Mystere," now in its
first of five years at the company's permanent theater in Las Vegas.
(A third production, "Saltimbanco," will tour Europe next year.)
The Moscow-Montreal agreement had been lauded as the beginning of
cultural exchanges between the two cities, but the circus flow has
largely been headed in one direction--to the West.
"I don't think they got anything out of it," Ste-Croix says of the
Moscow Circus. "We could have had a collaboration that could have gone
for years, but I think the system turned into a very rotten thing that
is worse than what communism was."
Artistic standards have sagged, Brun says, and corruption has left its
mark on the Russian circus. A few days before the Cirque trapeze
troupe left Moscow in 1993, the commercial director of the Moscow
Circus was shot dead in the door of his apartment with a hunting
rifle.
"Maybe he knew (why)," Brun says. "Maybe not. Maybe it was financial.
Is it normal that at the end of the 20th Century, you're opening the
door of your apartment and somebody shoots you three times in the
stomach? That's an example of (organized crime) involvement. Is it
connected with the circus? Is it connected with the Las Vegas project
with Cirque du Soleil? I don't know. But it makes me really sad."
Under Soviet rule, the govern ment prized the circus, but its
attentions were like a cobra's embrace. Hailing the circus as the art
of the people, the government institutionalized the big tops, sending
it into a spiral of ruin and eventually prompting its artists to flee
the country.
The popular appeal was price. Two years ago, a ticket went for 15
rubles--9 cents. The big tops had come down in the '60s and '70s, and
up came 69 permanent circus buildings in every city of more than
200,000 people. Shows were held 11 months a year, a droning continuity
that clashed with the tradition of itinerant companies whose briefer
appearances drummed up expectations and audiences. Audiences shrank,
and a financial crisis for the circus mushroomed.
"Since you have buildings, it was like 'All right, this is the
circus,' " Brun says. "It's like a gas station. It's like a
supermarket. It exists. No celebration anymore."
In that period, too, the Communist Party ordered the arts to bow to
politics. In addition to acrobatics, audiences would be treated to
party posters and portraits; beneath a bust of Lenin, poets would
declaim their love of the red flag.
Under the Soviets, travel to countries with more liberal circus
traditions--often impossible anyway--required Communist Party
membership. Even then, artists needed approval from the KGB, the
Ministry of Culture and the Soyuzgoscirk, the bureaucracy that
governed the country's 7,000 circus artists and told them where they
had to perform. And when artists were allowed to perform abroad, their
pay went to Soyuzgoscirk.
"It was very administrative, like everything at those times, and I
would say that Soyuzgoscirk was a real product of totalitarianism,"
Brun says.
Even the perestroika years of the late '80s held bureaucratic
roadblocks. In the '80s, Brun, who had studied at the Moscow Circus
School, was performing mime with Moscow's top free-lance jazz-rock
musician, Aleksei Kozlov, whose performing group, Arsenal, melded
jazz, movement and puppetry. The group, described in Hedrick Smith's
"The Russians," was famous in Russia, wildly popular with youth but
detested by Communist officials in part because it was beloved by
Americans in Moscow--the U.S. Embassy invited the group to perform at
its July Fourth and Thanksgiving celebrations.
When Arsenal was invited to participate in the Live Aid concert at
London's Wembley Stadium in 1985, the Ministry of Culture responded
that travel would be complicated because the group was in Mongolia.
"In those years, you say the word Mongolia and it seems almost
impossible to reach you," Brun says. "They say, 'OK,' but forget about
it. But we were in Moscow."
Still, Brun, 36, says there was a payoff for performers coming of age
in difficult times.
"All this pressure, all this frustration, all this stupidity made us
very, very resistant. To be a modern dancer, to be a jazz musician, to
be an avant-garde circus performer was prohibited. It made my
generation a lot stronger because we did it anyway. And I would say a
lot of artistic achievements of the '70s and '80s were a lot higher
than now in Russia, where everything is legal and you can do whatever
you want to do."
Brun quit Arsenal in 1988 and began working with the Moscow Circus'
experimental workshop. He met Cirque founder Guy Laliberte in 1990 in
Paris at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain. Laliberte later
went to Moscow to see the workshop.
"And that was it. I was hooked by my heart," Brun says. "Because I
realized that Cirque du Soleil was the exact place where I can express
myself as much as I can, where I can have--what's the American word?
fun, where my experience will be appreciated."
Clown Slava Polunin was widely appreciated in Russia via the most
official of channels--national television--even though his Yellow
Clown persona was an alternative meld of influences ranging from
Antonin Artaud to Samuel Beckett to Robert Wilson.
Polunin, who performs for Cirque with his 8-year-old son Ivan, is
credited with creating the first Russian clown theater in the '70s, a
time when politics had turned circus clowns into chilly technocrats.
Polunin's Academy of Fools revived the art of clowning by
incorporating philosophy, social criticism and surrealistic painting.
Polunin's tragicomic character Asisay (a bit of baby talk with no real
translation) would speak in a kind of "double language," as Brun, who
interprets for him, put it. "You can speak of one thing, but you can
keep in your mind totally different things." The authorities didn't
catch on to his double meanings, "because his childish image was like
an excuse."
By the beginning of the '80s, Asisay was a fixture of Russian
television and Polunin became a star. "His fame in Russia was equal to
the fame of rock stars," Brun says.
For cube gymnast Mikhail Matorin, 29, joining Cirque du Soleil was a
simple matter of picking up the phone. The former Moscow Circus
performer had seen Cirque acts at the Paris circus competition in
1990, and he had applied two years ago to join the company. Ste-Croix
called him in Moscow a couple of weeks before the Montreal debut of
"Alegria" in April. By then, Matorin was in the enviable position of
being courted by circuses in France and Canada, and he needed only to
pick up and go.
"I had to choose between Cirque La Luna, which is the moon, and Cirque
du Soleil, which is the sun, and I chose the sun," he says. "They just
amazed me by the movement, by the music. It was beautiful, and when I
changed my act and created new things, I was always thinking about the
Cirque du Soleil."
Matorin performs with a five-foot-square cube, manipulating it while
on foot and dangling from an aerial wire. Matorin's signature act, a
highlight of "Alegria," was created by his father, an artistic
director of the Moscow Circus. The idea of juxtaposing the human body
with a cube was inspired by drawings by Leonardo da Vinci and such
Salvador Dali paintings as "Gala Looking at the Hypercubicus Christ."
It took a year and a half to develop.
For Matorin, joining Cirque has meant realizing a dream:
"It's more interesting to perform here. Even if we forget about the
financial side, the convenience, it's more interesting to perform in
front of happy people."
For Brun, joining Cirque has meant understanding that a dream will
never be realized.
"There will be a wonderful Canadian big top," he says, "and you will
see lots of Russian performers and a wonderful international troupe,
but for me it's kind of painful that it's unrealistic to expect that
this big top of Cirque du Soleil could be created in the Red Square in
Moscow. I want to do that, but I know it will not happen in the near
future. Because the needs of the people over there are unfortunately a
lot different. They are thinking about what they are going to eat, how
they are going to dress, are they going to be killed tomorrow because
of some street gangs or will they stay alive. I'm not afraid of that,
but it makes me very, very sad because we were expecting something
different."
* * * * * *
THE USUAL, UNUSUAL CIRQUE
By: Laurie Winer | LA Times
October 8, 1994
Cirque du Soleil is back in town with its new show, "Alegria," under
the big top at Santa Monica Pier. AT&T is producing, and, since the
company makes its way rather prominently into the show's introduction,
I thought I'd stick it in my introduction, as well. The opening-night
crowd on Thursday was half expecting a raffle for free phones by the
time the show finally started.
The postmodern, Montreal-based circus first stormed L.A. in 1987 with
its new blend of acrobatics, contortionists, hip percussive music,
strange costumes and plumes, sophisticated lighting, absence of
elephant manure. On its raked, double spherical stage (a nod to the
circus rings of old, perhaps) and generally surreal setting,
performers display the distinctive Cirque attitude--they look like
aliens who refuse to tell you whether they're benign or hostile but
who expect to be admired nonetheless. They create another, parallel
universe that is peopled by, well, weird circus performers.
This year's version contains less derring-do than previous Cirques,
although there is a tumbling act where men in gold mesh seem to
traverse the entire stage horizontally, and a trapeze act featuring
men in aviator caps who perform at the tippy top of the big top (these
acts became known among my co-watchers as the "golden bounders" and
the "prancing eunuchs").
If "Alegria" has a theme, it looks to be ethereal children. (The
creators, director Franco Dragone and artistic director Gilles Ste-
Croix, said in the San Francisco Chronicle that the show was inspired
by the recent upheavals in the former Soviet Union and South Africa
and is about the inevitable replacement of the elders by the young.
But you wouldn't know that if I hadn't told you.) There are some
fascinating acts that might make you wonder about the child labor laws
in Mongolia and China.
One act features a tiny, smiling doll who maneuvers her way across a
portable tightrope that is being held up by a slightly older, totally
unsmiling child who intently balances a long pole on her shoulder.
They look like China's version of Louise and Baby June from "Gypsy."
The tiny contortionists from Mongolia, Ulziibayar Chimed and Nomin
Tseveendorj, look like twins but aren't. In another era they would
have been introduced as "the wonders of the Orient!" and they are
quite remarkable, if eerily placid, as they wave their limbs around
their heads like spider legs. As they explore the mysterious shapes
that the human body can take, a sad clown on stilts wearing a
Rembrandt hat and coat looks on, somehow thickening the mystery.
"Alegria" features the addition of songster Francesca Gagnon, who
looks like a cross between Madonna and Connie Stevens in sparkly
Martian ears. She manages to be quite chic in a corset, cage skirt and
white hair that looks as if birds put it together out of twigs and
spaghetti. Even if you understand French, you can never make out a
word she's singing, except "Alegria," which you hear over and over
again. Her doppelganger/backup singer Isabelle Corradi is dressed
similarly but all in black and is never allowed to get too close to
the audience.
Unfortunately, Cirque has never recovered from the loss of the
incredible clown David Shiner, who went on to appear with Bill Irwin
in "Fool Moon." But there are a couple of good routines by Russian
clown Slava Polunin, who has a touching affair with a coat and hat on
a coatrack. He also gets blown mightily across the stage, a la Buster
Keaton in "Steamboat Bill Jr."
Some of the other acts--a Fabio manque aerialist who performs with a
huge silver cube, a flabby strong man, a flame thrower/eater--left
this viewer cold.
Christian Racoux, the master of ceremonies, is a hunchbacked, pot-
bellied bird man who cares for his flock, what I like to call the
corps du Soleil, with interesting ambivalence. Their weird masks and
scraggly hair and their strange relation to the performers are
mesmerizing in their own, impenetrable way. That's the way of the
Cirque du Soleil.
* * * * *
REVIEW: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL ALEGRIA
By: Jonathan Taylor | Variety
OCTOBER 10, 1994
The expansively creative team behind Cirque du Soleil finds itself
with a challenge somewhat akin to what God must've confronted on the
eighth day: What to do for an encore? The previous Cirque productions
did nothing less than reinvent our notion of the circus, and
reintroduce audiences to the concept of wonderment. For the company's
fifth show, "Alegria," the team returned to the formula that has
worked four times already. If Cirque veterans bemoan the absence of
mind-bending new acts, it's nonetheless likely all but the most
cynical will come away dazzled and delighted. Packed houses are
assured under Cirque's trademark blue-and-yellow big top.
The expansively creative team behind Cirque du Soleil finds itself
with a challenge somewhat akin to what God mustve confronted on the
eighth day: What to do for an encore? The previous Cirque productions
did nothing less than reinvent our notion of the circus, and
reintroduce audiences to the concept of wonderment. For the companys
fifth show, Alegria, the team returned to the formula that has
worked four times already. If Cirque veterans bemoan the absence of
mind-bending new acts, its nonetheless likely all but the most
cynical will come away dazzled and delighted. Packed houses are
assured under Cirques trademark blue-and-yellow big top.
That formula consists of a few key elements: A handful of acts of
death- or physics-defying human
derring-do; an at-once humorous and vaguely threatening emcee; a
stunning visual style that owes more to street theater than Las Vegas;
and a troupe of clowns and performers who entertain between acts and
always seems to include (for reasons not at all clear) a fat person
with weird things sticking out of the side of his or her head.
Each Cirque du Soleil production hearkens back to the very earliest,
prehistoric roots of circuses of people doing odd things for the
amusement and amazement of others while encompassing a thoroughly
modern sensibility.
Most Cirque productions also purport to advance a vague theme or
plotline that links the various acts, albeit loosely. With Alegria,
theres a recurrent image of stepping through the looking glass into a
new and wondrous world, and a stronger-than-ever motif of man defying
nature.
The program opens with a trapeze duo performing near-mirror images on
separate bars, and ends more than two hours later with the far more
thrilling Flying Lev. This Russian team of aerialists combines the art
of trapeze with uneven parallel bars gymnastics that leads audiences
to conclude that the laws of gravity just dont apply here.
Second on the program is the house troupe of acrobats (the other
acts join for just this production). Working on springy mats that seem
to emerge from below the stage, they fly, flip and float like
pinwheels freed from their moorings. The howd-they-do-that amazement
of this routine couples with the beauty of their movements.
The house troupe whose head-high, shoulders-back prancing about the
stage gives them the look of heraldic hood ornaments returns in the
second act for a Russian bars routine that is something like the
balance beam of gymnastics, but with a flexible board held up by two
people.
If these acts contradict gravity, Hawaiis Lisiate Tuione Tovo
challenges the laws of fire. Alternately twirling, licking, lying on
and otherwise commanding a flaming bar, Tovos performance touches an
almost primal fascination with the beauty and hazard of fire. This is
likely to be the act most people are still talking about days later.
Or perhaps it will be Mongolian contortionists Ulziibayar Chimed and
Nomin Tseveendorj. These small, impossibly flexible young girls elicit
applause and a healthy dose of the creeps as they bend and flow as
if the limitations of the human skeletal system are irrelevant to
them.
Between acts when the hood ornaments arent prancing about clowns
Dmitry Bogatirev, Serguei Chachelev and Slava Polunin perform. Their
miming sometimes comments on the previous feat, acting as inept
surrogates for us in the audience. Other times they perform self-
contained routines. A couple seems poignantly to address fears of
closeness and friendship.
And the clowns final routine explores the classic clowning motif of
people befuddled by themost mundane of matters, in this case picking
up a small piece of litter. Before they are through, they must
confront a full-blown hurricane that sends confetti, seemingly miles
of toilet paper and the clowns themselves hurtling into the audience.
Its a hilarious routine, although one that wouldnt seem out of place
in a more conventional circus, which is something early Cirque shows
never did, and which is the main gripe about Alegria. The joy and
wonder of Cirque du Soleil is that it offers a unique series of acts
and way of seeing a circus, different even from other circuses.
Christian Racoux he of the misshapen body and slightly ominous,
panther-like movements is fine as comedian/emcee. But audiences miss
the hilarity and danger and sheer silent genius of David Shiner, who
played that role in Cirques Nouvelle Experience a few years ago,
before going on to star with Bill Irwin in the magical Fool Moon
here and on Broadway.
Most disappointing is strong man Rick ZumWalt, who appears to be,
well, not all that strong. When he pulled a man out of the audience to
arm-wrestle, he very nearly lost. He looks the part, but breaks the
magic spell cast by the other performers.
Its not hard to imagine that new, awe-inspiring acts are harder to
come by for the Quebec-based companys fifth incarnation. But theres
enough thats unique and unimaginable about Alegria to move
virtually everyone. If it succeeds at nothing else, this production
serves to reaffirm that we mere mortals still have the ability to be
amazed.
* * * * *
THE STRONGMAN: STEEL ARMS, WARM HEART
By: Irene Lacher | LA Times
November 5, 1994
Rick Zumwalt, Cirque du Soleil's first strongman, is what you might
call a minimalist. His professional photo lists, "Height: tall,
weight: heavy."
If you insist on numbers, how about these?: He's 6 foot 4 inches tall,
down to a "slim-trim" 310 pounds, and his chest is 5 feet around, his
biceps, 2 feet.
"I used to tease the little guys at the gym who were trying to get to
19, 20 and 21 (inches)," says Zumwalt, the muscleman of "Alegria,"
Cirque du Soleil's eighth production, which is running at the Santa
Monica Pier until Dec. 18.
"I said, 'You boys measure in inches. You gotta do it in feet if
you're a real man.' "
A little gym humor there. His secret?
"I'm into the mega-eating program," confides Zumwalt, who began his
young athletic life with the shotput when asthma ruled out more mobile
sports.
Take all that muscular muchness and process it through the Cirque-
ulator and you come out with this amazing feat of pure unadulterated
manpower: Zumwalt plucks a woman out of the audience for a tug-of-war-
-and loses.
Come again?
"It's part of the changing world and changing values as well," says
Cirque du Soleil artistic director Gilles Ste-Croix, whose latest show
celebrates the recent changes in world power. "A big macho guy has to
learn there is other stuff than being macho. He's so huge, he's a
mountain. But he has a heart of faience, of very delicate porcelain.
He's a very sensitive man."
OK, so Zumwalt bends steel too. And he's working on potentially new
derring-do in which he would pick up the entire troupe--6,800 pounds
of acrobats, clowns and contortionists--and carry the world on his
shoulders.
That would be child's play for the Hisperia resident and former world
arm-wrestling champion. A dragon tattoo crawls down his mighty left
breast. A long-ish braid snakes out the back of his otherwise bald
head. And of course, there is the porcelain heart.
"I was arm-wrestling a guy one time," says Zumwalt, 42. "I looked at
him, and said, 'This guy's a joke,' very slender and very animated. So
I just decided to give him a hard time. I locked up and held him
there, and he's trying all these different angles. This was in the
middle of a mall where they had a state championship going on.
"He was standing up and his belt broke, and his pants fell off and he
didn't know it. I stopped in the middle of the match, walked behind
him and pulled his pants up and walked back. He was blood red. We
started again and I went through him real quick. Mercy killing."
Of course, put the pants on a movie star and it's a different story.
The star in question was Sylvester Stallone, who helped launch
Zumwalt's brawny film career when they arm wrestled for 1985's "Over
the Top." The scene was shot before a crowd at the Las Vegas Hilton.
"Actually, Sly wanted to lose, but (director Menahem Golan) put it up
to the audience. 'Who do you want to win? Do you want Rick to win?'
And I got a very nice amount of applause.
" 'Do you want Sly to win?' And it was overpowering. 'OK, Sly, you win
by popular demand."'
But Zumwalt won parts in 15 more (mostly action) movies. In fact,
Zumwalt was a faux strongman in films before becoming a real one for
Cirque. For "Batman Returns," he played a tattooed strongman.
So when a show business friend of Zumwalt heard of Cirque du Soleil's
plan to harken back to the company's street-performing roots by
casting a strongman, he suggested Zumwalt for the job.
"I said, 'You're out of your mind.' I said, 'I'm 42 years old.' I
said, 'No way. I think the stage scares me.' "
Ste-Croix says the transition to the stage from film, which offers the
safety net of multiple takes, wasn't easy for Zumwalt.
"At the beginning, we say, 'Oh, we made a mistake,' " he says. "But a
performer onstage has to have show-biz reflexes and that is growing on
him slowly."
Travel with Cirque has also given Zumwalt, a recovering alcoholic for
10 years, fresh venues for his talks to teens about the perils of
drugs and alcohol.
"I say, 'Pal, I've been there. Put down the bottle. Put down the pipe
and come with me.' "
In the end, Zumwalt's experience muscling his way around Cirque's big
top has given new meaning to the words stage fright.
"I scare me in a dark alley."
# # #
That's all for in this issue, but there's plenty more to come!
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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Fascination! Newsletter
Volume 17, Number 12 (Issue #167) - December 2017
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{ Dec.06.2017 }
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