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Fascination Issue 221
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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 23, NUMBER 6 August 2023 ISSUE #221
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CONTENTS
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o) Cirque Buzz -- News, Rumours & Sightings
* La Presse -- General News & Highlights
o) Itin raire -- Tour/Show Information
* BigTop Shows -- Under the Grand Chapiteau
* Arena Shows -- In Stadium-like venues
* Resident Shows -- Performed en Le Théâtre
o) Fascination! Features
* "Is Gen Z Down to Clown? The Circus is Counting on It"
SPECIAL /// Republished from the New York Times
* "LIFE IS A CIRCUS 4: Posts from the Cirque Blog"
By: Cirque's Artists, Editors, and More...
o) Copyright & Disclaimer
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CIRQUE BUZZ -- NEWS, RUMOURS & SIGHTINGS
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LA PRESSE -- General News & Highlights
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Cirque brings Big Top razzle-dazzle to corporate events
{Aug.01.2023}
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(NOTE: This article was written by Cirque du Soleil for publication.)
At Cirque du Soleil, the adventure starts with an idea. Whether an
organization is looking for an event to celebrate with its team,
highlight the loyalty of a long-term client relationship or plan an
unforgettable date - Cirque's dedicated team can assist in creating a
one-of-a-kind experience.
"From its beginning, Cirque looked for ways to redefine circus arts,
and sees the planning of events as a way to enhance the guest
experience. "Our VIP space can be adapted for tailored events and
accommodate small to larger groups, starting when you step on our
beautiful site," said Mike Newquist, president, touring shows division
at Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group.
Cirque knows how to entertain a crowd, especially when it comes to its
VIP experience. The redesigned VIP tent can welcome organizations,
partners and employees inside an air-conditioned lounge to celebrate,
treat and delight guests.
"There is no experience that replaces seeing and collaborating with
your colleagues, partners, friends or loved ones (and showing them)
how much they mean to you than by hosting an in-person event for
them," said Newquist.
The VIP experience allows guests to taste locally sourced food
prepared by the Cirque touring chef, strike a pose with our artists in
a beautiful setting, access the best seating close to the action and
inspire teams creatively in many ways.
"Our VIP guests leave with giant smiles after having such a great time
with their guests," Newquist said.
The VIP lounge also includes an exclusive gift, a full bar available
upon arrival on site to the end of intermission, sweet treats, an
exclusive entrance and VIP restrooms.
THE LATEST BIG TOP CREATION
Cirque du Soleil ECHO, Cirque's newest Big Top creation, will have its
U.S. premiere in Tysons, Virginia, on Sept. 6. Packed with vibrant
characters, inspiring music, astounding lights and projections, and
never-before-seen acrobatics, ECHO takes audiences on a journey
through a universe of color, wonder and infinite possibilities. Fresh
off its run in Montreal, where it received rave reviews, ECHO is
expected to dazzle audiences in the D.C. area.
Cirque du Soleil brings modern and surprising twists under the Big Top
with ECHO, a story of connection, intention and the bond between
humans and the animal kingdom. When Future (the protagonist) and her
best friend the Dog stumble upon an enigmatic Cube, they set in motion
a journey of life, discovery, hope and empathy, quickly learning how
their actions have the power to shape this world.
As Author-Director Mukhtar Omar Sharif Mukhtar says, "I think it's
important when people come to ECHO to be blown away by the
performances and acrobatics, and at the same time, I want them to
leave feeling empowered."
"It's incredible to watch our performers accomplish such amazing
acrobatic feats," said Newquist. 'the Big Top offers such an intimate
setting that we immediately feel immersed into the world of "ECHO."
ONE-OF-A-KIND EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR GROUP
Watching a Cirque du Soleil performance creates excitement and anyone
who has watched a performance will likely say it must be seen to be
believed. Cirque will provide the resources to design the VIP
experience organizations want their guests to have. Cirque's dedicated
staff will offer personalized hospitality. Additionally, Cirque can
provide equipment and the technology to make a speech or corporate
presentation.
For organizations planning a corporate event or a unique occasion,
events such as ECHO will deliver a breathtaking experience.
{ SOURCE: Washington Business Journal }
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Motorola Recruits CDS ACrobats for the Reveal of RAZR+
{Aug.01.2023}
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"Our No. 1 goal was to flip the script and challenge the status quo.
This is a category that's very traditional in the way it does reveals,
and we feel the razr+ is so different that we wanted people to connect
differently to this device and the brand. We want the razr brand to
stand for self-expression. Since the 2000s it's been an icon, so we
wanted to bring that back in the same way."
- Maria Jose Martin, Marketing Director, Motorola
If you were of age in the aughts, you'll recall that Motorola's Razr
flip phone was a pop culture sensation (yes, we had one, and yes, we
cherished it almost as much as our MySpace profile). The iconic device
has since returned as a foldable smartphone, and for the global
unveiling of its latest iteration, the razr+, Motorola aimed to
reinfiltrate the zeitgeist with the help of Cirque du Soleil.
At a launch event on June 1, performers from the renowned troupe
officially revealed the new phone through a custom, 20-minute
spectacle that incorporated the device both literally and
figuratively. A post-show soiree featuring photo booths, installations
and experiential F&B inspired by the razr+, along with a performance
by Grammy Award winner Kim Petras, supported the unconventional
reveal.
Media and influencers were invited to the historic Weylin event space
in Brooklyn, NY, to witness Cirque du Soleil contortionists, acrobats
and other high-flying performers transport the razr+'s "Flip the
Script" tagline into a narrative-driven, on-stage extravaganza across
two stages and a giant LED backdrop. The show served as a "celebration
of self-expression" encompassing bold colors (like Pantone's Color of
the Year, Viva Magenta, one of three colors the razr+ comes in),
lighting effects, technology integrations and gravity-defying
acrobatics, all built to represent the phone's design and
functionality.
"When we are building our campaigns, every single thing we do is
[about] 'show, don't tell," says Maria Jose Martin, marketing director
at Motorola. "If you think about the combination that Cirque du Soleil
has with mixing music, color, dance, different materials, the aerial
show, they are able to represent and build a story of the creation of
razr+. For us, showcasing foldable technology in an artistic moment
could only be done by them."
Following the performance, as the artists were taking their final
bows, a large theater curtain parted to reveal the Weylin's domed
event space. The performers then escorted attendees into the
environment, where they were met with custom-fabricated plinths that
reflected the razr+'s unique colors and shapes, and how it enables
users to create content from multiple angles; trippy photo moments
that matched the colors of the device; a dj performance; and
opportunities to experiment with the phone and its features (like a
large preview screen and hands-free recording capabilities). Across
every touchpoint, Motorola aimed to cement the razr+'s positioning as
the ultimate content-capture tool.
The evening additionally included tray-passed fare, pour-over
cocktails featuring ingredients inspired by the razr+ and food
installations that highlighted the device's shapes. To round out the
evening, Petras took the stage for an hour-long performance during
which she sang and dj-ed while capturing the experience on her Viva
Magenta razr+.
"We really believe that this phone is going to be the center of
cultural life as it was in the 2000s, and if we want to build that, we
need to make sure we're bringing back that mantra of showing and not
just telling," says Martin. "I cannot tell people this phone is cool;
people need to see "Wow, this phone is cool!" We love the digital
world, but having that experiential moment blows people's minds. And
this is just the starting point of many other spaces that we are
exploring. Cultural moments where people can interact with the phone
are going to come through the year, and we're going to keep building
these experiential stories that are critical for the success of this
product." Partners: Mirrored Media (lead experiential agency); Cirque
du Soleil; LaForce.
{ SOURCE: Event Marketer }
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Immersive Cirque du Soleil Tycoon Experience is
Now Officially Available on Roblox
{Aug.02.2023}
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After months of anticipation, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group is
excited to announce that its first-ever immersive experience on Roblox
- Cirque du Soleil Tycoon - is now available to all community members.
In partnership with the leading metaverse game developer, Gamefam,
families around the globe can now experience Cirque du Soleil's newest
contemporary circus show, ECHO, and raise the Big Top from the comfort
of their homes.
Known for its world-renowned artistic performances, Cirque du Soleil
fans will have the chance to experience a behind-the-scenes look at
how each show is crafted and performed. Users on Roblox can build and
manage their own Big Top show by unlocking crucial show elements,
including artists, acrobatic performances, training studios, costume
and makeup workshops, all while interacting with other users and their
friends. Those who engage in the experience will also have the
opportunity to dress up their avatar in true Cirque du Soleil fashion,
try out interactive challenges to test their skills, and design their
stage, which can then be performed later for other community members
on the platform.
"Having thrived for almost four decades, Cirque du Soleil has
continuously amazed audiences with unparalleled live experiences. Now
embracing the digital realm, we eagerly embark on a new journey to
connect with our audience in novel ways, fostering shared moments
among the upcoming generation of Cirque du Soleil enthusiasts," said
Nickole Tara, Chief Growth Officer. "We are committed to offering
people worldwide an immersive means to explore the boundless
creativity and universe of Cirque du Soleil."
As the first entirely digital offering from the brand, Cirque du
Soleil hopes the Tycoon will allow its fans to express their
creativity and discover the universe of Cirque under the Big Top.
"Since Cirque du Soleil Tycoon launched in beta, we've been gathering
feedback from the fans and fine-tuning the gameplay experience. The
game has achieved nearly 2 million visits in the lead up to global
release as excited fans build their virtual Big Tops concurrently,"
said Ricardo Briceno, Chief Business Officer at Gamefam. "This is
another great example of how beloved brands can extend their reach and
engage fans where they are."
To learn more, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/roblox or view the Cirque
du Soleil Tycoon trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=SsNs7WiPaCo
HOW TO PLAY CIRQUE DU SOLEIL TYCOON IN ROBLOX
Hire acrobats, jugglers, instructors, show technicians, make-up
artists, and costume designers, among others, to distinguish your
performance. In order to play the event, follow the steps below:
1. Launch the Roblox Player (https://www.roblox.com/download) on your
device.
2. Head over to the Cirque Du Soleil Tycoon page
(https://www.roblox.com/games/13388158627/FREE-UGC-Cirque-Du-
Soleil-Tycoon) on the platform.
3. Press the green Play button to launch the event.
4. Customize your avatar and you're done!
{ SOURCE: Cirque du Soleil }
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"Drawn to Life" Performers Talk Unique Artistry
{Aug.03.2023}
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When you think of a Cirque du Soleil show, you are likely to think
about the groundbreaking acrobatics, beautiful costumes and some
standing-ovation choreography.
You also might think of some of the comedic acts that are brought to
life through clowns.
At "Drawn to Life," these clowns are not your average red-nose artists
traditionally found under the big top. In fact, they are crucial
characters, helping drive the show and, at times, sparking emotion
in the audience members watching from their seats.
This week, the Cirque du Soleil clowns are celebrating their skills
during International Clown Week.
"Drawn to Life" first debuted at Disney Springs in 2021. The story
follows the character Julie, a determined girl who discovers an
unexpected letter from her Disney animator father. As she dives into
the inner world of animation, she is guided by a surprising pencil,
which helps inspire her quest that is filled with childhood Disney
memories.
"It's very special - there is enough to celebrate. There are so many
types of clowns and there are so many clown techniques, schooling from
different countries," said Emily Carragher, who plays Miss Hesitation
in the show. "You could say there is a clown for every person. There
is a lot."
Carragher's character is a crumpled ball of paper compromised of
Julie's rejected drawings. During the show, her character feeds on
Julie's self-doubt and her mistakes.
"Clowns are not necessarily big shoes, red nose. Clowns can be
anything they want to be, which is fantastic, and a freedom for any
performer," explained Carragher. "What I do is play a part of myself,
and there is no fourth wall. I'm experiencing a story in a room with a
couple thousand people every day, twice."
Miss Hesitation is one of the characters that is considered, in the
clown world, a "white clown" or "clown blanc," a sophisticated
character traditionally seen in white makeup, sometimes sad, with a
pointy clown hat. One of the other prominent characters is Mr. Pencil.
"I'm like her guide in the show," said Guerassim Dichliev, who plays
Mr. Pencil. "In this show, I'm a clown - I'm clown blanc. I'm rich
with so many experiences to be a mime, physical actor and a clown.
It's good to celebrate the profession of the theater, and it's good to
know the origin of where we came from."
Dichliev, who originally wanted to be an astrophysicist growing up, is
one of the roughly 60 artists on the show that have evolved their
talents of clowning, or miming, in areas around the world.
'the audience members, when they come to this show, they come for the
spectacle and the unique moment that they will see before they leave,"
Guerassim explained.
Some of the other clowns helping Julie in her journey through the
pages include four animators. They guide Julie through the principles
of animation, teaching her how to complete her father's unfinished
drawing.
Ekaterina Pirogovskaya, who has a history of clowning in three Cirque
productions and places around the world, plays one of the four
animators.
"For me, a clown is a person who builds their own world with their
imagination, and they invite the audience inside and, in this world,
you can be imperfect and through this an atmosphere is born when you
can't see but you can feel - it's beautiful," Pirogovskaya said.
Pirogovskaya not only plays one of the comedic animators but also is
the female animator that pays tribute to Disney Legend Mary Blair.
During the Dream of Colors act, Pirogovskaya helps bring to life some
of Blair's concept art for Disney Animation classics such as Alice in
Wonderland, Peter Pan and Cinderella.
"For me, I feel really honored for this trust that our director Michel
Laprise has put in me," Pirogovskaya explained. "When we do this
scene, it's like honey for your soul. I tried to look through her eyes
and bring this to the stage."
"Drawn to Life" has 10 unique acrobatic acts with all of them
featuring original music and pieces of Disney animation. Back in
April, the show evolved with all-new acts including aerial artists and
a "flying guitarist."
{ SOURCE: Click Orlando }
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What a Colorado alpine rescue team can learn from CDS
{Aug.04.2023}
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The margin of error is 5 millimeters. "Five millimeters is big for
us," said Andrew Barrus, technical director of the Cirque du Soleil's
"Kooza" show. "It's huge!" responded a volunteer from the Alpine
Rescue Team, a three-county search and rescue organization based in
Evergreen.
On Wednesday, eight volunteers from the Alpine Rescue Team arrived at
the Cirque du Soleil's temporary Denver big top in the parking lot of
Ball Arena. They aren't there to see the show (though some admit
they"ll be back for it). They"ve been invited to tour the technical
side of the circus, to see how "Kooza's" ropes rigging systems might
help with their own acrobatics rescuing injured skiers, climbers,
mountain bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts.
"Kooza" is one of Cirque du Soleil's 11 touring shows. It arrived in
Denver from Toronto in late June, and will pack up and head to Calgary
later this month. The whole operation takes 10 days to set up and
three to tear down.
By the time any performer actually touches the equipment, the setup
crew, which includes the technical team, will have sunk 1,200 stakes
into the ground and raised four 82-foot masts, hundreds of smaller
poles and 84 grounding stakes in case of lightning.
"All of it has to be exactly laid out. A performer is a performer
they're only thinking about performing," Barrus said. "So, you have to
make sure everything is exact so that there is no question in their
mind."
This resonates with the rescuers, whose weekly training that night is
about lowering a subject what they call the injured person on a
rescue using pass-through knots, so that the subject "doesn't feel
anything," Howard Paul, a rescue volunteer, said.
Though their daily efforts are wildly different, the Alpine Rescue
Team and the Cirque du Soleil technical team speak the same language.
Both crews operate under pressure in high-stakes environments. They
both have training quotas and practice high-intensity situations, but
they also spend a lot of time together outside of the job and call one
another "family." They are whizzes in geometry and can quickly
calculate the safety factor of a rope passing through a pulley at a
90-degree angle, or dangling over the edge of a cliff.
RECREATION AND REPETITION
The rescue team arrived during high wire practice, so Barrus took them
to the big top - the circus's main stage - where performers were
laughing, dancing and jumping rope 30 feet off the ground.
"Is that steel? And he's doing that with his bare hands?" rescue
volunteer Shane O"Brien asked, as the crew gawked at a high wire
acrobat, spinning his body like the hands of a clock around and around
and around a cable. "How is he doing that?"
"He's 62, that's how," Barrus answered. "He's been doing that for a
long time."
The high wire is strung between two of the four masts, which also
support the tent. Barrus launched into an explanation of torque and
tension that the rescue volunteers nodded along to, peppering him with
questions throughout.
How do the performers tell technicians the tension is wrong? Hand
signals.
What happens if there's lightning? A signal light turns red, the tech
crew holds their arms across their chest in an "X," and the performers
get down.
Kooza has 22 variations of the same show, which they can toggle
between if necessary to account for performer injuries, technical
difficulties or inclement weather. Barrus said the most common reason
they switch up a show is for weather. And by weather he means
lightning.
"About two months ago we got a notification from our app that we were
going to be struck by lightning, I didn't believe it," Barrus said.
"But about 15 minutes later we got struck by lightning."
"What's the name of that app you're using?" O"Brien asked, pulling out
his phone. Half of the volunteers huddled around Barrus" phone while
he spelled out the app's name, Sferic, and showed them the homescreen.
On his display was a map with concentric circles emanating from Ball
Arena. He pointed to the innermost circle. 'this one is 6 kilometers.
If lightning strikes within 6 kilometers, we pause anything that's in
the air," he said. They also send ushers to guard the masts from
audience members. The team is trained to quickly bring the performer
down and switch the act out for something on the ground. Like the
contortionists, or the unicyclist, or the hoops.
"It's interesting you talk about how there are so many ways to do a
show," Paul said. "For us, there are so many ways we can accomplish a
task based upon terrain, where the subject is located - are they above
us, below us, on the side of a creek or a river? There are six
different ways to accomplish a task and we just fit it to the situation."
The rescuers wanted to know who makes the call about whether to bring
a performer down, whether to switch the set mid-show. "that'd be the
technical manager," Barrus said. 'that's our 601," Paul responded,
referring to the mission coordinator's radio number.
Paul joined the Alpine Rescue Team in 1985. He knows everybody on his
team's strengths and weaknesses, and can quickly assess who plays what
role on a rescue. They all can.
"We recreate together a lot - we climb, we ski, we snowmobile, we ATV,
we hike and camp, we raft the river, so we know each other's skills,"
Paul said. According to Paul, being together in the outdoors, without
the time constraints of a rescue, is the best way to get to learn how
each person operates.
Alpine Rescue has about 65 field active members, and another 30 people
or so associated with the team, according to Paul. Which means there's
always something to do on the weekend.
"If you think about it, it's the only emergency service where you go
out and do the same thing, but playing," he said. "I mean firefighters
don't get together on the weekend and light a house on fire, but we
get together and go backcountry skiing."
IT's ALL ABOUT BALANCE
Besides the technical banter, the rescue and circus teams had one
other thing in common: consistency. On top of their recreating and
rescues, the Alpine Rescue Team hosts 38 trainings per year, two in-
field trainings per month of the highest frequencies in the state,
Paul suspects.
On the circus side of things, the technical team practices weekly
rescue situations, and the performers have weekly training days
written into their contract.
After about two hours, the highliners are done with practice. The
rescue team gathered to watch the changeover. Half a dozen technical
crew members paced around the circular stage, unclipping massive hooks
from the masts and the ground, replacing them with cables connected to
the "wheel of death," a 1,600-pound rotating steel structure,
suspended above the stage that two performers run on to make it spin.
The technicians hang massive tension meters on the cables and called
out numbers. Men with clipboards circled the stage. The whole process
took about 45 minutes, but during the show they'll do it in four.
A technician ran over to a spot where the cables are connected to the
ground in front of the rescuers, a wrench in each hand. "If you
tighten this one here, do you have to tighten the cable opposite, too?
" a rescuer asked.
"Of course," the tech answered. "Balance is key with the wheel of
death."
{ SOURCE: Colorado Sun }
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'twas the Night Before" Makes Highly-Anticipated Return
{Aug.07.2023}
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Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (MSG Entertainment)
announced today that the acclaimed family holiday theatrical - 'twas
the Night Before! by Cirque du Soleil - is returning to both The
Theater at Madison Square Garden and The Chicago Theatre this holiday
season. The holiday themed show will run concurrently at The Theater
at Madison Square Garden and The Chicago Theatre for 28 performances
each from December 7 through December 28. Tickets for both engagements
go on sale to the general public on Friday, August 11, 2023 at 10:00AM
local time.
'twas the Night Before! is Cirque du Soleil's first holiday show,
based on the classic poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" by Clement
Clarke Moore. Memorable lines from this cherished classic inspired
Cirque's story about a jaded young girl who rediscovers the magic of
the holidays. A festive flurry of love and cheer created especially
for families, 'twas the Night Before! features thrilling acrobatics,
lovable characters, and a soundtrack including holiday classics re-
invented by Cirque du Soleil. The show was conceived and is directed
by Cirque du Soleil Senior Artistic Director James Hadley, a 25-year
veteran of circus productions and live theater.
With something for everyone in the family to enjoy, 'twas the Night
Before! is the perfect show to introduce the incredible world of
Cirque du Soleil to the next generation of theatergoers. This dazzling
production, inspired by the joy of giving and the wonder of the
holiday season, promises to spark lasting memories in the hearts of
children young and old this holiday season. Whether five, 50, or 95
years old, audiences are sure to be wowed by the amazing acrobatics
and heart-warming story.
Tickets for 'twas the Night Before! at The Theater at Madison Square
Garden start at $46 and will be available for purchase online at
www.msg.com/cirque or at the box office. Tickets for 'twas the Night
Before! at The Chicago Theatre start at $36 and will be available for
purchase online at www.chicagotheatre.com/cirque or at the box office.
Service charges apply to internet orders. For groups of nine or more,
please contact the Group Sales Department at 212-465-6080 or
Group.Sales@msg.com. Accessible and companion seats are available via
the Accessibility Services Department at 888-609-7599.
{ SOURCE: PR Newswire }
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Still Flying High
{Aug.09.2023}
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High above a 17-foot-deep pool filled with scuba divers and spare
oxygen aerators, nearly a dozen acrobats swing across a steel-framed
ship suspended from the ceiling as a 1,600-person audience gasps and
claps.
Below the ship, at O, Cirque du Soleil's flagship Las Vegas show at
the Bellagio Resort & Casino, a handful of old-timey aristocrat
characters stoically walk off stage left. Backstage, the chaos is far
less controlled. The aristocrat characters, called Comets, dart both
behind and beneath the stage to circle around and reappear at stage
right, sprinting past a shirtless colleague dancing wildly with a
folding fan.
A dozen metres away, a technician gets ready to light torches for
swimmers in the pool. Soon after, a pair of clowns straddling a shared
bathtub skip off stage. Then they pass a man in the wings named John
Maxson, stretching his hamstrings in a rare moment of solace.
Life has been a roller coaster for Maxson, and not because his
youngest kid has just finished high school and community college at
the same time. Beyond his family, O has been his entire life since
before it even opened in October, 1998. He helped shape the show, a
Las Vegas mainstay, as one of its original cast members. The show in
turn shaped the rest of his life. It's here that he met his wife, who
still works on another Cirque show, in the early days of O.
So, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Vegas, the global capital of excess
and entertainment, Maxson, like so many of his colleagues, underwent
the most jarring change of his career - going from performing for
thousands of people hundreds of times a year to sitting at home,
waiting, hoping the world would come back.
And yet as O's 25th anniversary looms, he's backstage, wearing makeup
instead of a mask, preparing to hit the stage as the show's voiceless
Strong Man, the guardian of its amorphous world. Life has resumed.
The pool-based show, named after eau, the French word for water, was
designed with a near-liquid level of adaptability in mind - written to
accommodate its performers" strengths, readapting its routines over
the years without changing its structure. Thanks to luck, careful
planning and guile - plus a dollop of corporate bankruptcy protection
and restructuring - O is surviving COVID-19.
Maxson walks on stage, the steel ship receding, and faces the Bellagio
audience for at least the eleven-thousandth time.
Maxson wasn't the original Strong Man of O. The character was created
and first played by Didier Antoine, a French gymnastics and trampoline
coach who, by pure coincidence, once subbed in for a trapeze troupe's
catcher during a performance where Cirque co-founder Guy Laliberté was
watching. Laliberté hired the troupe. In 1990, Antoine was suddenly a
Cirque performer.
He swiftly fell into the orbit of the Italian-Belgian theatre director
and performance-art enthusiast Franco Dragone, who since 1985 had come
to shape many of Cirque's biggest performances. In the mid-nineties,
Dragone began to dream up the company's most ambitious project yet: a
water-based show at the soon-to-be-built Bellagio on the Las Vegas
Strip.
Antoine was involved from the very start, helping to put the show
together as part of a creation process as fluid as the stage itself.
The crew of immensely talented circus misfits shared their strengths
and dreams as Dragone stitched them together through complex
choreography and staging.
He encouraged the performers to play themselves, rather than being
actors who play a role, Antoine said during a break from afternoon
training at the Bellagio theatre, as performers swung from the steel
ship, practising the act - the bateau - that Antoine, now the head
coach of O, had designed for the show a quarter-century earlier.
Dragone, who died of a heart attack last year at 69, had a unique way
of communicating with his performers and show designers. "One day, out
of the clear blue sky, he said, 'show me the ocean,'" said Tony
Ricotta, who came on board in those days to help with automation –
such as, say, for the seven hydraulic-powered stage segments that rise
and fall from the pool.
Ricotta took a moment to realize that his director wanted to see more
of the water rolling off the downstage gutter as the stage moved. "We
had to learn the director's vocabulary of art to make his vision
happen." (Ricotta went on leave from O several weeks after his
conversation with The Globe and Mail after a diver injured his neck on
a set piece; Cirque declined to provide any further information about
his employment because it was a personnel matter.)
Maxson, a diver from Washington State, joined the O team as it came
together, too, performing in a handful of acts including the high dive
and Russian swing - where a series of divers launch into the pool from
floor-mounted swings. Dragone challenged his performers to push the
limits of their performance, seeing how their skills could best adapt
to the stage.
"You have to be very open with your ideas yourself," Maxson said. This
kind of openness, from all involved, formed into a near-plotless show
about love that begins as it ends, serving entertainment up from
circus history while embedding enough pool technology to splash
directly into its future. The talent Dragone had assembled allowed the
audience to interpret the story as they wished. "Franco was so
successful because he doesn't try to change the beauty inside you,"
Antoine said.
As O approached its 22nd anniversary at the start of 2020, Cirque was
flying high. The company had six permanent shows in Vegas and many
others around the world. O was so popular that Cirque had just
expanded its Bellagio run to 14 shows a week, up from 10, with head
count set to rise by a full third among both cast and crew - well
worth the US$120-million or so Cirque had invested in it since the
nineties.
By early March, staff in Vegas began trading calls and messages with
Cirque's headquarters in Montreal, trying to draw up a plan if this
mystery COVID-19 illness found its way to Nevada. Of course it did.
Ricotta, who'd risen through the ranks to become the senior company
manager overseeing O and Zumanity, had to call both casts the second
week of that March and tell them that their final performance for a
while would take place that Saturday.
They thought, as just about everyone did back then, that the delay
might last for two months. Maxson trudged home, suddenly finding
himself without an audience. At first it felt like a vacation. But
then the restlessness set in. He'd always been moving: diving,
training, learning. But for the first time in Maxson's life, 'there
were no other opportunities to continue."
The usually exceptionally toned diver didn't have the training
equipment of O's two gyms on hand, nor the careful eye of the show's
strength and conditioning coach. He struggled to stay in shape. The
mental toll was just as bad. Slowing down, he said, "was never
something that I had even remotely considered."
The health of Cirque itself was spiralling, too. Though it launched a
series of digital specials and tried early show relaunches in
countries such as Mexico and China, its $100-million-a-month revenues
were sapped, with most audiences stuck at home. The company filed for
creditor protection in June, 2020, and all but 600 or so temporarily
laid-off employees became permanently laid-off employees. But many
cast and staff in Vegas were among those spared, with hopes they'd be
ready for a swift return when the public-health situation allowed.
As time dragged on, Cirque's financial situation got more dire. Its
bankruptcy proceedings became massively complex. By the end of 2020,
the equity stakes of some major shareholders, including the Caisse de
depot et placement du Quebec, were erased, as new majority owners
Catalyst Capital took over.
But by the spring of 2021, life for performers at O began to spring
back to life. Cirque's imperilled finances had stabilized, vaccines
were starting to roll out and public-health authorities were moving
toward the restricted reopening of society. The company set a mid-year
deadline to relaunch both O and its oldest Vegas companion, Mystère.
Maxson remembers the near-delirious experience of walking back into
the Bellagio theatre, suddenly surrounded by dozens of others after
having barely spoken to anyone besides his wife and kids for a year.
"Even though they're your friends, and you miss them, you have a fear
of getting sick because that's all you've watched on the news and
thought about for over a year," he said.
But the anxiety of being around others was soon supplanted by a more
logistical one: As they trained and later performed, the cast would
need to stay masked at all times unless they were heading into the
pool. "Otherwise, you're pretty much waterboarding yourself," Maxson
says. Even regular masks were hard to breathe through in the midst of
intense performance. The Strong Man had to buy a rubberlike adapter to
wear under his, so that it didn't stick to his lips and constrict.
Backstage, social distancing was a little easier. The company had
expanded its dressing area to fit 40 more people just before the
pandemic as it prepared to expand to seven-days-a-week staffing. With
a regular-sized staff - about 75 cast and 75 crew - they could space
out, with some cast members using back offices to apply makeup. Cirque
implemented weekly COVID-19 testing and emergency sick leave.
Though O doesn't have traditional understudies, its cast are trained
to be flexible, and people who did become sick had more backups than
usual: the people they'd hired to expand O in early 2020, and staff
from still-shuttered O, offered two pools of substitute talent.
"I can't say we didn't have a share of people who got COVID regularly
- you know, it's hard when everybody's jam packed together," Ricotta
said. But on July 1, 2021, the show went on. Sitting in the house of
the theatre two years later, Maxson said his sense of purpose was
renewed: 'this is where I feel most alive."
Maxson then ambled down the theatre's stairs and through the backstage
entrance, soon emerging in a bathing suit. He nabbed a bunch of other
impossibly fit performers for a huddle: some were old hands, others
new recruits, and he was going to coach them how to gracefully execute
their moves on the Russian Swings.
Though the first few months of O were rough, what with all the masked
acrobatics, the show's official protocols follow present guidance from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - which, in mid-2023,
isn't much. "you're much quicker to put on a mask" if you're feeling
sick, Maxson said.
The audiences returned, too. As social distancing and the worldwide
sense of unease dissipated, O jumped back to near-sellouts. And two
years later, here was Maxson, adapting the show to new performers, yet
again to keep it fresh after 25 years.
As a dozen or so people watched from the seats, the house lights on,
he wandered between the stage's three swings, shouting safety
instructions to the divers as they prepared to fly high in the air.
Reaching the swing at stage right, he clambered aboard in front of two
others.
One swing, two swings, three swings. "Up!" he yelled, flung himself
backward, then leapt dozens of feet in the air. As he did, he raised
his hands above his head into a shrug, facing the Bellagio with a
smile, as if to say: This is no big deal.
{ SOURCE: The Globe and Mail }
----------------------------------------------------------
Review: Let's face it - Cirque clowns just aren't funny
{Aug.10.2023}
----------------------------------------------------------
"Corteo" is a great premise, whiffed.
You can just picture the Cirque du Soleil execs backflipping over the
brainstorming table, back before the show's 2005 premiere. A piece
about imagining one's own funeral, but as but as a carnival parade,
sounds perfect for circus. It could be a chance to revisit childhood
memories, to embark on dreamy visions, to create a fantastical
passageway between life and death, and make it not sad and scary but
wondrous and friendly, all with the aid of aerialists, jugglers and
tumblers.
But in "Corteo," the first Cirque du Soleil show to tour the Bay Area
in more than three years, the man having those elegiac visitations and
flights of fancy is so unpleasant that you might wish he'd hasten his
demise.
In the show, which opened Wednesday, Aug. 9, at San Jose's SAP Center
in advance of runs in Oakland and San Francisco, Mauro (Mauro Mozzani)
is just the latest in a long line of spectacularly painfully unfunny
Cirque du Soleil clowns. they're the uncles who still think you're 4
when you're 14. they're the irrelevant figurehead bosses who can't
imagine ceasing their chatter, since no one's ever had the power to
give them a social cue scolding them for their narcissism.
In "Corteo," Mauro barely reacts to his magical situation, instead
blustering about as if his sickbed's taking flight is exactly what he
expected. When his youth starts to unfurl before him, he'd rather keep
talking and drown it out rather than let a gorgeous scene speak for
itself. It's his grandfather's home, and oversized beds make adult
performers look like children, conjuring how vast the world seems when
you're little. When acrobats reveal the beds as trampolines, springing
from one to the next, you might remember how in your own youth you saw
every surface as platform for play, and wonder whatever became of
those imaginative eyes.
Part of the problem is the way that speaking performers keep switching
among languages - English, Italian, others - without offering an extra
hand to help us keep up. But another part is that Mozzani performs as
if behind thick fog. His live audience doesn't matter; he needn't earn
our care or establish that crackling connection with us. He just keeps
lurching through his track.
The other acts in "Corteo," which was written and directed by Daniele
Finzi Pasca, deserve better. One performer, Roman Munin, skitters up
one side of a straight ladder and down the other without balancing it
against anything; he makes it into his dance partner, then his stilts.
At one point, with the ladder angled slightly against thin air, you'd
swear an invisible wall was holding it up, so firmly does the acrobat
manipulate his instrument.
Aerialist Ste phanie Waltman wraps her legs around a swinging pole, as
if she were sitting cross-legged on a nonexistent flat surface, then
arches her back and gazes up, as if in worshipful paean to the art of
motion. She's in earthy red, and white-frocked angels descend from
above. Here, circus truly is the portal from ground to sky, from
mortal to immortal.
Throughout the show, Pasca uses the floor-to-ceiling boundary of the
playing space as only his art form can. The stage floor proves porous
to trap doors. Angels are always swooping in from above, handing
performers props just when they're needed. Giant balloons carry
another performer, Valentyna Pahlevanyan, out into the audience. The
stage is one long aisle, with audience on either side; you're looking
at them looking at you, mirrors of each other, an apt setup for a show
that's supposedly about looking back on your life and forward into the
beyond.
But "Corteo" isn't really about those things. It's about wincing
through the narrative frame so you can get to the good stuff.
{ SOURCE: Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle }
----------------------------------------------------------
How Cirque du Soleil Copes with Climate Change
{Aug.11.2023}
----------------------------------------------------------
Cirque de Soleil has seen the effects of climate change on a firsthand
basis. It's been holding outdoor shows in its big top tents for nearly
40 years, and it's had to adapt to extreme heat and more intense
thunderstorms. Duncan Fisher, VP of operations and GM of the touring
show division at Cirque de Soleil, spoke with CFO Brew about changes
the company has implemented to cope with rising energy costs while
reducing its impact on the environment.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Q. What changes has Cirque de Soleil made to reduce the financial
impact from climate change?
Energy costs have gone up across the board, be it for cooling or for
trucking. We want to make sure that we're as environmentally friendly
as possible, and financially responsible as possible as well, by not
using as much fuel. So, there's a couple of things that we've done. We
typically return year after year to the sites we go to with the big
top. Over the last five or six years, we had a big push on installing
regular shore power [A/C power from the electrical grid] onto the
sites rather than using generators. we've been in touch with the
electric companies in the cities that we go to, and have installed
transformers on what may have just been a vacant field or parking lot
at a stadium that had no reason to have electricity before, so we can
use regular power for the shows, which is much less impactful than a
generator. And we don't have noise pollution as well. If you look back
at Cirque's history, the iconic big top was always blue and yellow. We
don't use that anymore. And the reason that we don't is that the blue
and yellow had a very high rate of absorption of sunlight. So, we tend
to now use either blue and white, or gray and white, or completely
white tents. The white is much more reflective of the sun's rays. Just
by changing the color of the tent, we had about a 20% reduction of the
energy that we had to use for air conditioning.
Q. How has climate change impacted your scheduling?
We typically try to avoid the storm seasons. we've got the hurricane
season, so we're never going to go to Miami in summertime. The same
with Korea and the typhoons. We do know from history as well, when is
it going to be really hot in a place" We just set up a show in Osaka,
Japan. Traditionally we set up [our shows there] in the middle of
August when it's ridiculously hot. And with our partners in Japan, we
changed the schedule and started a month earlier. And it really was to
avoid the heat, because it was unbearable for the guys [setting up the
tent] previously.
Q. Are there other changes you've made to be more environmentally
friendly?
In Montreal we just launched a new show called Echo. And we did not
sell drinks in single-use plastic. And theoretically people were
supposed to give us the cup back to be washed for the next show. But
because they are branded with the name of the show, we seem to lose a
lot of them, but yes, we're doing away as much as we can with single-
use plastic.
{ SOURCE: CFO Brew }
=======================================================================
ITINÉRAIRE -- TOUR/SHOW INFORMATION
=======================================================================
o) BIGTOP - Under the Grand Chapiteau
{Alegría INAL, Kooza , Kurios, Luzia, Bazzar}
o) ARENA - In Stadium-like venues
{Crystal, Corteo, Messi10, OVO}
o) RESIDENT - Performed en Le Théâtre
{Mystère, "O", LOVE, MJ ONE, JOYA, and Mad Apple}
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/ >.
------------------------------------
BIGTOP - Under the Grand Chapiteau
------------------------------------
Alegría-In a New Light:
Osaka, JP -- July 14, 2023 to October 15, 2023
London, UK -- January 11, 2024 to February 11, 2024
Barcelona, ES -- March 20, 2024 to April 14, 2024
Madrid, ES -- December 4, 2024 to January 6, 2025
Kooza:
Denver, CO -- July 5, 2023 to August 13, 2023
Calgary, AB -- August 25, 2023 to October 8, 2023
Vancouver, BC -- October 21, 2023 to December 31, 2023
San Francisco, CA -- January 17, 2024 to March 10, 2024
Kurios:
Knokke, BE -- July 27, 2023 to August 27, 2023
Brussels, BE -- September 7, 2023 to October 29, 2023
Paris, FR -- November 16, 2023 to December 17, 2023
Luzia:
Seoul, SKR -- October 25, 2023 to December 3, 2023
Bazzar:
Oaks, PA -- September 26, 2023 to October 22, 2023
San Antonio, TX -- November 5, 2023 to December 3, 2023
Charlotte, NC -- December 16, 2023 to January 14, 2024
St. Petersburg, FL -- February 22, 2024 to March 24, 2024
ECHO:
Montreal, QC -- April 20, 2023 to August 20, 2023
Washington, DC -- September 6, 2023 to October 22, 2023
Atlanta, GA -- November 5, 2023 to January 21, 2024
TWAS THE NIGHT:
Minneapolis, MN -- TBA
Phoenix, AZ -- December 15, 2023 to December 24, 2023
Baltimore, MD -- November 24, 2023 to December 3, 2023
Chicago, IL -- December 7, 2023 to December 28, 2023
Milwaukee, WI -- November 24, 2023 to November 26, 2023
New York, NY -- December 7, 2023 to December 28 2023
------------------------------------
ARENA - In Stadium-Like Venues
------------------------------------
CRYSTAL - A BREAKTHROUGH ICE EXPERIENCE:
Sydney, AU -- Aug 3, 2023 to Aug 13, 2023
Melbourne, AU -- Aug 17, 2023 to Aug 27, 2023
Adelaide, AU -- Aug 31, 2023 to Sep 3, 2023
Perth, AU -- Sep 15, 2023 to Sep 24, 2023
Windsor, ON -- Nov 30, 2023 to Dec 3, 2023
Oshawa, ON -- Dec 7, 2023 to Dec 10, 2023
Hamilton, ON -- Dec 14, 2023 to Dec 17, 2023
Montreal, QC -- Dec 22, 2023 to Dec 31, 2023
Hershey, PA -- Jan 11, 2024 to Jan 14, 2024
Pittsburg, PA -- Jan 18, 2024 to Jan 21, 2024
CORTEO:
Sacramento, CA -- Aug 3, 2023 to Aug 6, 2023
San Jose, CA -- Aug 9, 2023 to Aug 13, 2023
Oakland, CA -- Aug 17, 2023 to Aug 20, 2023
San Francisco, CA -- Aug 23, 2023 to Aug 27, 2023
Palm Springs, CA -- Aug 31, 2023 to Sep 3, 2023
San Diego, CA -- Sep 6, 2023 to Sep 10, 2023
Phoenix, AZ -- Sep 13, 2023 to Sep 17, 2023
Wichita, KS -- Nov 9, 2023 to Nov 12, 2023
Dayton, OH -- Nov 16, 2023 to Nov 19, 2023
Cleveland, OH -- Nov 22, 2023 to Nov 26, 2023
Omaha, NE -- Nov 30, 2023 to Dec 3, 2023
Winnipeg, MB -- Dec 7, 2023 to Dec 10, 2023
Regina, SK -- Dec 14, 2023 to Dec 17, 2023
Saskatoon, SK -- Dec 21, 2023 to Dec 24, 2023
Edmonton, AB -- Dec 27, 2023 to Dec 31, 2023
Penticon, BC -- Jan 4, 2024 to Jan 7, 2024
Victoria, BC -- Jan 11, 2024 to Feb 14, 2024
Baton Rouge, LA -- Feb 22, 2024 to Feb 25, 2024
Jacksonville, FL -- Mar 7, 2024 to Mar 10, 2024
MESSI10:
Rosario, AR -- Aug 16, 2023 to Aug 21, 2023
Buenos Aires, AR -- Oct 5, 2023 to Nov 12, 2023
OVO:
Gijon, ES -- Jul 26, 2023 to Aug 6, 2023
Gran Canaria, ES -- Aug 12, 2023 to Aug 20, 2023
Amsterdam, NL -- Sep 7, 2023 to Sep 10, 2023
Rotterdam, NL -- Sep 14, 2023 to Sep 17, 2023
Bordeaux, FR -- Sep 21, 2023 to Sep 24, 2023
Turin, IT -- Sep 28, 2023 to Oct 1, 2023
Berlin, DE -- Oct 5, 2023 to Oct 8, 2023
Zurich, CH -- Oct 11, 2023 to Oct 15, 2023
Bratislava, SK -- Oct 19, 2023 to Oct 22, 2023
Pesaro, IT -- Oct 26, 2023 to Oct 29, 2023
Bologna, IT -- Nov 2, 2023 to Nov 5, 2023
Florence, IT -- Nov 8, 2023 to Nov 12, 2023
Lyon, FR -- Nov 15, 2023 to Nov 19, 2023
Toulouse, FR -- Dec 7, 2023 to Dec 10, 2023
Granada, ES -- Dec 13, 2023 to Dec 17, 2023
Lisbon, PT -- Dec 20, 2023 to Dec 30, 2023
Santiago, ES -- Jan 3, 2024 to Jan 7, 2024
Zaragoza, ES -- Jan 10, 2024 to Jan 14, 2024
Lausanne, CH -- Jan 18, 2024 to Jan 21, 2024
Vienna, AT -- Feb 1, 2024 to Feb 4, 2024
Budapest, HU -- Feb 8, 2024 to Feb 11, 2024
Bucharest, RO -- Feb 15, 2024 to Feb 18, 2024
---------------------------------
RESIDENT - en Le Théâtre
---------------------------------
Mystere:
Location: Treasure Island, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Friday through Tuesday, Dark: Wednesday/Thursday
Variable Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
2023 Dark Days:
o) September 8 thru 12, 2023
o) November 10, 2023
"O":
Location: Bellagio, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Wednesday through Friday, Dark Monday/Tuesday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
2023 Dark Days:
o) August 16-20, 2023
o) October 22, 2023
o) November 29-30, 2023
o) December 1-3, 2023
o) December 6-10, 2023
KA:
Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Saturday through Wednesday, Dark Thursday/Friday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
2023 Dark Days:
o) August 16, 2023
o) October 21 - 25, 2023
o) November 18, 2023
o) December 13, 2023
LOVE:
Location: Mirage, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark: Sunday/Monday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
Age Requirements:
- Children under 5 not permitted.
2023 Dark Days:
o) September 5-9, 2023
o) September 12-16, 2023
o) November 18, 2023
o) December 25, 2023
MICHAEL JACKSON ONE:
Location: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Thursday through Monday - Dark: Tuesday/Wednesday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
2023 Dark Days:
o) August 10 - 14, 2023
o) October 16, 2023
JOYA:
Location: Riviera Maya, Mexico
Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark: Sunday/Monday
DRAWN TO LIFE:
Location: Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida (USA)
Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark: Sunday/Monday
Two Shows Nightly - 5:30pm and 8:00pm
MAD APPLE:
Location: New York-New York, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Friday through Tuesday, Dark: Wednesday/Thursday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
Age Requirements:
- Children under 16 not permitted.
- Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult
2023 Dark Days:
o) August 21 - 22, 2023
o) October 27 - 31, 2023
o) November 3 - 7, 2023
o) December 18 - 19, 2023
=======================================================================
FASCINATION! FEATURES
=======================================================================
o) "Is Gen Z Down to Clown" The Circus is Counting on It"
SPECIAL /// Republished from the New York Times
o) "LIFE IS A CIRCUS 4: Posts from the Cirque Blog"
By: Cirque's Artists, Editors, and More...
----------------------------------------------------------
"Is Gen Z Down to Clown" The Circus is Counting on It"
SPECIAL /// Republished from the New York Times
----------------------------------------------------------
The circus is a thrill, a locus of nostalgia for people who remember
summers with family members under colorful tents, a beloved amalgam of
the athletic and the absurd, the rare place where jugglers and
acrobats and fire breathers can fly free, fodder for countless movies
and a Dr. Seuss book - and, not to be a downer, a business.
The circus has to make money to keep its clowns clowning.
Coming out of the pandemic, Cirque du Soleil was in trouble. The
company had staked nearly all its revenue in live shows, with their
dizzying displays of balletic grace and gravity-defying gymnastics.
After filing for bankruptcy protection in 2020, Cirque decided it had
to be more than just a circus. It wanted to be a brand, something that
could sell perfumes, sunglasses, tote bags and video games. So, over
the past year the circus brought in consultants, which yielded months
of meetings peppered with phrases like these.
"I think there's a real opportunity to elevate the art of clowning."
"Don't focus on the Cirque, focus on the Soleil."
"We want to think of Soleil as the building blocks of vibe."
"we've thrown a lot at you."
"Lots of Soleil!"
'so much Soleil."
Cirque du Soleil hired a "cultural analysts" firm, called Cultique, to
answer an age-old question: Is it possible to hack popularity"
Cultique argues that it is. Analysts there are in the business of
selling cool. And their work with the circus this year has offered a
glimpse into what it takes to change a business's reputation, to do a
brand makeover at a time when social media has made branding both more
important than ever and more fraught.
Cirque's leaders felt confident that their company embodied everything
Gen Z loves: campy outfits, kitschy makeup, feats of athletic daring.
Sequins, spandex, being extra. Yet few of that generation - people
born from 1997 to 2012, who now have $360 billion in consumer power –
seemed interested in the circus. Cirque's more than 40 shows sell 10
million tickets a year around the world, with a focus on its American
home in Las Vegas, but mostly to a middle-age (or very young)
audience. The average Cirque attendee is 42, according to the company.
More than two-thirds have children under 18.
Cirque du Soleil turned to Cultique to become relevant. And Cultique
promised, improbably, that even at a moment when culture seems to move
at the speed of (sorry) a flying trapeze, it's possible for a savvy
old business to catch up.
"We literally help people get ahead of the curve," said Linda Ong,
Cultique's co-founder and chief executive, later adding, 'the secret
sauce to our business is we help brands anticipate what's going to
change before it's widely acknowledged."
It's not exactly obvious how to define culture. It's everything we
wear (crochet, sheer); listen to (Dua Lipa, Doja Cat); watch ("Real
Housewives," "Barbie"). Ms. Ong uses water-based metaphors to describe
it. Culture is a wave. You can ride it or get pulled under.
Seemingly invincible brands have shown what it's like to feel the
culture wave crash. Pepsi ended up pulling a 2017 advertisement that
showed Kendall Jenner handing a soda can to a police officer. Bud
Light lost its status as America's top-selling beer after it faced
backlash for a video from a transgender influencer promoting the beer
this spring. If culture is water, the surface is murky.
Enter Ms. Ong and her business partner, Sarah Unger, who promise to
help companies devise business strategies,marketing campaigns and
products that appeal to cultural sensibilities - before those
sensibilities are even fully formed. Cultique doesn't rely much on
data. Ms. Ong and Ms. Unger believe that once trends show up in
surveys, it's too late. It's best to identify cultural obsessions
before they're on TikTok, before young people are talking about them,
right before anyone recognizes they're real.
'there are two kinds of people," Ms. Ong, 60, said. "People who get
turned on by culture and people who don't understand it."
The notion that anyone - let alone a 60-year-old and 37-year-old
corporate duo Zooming from Los Angeles - can describe cultural
fixations before they manifest sounds dubious. Popular culture, after
all, is not all that different from other cultures, like cheese,
yogurt or kombucha. It's alive. It's organic. It isn't designed by
some all-knowing authority. It just happens.
But Cultique's founders swear that cultural relevance, like any
element of business, can be studied and controlled. Last year, that
work brought in $3.8 million in revenue for Cultique, which has just
two full-time employees and typically a dozen or so contractors.
Skeptical, I decided to follow them as they took on the task of
transforming Cirque du Soleil.
"HOW DO WE BECOME THE THEME AT THE MET GALA?"
---------------------------------------------
Everyone at Cirque du Soleil was astounded to hear I'd never been to
Cirque du Soleil.
"It's your first Cirque"" said the company's senior tour director,
Michael Veilleux, during intermission at a Cirque show called Corteo
(theme: funeral meets carnival) in Newark. "You don't meet many people
who it's their first Cirque."
He really doesn't. That's partly the problem.
Cirque's shows, as I witnessed, have pole dancers, upside-down shoes
without feet and clowns dressed up like horse butts. They have
audiences of parents looking harried and children chucking popcorn on
the floor. What they don't seem to have is an expansive base of young
adult fans.
It was Covid that prompted Cirque du Soleil's existential crisis, and
decision to chase a new cultural image. After Cirque's executives
tended to all their immediate March 2020 demands sending performers
home, storing hoops and silks away in warehouses - the Montreal-based
company furloughed 95 percent of its 5,000-person staff. Only roughly
150 remained. After vaccines, as the circus began to rehire those
workers, executives swore they'd pandemic-proof their business. Cirque
couldn't be entirely reliant on its performances.
Today, about 80 percent of its revenue comes from live shows. The
company's chief growth officer, Nickole Tara, can envision a time when
performances will account for just 20 percent of the revenue stream.
Executives at Cirque are experimenting with anything a young person
curious about the circus might buy. A video game called Cirque du
Soleil Tycoon set for release on July 28, with the gaming company
Roblox, in which players can build their own circus world. A signature
fragrance (for the clown lover in your life) and a line of home goods
(think maximalist rugs and psychedelic curtains). Corporate
partnerships with companies like Motorola, which introduced its new
flip phone in an event in June produced with Cirque.
Cirque is working on a television documentary series, likely to be
called "Down to Clown." It is planning a convention styled after
Comic-Con, the fantasy events that draw tens of thousands of people
annually, which it hopes to launch this year.
"We are going to try so many new things," said the circus's head of
growth, Ms. Tara, 39, who last year left the music festival world for
a newly created leadership position at Cirque. "We have to embrace the
Cirque of the modern era."
Some brands ooze the kind of cachet that people want to wear. Supreme
sneakers. Kylie cosmetics. Others have to think a little harder about
the version of themselves that they could commodify - like how to turn
a zany old circus into a brand people consider relevant.
On this question, Cultique has been full of ideas, especially during a
meeting in early March, when a handful of Cirque executives joined its
cultural analysts to discuss what success would look like for their
partnership.
"How do we become the theme at the Met Gala"" Ms. Tara mused.
"It's not a crazy idea," Ms. Ong responded. "How do you make your
events the Met Gala equivalent?"
The assembled group which included Cirque's head of global branding
and social media, Chris Bower, and the Cultique analyst Rajiv Menon
agreed that it wanted Cirque to be ubiquitous. They wanted people to
wonder why everywhere they looked there was Cirque du Soleil. Roaming
Art Basel. Holding court at New York Fashion Week. Spotted with Jenna
Ortega. Partnering with Versace.
"'Oh my God, everywhere I turn Cirque is doing cool things with cool
people,'" Ms. Ong said, imagining the party chatter she wants to
generate.
To Ms. Ong, this doesn't seem like an inordinately tall order, because
she already sees young people embracing the qualities associated with
the circus, especially over-the-top performance. they're just not
making the connection to Cirque's business. In her mind, Cirque needs
to publicly own the themes percolating in culture, what she and Ms.
Unger refer to as "the Soleil Strategy."
"It's like porn," Ms. Ong said. "Everybody knows the Cirque du Soleil
vibe when they see it."
THE ZEITGEIST WHISPERERS
------------------------
You'd be forgiven for thinking "cultural analysis" was required
reading for a humanities seminar, or a mash-up of modern art and
Freud. But for Cultique, it's a business venture, which can feel like
a surprise even to Ms. Ong and Ms. Unger, who are still processing the
fact that they make their living talking about the television, art,
fashion and music they love. (Their weekly Substack is called "Culture
Porn.")
Ms. Ong grew up in the 1970s in Texas, where she was the only Chinese
American in her mostly white elementary school class. Once while
playing dodge ball, one of her classmates pointed at her and yelled:
"Give the ball to that Mexican girl!" Culture made Ms. Ong feel less
lonely. She binge-consumed "Hotel California," "Gilligan's Island,"
Reader's Digest and 'the Brady Bunch."
Ms. Ong moved to New York after college and then bounced around
advertising jobs. She helped lead branding for Bravo. She realized she
had a talent: telling corporate people what cool people were talking
about.
As a longtime marketer, Ms. Ong loves metaphors. One of her favorites
compares Cultique's work to testing the atmosphere in preparation for
a rocket launch. Their clients are building the ship, making sure all
the parts are working. Doesn't it make sense to ensure the atmosphere
is amenable to flight"
American Express Global Business Travel hired Cultique in 2021 to
study how corporate travel is changing. Cultique's white paper
recommended that companies appoint "chief journey officers," making
travel a bigger part of company life. Cultique characteristically
interspersed corporate phrases with zeitgeisty lingo: wellness,
burnout, hybrid work.
Buttoned-up clients (including Amex) like Cultique because even its
workplace policies are playful. The company has a four-day workweek.
Ms. Ong and Ms. Unger did a boot camp to study their brain waves and
determine which parts of the day they"d be most productive.
Both Ms. Ong and Ms. Unger regularly enter what they call the "cone of
silence," when they stop communicating with one another and instead
rabidly consume culture, which can mean, depending on the day: "Love
Is Blind" (Ms. Unger); 'the Bear" (Ms. Ong); heavy metal (Ms. Unger);
World Wrestling Entertainment (Ms. Unger); going to a wolf sanctuary
(Ms. Ong); getting on a motorcycle (Ms. Unger).
They keep group chats with their clients going all day, sending
articles, songs, videos or TikToks that relate to the work, which in
Cirque's case they call "Cirquecore."
"Has there ever been a CIRQUE Barbie?" read one recent text from
Cultique.
"HERMES" new fragrance is 'the sun as perfume,"" read another.
"I also am interested to think of Cirque's performance as religion,"
Ms. Unger wrote to the group one day. "People are more spiritual than
ever, esp. Gen Z."
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
--------------------
The word nostalgia came up often in conversations about reinventing
Cirque. "Nostalgia brands are having a moment," Mr. Menon, a Cultique
cultural analyst, declared over Zoom one day. What could be more
nostalgic than the circus, with its popcorn and clown noses"
Speaking of nostalgia, sometimes what Cirque seems to be chasing is
its history. Before Cirque was a company making close to $1 billion
per year which it is doing again today, after bouncing back from its
pandemic slump it was a scrappy group of acrobats and stilt walkers
putting on a show for residents at a youth hostel in Quebec City.
Cirque's founder, Guy Laliberté, who stepped down as chief executive
in 2004, came up as a fire-breathing performer on the streets of
Montreal. He cobbled together his artist friends to create a festival.
Mr. Laliberté has attributed part of the show's success, over the
years, to parties he threw at his lakefront mansion: Women sang opera
on gondolas, a 19-piece orchestra serenaded the crowds, the host
himself breathed fire. These raucous gatherings have attracted
celebrities to Cirque's mission, including George Harrison, who once
attended randomly while in town to watch Formula 1 and was so
impressed that he asked Mr. Laliberté to make a Beatles-themed show.
(The first business meeting between Cirque and the band ended as Paul
McCartney drew a picture of Nowhere Man, handed the paper over and
told the Cirque team to "figure out what this means.")
If the Beatles loved Cirque's brand, why not Gen Z?
Sitting through a Cirque performance is also a reminder of the
features that to some audiences could seem out of step with the times.
At the show I attended, one of the longest sequences focused on a
little person named Valentyna Pahlevanyan, who attached herself to
balloons and floated over the sprawling arena as audience members
pushed on her feet to send her upward. The room rang out with cries of
"I want to touch her!" Then she and her husband, Grigor, also a little
person, performed a humorous version of "Romeo and Juliet" with
interruptions from clowns. There were also jokes about a large man
jumping on one end of a seesaw with a smaller man at the other end.
To Cirque, this is a testament to the show's inclusivity. Michel
Laprise, who has directed three of Cirque's shows, said the performers
help shape their own roles. Choking up, he likened the performers'
relationship with the show to a marriage.
"I want them to be loved by the audience," he said. "It's important
that we have little people in our shows. It's a way to say they exist.
they're not victims."
'the show tells you that no matter how tall you are, how big you are,
whatever your background is or what you look like, you can still work
here and do the job that you're meant to do," said Ms. Pahlevanyan,
60, adding that she and her husband helped create their "Romeo and
Juliet" sequence to capture the comedy and chaos characteristic of
Cirque.
Still, part of what Cirque is looking for is a version of its brand
that doesn't need the show for relevance (or for all its revenue).
That ambition is distilled, partly, on the company's social media. On
Cirque's TikTok there are prank ideas, fitness tips, Halloween costume
inspiration, wedding proposals and Black History Month reflections. In
one video, Cirque dancers do ballet to the saccharine strains of
Michael Buble. In another, they compete in a push-up competition.
Since starting its TikTok in 2021 and beginning to emphasize its other
social media accounts, the company has accumulated more than eight
million followers across platforms. Some of its TikTok videos get
three million views, and many of those viewers are far younger than
the 42-year-old show attendees.
"Last month the question was raised: How do we get more of our TikTok
fans to buy tickets to shows?" Ms. Tara said. "I don't know if that's
the point."
Cirque had its strongest financial year in 2022. Sitting at the Ludlow
Hotel during a visit to New York this spring, Cirque's executives told
their cultural analysts that they"d been creating a video that showed
how Cirque's brand could be translated into fashion and home goods.
The video cycled through images of acrobats, trapeze artists and
clowns. Then commercial items appeared on the screen - tote bags,
sunglasses, pantsuits, pottery - along with the text "Prime for retail
expansion." It was a vision of what Cirque, divorced from the circus,
could be.
"This is what Cirque du Soleil - and the Soleil - can look like in a
physical object someone would actually go and buy," said Mr. Bower,
Cirque's head of branding.
The cultural analysts were dazzled. "We love this relationship," Ms.
Ong said. "It's like improv. Y'all take the ball and you're like,
"Great, OK, let's do this!""
Later that night was Cirque's event with Motorola in Brooklyn. Half-
naked acrobats spun through purple, misted air. Eerie percussion music
filled the room. Dancers in extraterrestrial-looking leotards leaped
across the stage. And as the performers did acrobatic flips, Motorola
unveiled its new flip phone, a nostalgic take on the early 2000s
accessory.
"OVER THE TOP, OTHERWORLDLY, and AVANT GARDE," Ms. Ong declared over
text. Totally on brand!"
{ SOURCE: New York Times }
----------------------------------------------------------
"LIFE IS A CIRCUS 4: Posts from the Cirque Blog
By: Artists, Editors, and More...
----------------------------------------------------------
From life outside the big top to peeks behind the curtain, Cirque du
Soleil has started a blog to allow fans to get up close and personal
with their fascinating talent as well as a look at the know-how that
goes into giving a Cirque show its spark - the kinds of things you
might not get to see from beyond the stage. Here are a few more of
the recent posts that we found interesting to share!
# # # # #
EXPERIENCING CIRQUE DU SOLEIL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD
BY: Cam DS, Blogger | May 17, 2023
Several years ago, visiting Japan during cherry blossom season was on
top of my travel bucket list. This year, I finally decided to make
this dream a reality.
From the moment I set foot in Tokyo, I was amazed by the buzz and
grandness of this metropolis. It's an electrifying, eclectic,
innovative and strangely welcoming city. I just knew I would leave
this place a changed person.
My itinerary included six very important stops: Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagano,
Nara, Osaka, and Mount Fuji. On my last evening in Tokyo, I had the
great privilege of seeing Alegría. The legendary show was completely
reimagined and put back on stage to mark its 25th anniversary. It was
a memorable evening I got to experience with my better half and best
friend.
THE CLASSIC YELLOW AND BLUE BIG TOP AWAITED
Surrounded by multi-coloured tulips, it was both unreal and surreal. I
was so grateful for the chance to watch Vincent Lavoie, a Quebec
artist and friend performing on this iconic stage.
When we entered the big top, I noticed that it was very different from
those in America. I was told it was created specifically to withstand
earthquakes. Improved sound, a perfect view of the stage since there
are no obstructions, and the additional 600 seats made me feel deep
down like I was soon going to witness an indescribable experience. We
were guided to our seats in the front row and... WOW!
Let the show begin!
TWO HOURS OF PURE FUN!
Cirque du Soleil redefines and pushes the creative limits of the
traditional circus. It's an indescribable experience and impossible to
look away from the stage. It's pure magic!
The artists gave breathtaking performances, bold and impressive
acrobatics filled with feats of strength and agility, while blending
theatrics, stunning costumes and an enchanting soundtrack. I grew up
listening to Alegria, and to hear it here was just! captivating!
From the contortionist to the fire-knife dancer, along with a duet of
totally fabulous trapeze artists, the acrobats once again made my
heart skip a few beats. I was also impressed by each of the hoop
dancer's performances. M. Fleur and the Pablos put me under their
spell, and I was also touched by their zany, but passionate
relationship. I loved the two singers who gave the audience an
exceptional performance.
ALEGRIA IS FUNNY, MOVING AND GRANDIOSE
In short, it's a must-see EXPERIENCE!
After the show, we had the opportunity to go backstage, where met some
of the artists, talked to the Costume Makers, and explored the site to
better understand the reality of these exceptional performers and
artisans.
Let yourself be whisked away to the magical world of Cirque du Soleil.
You will create lasting memories and get the feeling of witnessing a
larger-than-life artistic performance.
The Alegria show will stay in Japan until October 2023 before heading
to Spain. Don't miss your chance to check it out if you're in the
area.
# # # # #
HUMANS... CAST AS ANIMALS!
BY: Sebastien Guglielmo, Global Partnerships | May 18, 2023
Up until now, circus shows were relying on their menageries to bring
in spectators.
Bear trainers from the Middle Ages, balancing acts on horses in the
18th century, taming and caging exotic beasts in the early 1900's. The
audience was enthralled at the idea of domesticating animals,
especially the wildest ones.
During the second half of the 20th century, circus shows would give
more value to the human performances. Even if circuses would still be
a place where the impossible could be done, the art form would focus
more on physical prowess rather than showcasing trained animals.
Outrage from the audiences and from animal rights activists would
slowly lead to the removal of these animal-centric acts from the Big
Top all over the world.
A FIRM DECISION FROM CIRQUE
Back in the 90's, Cirque du Soleil vowed to have every animal
interpreted by human artists, however big that animal would be.
In Alegria, launched in 1994, artists take on the roles of birds. In
KA, they personify crabs and turtles. In Cirque du Soleil ECHO, our
latest creation, multiple characters are half-human and half-animal,
adorned with masks representing a bull, an elephant, and a seal,
amongst many more. This is reminiscent of the artists on JOYA
performing as the lizard, the lemur, the peacock, or the rabbit.
These costumes, makeups and accessories were all designed and hand-
made in the International Head Quarters" workshops in Montreal. The
artisans work their creative muscles tirelessly to find ingenious ways
to bring these creatures to life, before they take the stage in front
of millions of spectators. That's where the bugs from OVO and the
mechanical jaguar from LUZIA, who have travelled from continent to
continent for years, come from.
More than a simple circus show, Cirque's experiences are where
fantastic and legendary creatures come to life. Animals like the
Dralions or the extraterrestrial fauna of the planet Pandora, from the
universe of Avatar, with larger-than-life puppets, blue-skinned Na'vis
costumes and the imposing Toruk flying above the crowd.
Even at the very beginning, Cirque du Soleil has always steered clear
from the idea of domesticating animals. Quite the contrary actually,
each and every original creation is tinted by a philosophy of
friendliness and collaboration with natural life. This wonderful
symbiosis with our home planet and all its inhabitants deserves a
starring role in productions like ECHO and LUZIA.
# # # # #
KOOZA - AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE
BY: Abhishek Dekate, Blogger | May 18, 2023
When you see the iconic Cirque du Soleil Big Top in your city, you
know you're in for a treat.
Making a comeback into Toronto since its premiere back in 2007, KOOZA
is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil. It combines a mix of
vibrant and captivating performances that blend acrobatics, theatrical
storytelling and the art of clowning. Having watched several Cirque
shows in the past, I was particularly excited to see this production.
As I walked into the Big Top and grabbed my seat, I was instantly
mesmerized by the set production and design! and this was just the
beginning. As a viewer, you're transported into a world of wonder and
enchantment. The beauty of the Big Top is that no matter where you're
sitting, you have the "best seat in the house".
WHAT IS KOOZA?
KOOZA is an innovative journey viewed through the perspective of The
Innocent, an endearing yet na ve clown looking for his place in this
world. The show begins with The Innocent receiving an unexpected
delivery in the form of a big, red box - think jack-in-the-box but
better. Hiding inside is the enigmatic trickster, acting as The
Innocent's consciousness. The Innocent is then transported into a
bizarre but exotic universe taking the audience with him.
THE SHOW
The Trickster guides the show as he takes The Innocent through a
journey of self-discovery. All of the acts are examples of exploring
oneself through trial and error. The show explores the themes of
strength, fragility, laughter, turmoil and harmony.
Each theme is brought to life via performances by skilled
contortionists, aerialists, trapezists, and more. All stunts are
executed with precision, strength, and grace, leaving you in awe of
the performers" abilities. The tightrope juggling, Wheel of Death and
the jaw-dropping chair-balancing acts had everyone in utter amazement.
Broken into two segments with a short intermission in between, KOOZA
is a show full of surprises that has you at the edge of your seat. To
provide comedic relief between acts, the show incorporates an
enchanting trio of clowns: a King and his two sidekicks who help add
moments of laughter and light-heartedness to the overall experience.
Audience interaction is always a vital part of all Cirque shows and
the trio does a great job of involving the audience.
Without giving the full show away, each act kept getting progressively
intense (in the best way). As a viewer, you are transported into The
Innocent's reality, feeling the same range of emotions that he's
feeling with each act.
As The Innocent uncovers the meaning of life, the show ends on a
wholesome note with a spectacular finale. No surprise, a standing
ovation was in order.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Cirque du Soleil is known for creating a memorable and transformative
experience and KOOZA is no exception. The thrilling acrobatics,
dazzling costumes, intricate set designs and live music with
influences from around the world created a truly immersive experience.
There's a reason why it's been around for all these years and I'm
grateful to have gotten the chance to see it for the first time myself
here in Toronto. KOOZA now files under one of my favourite Cirque
shows. A show for all age groups, you don't want to miss it!
# # # # #
A SHORT HISTORY OF DJ-ING
BY: Tony Babinski, Writer and Creative Director | May 19, 2023
The Art of the DJ - or disc jockey - goes back more than a century,
and has evolved along with technology, entertainment and international
culture.
The role of the DJ emerged in the 1920s, with the dawn of radio. The
first commercial radio broadcast took place on November 2, 1920, and
soon radio time was filled with on-air hosts playing phonograph
recordings of music - in other words, vinyl records. These hosts would
physically queue up music on turntables, which ran at 78 revolutions
per minute, then eventually slowed to 45 rpm for singles and 33 rpm
for long-playing records. In addition to operating the phonographs,
the host - later dubbed "disc jockey" for handling the vinyl records –
would comment between the songs.
Over time, the single radio-studio turntable became two turntables,
allowing the DJ (or music operator, as the functions became separated)
to mix music in a continuous fashion. The 'two turntables and a
microphone" set-up - basic elements of the DJ arsenal - was born.
With the advent of affordable hi-fi systems, DJs moved out of the
radio studio and onto the dance floor at private parties and dances.
English radio personality Jimmy Saville claimed to be the first DJ to
play public parties with two turntables in 1943. In 1947, the Whisky a
Go Go became the world's first discotheque. (The word "disco," taken
from vinyl records, referred to venues that featured recorded music
rather than live musicians.) Dance clubs soon spread the world over.
In Jamaica in the late 1950s, DJs built powerful sound systems and
threw giant block parties. By 1968, dance clubs were in decline, as
these outdoor parties spread to Europe and the boroughs of New York
City.
And that led to what is probably the single biggest cultural explosion
since the birth of rock'n'roll. In the Bronx, Jamaican-born DJ Kool
Herc started making new music with beats taken from records and
techniques like scratching, giving birth to hip-hop. Over the
following decade, hip-hop culture exploded around the world, with DJs
such as Public Enemy's Terminator X taking center stage.
The 1990s were the age of the rave scene, which gave birth to its own
superstars. But with the advent of digital music and MP3 files in
1992, digital music mixes began to replace the traditional two-
turntables-and-a-microphone set-up.
By the 21st century, DJ culture and the dance scene were ubiquitous –
and technology allowed DJing (mixing music) to be combined with VJing
(creating and mixing video).
# # # # #
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL UNDERGROUND
BY: Tony Babinski, Writer and Creative Director | May 19, 2023
The long history of Cirque and DJ culture.
Cirque du Soleil's Guy Laliberté has done many things besides starting
the company and acting as its guide for many years. Perhaps, the least
surprising thing to those who know him is his recent role as a DJ.
Over the last few years, Laliberté has been playing the DJ trade at
parties and nightclubs the world over. Given Cirque's long association
with DJ culture and night life, this is no surprise.
In addition to creating and producing live shows, Cirque du Soleil has
long been active in the club and party worlds, producing parties and
VIP events, mainly through its long-standing events division. Working
with brand partners and associates in immersive technology, Cirque du
Soleil has created unforgettable events and happenings. While its live
shows are celebrated for the performances of live musicians, these
club and party events always feature DJs.
Cirque has a roster of DJs from Montreal, including Musical Director
Alain Vinet and longtime friends such as DJ Stephane Cocke. Their sets
and mixes can be found with a quick internet search. Like Cirque music
in general, these sets feature an international blend of beats and
flavors, helping create unforgettable environments.
Indeed, DJing is such an intrinsic part of Cirque culture that it has
actually been incorporated into MUV, the company's show in Andorra.
Today, Cirque often collaborates with internationally celebrated DJs
such as Moby, who played a set at the closing party for the inaugural
C2 festival, co-created by Cirque du Soleil.
# # # # #
PASSING DOWN THE CIRCUS SPARKLE
BY: Maxim Potvin, Blog Editor | June 15, 2023
Like father, like son! Las Vegas-based artist and dad is lucky to
share his passion for circus arts with his son!
MEET SPEE-D
Q. Could you introduce yourself in a few words?
My name is Philip, but I usually go by my stage name: Spee-d. I
specialize in Capoeira, breakdancing, and acrobatics. I have been with
KA for about 7 years now. I am a generalist in the show, and I also
backup 2 main characters! So much fun!
Q. What inspired you to pursue a career in the circus arts and
entertainment industry?
I have been performing since I was 10 years old. I love being on stage
and sharing my talent. I am a first-generation performer, and my son
Noah is now the one continuing this legacy.
Q. How do you balance your career with your family life and
responsibilities as a father?
I love being a dad. While my career is important to me, my
responsibilities as a father will always take priority. I don't find
it difficult because my family understands the lifestyle of a
performer. It's a lot of fun, especially since my son has similar
interests to mine and his momma's.
Q. What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a career
in the circus arts?
I would say that no matter what you decide to do as a performer,
always strive to be the best. My dad gave me this advice when I was
younger, and it really kept me on track and helped me to be the best I
could be. I gave the same advice to Noah, as well.
Q. How do you see the future of the circus industry evolving in Las
Vegas and how would this shape your son's future career?
I think the industry is growing. We will soon see many more shows and
new performers will take the stage. I see a ton of opportunities for
Noah and other young circus enthusiasts looking to work in the field
of performing.
Q. How involved is your son in your career and training?
He is very involved since we train together as a family, both for work
and for competitions. He is a very hard worker and dedicated to his
craft. He loves what he does, and I think that is extremely important.
MEET NOAH
Q. Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
My name is Noah, I'm 12 years old and I play all 4 characters of the
Kids of Liverpool in The Beatles LOVE show.
Q. What is your favorite act to perform on The Beatles LOVE?
My favorite circus act to perform in The Beatles LOVE is "Day in the
Life". I like doing it because I get to act a lot and it's such a fun
number to be part of.
Q. How do you balance your training and practice with your schoolwork
and other activities?
I used to be in regular school, but now I'm homeschooled. However,
when I was in regular school, it wasn't hard to balance work and
everything else. The days I had training or a show, my mom and dad
would pick me up early from class so that I could finish my homework.
It worked well, when I came home from work, I didn't have to do
schoolwork.
Q. How has your father's career and passion for the circus arts
influenced your own interests?
Without my dad I wouldn't be where I am now. My dad was working on KA
before I auditioned, he was the one who told me about the role and got
me to try out for it. Knowing how cool my dad's show was, I wanted to
join a Cirque show. He coached me well so I could get this job. This
way, we can both be at Cirque!
Q. How do you see yourself progressing and growing as a circus
performer in the future?
My dream is to work in the circus industry and perform in front of
thousands of people. I see myself growing as a performer and
progressing enough in my discipline so that I can join a circus when
I'm older. Having my current role helped me become a better performer
too.
Q. What advice would you give to other kids who are interested in the
circus arts?
Some advice I could give to kids who are interested in circus arts is
that it won't come easy. If you want it, you will have to train hard
for it. If you don't get it at first, don't be upset because there
will always be more opportunities for you.
# # # # #
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL TURNS 39 YEARS YOUNG
BY: Maxim Potvin, Blog Editor | June 16, 2023
Put on your party hat: it's Cirque Week and we're celebrating 39
wonderful years!
The past year was filled to the brim with exciting happenings and
wonderful news for us. Cirque Week is just around the corner and June
16th, our birthday, marks the start of the celebrations. There are
many ways to celebrate alongside us and commemorate all we've
accomplished in our 39th year as creators, innovators, and
entertainers.
"Celebrate What Exactly?", You Might Ask.
Our artists', cast's, crew's and employee's multiple accomplishments
over the year. So many things happened that we can be proud of! It's
been quite the year at Cirque, in Montreal, in Las Vegas and all over
the world! The list of reasons to raise our glass keeps getting longer
and longer every day, so much so we couldn't possibly list them all!
But here's to trying anyways!
ACROSS THE GLOBE
Cirque has been a household name internationally for decades, but
we're still making waves everywhere we set foot. In the past year, our
touring shows shined bright and dazzled audiences of every horizon.
o) ECHO premiered in Montreal, making it our first original creation
to do so since the pandemic shut down the entertainment industry.
o) we've hosted a record number of spectators in Big Tops, theaters,
and arenas all over the world with LUZIA, KURIOS - Cabinet of
Curiosities, and KOOZA.
o) KURIOS made its way to Europe and took the Royal Albert Hall by
storm, bringing the total number of Cirque performances at the Hall
over 1,300.
o) New shows were announced and debuted in every corner of the world
like AMORA, FESTA, GUY! GUY! GUY!, and more! Let's not forget our
upcoming residency in idyllic Hawaii - more on this big
announcement soon.
o) Alegria set up shop in Tokyo and held a very special event to honor
their 300,000th guest and their family.
A BIT CLOSER TO HOME
Home is wherever our epic artists, talented crew and devoted employees
are.
o) All year long, the 30th anniversary celebrations are being held in
Vegas. This is no small feat, as iconic shows like Mystère and "O"
turn 30 and 25 years old respectively. But that's not all, 10 years
ago, Michael Jackson ONE opened the doors of its theater to the
public. 30 very busy years on the Strip that went by at lightning-
speed.
o) Internally, we recruited a team of sensitive and knowledgeable
personnel who came together to form a DEI committee set towards new
diversity, equality, and inclusivity goals and they were given
tools and resources to educate the Cirque du Soleil family.
o) Discover the Extraordinary, an artsy and impactful look into what
makes Cirque du Soleil so unique saw the light of day. This
campaign is the successor of The Sun Rises and The Intermission is
Over campaigns. A fitting follow-up after the post-pandemic
relaunch.
o) Our online community kept growing and growing up until we reached a
colossal milestone: we passed 1.7M followers on Instagram! Join our
community and follow us there.
o) We partnered up with world-renowned brands like NYX, Air Canada,
and Mastercard, amongst other, so we could bring to life anything
our crazy imagination could make up. We're even holding a giveaway
with our partners at Sun Life, check it out!
o) And, finally, we launched a blog so we can keep our dear Cirque
fans updated on all things CDS (and we're very happy about that!)
HIGH HONORS FOR THE TEAMS
All this hard off has paid off in the most flattering way possible. We
do what we do out of passion for the arts, but I think we can all
agree that getting recognition from our industry peers brings
validation that we're doing it right!
o) Cirque went all in on TikTok and reached a whooping 1.6M followers
very quickly, making it a prime candidate to be nominated for two
Webby Awards - and we won one!!
o) The Artist-Generated Content team also brought home Shorty Awards
in two categories: Cirque du Soleil TikTok Account & Livestreams
(Category - TikTok Presence) and for Blue Man Group & The TikTok
Community (Category - Community Management).
o) Mystere has been inducted into the Las Vegas Magazine Hall of Fame
for its record-breaking run at Treasure Island Hotel.
o) Back in June of 2022, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group won
"Marketing & Publicity Campaign of the Year (More than $10,000
campaign)" at the EAMC Awards for the relaunch campaign
Intermission is Over!
o) Four of our resident shows, K , "O", The Beatles LOVE, and Michael
Jackson ONE, made it onto USA Today's Top 10 Best Casino Shows
list! More reasons to hop on a flight to Las Vegas and see for
yourself!
# # # # #
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CDS PIANO PLAYERS
BY: Tony Babinski, Writer and Creative Director | July 21, 2023
It takes experience, skill and great instincts to be a pianist at
Cirque.
With so many touring and permanent shows in production, Cirque du
Soleil is always looking for talented pianists. But if you ever want
to play with us, there's something you should know: our musicians have
three essential qualities.
First, you need to be a very accomplished musician. This is true for
everyone at Cirque du Soleil - people like Gerald Peter, a composer
and keyboard player from Vienna; Anne Charbonneau, who has been
performing on stage since age 5; and Steve Bach, who has played with
Stanley Clarke, Robbie Krieger and Sergio Mendes, among many others.
The people who play in Cirque du Soleil shows have real chops.
You also have to be dedicated. Many Cirque shows will run eight or
more performances a week for several weeks at a stretch, including
holidays like New Year's and Christmas. It means that, for the time
you are with a show, your life is all about that show and its music.
Not every piano player can handle that pressure and level of
commitment.
And here's a trade secret: you must be prepared to vamp. Most live
music for Cirque shows has in-built vamps, sections that can be drawn
out when needed, with some improvisation. Why" Because, although the
music is formally composed, the precise length of many acts can vary
from performance to performance. The piano player has to be in tune
with what's happening on stage, and be prepared to roll with it.
Luckily for Cirque du Soleil, such amazing players exist, and we have
them on our team.
# # # # #
IN ECHO, THE EARTH AND ITS CREATURES SPEAK IN MUSIC
BY: Tony Babinski, Writer and Creative Director | July 21, 2023
The animal world guides humans to a better future, through a truly
universal language.
In the new Cirque du Soleil show ECHO, the lead character, Future, is
on a quest to solve the environmental problems facing our world today.
The show conveys hope - hope that we can come to grips with what's
facing us, and together build a better tomorrow.
To deliver on this promise, the characters in the show have to learn
to listen to the wisdom of the planet, in particular to creatures from
the animal world who guide them on their quest.
The show's creators chose to have those animals express themselves
through music. Paul Barton's experience with elephants in a Thai
sanctuary provides a real-world example of how music can unite humans
and other creatures. And, really, it should come as no surprise that
living organisms of all kinds - not just animals, but plants, too –
respond to the emotion and harmonies in music.
The power of music has long been a force uniting cultures and peoples
in Cirque du Soleil productions around the world. Cirque artists,
playing to universal audiences, communicate through powerful emotions,
not relying on the words of a particular language.
Music is key to this communication. Some theorize that singing came
before language. If that's true, it reinforces the belief that music
is common to all living things. Close your eyes in a forest, and you
will hear all of nature's voices raised in song.
Recent evidence suggests that the Big Bang itself echoes with a single
note that unites the cosmos - a frequency that can be measured
emanating from black holes. The note? B Flat Major!
# # # # #
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL STICKS THE LANDING ON ROBLOX!
BY: Maxim Potvin, Blog Editor | July 28, 2023
Stretch out your fingers and get your devices charged for Cirque du
Soleil Tycoon. we're launching a brand-new free immersive experience,
available exclusively in the world of Roblox!
Dare to take on interactive challenges and try your hand at exciting
quests as you build and manage your very own show under the Big Top.
Assume the role of company manager and lead your circus to success.
You will hire acrobats, crew members and on-site workers to provide
your guests with a live-entertainment experience like they've never
seen before. Progress in-game to uncover the secrets behind the brand-
new show, ECHO, and work towards building the fully-fledged circus of
your dreams.
In for a thrill" Watch acrobatic performances as your circus grows,
and your cast expands. Familiarize yourself with the world of Cirque's
performers and discover their various acts, each more impressive than
the precedent. From the entrance gates to the backstage area, where
you can train with acrobats, you're in charge of everything!
With an array of brand-new exclusive items, you can deck out your
avatar with unique virtual pieces of clothing and accessories, all
inspired by the real costumes from ECHO. Come up with crazy outfits,
show the world your #Cirquecore style and unleash your imagination in
true Cirque du Soleil fashion!
Join us online and be part of the incredible Cirque community on
Roblox, where extraordinary adventures through the world of Cirque du
Soleil await you!
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COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER
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Fascination! Newsletter
Volume 23, Number 6 (Issue #221) - August 2023
"Fascination! Newsletter" is a concept by Ricky Russo. Copyright (C)
2001-2023 Ricky Russo, published by Vortex/RGR Productions, a
subsidiary of Communicore Enterprises. No portion of this newsletter
can be reproduced, published in any form or forum, quoted or
translated without the consent of the "Fascination! Newsletter." By
sending us correspondence, you give us permission (unless otherwise
noted) to use the submission as we see fit, without remuneration. All
submissions become the property of the "Fascination! Newsletter."
"Fascination! Newsletter" is not affiliated in any way with Cirque du
Soleil. Cirque du Soleil and all its creations are Copyright (C) and
are registered trademarks (TM) of Cirque du Soleil, Inc., All Rights
Reserved. No copyright infringement intended.
{ Aug.16.2023 }
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