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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 8, NUMBER 4 JUL/AUG 2008 ISSUE #60
=======================================================================
Bonjour et bienvenue! Greetings, and welcome to a very special edition
of Fascination!, the Unofficial Cirque du Soleil Newsletter.
The issue you have in your hands is yet another important milestone in
our publication history - it's our sixtieth. While publication styles,
themes and featured writers have come and gone and frequency of
circulation has changed, our mission continues to remain the same: to
find, research and report on topics Cirque du Soleil. And in
fulfilling our mission: over the past seven years we have written a
plethora of material on Cirque du Soleil. Thus, to celebrate this
milestone, we've dug into our archives and selected a small handful of
articles (but seemingly a large amount of text!) from our various
featured writers to showcase some of the most interesting, eclectic,
and best of what Fascination has to offer.
And if you're interested in becoming part of our next set of
historical issues, please drop us a line (richasi@azlance.com), we'd
love to have your perspective on Cirque du Soleil related topics that
interest you!
As always be sure to check out the Itinerary section for any last-
minute changes and extensions to tour stops; however, these dates
are subject to change.
That about wraps up this issue. Until next time!
Join us on the web at:
< www.cirquefascination.com >
Realy Simple Syndication (RSS) Feed:
< http://www.cirquefascination.com/?feed=rss2 >
- Ricky "Richasi" Russo
===========
CONTENTS
===========
o) Cirque Buzz -- News, Rumours & Sightings
o) Compartments -- Information on Tour and Behind the Curtain
* Itinéraire -- Tour/Show Information
* Didyaknow? -- Facts About Cirque
* Historia -- Cirque du Soleil's History
* CirqueTech -- The Technical Side of Cirque
o) Fascination! Features
*) "ZAIA Premiere: 'A Journey Through Time and Space'"
By: Cirque du Soleil, Press Room Materials
o) From the Fascination! Archives (SPECIAL!)...
*) "Circus Reinvented, Restaged and Rethought"
By: Jen Waldman
{Originally Published: Issue #5 - January 2002}
*) "From One Dream to Another - Quidam"
By: T. Clay Buck
{Originally Published: Issue #7 - March 2002}
*) "Barock Odyssey"
By: Paul Roberts - Hamilton, Ohio (USA)
{Originally Published: Issue #8 - April 2002}
*) "Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within"
By: Wayne Leung - Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)
{Originally Published: Issues #14-17 - October 2002
through January 2003}
*) "The Houses of Cirque"
By: Ricky Russo - Orlando, Florida (USA)
{Originally Published: Issue #18, 22 & 27 -
February, June & November 2003}
*) "An Evenings Chat with BJ, Quidam's Percussionist" &
"BJ, Live from Japan! - An Online Chat"
{Originally Published: Issues #25 & #32 - September 2003
& April 2004}
*) "Who Has What it Takes?"
By: Keith Johnson & Lucy Valentine - Seattle, WA (USA)
{Originally Published: Issues #41-44 - February 2005
through May 2005}
*) "Six Thousand Fifty-Seven"
By: Rich Alford - Bothel, Washington (USA)
{Originally Published: Issue #55 - Sep/Oct 2007}
o) Copyright & Disclaimer
=======================================================================
CIRQUE BUZZ -- NEWS, RUMOURS & SIGHTINGS
=======================================================================
Who Wants to Buy a Tent?
{Jul.01.2008}
---------------------------------------------
In the market for a Grand Chapiteau?
If so, one can be yours for as little as $100,000.00 via this
eBay auction!
< http://cgi.ebay.com/Circus-Tent-for-Sale-Cirque-de-
Soleil_W0QQitemZ120277294390QQihZ002QQcategoryZ88433QQssPageName
ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem >
Naturally you can find almost anything through eBay (and we've
seen some very interesting Cirque du Soleil related items appear
in the past), but what makes this particular auction so
intriguing is the fact that the gold and white striped big top
on sale (it's pictured) is purportedly from the Nouvelle
Expèrience engagement of Cirque du Soleil at the Mirage!
Details of the sale include a steel frame with 3 connecting
tents: the Grand Chapiteau (21,123 sq. ft.), Entry/Concessions
tent (5,445 sq. ft.), and Backstage/Rehearsal tent (5,445 sq.
ft.). It includes all connecting pieces (960 sq. ft.), heating
and air conditioning units, and 1551 fixed and 119 moveable
seats!
(Sorry, show not included)
So, if you have at least $100,000 to spend, you may be
interested in getting this very unique piece of Cirque du Soleil.
Good Luck!
{SOURCE: Gary & Jill Chapman, eBay}
René Dupéré named "Chevalier"
{Jul.06.2008}
---------------------------------------------
René Dupéré, long-time Cirque du Soleil collaborator and
composer was recently named "Chevalier" in the Order de la
Pléiade - Congratulations!
La Pléiade, Ordre de la Francophonie et du dialogue des cultures
was established in 1976 and is an initiative of the Assemblée
parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF). Its aim is to recognize
the eminent merits of those who have distinguished themselves
while serving the ideals of cooperation and friendship within
the Francophonie. There are five levels to the Order: from
Chevalier to Officier, Commandeur, Grand Officier and, finally,
Grand-Croix.
"Cirque Flies High" is an interesting read
{Jul.10.2008}
---------------------------------------------
We love articles that take us behind the scenes and "under the
curtain" of Cirque's creative and business processes. This one,
from the Financial Times, adds to our knowledge of running the
business of Cirque. An interesting read!
< http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a650daf4-46c3-11dd-876a-
0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1 >
Want to buy tickets for ZED?
{Jul.10.2008}
---------------------------------------------
Cirque du Soleil's new resident show "ZED" (in the Tokyo Disney
Resort) is currently ramping up their creative process (having
recently run through the show's first act for the first time);
barreling down the tracks toward their October debut (and
CirqueCon 2008: Tokyo! taking place November 6-9!).
Their marketing and ticketing efforts have, so far, been focused
on the Japanese market. Up until now the only way for English-
speaking Cirque fans to purchase tickets to ZED has been through
the English translation of their website
http://www.zed.co.jp/about_show/admission_en.php - which points
only to a Japanese-language website and phone number (that
doesn't take international calls).
Until Oriental Land Company (who is handling ticket sales for
the show) comes up with a "formal" way to handle English ticket
buyers, we are happy to exclusively report that Cirque has come
up with a temporary solution. Cirque Tokyo has provided us with
a special e-mail address for English-speakers to request
tickets! The email is cds.tokyo.ticketing@cirquedusoleil.com.
This email address will be in effect until the "formal" process
has been put in place, at which time requestors will be pointed
in that direction. (We'll post an update when that happens.)
Be sure to check out the Tickets page (noted above) to find
performance dates and time and seating locations and costs.
Send an email to cds.tokyo.ticketing@cirquedusoleil.com with the
following information:
o) Date of the show
o) Time of the show
o) How many tickets you want
o) What category of ticket you'd like:
.) Premium Seat - ¥18,000 (first five rows of the
front sections)
.) Front Seat - ¥15,000 (the rest of the front
sections)
.) Regular Seat - ¥9,800 (the entirety of the back
section)
.) Overview Seat - ¥7,800 (the back row of the back
sections)
o) Your name and email
They will respond with a total amount, which must be paid for
with a credit card (they take Visa, MasterCharge, American
Express, and JCB). Instead of shipping the tickets to you (which
would be costly) they will be held in Will-Call at the Cirque
Tokyo box office.
(While the special CirqueCon 2008: Tokyo! ticket offer has
expired, those wishing to join us for our "official" show on
Friday, November 7, 2008 at 1930h can now purchase tickets
through this method. So there is still a way to join us!)
Delirium, the "Hot Ticket" at Carmike/Regal!
{Jul.11.2008}
---------------------------------------------
Starting Wednesday August 20, 2008 Carmike Cinemas and select
Regal Cinema locations will feature Cirque Du Soleil's
"Delirium"!
The Hot Ticket offers an opportunity for entertainment consumers
to experience highly anticipated and sold-out events in an
enhanced Carmike theatre setting with one-of-a-kind programming.
For fans of Broadway shows, rock concerts, or premier sporting
events, The Hot Ticket will provide a community experience to
see some of the world's best entertainment on larger-than-life
digital screens.
Showtimes for this event are Wednesday, August 20, and Thursday
August 21, 2008, at 7:00 pm, and Saturday, August 23, 2008 and
Sunday August 24, 2008 at 1:00 pm.
Tickets for Cirque Du Soleil's "Delirium" on the big screen are
on sale now for $20.00 at participating movie theaters.
Visit Carmike Cinemas or Regal Entertainment Group for ticket
purchases and/or participating theaters near you.
{NOTE: Tickets are supposed to go on sale today but Fascination
cannot find any information pertaining to the sale of Delirium
tickets or anything to do with SONY "Hot Ticket" at either of
these sites... stay tuned!}
http://www.carmike.com/
http://www.regmovies.com/
LOVE Celebrates 1000
{Jul.11.2008}
--------------------------------------------
To the cast and crew of LOVE:
Congratulations!
On your 1000th performance tonight!
Seeing is BeLIEving
{Jul.11.2008}
--------------------------------------------
From PRNewswire:
LAS VEGAS, July 10, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ - Seeing is
believing, right? Criss Angel has made a career of making people
"BeLIEve," and will keep doing so in his new collaborative
effort with the World Famous Cirque Du Soleil in their new
adventure at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas: Criss
Angel "BELIEVE."
Cirque Du Soleil, Criss Angel and the Luxor have enlisted the
help of SkyTag, the innovator of Tall Wall imaging to create Las
Vegas's largest and most spectacular impression to date. This
show has promised to be like nothing anyone has ever seen. This
is no illusion. You will "BeLIEve."
Read the original article here:
< http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/do-you-
believe/story.aspx?guid=%7B1D496212-AC5C-4F46-A1BB-
AD9293D7E098%7D&dist=hppr >
Visit SkyTag here:
http://www.skytag.com/
{SOURCE: PRNewswire/Comtex, SkyTag}
Infinity Airs New Cirque Advert
{Jul.14.2008}
--------------------------------------------
Fans of Cirque du Soleil who reside in Canada may want to keep
their eyes on the television in the coming week! According to
CanadianDriver.com, Infinity Canada will release their latest
car commercial featuring Cirque du Soleil! From the release:
"Driving an Infiniti is akin to sitting in the front row of a
Cirque du Soleil show," said Wendy Durward, Director, Infiniti
Dealer Operations. "It's an exhilarating sensory experience full
of beauty, strength, passion and peak performance and we think
the new commercial clearly illustrates those similarities. We
are very proud of our continuing relationship with Cirque du
Soleil."
The commercial features silk aerial performers descending on
fabric that turns into yellow lines on the street in front of an
Infiniti G35 sedan. The campaign also includes a magazine
advertisement featuring the performers.
According to the site, Infinity is in their second year of a
three year partnership/sponsorship.
Did you know that...
o) the driving portion of the commercial was filmed in the
Ville-Marie Tunnel in Montreal?
o) the yellow lines in the tunnel were painted specially
for the shoot?
o) the yellow fabric used was designed specially for this
ad?
Read the original article here:
< http://www.canadiandriver.com/thenews/2008/07/13/infiniti-
airs-cirque-du-soleil-commercial.htm >
{SOURCE: CanadianDriver.com}
Rigging Up Corteo
{Jul.25.2008}
--------------------------------------------
If you're interested in the behind-the-curtain elements of
Cirque du Soleil you might be interested in an article published
this morning out of the Calgary Herald - "Send in the Riggers".
Chris Cannon, staff writer for the Herald, spoke with Vincent
Schonbrodt, one of Cirque's riggers currently on tour with
Corteo. It's a great read for those interested in the behind-
the-scenes, nuts and bolts, aspect of Cirque du Soleil! From the
article:
"The closer we get to the underbelly of the big top, the more I
feel for a secure grip on every rung and bolt, dizzied by the
increasing volume and variety of cables, ladders, rails, and
gears. It's like I've been swallowed by an alien mechanical
organism or I'm getting an ant's perspective on a carburetor.
[...] There is no attempt to make the technology invisible, no
effort made to fool the audience into thinking giants can swing
petite women thirty metres in the air without risk, no swarthy
men in top hats telling you that bicycles can really fly. From
this sacred, hidden space in the crown of the massive tent,
carabineer-clad technicians will forget about their former jobs
suspended from bridges and oil derricks, to help angels bob
through the atmosphere, pretty girls spin in giant chandeliers,
a clown pedal on the wrong side of a high wire."
Read the full article here:
< http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/swerve/story.html?id=
c84daa4c-f5c6-4d00-920c-101fd6f7de6a >.
{SOURCE: Calgary Herald}
Attention Australia: Go Backstage with CDS!
{Jul.29.2008}
--------------------------------------------
Attention fans in Australia - Channel Nine is about to take you
backstage with Cirque du Soleil! On Sunday, August 10th at
6:30pm, Channel Nine will broadcast "A Backstage Pass to Cirque
du Soleil", an "Australian-first journey behind the scenes of
the world's most famous and successful circus". From the
release:
With exclusive access, Ed Phillips takes viewers on a journey to
Cirque Du Soleil's international headquarters to discover all
the magical elements that create these amazing circus shows.
[...] Phillips travels to Montreal, the capital of Quebec, for a
tour of the circus headquarters - a creative laboratory where
some of the finest entertainment creators on the planet
collaborate on various projects. [...] Ed follows the circus to
the entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas, which houses
five of Cirque Du Soleil's internationally renowned stage shows
- Mystere, The Beatles' LOVE, KA, Zumanity, and O, all housed in
purpose-built theatres. He mixes with the Australians involved
in the shows to find out what it takes to make it as a performer
at this elite level. [...] To cap off his magical circus tour,
Ed returns to Australia with Cirque Du Soleil's new spectacular,
Dralion. [...] He is there for the last-minute rehearsals before
catching all the glamour on the red carpet for opening night.
If you're a fan down-under you definitely won't want to miss
this!
Read the full article here:
< http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/nine/A-BACKSTAGE-PASS-TO-
CIRQUE-DU-SOLEIL---SUNDAY-AUGUST-10-AT-6-30pm-ON-NINE-
290708.html >.
{SOURCE: eNews, NINE Network}
Criss Angel vs. The Spyglass Hotel
{Jul.29.2008}
------------------------------------------
On Wednesday, July 30th, Criss Angel will perform a stunt in my
backyard by attempting to escape from the Spyglass Hotel in
Clearwater Beach before it implodes. He sat down with Mike
Donila of the St. Petersburg Times to discuss all things Angel.
From the article:
Sporting a necklace shaped like handcuffs, except with hundreds
of diamonds, a black T-shirt and hat promoting his upcoming
Believe, a new show by Cirque du Soleil at Luxor in Las Vegas,
internationally renowned illusionist and escape artist Criss
Angel sat down with the St. Petersburg Times for an exclusive
interview Monday afternoon. Speaking for almost an hour, he
touched on a number of topics ranging from life, death, family,
fighting, magic and why he doesn't want to be a role model, yet
somehow sets an example anyway. Oh, yeah, he also mentioned
Wednesday night's event on Clearwater Beach where he'll attempt
to escape from the Spyglass hotel before it implodes.
Read the full interview here:
< http://www.tampabay.com/features/events/article745640.ece >.
"There's 550 sticks of dynamite that will be below my feet,
there's a helicopter that needs to hover 30 feet above the roof.
If I don't make it through the handcuffs, five locks and four
doors in no more than three minutes and 30 seconds - if I'm one
second late, that helicopter needs to leave without me. Who
knows, I could trip, I could have trouble picking a lock."
Good Luck Criss!
{SOURCE: Tampa Bay Online, St. Pete Times}
Dasha, Julie & Natasha: The Twisted Sisters
{Jul.30.2008}
--------------------------------------------
Colleen Mastony of the Chicago Tribune recently sat down with
Dasha, Julie and Natasha - Kooza's wonderful contortionists - to
"ask about seeing the audience cringe and what it's like growing
up in the circus" and more. From the article:
For the last 15 months-nine shows a week, sometimes two shows a
day, for a total 488 performances, if anyone's counting-the
three young contortionists have tied themselves in knots.
They've folded themselves in half, bent over backward, twisted
and stretched in ways that are beautiful and-we must admit-a bit
disturbing. Natasha Patterson, 11, of San Rafael, Calif., Julie
Bergez, 15, of San Francisco, and Dasha Sovik, 17, of Moscow,
are contortionists for Cirque du Soleil's "Kooza" show. Onstage,
they seem like strange, supernatural beings, dressed in golden
spandex and moving in unison to the dreamy music. But offstage,
it turns out, they are giggly, gum-chewing adolescents, who-
having performed together for five years-are as close as sisters.
Read the entire interview here:
< http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-cirque-
contortionist-0730jul30,0,3685306.story >.
Criss Angel vs. The Spyglass Hotel (Part 2)
{Jul.31.2008}
--------------------------------------------
By now you've heard about or seen the stunt that Criss Angel
performed live in front of audiences in St. Petersburg, Florida,
but before the illusion took place, the LA Times spoke with
Angel and asked whether or not Cirque had requested he not go
through with it. His response:
Cirque is not very happy about my decision to do this because
they have a lot of money invested in me and in the show. They
would prefer that I don't do it. Whether I kill myself or twist
my ankle, it would still have a detrimental effect -- obviously
one more than another -- on us opening. And there's a lot of
money that ticks away every day that show's not open and we're
not ready to roll. So they don't want me to do it. They're not
happy with this decision.
The LA Times ran a full interview with Angel, which you can read
here: < http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/
2008/07/criss-angel-min.html >.
{SOURCE: The L.A. Times}
Dubai buys 20% of Cirque du Soleil
{Aug.06.2008}
------------------------------------------
While not a takeover, what was rumored on Cirque du Soleil's
24th birthday (June 16, 2008) did appear to have some truth to
it after all. Today Cirque du Soleil announces selling a 20%
stake in their company to Nakheel and Istithmar World of Dubai.
From the AP article:
The agreement keeps control of the Montreal-based entertainment
company in the hands of founder Guy Laliberte, putting to rest
for now speculation that the troupe would be sold outright.
"This partnership is the best of both worlds for me and my
management team," Laliberte said in a joint statement with
Nakheel and Istithmar. "We can keep control of our creative
challenges and operations while accelerating our growth doing
projects all over the world." Nakheel and Istithmar are part of
Dubai World, a diversified holding company owned by the
government of Dubai.
Read more about this:
< http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h7Io6Q_X9eja8sCyOb5Wr4G8Gx
BQD92CRMMG0<br%20/> >.
< http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080806/BUSINESS/407382543/
-1/NEWS<br%20/> >.
Koozå 500!
{Aug.08.2008}
------------------------------------------
Today, at 4:00pm, Koozå celebrated its 500th performance!
The celebration the matinée audience was treated to a special
"adjustment" in the show. For the final act, Heimloss popped up
out of one of 9 traps in the stage and instead of unplugging the
show, he stood back as a brilliantly crafted "500" shone bright
in the Big Top!
Koozå is currently in Chicago until August 24th.
In 11 Days: DELIRIUM in Theaters!
{Aug.09.2008}
------------------------------------------
THE HOT TICKET" LAUNCHES IN AUGUST WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART
DIGITAL PRESENTATIONS DELIRIUM(tm) by CIRQUE DU SOLEIL(r)
IN US & CANADIAN MOVIE THEATERS
[ http://www.DELIRIUM.thehotticket.net ]
CULVER CITY, Calif., August 7, 2008 - On, August 20th, 21st,
23rd and 24th Sony Pictures Releasing's new special programming
division The Hot Ticket will bring audiences the groundbreaking
live music and dance extravaganza DELIRIUM in HD from Cirque du
Soleil. For the first time ever, special limited engagement
presentations of DELIRIUM will be available to audiences in
select movie theaters across the US and Canada.
"We couldn't be more delighted and proud to kick off our
inaugural slate of Hot Ticket programming with Cirque du
Soleil's DELIRIUM," said Rory Bruer, President of Domestic
Distribution for Sony Pictures Releasing. "It's the perfect
marriage to have such a visually exciting multimedia show as
DELIRIUM showcased in theaters in state-of-the-art high
definition presentation. It is stunning to experience the show
in this way and it sounds amazing. It's truly the next best
thing to being there and experiencing the show "live" and I
believe audiences will be blown away by the incredibly creative
and talented artists, acrobats and performers that make up the
world renowned Cirque du Soleil troupe."
With visually stunning tableaux in which music and projections
meld together, DELIRIUM is a mesmerizing production. "We are
happy to take this opportunity to bring the Cirque du Soleil
experience to a new entertainment environment," explained
Jacques Méthé, Executive Producer at Cirque du Soleil Images.
"We believe that DELIRIUM in HD will offer audiences a memorable
experience in movie theaters because of its magnitude, the
energy of the performers and the diversity of its music going
from percussion to electronic music."
Audiences throughout North America will discover or rediscover
the journey of Bill, the main character who is searching for
balance in a world increasingly out of sync with reality. This
incandescent journey filmed under the highest standards will be
seen with a state-of-the-art digital projection and surround
sound.
Said David Mallet, director of the film, "I am really happy with
this one-of-a-kind production since the use of twenty cameras
allowed us to both capture the spectacular scale and nature of
the show along with the incredible skill and intimate
interaction of the fabulous Cirque du Soleil artists. This
unique cinema experience will be a delight for the viewers. "
The experience is unique for the viewers who can now enjoy the
performances of dancers, singers, musicians and acrobats on a
large screen in digital theaters. The result is an entertainment
experience that is available for a limited time.
For further information and to purchase tickets for DELIRIUM
please visit http://www.DELIRIUM.thehotticket.net.
{SOURCE: Sony Pictures Entertainment}
Presse: "Rock 'n' Roll Cirque"
{Aug.13.2008}
------------------------------------------
Saltimbanco's Arena Tour is pulling into Toronto for a couple of
weeks, and this morning the Globe and Mail ran a piece about the
show, its history and its changes. From the article:
Since Cirque's Saltimbanco opened in Montreal in 1992, the
show's colourful costumes and awesome acrobats have wowed
audiences under an old-fashioned Grand Chapiteau that provided
both shelter and intimacy in the tradition of an acrobatic
bazaar. But for its latest North American tour, the world-
renowned circus has shed its tent in favour of bigger venues
usually reserved for rock stars and hockey matches. [...]
Transforming the show from an intimate tent affair to an arena
spectacle took a total of 21 weeks. The task demanded that
technicians raise the stage and intensify the lighting and sound
to resonate throughout a massive environment. What follows is a
breakdown of the changes Cirque du Soleil underwent to bring
Saltimbanco to the masses.
Read the full breakdown at the Globe and Mail's Website:
< http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080813.
wcirque13/BNStory/Entertainment/home >.
{SOURCE: The Globe and Mail}
Cirque Ticket Prices "Extremely Low"?
{Aug.13.2008}
------------------------------------------
VERNON, CT, Aug 12, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -
TicketNetwork.com, the leading source for the ticket industry's
most comprehensive inventory, announced today its prices for
Cirque du Soleil shows worldwide fare extremely low compared to
the competition.
Its broad appeal however creates a high demand for tickets,
which the secondary market tries to meet. "Prices in our
industry are governed by demand," said TicketNetwork CEO Don
Vaccaro. "Saving up to $90.00 on a single ticket can determine
whether a family can afford to see a show or not," Vaccaro
further said.
TicketNetwork aims to provide customers with Cirque du Soleil
tickets at competitive prices. As is the case in most other
industries, comparison shopping is crucial in secondary
ticketing.
Read the full article to see an outline of the difference in
ticket prices between companies:
< http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ticketnetworkcom-
provides-sunny-forecast-cirque/story.aspx?guid=%7BD820C712-
1EDF-46A6-89B9-3A0061B609C8%7D&dist=hppr >.
{SOURCE: TicketNetwork.com}
MIKE WEATHERFORD asks: How Much Cirque is Too Much?
{Aug 18.2008}
-----------------------------------------------------
Mike Weatherford for the Las Vegas Review Journal recently posed
the question "How much Cirque is too much for Vegas?" in a
recent article for the paper. Indeed fans and followers of
Cirque du Soleil have been asking this very question ever since
Zumanity premiered in 2003. Renewed interest comes now due in
part on the recent 20% stake that Nakheel and Istithmar World of
Dubai purchased on August 6th and the upcoming premiere of Criss
Angel BELIEVE at the Luxor. From the article:
The Dubai money should aid the "acceleration of our
development," Cirque's president, Daniel Lamarre, noted. [...]
But each time Cirque opens a show on the Strip, there is a
renewed gap between the company's ambitious plans and the
skeptical local reaction. Talk to Cirque, and you hear something
like this: "Give me as many venues as you have, and I'll find
the right creators," Lamarre says. "When I walk into our
creative center in Montreal, there are more ideas than there are
theaters available to us." Talk to Las Vegas locals and others
in the show community, and you hear something like this: "The
Cirque shows are wonderful, but enough already. Isn't there
Anything else out there?"
Read the full article here to find out what might be happening
with Cirque and Mandalay Bay!
< http://www.lvrj.com/living/27067349.html >.
"O" as in Olympic
{Aug.29.2008}
------------------------------------------
Thanks to Anonymous Cirquester for passing along this passage in
celebration of the Olympics in Beijing:
Did you know...There are 20 Olympians among the 1,000 performers
in the 18 touring and resident Cirque shows worldwide? Nine of
them perform on the "O" stage every night. With the buzz of the
Olympics in the air over the past month, we wanted to take a
moment to recognize the Olympic talent that graces our stage on
a nightly basis.
o) Synchronized Swimmers:
.) Suzannah Bianco (USA)
.) Miho Kono (Japan)
.) Belinda Schmid (Switzerland)
.) Kanako Kitao (Japan)
.) Madeleine Perk (Switzerland)
.) Cinthia Bouhier (France)
o) Gymnasts:
.) Zoltan Supola (Hungary)
.) Imre Lengyel (Hungary)
.) Sergei Kudrevich (Belarus)
{SOURCE: Cirque du Soleil}
=======================================================================
COMPARTMENTS -- INFORMATION ON TOUR AND BEHIND THE CURTAIN
=======================================================================
o) ITINÉRAIRE - Tour/Show Information
o) DIDYAKNOW - Facts About Cirque
o) HISTORIA - Cirque du Soleil History
O) CIRQUETECH - The Technical Side of Cirque
================
ITINÉRAIRE
================
NOTE: The information presented below is for historical purposes only.
For current, up-to-the-moment information on Cirque's whereabouts,
please visit our website < http://www.CirqueFascination.com/ >.
Alegría:
Rio de Janerio, Brazil -- Dec 27, 2007 to Jan 27, 2008
Sao Paulo, Brazil -- Feb 7, 2008 to May 4, 2008
Porto Alegre, Brazil -- May 15, 2008 to Jun 8, 2008
Buenos Aires, Argentina -- Jun 20, 2008 to Jul 27, 2008
Santiago, Chile -- Aug 8, 2008 to Sep 21, 2008
Seoul, South Korea -- Oct 15, 2008 to Sep 21, 2008
Taipei, Taiwan -- Jan 14, 2009 to Feb 22, 2009
Dubai, UAE -- Mar 5, 2009 to TBA
Corteo:
San Diego, California -- Jan 11, 2008 to Feb 3, 2008
Portland, Oregan -- Mar 1, 2008 to Apr 13, 2008
Seattle, Washington -- Apr 24, 2008 to Jun 1, 2008
Vancouver, BC -- Jun 12, 2008 to Jul 20, 2008
Calgary, AB -- Jul 31, 2008 to Sep 7, 2008
Ottawa, ON -- Sep 16, 2008 to Oct 26, 2008
Miami, Florida -- Nov 13, 2008 to Dec 28, 2008
Tokyo, Japan -- Feb 4, 2009 to May 5, 2009
Nagoya, Japan -- May 21, 2009 to Jul 12, 2009
Osaka, Japan -- Jul 29, 2009 to Sep 30, 2009
Dralion:
Tokyo, Japan -- Jan 25, 2008 to Apr 6, 2008
Fukuoka, Japan -- Apr 23, 2008 to Jun 15, 2008
Sydney, Australia -- Jul 17, 2008 to Aug 17, 2008
Canberra, Australia -- Oct 23, 2008 to Nov 16, 2008
Brisbane, Australia -- Nov 27, 2008 to Jan 11, 2009
Perth, Australia -- Jan 28, 2009 to Mar 29, 2009
Melbourne, Australia -- Apr 9, 2009 to Jun 14, 2009
Koozå:
San Francisco, California - Nov 16 to Jan 20, 2008
San Jose, California -- Jan 31, 2008 to Mar 16, 2008
Hartford, Connecticut -- Apr 1, 2008 to Apr 27, 2008
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- May 8, 2008 to Jun 15, 2008
Chicago, Illinois -- Jun 26, 2008 to Aug 24, 2008
Boston, Massachusetts -- Sep 4, 2008 to Oct 19, 2008
Washington, DC -- Oct 30, 2008 to Dec 7, 2008
Atlanta, Georgia -- Jan 2, 2009 to Mar 1, 2009
Baltimore, Maryland -- Mar 13, 2009 to Apr 5, 2009
New York, New York -- Apr 16, 2009 to Jun 21, 2009
Quidam:
Mexico City, Mexico - Nov 16, 2007 to Jan 13, 2008
Monterrey, Mexico - Jan 17, 2008 to Feb 10, 2008
Veracruz, Mexico -- Feb 27, 2008 to Mar 16, 2008
Lisbon, Portugal -- Apr 20, 2008 to May 25, 2008
Màlaga, Spain -- Jun 5, 2008 to Jul 13, 2008
Alicante, Spain -- Jul 24, 2008 to Aug 31, 2008
Barcelona, Spain -- Sep, 11, 2008 to Oct 19, 2008
Brussels, Belgium -- Oct 30, 2008 to Dec 21, 2008 (*)
London, UK -- Jan 4, 2009 to Feb 22, 2009 (*)
Liverpool, UK -- Feb 26, 2009 to Feb 28, 2009 {ARENA}
Belfast, UK -- Mar 4, 2009 to Mar 7, 2009 {ARENA}
Newcastle, UK -- Mar 12, 2009 to Mar 15, 2009 {ARENA}
Birmingham, UK -- Mar 18, 2009 to Mar 22, 2009 {ARENA}
Manchester, UK -- Mar 25, 2009 to Mar 27, 2009 {ARENA}
Dublin, Ireland -- Mar 31, 2009 to Apr 5, 2009 {ARENA}
Sheffield, UK -- Apr 9, 2009 to Apr 15, 2009 {ARENA}
Glasgow, Scotland -- Apr 16, 2009 to Apr 19, 2009 {ARENA}
Varekai:
London, UK - Jan 6, 2008 to Feb 3, 2008
Amsterdam, NL -- Feb 28, 2008 to May 25, 2008
Berlin, Germany -- Jun 5, 2008 to Jul 13, 2008
Oberhausen, Germany -- Jul 31, 2008 to Sep 14, 2008
Vienna, Austria -- Sep 25, 2008 to Nov 9, 2008
Madrid, Spain -- Nov 20, 2008 to Dec 28, 2008
Seville, Spain -- Feb 5, 2009 to Mar 14, 2009
Bilbao, Spain -- Mar 26, 2009 to May 3, 2009
Hamburg, Germany -- May 22, 2009 to Jul 5, 2009
Oostende, Belgium -- Jul 16, 2009 to Aug 23, 2009
Zurich, Switzerland -- Sep 4, 2009 to Oct 25, 2009
Munich, Germany -- Nov 5, 2009 to Dec 20, 2009
[Arena Shows]
Delirium:
Oberhausen, Germany - Feb 1 & 2
Hanover, Germany - Feb 5 & 6
Bremen, Germany - Feb 9 & 10
Stockholm, Sweden - Feb 13 & 14
Turku, Finland - Feb 16 & 17
Zurich, Switzerland - Feb 25 & 26
Budapest, Hungary - Feb 29 & Mar 1
Berlin, Germany - Mar 6
Nurnberg, Germany - Mar 8 & 9
Milan, Italy - Mar 11, 12 & 13
Turin, Italy - Mar 15, 16 & 17
Birmingham, UK - Mar 22 & 23
Liverpool, UK - Mar 25 & 26
Paris, France - Mar 31 & Apr 1, 2
Antwerp, Belgium - Apr 5 & 6
Glasgow, UK - Apr 9 & 10
Belfast, UK - Apr 12
London, UK - Apr 17, 18 & 19
(Delirium's final curtain call was in London)
Saltimbanco:
2008
------
Quebec, Quebec - Jan 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8
Chicoutimi, Quebec - Jan 16, 17, 18 & 19
Detroit, Michigan - Jan 23, 24, 25, 26 & 27
Cleveland, Ohio - Jan 29, 30, 31 & Feb 1
Memphis, Tennessee - Feb 20 & 21
Charlottesville, Virginia - Feb 26, 27, 28, 29 & Mar 1
Little Rock, Arkansas - Mar 4, 5, & 6
Shreveport, Louisiana - Mar 8 & 9
San Antonio, Texas - Mar 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16
Laredo, Texas - Mar 18 & 19
Corpus Christi, Texas - Mar 21 & 22
Wichita, Kansas - Mar 26, 27, 28, 39 & 30
Omaha, Nebraska - Apr 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6
Des Moines, Iowa - Apr 10, 11, 12 & 13
Moline, Illinois - Apr 15, 16, 17 & 18
Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Apr 23, 24, 25, 26 & 27
Alberquerque, New Mexico - May 14, 15, 16 & 17
Boise, Idaho - May 21, 22, 23, 24 & 25
Victoria, BC - May 29, 30, 31 & Jun 1
Kelowana, BC - Jun 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8
Kamloops, BC - Jun 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15
Edmonton, Alberta - Jun 18, 19, 20, 21 & 22
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Jun 25, 26, 27, 28 & 29
Regina, Saskatchewan - Jul 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6
Winnipeg, Manatoba - Jul 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13
Kansas City, Missouri -- July 16, 17, 18, 19 & 20
Newark, New Jersey -- Aug 7, 8, 9 & 10
Toronto, Ontario -- Aug 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23 & 24
Hamilton, Ontario -- Aug 27, 28, 29, 30 & 31
Amherst, Massachusetts -- Sep 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7
Buffalo, New York -- Sep 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14
Trenton, New Jersey -- Sep 17, 18, 19, 20 & 21
Minneapolis/St-Paul, Minnesota -- Sep 24, 25, 26, 27 & 28
Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- Oct 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
Highland Heights, Kentucky -- Oct 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12
Honolulu, Hawaii -- Oct 30, 2009 to Nov 16, 2008
Prescott Valley, AZ -- Nov 20, 20089 to Nov 23, 2008
Tuscon, AZ -- Nov 26, 2008 to Nov 30, 2008
Oklahoma City, OK -- Dec 3, 2008 to Dec 7, 2008
Tulsa, OK -- Dec 10, 2008 to Dec 14, 2008
Hidalgo, TX -- Dec 17, 2008 to Dec 21, 2008
2009
------
Hoffman Estates, IL -- Jan 21, 2009 to Feb 1, 2009
St. Charles, MO -- Feb 4, 2009 to Feb 8, 2009
Lakeland, FL -- Apr 29, 2009 to May 3, 2009
Gainesville, FL -- May 6, 2009 to May 10, 2009
Tallahassee, FL -- May 13, 2009 to May 17, 2009
Jacksonville, FL -- May 20, 2009 to May 24, 2009
Sunrise, FL -- May 27, 2009 to Jun 6, 2009
Tampa, FL -- Jun 25, 2009 to Jul 5, 2009
[Resident Shows]
NOTE: (*) Prices are in United States Dollars (USD) unless otherwise
noted.
(*) Price reflected in brackets [] is inclusive of 10% Las Vegas
Entertainment Tax where applicable, but does not include
Sales Tax.
La Nouba:
Location: Walt Disney World, Orlando (USA)
Performs: Tue through Sat, Dark: Sun/Mon
Two shows Nightly - 6:00pm and 9:00pm
2008 Ticket Prices (adults) / (child 3-9):
o Category 0: $121.41 / $96.92
o Category 1: $105.44 / $84.14
o Category 2: $86.27 / $69.23
o Category 3: $69.23 / $55.38
2008 Dark Dates:
o January 22 to 26
o March 25
o May 20 to 24
o May 27 to 312
o July 29
o September 23 to 27
o November 18
Mystère:
Location: Treasure Island, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Saturday through Wednesday, Dark: Thursday/Friday
Two shows Nightly -
o Saturday: 7:00pm & 9:30pm
o Sunday: 4:30pm & 7:00pm
o Monday - Wednesday: 7:00pm & 9:30pm
2008 Ticket Prices:
o Category 1: $95.00 [$104.50]
o Category 2: $75.00 [$82.50]
o Category 3: $60.00 [$66.00]
2008 Dark Dates:
o January 3 to 18
o February 3
o March 12
o May 1 to 9
o July 9
o September 4 to 12
o November 5
o December 24
"O":
Location: Bellagio, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Wednesday through Sunday, Dark: Monday/Tuesday
Two shows Nightly - 7:30pm and 10:30pm
2008 Ticket Prices:
o Orchestra: $150.00 [$165.00]
o Loggia: $125.00 [$137.50]
o Balcony: $99.00 [$108.90]
o Limited View: $93.50 [102.85]
2008 Dark Dates:
o February 10
o April 7 to 15
o June 8
o August 11 to 19
o October 12
o December 8 to 23
Zumanity:
Location: New York-New York, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark: Sunday/Monday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:30pm and 10:30pm
2008 Ticket Prices (18+ Only!):
o Sofas: $129.00 USD [$141.90 USD] (Sold in pairs)
o Seats: $99.00 USD [$108.90 USD] (Lower Orcestra)
O Seats: $79.00 USD [$86.90 USD] (Upper Orchestra)
o Balcony: $69.00 USD [$75.90 USD]
o Stools: $69.00 USD [$75.90 USD]
2008 Dark Dates:
o Feburary 3
o February 19 & 20
o April 6 to 14
o June 9 to 11
o August 3 to 11
o October 14 & 15
o December 1 to 16
KÀ:
Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Fri through Tue, Dark Wed/Thu
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm
2008 Ticket Prices (adult) / (child 5-12):
NOTE: Category locations change based on Early vs Late Show
o Category 1: $150.00 [$165.00] / $75.00 [$82.50]
o Category 2: $125.00 [$137.50] / $62.50 [$68.75]
o Category 3: $99.00 [$108.90] / $49.50 [$54.45]
o Category 4: $69.00 [$75.90] / $34.50 [$37.95]
2008 Dark Dates
o January 13 to 28
o March 16 to 19
o May 11 to 19
o July 13 to 16
o September 7 to 15
o November 2 to 4
LOVE:
Location: Mirage, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Thursday through Monday, Dark: Tuesday/Wednesday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 10:30pm
2008 Ticket Prices:
o Lower Orchestra: $150.00 [$165.00]
o Upper Orchestra: $125.00 [137.50]
o Lower Balcony: $99.00 [$108.80]
o Middle Balcony: $93.50 [$102.85]
o Upper Balcony: $69.00 [$75.90]
2008 Dark Dates:
o February 3 & 4
o February 11
o April 1 to 9
o May 12
o June 12
o July 29 to August 6
o October 9
o December 2 to 17
Wintuk:
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City (USA)
Performs: Wednesday through Sunday, Dark Monday/Tuesday
Multiple Shows Daily -
Wednesday: 2:00pm, 7:30pm
Thursday: 11:00am, 7:30pm
Friday: 2:00pm, 7:30pm
Saturday: 11:00am, 3:00pm, 7:00pm
Sunday: 11:00am, 3:00pm, 7:00pm
2008 Ticket Prices (adult) / (child 2-12):
Wednesday & Sunday:
o Category 1: $99.00 / $89.55
o Category 2: $65.00 / $59.95
o Category 3: $40.00 / $36.45
Thursday, Friday & Saturday:
o Category 1: $200.00 / $180.45
o Category 2: $110.00 / $99.45
o Category 3: $75.00 / $67.95
o Category 4: $50.00 / $45.45
Information regarding the 2008 season is not yet available.
ZAIA:
Location: VENETIAN, Macao (China)
Performs: Tuesday through Sunday, Dark Monday
One to Two Shows Daily -
Tuesday: 8:00pm
Wednesday: 8:00pm
Thursday - Saturday: 7:00pm & 10:00pm
Sunday: 4:00pm & 7:00pm
PREVIEW PERFORMANCES - July 26th through August 27th
GALA PREMIERE - AUGUST 28, 2008
2008 Ticket Prices (adult) / (child 0-12):
o Category 1: MOP$ 1288 / No Child
o Category 2: MOP$ 788 / MOP$ 688
o Category 3: MOP$ 588 / MOP$ 488
o Category 4: MOP$ 388 / MOP$ 288
BELIEVE:
Location: Luxor, Las Vegas (USA)
Performs: Friday through Tuesday, Dark Wednesday/Thursday
Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 10:00pm
PREVIEW PERFORMANCES - BEGIN SEPTEMBER 26th
GALA PREMIERE - OCTOBER 31st, 2008
NOTE: Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by
an adult. Children under the age of five are not permitted
into the theater.
2008 Ticket Prices (all):
o Category 1: $150.00 +tax
o Category 2: $125.00 +tax
o Category 3: $99.00 +tax
o Category 4: $79.00 +tax
o Category 5: $59.00 +tax
2008 Dark Dates:
o September 8 & 9
o September 13
o November 5 to 13
ZED:
Location: TOKYO DISNEYLAND, Tokyo (Japan)
Performs: Varies
One to Two Shows Daily - Varies
PREVIEW PERFORMANCES - August 15th through September 30th
GALA PREMIERE - October 1, 2008
2008 Ticket Prices (all):
o Category 1 ("Premium"): ¥18,000
o Category 2 ("Front"): ¥15,000
o Category 3 ("Regular"): ¥9,800
o Category 4 ("Overview"): ¥7,800
=================================
DIDYAKNOW? - Facts About Cirque
=================================
In honor of LOVE's 1000th performance, we have a few fun facts
courtesy of Cirque du Soleil!
o) Since its opening, 1,947,238 visitors have come to see the show.
o) The LOVE theatre features 24 digital projectors that are used in
the show. Everything is digital, from source to screen, making the
impressive 100-foot-wide high-definition panoramic images possible.
o) There are over 6,500 speakers in the theatre (compared to Mystère's
78), which create one of the most panoramic surround-sound systems
in the world-like IMAX for the ears! Each seat is fitted with six
speakers so the Beatles' music can be heard like never before.
o) The Performers wear 331 multi-layered costumes during a performance
of LOVE.
o) The stage is made up of seven lifts, two sloats, various traps and
one turntable. Each lift is capable of lifting 20,000 pounds.
o) We use 204 moving lights, 1,000 dimmers... and one finger to
control it all.
o) The theatre seats 2,013 guests.
o) The cast features sixty performers from seventeen countries, split
equally between dancers, characters / actors and acrobats and
raging in age from nine to 71 years old.
====================================
HISTORIA: Cirque du Soleil History
====================================
[July]
* Jul.01.1990 -- Cirque Réinventé (Vol 2) CD Released (Nâga)
* Jul.02.2002 -- La Nouba Boutique pepper spray incident forces evacuation
* Jul.04.2007 -- Cirque named top Canadian Brand by Brand Finance Canada.
* Jul.05.1984 -- 1984 Tour opened Rimouski
* Jul.05.1985 -- 1985 Tour opened Québec [Vieux-Port de Québec]
* Jul.05.1986 -- Le Magie Continue opened Québec
* Jul.05.1990 -- Nouvelle Expérience opened Seattle
* Jul.05.1996 -- Quidam opened Ste-Foy
* Jul.05.2007 -- Koozå opened Quebec City
* Jul.05.2007 -- Varekai opened Adelaide, Australia
* Jul.06.2000 -- Saltimbanco 2000 opened Seattle
* Jul.06.2006 -- Quidam opened Philadelphia
* Jul.06.2008 -- René Dupéré named "Chevalier" in the Order de la Pléiade
* Jul.07.1987 -- Cirque Réinventé opened Québec
* Jul.08.2004 -- Alegría opened Philadelphia
* Jul.10.2002 -- Saltimbanco opened Vienna
* Jul.10.2003 -- Alegría opened Vancouver
* Jul.11.1990 -- Cirque Réinventé opened Montréal
* Jul.11.1997 -- Alegría opened Berlin
* Jul.11.2008 -- LOVE celebrated 1000th performance [Friday]
* Jul.12.1984 -- 1984 Tour opened Saint-Jean-Port-Joli
* Jul.12.1994 -- Alegría opened San Francisco
* Jul.13.2003 -- Cirque nominated for 1 Emmy - 55th Emmy Awards
Outstanding Nonfiction Program Alternate - Fire Within
* Jul.14.1992 -- Fascination opened Osaka
* Jul.14.1992 -- Saltimbanco opened San Francisco
* Jul.14.2006 -- Alegría opened Amsterdam
* Jul.14.2006 -- Corteo opened Chicago
* Jul.16.2003 -- Varekai opened Chicago
* Jul.17.2008 -- Dralion opened Sydney, Australia
* Jul.18.2002 -- Cirque nominated for 2 Emmys in 54th Emmy Awards
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special - Alegría
Outstanding Choreography for 74th Academy Awards - Debra Brown
* Jul.19.1984 -- 1984 Tour opened Baie-Saint-Paul
* Jul.19.2003 -- Quidam opened Osaka
* Jul.20.2004 -- Varekai CD released in Canada (CDS Musique)
* Jul.20.2004 -- Alegría CD released in Canada (CDS Musique)
* Jul.20.2007 -- Corteo Nominated for Emmys
o) Category 6: Art Direction for a Variety,
Music Program or Special
o) Category 28: Picture Editing for a Special
(Single of Multi-Camera)
* Jul.21.1995 -- Saltimbanco opened Berlin
* Jul.21.1999 -- Saltimbanco opened Adelaide
* Jul.21.2005 -- Dralion opened Oostenede
* Jul.22.1998 -- Alegría opened Antwerp
* Jul.22.1998 -- Quidam opened Chicago
* Jul.23.1988 -- Cirque Réinventé opened Toronto
* Jul.23.2006 -- Varekai NAT 1 Ends (2002-2006)
* Jul.24.1992 -- Fascination opened Sapporo
* Jul.24.2003 -- Saltimbanco opened Oostenede
* Jul.24.2003 -- Dralion opened Columbus
* Jul.24.2008 -- Quidam opened Alicante, Spain
* Jul.25.2002 -- Quidam opened Boston
* Jul.25.2007 -- Dralion opened Osaka, Japan
* Jul.26.1984 -- 1984 Tour opened Québec
* Jul.26.1985 -- 1985 Tour opened Toronto [Harbour Front]
* Jul.26.1991 -- Nouvelle Expérience opened Toronto
* Jul.26.1995 -- Alegría opened Chicago
* Jul.26.1996 -- Saltimbanco opened Angers
* Jul.26.2001 -- Quidam opened Copenhagen
* Jul.26.2007 -- Alegría opened Gijon, Spain
* Jul.27.2004 -- Varekai opened Boston
* Jul.27.2004 -- Varekai CD released in US (CDS Musique)
* Jul.28.1993 -- Saltimbanco opened Chicago
* Jul.29.1999 -- Dralion opened Toronto
* Jul.31.1990 -- Cirque Réinventé opened London
* Jul.31.1997 -- Quidam opened San Jose
* Jul.31.2003 -- Zumanity Begins Preview Performances
* Jul.31.2004 -- Quidam celebrated 3000th performance
[Sat, 1:00pm/Calgary]
* Jul.31.2008 -- Corteo opened Calgary, AB, Canada
* Jul.31.2008 -- Varekai opened Oberhausen
[August]
* Aug.01.1986 -- Le Magie Continue opened Saint-Sauveur
* Aug.01.1990 -- Nouvelle Expérience opened San Francisco
* Aug.01.2002 -- Dralion opened Seattle
* Aug.01.2002 -- Varekai opened Toronto
* Aug.02.1984 -- 1984 Tour opened Magog
* Aug.03.2004 -- Alegría CD Released US (CDS Musique)
* Aug.03.2006 -- Saltimbanco opened Sao Paulo
* Aug.04.1987 -- Cirque Réinventé opened Saint-Sauveur
* Aug.04.2005 -- Saltimbanco opened Monterrey
* Aug.04.2005 -- Corteo opened Toronto
* Aug 06.2006 -- Mystère celebrated 6000th performance
[Sunday, 7:30pm]
* Aug.06.2008 -- Nakeel of Dubai purchases 20% Stake in Cirque
* Aug.07.1992 -- Fascination opened Yokohama
* Aug.08.1989 -- Cirque Réinventé opened San Francisco
* Aug.08.1996 -- Quidam opened Toronto
* Aug.08.2008 -- Alegría opened Santiago
* Aug.08.2008 -- Koozå celebrated 500th Performance
[Fri, 4:00pm/Chicago]
* Aug.09.1984 -- 1984 Tour opened Hull
* Aug.09.1990 -- Nouvelle Expérience CD Released (Nâga)
* Aug.09.2007 -- Koozå opened Toronto
* Aug.10.2006 -- Varekai opened Sydney, Asia-Pacific Tour Begins
* Aug.10.2006 -- La Nouba Celebrates 5,000,000th guest!
* Aug.11.2005 -- Varekai opened Columbus
* Aug.12.2004 -- Dralion opened Antwerp
* Aug.12.2004 -- Quidam opened Sydney
* Aug.13.2006 -- Corteo celebrated 500th performance
[Sun, 5:00pm/Chicago]
* Aug.14.1986 -- Le Magie Continue opened Longueuil
* Aug.14.1987 -- Le Cirque Réinventé opened Longueuil
* Aug.14.1993 -- Saltimbanco opened Washington DC
* Aug.14.1996 -- Mystère Live CD Released in Canada (RCA/Victor)
* Aug.14.2008 -- Alegría opened Santiago, Chile
* Aug.15.2001 -- Dralion opened Boston
* Aug.16.1984 -- 1984 Tour opened Sorel
* Aug.16.1985 -- 1985 Tour opened Niagra Falls [CP Skylon Tower]
* Aug.16.2001 -- Cirque wins 3 Emmys for Dralion on Bravo
* Aug.16.2005 -- "O" CD released in Canada (CDS Musique)
* Aug.16.2005 -- La Nouba CD released in Canada (CDS Musique)
* Aug.16.2005 -- Mystère (Live) CD released in Canada (CDS Musique)
* Aug.17.2000 -- Dralion opened Minneapolis, Minnesota
* Aug.17.2007 -- Varekai opened Perth, Australia
* Aug.18.1992 -- Fascination opened Sendai
* Aug.18.2000 -- Alegría: Le Film premiered in Italy
* Aug.19.2004 -- Alegría opened Toronto
* Aug.20.2004 -- Saltimbanco opened Frankfurt
* Aug.20.2008 -- DELIRIUM premieres on Digital Theater Screens
* Aug.21.2001 -- Alegría opened Brisbane, Australia
* Aug.21.2002 -- Alegría opened Minneapolis
* Aug.21.2003 -- Alegría opened Seattle
* Aug.23.1984 -- 1984 Tour opened Montréal
* Aug.23.2003 -- Dralion opened St. Louis
* Aug.23.2007 -- Corteo opened Los Angeles, California
* Aug.24.2006 -- Quidam opened Cincinnati
* Aug.25.1994 -- Alegría opened San Jose
* Aug.27.1992 -- Fascination opened Kita-Kyushu
* Aug.27.1992 -- Saltimbanco opened San Jose
* Aug.28.1986 -- Le Magie Continue opened Ottawa
* Aug.30.2004 -- Zumanity celebrated its 500th performance
* Aug.30.2006 -- Dralion opened Berlin
* Aug.31.2000 -- Quidam opened Düsseldorf
* Aug.31.2006 -- Alegría opened Brussels
* Aug.xx.2001 -- Dralion celebrated 500th Show [Minneapolis, MN]
==========================================
CIRQUETECH: The Technical Side of Cirque
==========================================
Cirque du FaceBook
------------------
For our CirqueTech column this period, we'd like to take a moment
to point out some of Cirque's recent outreach into the digital
realm of fandom: Facebook pages.
o) Mystere -- http://www.new.facebook.com/Mystere?ref=mf
o) "O" -- http://www.new.facebook.com/Ocirque?ref=mf
o) La Nouba -- http://www.new.facebook.com/LaNouba?ref=mf
o) Zumanity -- http://www.new.facebook.com/Zumanity?ref=mf
o) KA -- http://www.new.facebook.com/KA?ref=mf
o) LOVE -- http://www.new.facebook.com/TheBeatlesLOVE?ref=mf
At the moment only the resident shows are represented via Facebook,
but it's a start! You'll need to have your own Facebook account
in order to become a "fan" of these pages, but once you do you'll
gain access to some unique aspects of Cirque du Soleil - like
Bebe's "papa" pictures on the Mystère facebook page!
=======================================================================
FASCINATION! FEATURES
=======================================================================
-------------------------------------------------------
"ZAIA Premiere: 'A Journey Through Time and Space'"
By: Cirque du Soleil
{Press Room Materials }
-------------------------------------------------------
THE FIRST PERMANENT CIRQUE DU SOLEIL SHOW IN ASIA
CELEBRATES ITS WORLD PREMIERE ON AUGUST 28
AT THE VENETIAN MACAO-RESORT-HOTEL
Written and Directed by Gilles Maheu
Macau, China - August 28, 2008 - ZAIA, the very first permanent Cirque
du Soleil production to open in Asia, celebrates its world premiere on
August 28, 2008 at the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel in Macau to
coincide with the 1st Anniversary of its host resort-hotel.
PRESENTATION (ACTS)
-------------------
Choreography I - City Scape
The dance troupe embraces social diversity through a series of
choreographies. First, a couple performs a languorous tango to the
sound of a bandoneon (a small accordion), the flexibility of the
dancers sometimes evokes the movements of contortionists. Then, two
other dancers perform a high-energy gypsy dance without any musical
accompaniment, tapping out the rhythm on their bodies with their hands
as other performers arrive on stage from everywhere. Finally, the
entire troupe presents a rhythmic dance that merges styles.
Aerial Bamboo
Hanging from a pole, two artists perform a hand to hand act on a pole
suspended in mid-air. They move up and down in unison, as if on a
surface inclined at a 90-degree angle in the middle of the cosmos.
From time to time, one of the artists grips the hand or foot of the
other, creating acrobatic figures by executing fluid movements steeped
in poetry.
Chinese Poles on Globes
As her earthly odyssey leads her to the Orient, Zaia discovers
acrobats clinging to poles shaped like weathervanes symbolizing the
points of the compass perform Chinese Poles act. What makes this act
special is the fact that the poles are held by porters who are
standing on globes.
Choreography II - Dance of the Automatons
Characters whose fanciful costumes are reminiscent of toys made from
recycled objects perform modern dance and break dancing moves,
sometimes as if their bodies were dismembered. One of the dancers
rotates on his head like a spinning top at an amazing speed!
Rola Bola
A Charlie Chaplin-like character arrives from the sky on a big ladder,
and finds bits and pieces of pipe and planks, which he uses to build a
rickety structure at center stage. He balances precariously as he
makes it climb higher and higher so he can rejoin his "celestial
ladder."
Aerial Frame
Under a panoply of ladders slung high above the stage, acrobats
perform an act that merges aerial disciplines in a mixture of styles
inspired by North Korean acts. To achieve this, four stations are
equipped with suspended swivel chairs to hold porters who catch and
release the artists flying in both directions. Timing is crucial when
flyers perform pirouettes with spectacular spins from one station to
the next.
Hand to Hand
Two acrobats evoke the love of the original couple by performing a
hand to hand act full of sweetness and sensuality. The two artists
create impressive figures and seemingly impossible feats of balance
that require absolute mastery and control.
Aerial Straps Duo
A pair of artists uses aerial straps to evoke their nascent passion,
sometimes using a single strap for synchronized movements, sometimes a
double strap to perform an aerial ballet of seduction, finesse and
elegance.
Choreography III - Fire Dance
After attending the union of Romeo and Zaia, the Sage, who incarnates
an African shaman performs a dance in the dark, twirling a stick that
is lit at both ends. Other dancers and acrobats join in. At the climax
all them are dancing with incandescent objects and then they disappear
into the entrails of the stage.
Trampoline and Double Teeterboard (X-Board)
In a veritable tribute to weightlessness, acrobats present an act
combining two disciplines: Teeterboard and Trampoline. A flurry of
criss-crossing flights, rebounds, daring leaps and jumps takes over
the stage.
CHARACTERS
----------
Zaia
Zaia is the name of the main character, a young girl who dreams of
becoming an astronaut and discovering the mysteries of space. Her
imaginary celestial journey will follow in the footsteps of her
parents and she will encounter love. Her odyssey leads her to take a
fresh look at the beauty of Earth and the humans who live there.
Romeo
Captivated by the innocence of Zaia, Romeo is a young spectator she
meets at the beginning of her voyage. This character will search for
her throughout the story. When they come together at last they will
delight each other in a sensual straps duet.
The Sage
A mysterious ageless character, the Sage embodies the memory,
knowledge and different eras of humanity. He is the archetype of the
ancestor, the first of all ancestors, a kind of bright spot in the
blackness of space. The Sage watches over Zaia.
Clowns
Sensitive and silly, the clowns are the companions of Zaia in this
wonderful adventure. Although they become separated their friendship
will reunite them in the end.
Parents
Zaia's parents, itinerant acrobats on tour in space, passed on to her
their wanderlust and desire for discovery.
The Handyman
A Charlie Chaplin-like character, the Handyman builds a precarious
structure with planks and its pipes. When his shelter collapses,
everyone bands together to save him.
Adam and Eve
This couple represents original,pure, mythical and eternal love. It
is through them that Zaia herself discovers love, a feeling that she
will later share with Romeo.
The Humans
These characters of all ages and all social strata represent the last
people on Earth. Pressed and jostled in their daily lives, they are
equally capable of humor and great impulses of unity.
The Aristos
Characters from another era, the Aristos represent high society and
elegance as they participate in the aerial number.
The Weathervanes
These characters from the Chinese Poles on Globes number represent the
points of the compass.
The Fossils
The ice-encrusted Fossils are silent witnesses to the union between
Adam and Eve.
The Primitives
The Primitives represent the first men who tamed fire and learned to
use it. They include us in their celebration of love and fire.
COSTUMES
--------
A major influence on Dominique Lemieux's costume designs for ZAIA came
from the inventive ensembles and looks that young people are creating
for themselves around the planet.
"In my visual research I was inspired by the urban dress of the
world's cities," she explains. "A new culture has emerged from the
ethnic mix that characterizes the modern city. There's a spontaneous
variety that is reflected in the way today's young people dress. The
ZAIA costumes refer to this eclectic merging of genres."
The ZAIA costumes also reflect and represent the cultural diversity
and differences between groups of characters within the show. For
example, to emphasize the importance of show's "urban" dancers and
differentiate them from the other characters, they are all dressed in
warm colors, while the acrobatic inhabitants of the world of ZAIA are
in more reflective materials, whether they are darker or lighter
colors.
In other scenes, the performers seem to have emerged from a toy box.
Their costumes are decorated with accessories made from recycled
objects: pieces of metal, newsprint, a piece of a fan, a rotary phone,
a compass, a trumpet and so on. Some costumes evoke animals like
coyotes or hyenas, while others recall boats, musical instruments or
airplanes.
This show marks the first time Dominique Lemieux has worked with
polyester fabrics. The light weight of polyester allows for a
technique called sublimation, a technique that fixes designs in the
fibers of the cloth and enables her to use a great diversity of colors.
The central character, the young girl called Zaia, who belongs to the
"urban" world, is the focal point of the color red in the show. Her
partner wears warm earth colors decorated with gold and copper.
Drawn from all cultures, the Sage is an almost god-like character, an
archetype of a wise old ancestor with his long coat and long tresses,
which have gold mixed in with the silver. He is source of shimmering
light in the darkness of the night sky, and has the power to transform
himself into the character of the Shaman, and his Shaman costume
references that of the Sage.
While there is a poetic, allegorical aspect to much of the show, there
is also an aspect of reality and that is reflected in the authenticity
of the golden Astronaut costumes.
In the Adam and Eve hand-to-hand number, the performers wear costumes
dyed in shades of turquoise and skin tones. The garments are like a
second skin, giving the impression that the artists are dressed in
leaves with a texture like ice and crystals.
The Fire Dancers wear skintight skin-colored costumes that are printed
with tattoos, and adorned with leather and metal components.
In the globes and poles number, the costumes are inspired by weather
vanes that indicate the direction of the wind and a variety of
elements such as water, sun and ice.
The two Singers in the show wear spectacular flowing robes of velvet
that have been distressed to reveal different colors of the layers of
materials beneath and studded with bright LED "stars." The singers
also wear spectacular illuminated wigs.
The clowns' costumes contrast with the other characters in the show.
Their outfits are inspired by, among other sources, 18th century
explorers. A patina of worn, patched fabrics gives them an old-
fashioned appearance.
THE THEATRE
-----------
The ZAIA Theatre is reminiscent of ancient architectural telescopes
such as Jaipur in India and the vast stone Mayan observatories of
Central America. It is not a planetarium as such, however it contains
many visual cues and references that add to the show's underlying
theme of cosmic exploration.
In keeping with the primary theme of a journey into space, verticality
is an important component of the show and the theatre was designed
with a higher than 80-ft/24-meter ceiling and the set elements are
intended to recreate the experience of being in space - an experience
that is both mysteriously alien and strangely familiar. This is a
timeless journey from through the stratosphere and beyond, while
keeping an eye on Earth.
THE SET
-------
The proscenium is almost circular, like an oculus (a round window,
sometimes called a "bulls eye") made up of several layers that create
a sense of depth through perspective lines and curves made of bronze
that converge on the single focal point located at the centre of an
enormous sun set against the backdrop, known as the "Star Drop," which
recreates the night sky with 3,000 fiber optic "stars." Designer
Guillaume Lord used a star map to give the Star Drop an accurate
representation of the constellations at the exact location of the
theatre.
When the audience enters the theatre, one of the main set elements, a
gigantic Sphere, appears to be a chandelier and the walls are
illuminated by light sources at ground level, creating the mysterious
effect of a deep dark cavern. When the Sphere is revealed in all its
constantly-changing glory following the opening number, its full scope
and the effect of its trajectory over the heads of the audience is
nothing less than stunning.
PROJECTIONS
-----------
The Sphere houses six projectors that beam images onto its six
segments through a full 360 degrees. The individual projections take
into account the curvature of the Sphere and are stitched together
seamlessly to give the appearance of a series of single images. This
sculptural mosaic transforms into a lantern, a hot air balloon, the
earth and the moon, depending on the requirements of the show.
Some Figures:
o) The theatre has a seating capacity of 1,852.
o) The Proscenium is 88' high and 97' Wide.
o) The 12,221 sq. ft. Star Drop measures 121' x 101'.
o) The polished bronze-plated Sun has a 20' diameter.
o) Above the audience the 48' x 95' Oval Track transports
performers and set elements (such as the 600-lb "ice" blocks)
on 5 chariots that weigh 800 lbs.
o) It takes 30-40 backstage technicians to operate the set.
o) The 25'-diameter Sphere has an aluminum exoskeleton, a
projection surface, weighs 4,000 lbs and moves through three
axes.
{SOURCE: Cirque du Soleil Press Room}
=======================================================================
FROM THE FASCINATION! ARCHIVES
=======================================================================
To celebrate our 60th issue and the culmination of our 7th year,
we've reached into our archives to pull out some of the best of
Fascination. Within you'll find personal reflections, reviews and
overviews of shows, music and television specials. Each of the
seven featured writers at Fascination over the years has their mark
here and we'd like to thank each and every one of them for
contributing their heart and soul. Here's to the next few years!
# # #
-------------------------------------------------------
"Circus Reinvented, Restaged and Rethought"
By: Jen Waldman
{Originally Published: Issue #5 - January 2002}
-------------------------------------------------------
By today's standards, Le Cirque Réinventé (aka We Reinvent
the Circus) is a very simple and plain little show. The costumes
were not fancy and the budget was $200,000, which left the
Cirque penniless, But in 1987, a show like this--a circus
without animals or brass band music--was new, and a great risk.
Early shows by the Cirque du Soleil were unique and lovely
in their own right, but certain aspects of Cirque (such as non-
acrobatic choreography) were not complete yet. Le Cirque
Réinventé was the first Cirque du Soleil show to tour outside
Canada and the first in which all of the basic elements of a
Cirque show were put into place. Several of the performers were
new, but veterans such as Amelie Demay, Faon Shane-Belanger, and
Denis Lacombe also participated.
The show made its first tour in 1987. The first tour stop
outside of Canada was the Los Angeles Festival--a complete
success. Everyone who attended knew that history was being
made, that this was THE show of the festival. Cirque du Soleil
was on the map. This first production of Le Cirque Réinventé had
several acts that echoed earlier productions, such as Balancing
Chairs, a Bicycle act and Denis Lacombe's "Chef d'Orchestra
(Conductor)." It also featured several winners of the "Circus
of Tomorrow" competitions.
Le Cirque Réinventé included the crowd of Ordinary People,
masked Everypeople who opened the show and observed the goings-
on with the same amazement as the audience. As they explored
their strange surroundings, one of these Ordinary People was
transformed into the Ringmaster. The Ringmaster was Michel
Barrette, a veteran of earlier shows. Tango Handbalancers Eric
Varelas and Amelie Demay performed together for a second Cirque
season (interesting note: Amelie was "discovered" by Cirque
people while she was spinning on her head, which seems to me an
excellent way to be discovered). A slack-wire act was performed
by Masha Dimitri-- the only Cirque show to date in which a
slack-wire act appears. Christopher Suszek did a solo on
chair-balancing high above the ground. Two separate bicycle
acts were performed--the "Tower on Wheels," in which many
acrobats did stunts of balance and precision and 15 rode on one
bike all together, and the Zhao family from China displayed
their talents in Trick Cycling. Eight acrobats from different
backgrounds soared through the air for the famed "Penguin
Step" (Korean Plank) number.
Britishers Andrew Watson and Jaqueline Williams quit their
office jobs and first joined Gerry Cottle's Circus (UK), and
then came to the Cirque in which they performed an aerial
Voltige, incorporating several styles of aerial acts. Benny le
Grand (who would later appear in "Mystère") made his first
appearance with Cirque, along with Mexico City native Catitan
Cactus, and Denis Lacombe. Le Cirque Réinventé would be the
last Cirque show in which Denis would perform his Mechanical
Clown, in which he was a robot who discovered the joy of
smashing pies in his face and gargling with soap bubbles, and
Chef d'Orchestra, where he tried to conduct the 1812 overture
from a Walkman that conducted HIM instead.
1988 brought some changes. Michel Barette's Ringmaster
began the show as usual, then transformed into a character
called Ti-Claude, a mystical guide into the world of the show.
The Ordinary People expressed the amazement and wonder echoed in
the audience, but a new addition called the Queen of the Night
(Angela Laurier) drew them into the magical world.
The Chair-Balancing act was performed by several acrobats,
some of them children. In a new act, a juggler (Daniel Le
Bateleur) manipulated five balls at unbelievable speeds. The
notorious Penguins still flipped and twisted through a Yuppie's
workday. The slack-wire act was replaced with a duo on a low
tight-wire, acting out a gentle love story as they danced
across the wire. Denis Lacombe added an "Invisible Man" routine-
-he was beaten up by an unseen assailant. He also performed
Mechanical Clown and Chef d'Orchestra. In addition to Denis
Lacombe and Benny le Grand, punk clown Toniatuh Morales was on
hand to harass the audience at every opportunity.
Angela Laurier, a self-taught contortionist, adopted an
almost-feral attitude as she twisted herself up in knots. Though
not as flexible as some later Cirque contortionists, she moved
from position to position with ease, and was spellbinding to
watch. Eric and Amelie tangoed, Watson and Williams swung though
the air with the greatest of ease, and the Bicycle acrobats did
their Tower routine with an added solo by Luc Tremblay.
The Queen of the Night lead her helpers and others out
into the ring. As Ti-Claude took a bow, the Queen removed his
hat and transformed him back into an Ordinary Person. However,
as the colorful Queen exits, he realizes that he is still
holding his hat--perhaps the shape of his Destiny. Perhaps
it is the shape of our own...
1989: The year the author of this article started 6th
grade, the year the local McDonald's moved across the
street...the year Denis Lacombe did NOT appear in Le Cirque
Réinventé. All right, so maybe only one of these is really worthy
of note. (Not 6th grade, I hated 6th grade.) For many people,
Denis Lacombe's crazy conducting was a signature act of Cirque,
and its departure was sorely missed. But by replacing some older,
well-known acts with new performances, Cirque was already showing
its willingness to reinvent itself-- even on the road.
The show began with the now-familiar but always magical
Opening with the Everypeople and the Queen of the Night (Angela
Laurier). Michel Barette was picked from the Everypeople to
become the Ringmaster, the children cavorted, and then--
Four acrobat balanced precariously on the Chairs, not
seeming to mind that the tower of chairs grew higher and higher.
An old favorite, and most welcome once again.
The tightrope duo left the show, so now Fil de Fer was a
solo act performed by a lovely young lady called Pasqualina. Her
tightrope act was very prop-heavy--she made use of everything
from hoops to umbrellas!
Next came an act called Acrobatic Dance, which had a strong
base in rhythmic gymnastics. Two girls danced, "flared to the
beats of their hearts" as the program said, all the while using
ribbons to illustrate pretty patterns in the air.
Another new-to-Réinventé act was the Rola Bola, performed
by four young Chinese men. This Rola Bola act involved Acrobatics
with Dishes; as the performers maintained their balance,
sometimes in nerve-wracking positions, they also flipped bowls
onto the tops of their heads. The world's restaurants should have
waiters that dexterous!
The Bicycles were back, only Luc Tremblay stepped
(wheeled?) down as the soloist. He was replaced by Angelo T.
Ballan, who was equally proficient in the art of trick cycling.
Eric Varelas and Amelie Demay were on hand once again to
perform their Handbalancing skills to the Tango beat. Apparently
they fought a lot over the creative aspects of the act, but you
would never guess it from their harmony onstage.
Juggling was now performed by Frederic Zipperlin. This act
included some manipulation/contact juggling, as one of his feats
was to maneuver five balls into one line on his back.
The Penguin Stompers (Korean Plank) were on hand to spread
the mayhem and madness that occurs when you put yuppie penguins on
a teeterboard. Antarctic scientists really ought to look into
this.
The British duo of Watson and Williams were gone, and in
their place was a traditional trapeze act performed by five
acrobats in pink and blue costumes. Aside from the costumes, it
sounds like a forerunner to the Trapeze act in Nouvelle
Expérience.
Now you're probably wondering about the Clowns, since Denis
Lacombe and Toniatuh Morales had left. Benny le Grand, the
wonderful old clown who would later join Mystère, was once again
on hand to bother the Ringmaster and harass the audience. He was
joined by Balthazar, who would join La Nouba. These two spread
cheer, sarcasm, and madcap tomfoolery all around. Presumably,
Balthazar was a competent replacement for Lacombe and Morales.
As the show came to an end (oh, darn) the Ringmaster became
a plain old Everyman again, and thought that perhaps the
spectacle he'd just witnessed was a dream. But then...why was he
still holding that tall blue hat?
In 1990, Le Cirque Réinventé became the first Cirque show
to travel off the continent of North America. In 1992, it became
the first and only Cirque show to include animal acts when it
paired up with Switzerland's Cirque Knie for a 60-stop tour.
By the way, the local McDonald's got a playplace. I
survived 6th grade and graduated college. And Cirque du Soleil
produced thirteen successful shows and has another in the works.
As long as Cirque keeps reinventing, the everypeople will keep
watching. And perhaps we'll feel as though we too could soar
through the air in a pink and blue costume. Or perhaps some of us
will wear the tall blue hat.
-------------------------------------------------------
"From One Dream to Another - Quidam"
By: T. Clay Buck
{Originally Published: Issue #7 - March 2002}
-------------------------------------------------------
By the Summer of 1998 I had seen Mystère twice and one
earlier Cirque du Soleil show on a very poor quality VHS tape (it
was so bad, I'm not even sure what show it was). So, when
posters and newspaper ads began going up all over the city of
Chicago announcing the arrival of Quidam, I was on the phone
immediately to purchase tickets. Quidam opened July 22, 1998 in
the parking lot of the United Center on Chicago's west side -
under the shadow and watchful gaze of a statue to Michael Jordan.
I was fortunate to see it three times that Summer, and am still
in absolute awe of the production. Having seen Mystère, I
thought I knew Cirque du Soleil, but nothing compares to that
first encounter underneath Le Chapiteau.
Quidam marks Cirque du Soleil's ninth production and
premiered in Montreal on April 23, 1996. In the words of Franco
Dragone, the show's director, it "casts light on our frailty and
angst at the dawn of a new century." One assumes that somewhere
during the creation of Quidam the concept and preliminary
planning for "O" was somewhere in the back of Dragone's mind - or
even in the very forefront. But, at least for the time being,
Quidam marks the last collaboration of the quintessential Cirque
team on a touring production. With Franco Dragone at the helm as
Director and Author, it once again brought together the talents
of Choreographer Debra Brown, Costume Designer Dominique Lemieux,
Lighting Designer Luc LaFortune, Composer Benoit Jutras, and Set
Designer Michel Crete all led by their Guide, Guy LaLiberte and
Director of Creation Gille Ste-Croix.
Quidam, too, in my mind, marks a major turning point in the
realization of Cirque productions. From Le Cirque Réinventé
through Alegría - and for the sake of this discussion, I refer
only to touring productions - this creative team had been
building up to the perfection of its concept of combining its
incredible circus arts into a complete sensory experience - the
co-mingling of lights, sounds, and visuals to tell a complete
story thematically unified. Of all of Cirque's productions,
Quidam probably accomplishes this feat most effectively. At
least in my humble opinion.
According to the shows program, the word "Quidam" comes
from the Latin and signifies "a nameless passerby, a solitary
figure lingering on a street corner, a person rushing past, a
person who lives lost amidst the crowd in an all-too-anonymous
society." And while the Quidam of the story could be interpreted
as its main character, the young girl, the audience leaves
believing that, even though they themselves may be the "Quidam"
in this Everyman story, there is hope, joy, and a world in
which the impossible does exist.
Quidam tells the story of a young girl - initially
portrayed by Audrey Brison-Jutras, daughter of composer Benoit
Jutras - who lives in a drab world, completely bored, and ignored
by her parents. A mystical creature enters her life and introduces
her to two guides who carry her through a fantastical world of
sight and sound until she is reunited with her family, realizing
that the world is a beautiful, terrifying place after all.
In typical Cirque du Soleil fashion, the show begins while
the audience is still gathering. Our guide for the evening,
"John," greets the audience as they come through the door,
playing with their hair, stealing their tickets, eating their
popcorn, and generally causing a nuisance. He is followed by a
troupe of characters dressed head-to-toe in white, hooded suits.
Of course this group picks an unwilling volunteer from the
audience, takes him backstage and brings him out dressed as one of
them. John harasses him a little and sends him back to his
seat. As the house lights go dim, John takes the stage and plays
snippets of songs on an old transistor radio - snippets of songs
from previous Cirque productions, at which he sneers and turns up
his nose. He reads us our instructions for the evening - no
smoking, no pictures, and the like - and then leads us through
this incredible story for the next two hours.
The show opens on the young girl at home with her parents
seated in typical family pose. The father reads the paper, the
mother stares vacantly into space, Audrey tries to entertain
herself and engage her parents. A knock at the door brings a
character straight from a Magritte painting - a headless man, a
Quidam, carrying an umbrella, who drops his hat in the center of
this family scene. Thunder rolls, lightning flashes, and the
family is carried away in one of the most amazing feats to occur
under the Big Top. The entire ceiling of the tent is covered in
a track that lifts characters and set pieces to the stage
and carries them off. In blissful ignorance, the parents are
carried off still in their chairs, seemingly unaware of what is
taking place around them.
At the same time, our young heroine's guides to this
fantastical world are introduced - John, who we have already met,
and hilariously portrayed originally by American comedian John
Gilkey, and Fritz, an always-smiling, impish character brought
to life by Austrian Karl Baumann. These two cohorts carry
the young girl through adventure after adventure, beginning
with the phenomenal German Wheel act by Chris Lashua. The
Wheel rolls into place in what was the living room, and Lashua
carries it through a series of rolls, twists, and turns that
defy explanation. It flips from side to side, and returns to
a straight vertical. It rolls across the stage at dizzying
speeds. Lashua guides this huge apparatus through varying
tricks in a display of athleticism unlike anything seen before
- some even with his hands held calmly behind his back.
What is also incredibly unique and well-done in Quidam is
the transitions between the acts. Each act follows one after the
other, yet the interludes between each one continue the through-
line of the story. Each performer in the troupe plays many
different roles throughout the show, helping to tell the story
and further it along. I saw the show three times during its
Chicago run, and each time the acts were placed in different
sequence - on some occasions a certain act would be left out
completely and replaced by another, a typical occurrence during
the touring shows. Each time, though, the transitions were
flawless and continued the through-line in a perfect way. (For
this article, I am using the order of the acts as they are
presented in the video, filmed in Amsterdam, which is my memory
of the first time I saw it. Some of the performers had
changed, but the acts were still the same).
As the acts progress, the Quidam's world becomes more
fantastical, more chaotic, and more beautiful. After the German
Wheel rolls off, the troupe returns to the stage running,
leaping, dancing across it with the young girl, Audrey, taking in
all she can. Her parents appear, still in oblivion, her father
with his head pushed through the newspaper lost in the confusion.
Performers traverse the stage in a chorus of Audrey look-alikes,
teasing her and John alike, while the remainder of the troupe
come on with varying sizes of drums - from small, tinny snare
drums to the large, thundering taïko drums, now an essential part
of any Cirque production.
Through this group come the four young girls carrying their
Diabolos who perform a quartet of juggling by tossing them
across the revolving stage, forming pyramids and seeming-
impossible uses of the ropes and spinning tops. In one of the
most beautiful uses of the stage, at the end of the act, the four
girls spin their tops up ropes hanging from the ceiling of the
tent, from which drop in synchronization streamers of white and
blue.
As they run off, again our troupe of performers comes
through as we watch the Father traverse the tent suspended from
the giant track, seemingly walking on air. I recently watched
the video again, and while this particular segment appears there,
it can't compare to what it looks like live. As our eyes gaze
toward the top of the tent, a cocoon of red silk comes from behind
the orchestra at the front, and the amazingly beautiful Isabelle
Chassé performs the Aerial Contortion in Silk. To the best of my
knowledge, this act had never been performed in a Cirque du
Soleil show previously. For everyone in Chicago who had seen the
show, this became the penultimate act of the evening. Not only
is it an athletically astonishing act, but in context it was so
hauntingly beautiful, performed to "Let Me Fall" from the
soundtrack, but sung in Cirquish language. This act has been
used again by Cirque in various forms, particularly in Dralion
(jaded Chicagoans responded with, "Oh, we saw that three years
ago"), but was particularly stunning in the red silk of Quidam.
As a trio of Mother look-alikes, all dressed in red, come
to carry Isablle off after her performance, they are followed by
the remainder of the troupe who begin the languid Skipping Ropes
section - at first a simple display of athletic prowess, led by
soloist Renee Bibaud - then morphing into an eclectic, energetic
display of skill and timing as the entire troupe performs
together. The video shows a nice shot from the ceiling of the
tent in an almost Busby Burklee display of symmetry.
The Skipping Ropes were followed by the Aerial Hoops. I
remember this being the most terrifying, dizzying act of the
performance. The hoops, suspended from the overhead track, whirl
in a blur as the trio of performers manipulate and climb over
them. With intense synchronization and precision the performers
twirl the hoops and stop them on cue, using the air and the stage
to propel them around. I remember hearing after Quidam had left
Chicago and moved on to Atlanta that one of the performers had
fallen during the show. She was back on within two or three
days.
Following the Aerial Hoops came the Handbalancing act,
performed by Olga Pikhienko. Elevated on a small platform and
carried by the ever-revolving stage, she tackles pose
after pose on the delicate poles in an ever-increasing display of
difficulty. This was one of the most typical "circus" acts in
Quidam, but was also one of the most virtuoso performances.
After her leaving the stage, our guide John returns in his
hilarious display of marksmanship with a set of darts. He wears
a target on his head and tosses darts in the air to land on the
target. Of course he misses, to our great amusement, and leaves
the stage in a howl of agony as the overhead track brings a
series of ropes onto the stage, each with a performer attached,
high over our heads.
And thus begins the incredible Spanish Web act, with
acrobats climbing up and down the ropes, tying them around their
bodies and flying through the air. In the live performance, the
climax of this act was the character of Fritz, constantly wanting
to be involved and meeting everything with a smile, climbing the
ropes as the porter on the ground begins to spin the rope. Fritz
flies off, attached to the main rope only by his ankle, flying
and laughing hilariously over heads. Additionally, the character
of the Father was a principal soloist in the Spanish Webs act,
portrayed by Daniel Touchette. He was the one who originally
tied the rope in many loops around his body, ultimately letting
it roll him precariously down to the ground. As a part of the
story, this act began the transformation of the Father character
into a more open, carefree person.
After the Spanish Webs have left the stage, our friend John
returns and performs the bit that got him noticed by Cirque du
Soleil in the first place. According to him, he had been begging
Cirque du Soleil to hire him for years, but to no avail (More
information about him is available at www.JohnGilkey.com). John
performs a fun juggling act with a ball and a hat stand to the
incomparable singer Yma Sumac's "Gopher." It is a light-hearted
moment of frivolity and fun in this crazy mixed-up world of
Quidam.
A recurring element of Quidam is the nameless, faceless,
ubiquitous characters dressed from head to toe in white
medical-looking suits. These characters come in and out of the
show, as they had participated with John at the very beginning,
in various ways. After John leaves the stage they come rolling
out in a group, form a clump in the middle and out of their midst
come the next two performers, Yves Decoste and Marie-Laure
Mesnage, to do the Statue or Vis Versa act. Reminiscent of
similar acts in other Cirque shows, this duo balancing act is a
Cirque trademark, particularly beautiful in Quidam as a
counterpoint to some of the more frantic performances. It is
slow and languid and displays the great strength and
concentration it takes to perform it. It was designed by Yves
Decoste especially for Cirque du Soleil. It also is one of the
first times we see equal strength between male and female. In
many cases, this act is performed by two men supporting each
other, but the Quidam act shows equal strength between the
different genders.
Another unique act to Quidam follows with the Cloud Swing
performed by Petra Sprecher of Switzerland. It is essentially a
trapeze of rope, there is no solid bar in the middle, and Petra
uses it in much the same way. It is a much more 'violent'
performance than that of the Vis-Versa, and plays an important
counterpoint to the slower elements of the show. At one extended
point of the swing, Petra seemingly falls off the trapeze,
attached only by a small guide-wire to her leg. But from the
audience's perspective it looks like she's falling off
completely. She regains her balance and continues flawlessly.
The final act of Quidam is the Banquine, an incredible
balancing and acrobatic act involving the whole troupe. They
toss each other madly about the stage forming towers of four
people high, and in daring jumps from one group to the other,
landing on only the joined hands of the porter. This performance
was also used in Cirque's IMAX Journey of Man film. It is,
perhaps, the signature act of Quidam and features performances
completely unlike anything else. It of course leads to the
resolution of the show, with Audrey uniting with her joyful
parents. The Quidam appears again and takes back his hat,
proving that the magical world is really the world we live in and
that all these fantastic experiences are part of it as well.
Quidam has undergone many changes in its six-year history -
performers have come and gone, acts have been replaced time and
again, clowns have left and come back and left again. John
Gilkey left the European tour for a time and even did a stint in
Dralion - oddly enough while the show was playing Chicago. Karl
left and rumor has it may return for the new North American Tour.
Many others have contributed to this phenomenal production, and
it is certainly a great pleasure that North American audiences
will once again get to experience Quidam.
Perhaps the show is best summed up in the words of the
title song from the Soundtrack - "There's nothing left, there's
nothing right, there's nothing wrong. I'm one, I'm two, I'm all
yet none of you. The truth, the lies, the tear, the laughter,
the hand and the empty touch. Here I am, alone, waiting for the
curtain call."
-------------------------------------------------------
"Barock Odyssey"
By: Paul Roberts - Hamilton, Ohio (USA)
{Originally Published: Issue #8 - April 2002}
-------------------------------------------------------
The first time I watched the "Saltimbanco" video, I felt somewhat
disappointed. At the time I had seen "Mystère" live and the "Quidam"
video and initially felt that "Saltimbanco" lacked something. The
music, however, absolutely knocked me over.
"Saltimbanco" is the longest running current Cirque show and still a
favorite of many fans. Developed in 1992, Cirque du Soleil's creative
team took another step further from previous shows by casting Francine
Poitras as the first vocalist to play an important role. She not only
provided her splendid operatic voice, she also developed a frolicking
character that meshed with the show's acts. Francine left
"Saltimbanco" to become the vocalist for the "Free Willy 3" movie
soundtrack in 1997 and hopefully is still displaying her talent
somewhere.
The live band also included changes to Cirque du Soleil's at-the-time
limited tradition. Instead of a salvo of electronic keyboards, the
lineup of percussion, keys, bass, guitar, and saxophone created a crew
that jammed like no other. Normally Cirque du Soleil musicians as a
whole are known as an orchestra, however, for "Saltimbanco" this
lineup of traditional instruments could be classified as a
progressive-rock band.
The musicians shine with improvisations and for the first time a lead
guitar is very dominant, and original live guitarist, Yvonne Caultier,
provided some of the tastiest guitar chops I have ever heard. I
compare him to one of the finest guitarists in the world, Steve Morse,
with several styles and leads that are not only lightning fast, but
also very melodic. Prior soundtracks had included only limited guitar
usage, but in "Saltimbanco" the semi-sterile synthesizer dominance of
the past had been replaced by the harder-edge guitar. And thus, let
the rock show begin...
The Baron recites the spoken word "Rideau," that begins with piano and
then crescendos into a full-band triumph. The powerful ending entices
the curtain opening as a bell tolls signaling the entrance of The
Worms to slither to the melodic song "Kumbalawé." A welcoming theme
sung by the cast.
The first act is a beautiful contortion scene involving a
representation of mother, father, and child that is called the Adagio.
The song, with the same name as the act, features a haunting melody
line backed by fretless bass and melancholy saxophone with a chorus
that includes a memorable classical guitar line. The child then climbs
into a large air-filled chair and grows older leading to the exciting
act of Chinese Poles.
The shuffling beat to the title track, "Saltimbanco" provides a
majestic rhythm for the pole climbers and jumpers. This instrumental
is just a preview of what is to come throughout the show as several
improvised solos are provided from the musicians. Saxophone and
distorted guitar play the major theme as interruptions of instrument
solos are choreographed with the artists' exploitations. A Taïko drum
introduces the next act and songs.
Although separate songs on the CD, "Kazé" and "Norweg" are
interestingly combined during the Double Wire act. "Kazé" is a subtle
piece with synthesizer flute and a rich melody that continues
throughout. A basic 4/4 drum pattern is laced with a kalimba-like
sound and a choir "ah" sound from the keyboards. The subtlety ends and
"Norweg" kicks in with a moving bass line that is reminiscent of a
1950's-like chord progression. During the intense moments of the high
wire artist's jumps from wire to wire, the song evolves into a
keyboard-fingered triplet section in a 6/8 time signature. As the
audience breathes a sigh of relief following the artist's successful
performance, "Kazé" is revisited to calm things down, then
"Saltimbanco" enters into a world of fantasy.
As a set-up act, The Sleeper experiences a dream sequence featuring a
parade of characters. The music includes backward-masking guitar
patches, echoing saxophone runs, dreamy synthesizer chords, and
improvised fretless bass riffs, while the singer continues with the
melody line from "Kazé". This short piece has a chilling effect that
haunts The Sleeper. As he awakes the sequence segues into a high-
spirited percussion attack that introduces the Juggling act
accompanied by "Arlequin."
"Arlequin" is absolutely Cirque du Soleil's jazziest tune and all the
musicians get to show off their improvised talents. Each member of the
band has a solo with the highlight of the song being a frenzied trade-
off between guitar and saxophone. The jazz theme incorporated by an
alto and baritone (synthesizer) sax combo bounces in unison with the
juggler's multitude of balls. Groovin', Man!
The blissful theme of "Arlequin" ends with a drastic dynamic evolution
as "Death" makes an ominous appearance to set up the next act. The
theme during this transition is dark and could easily be incorporated
into "The Phantom of the Opera." A drone synthesizer note fills the
darkness until a frantic barrage of random sequencer notes introduces
the following act: Bolas.
The accompaniment to the Boleadoras Flamenco act incorporates a
percussion contraption that looks like some sort of bizarre octopus.
This assortment of synthesized drums includes MIDI (Musical Instrument
Digital Interface) connections that allow the percussionist to play
various patches that enhance the performers' bolas and tap shoes as
they strike the miked stage. The Bola Girls dance and twirl and the
pace becomes so intense that the bola balls appear to be flying off of
their strings as the percussionist seems to grow several arms to keep
up with the multitude of drum strikes.
Following the Bolas, The Baron slows down the pace as he steps onto
another miked stage to perform a tap dance with percussion providing a
tribal beat. As he dances and swings his white and black-striped cape
he groans and screams an evil version of "Rideau" sounding as if he
were alone in a vast cavern. When he completes his dance, a straight
drum beat signals the beginning of one of Cirque du Soleil's most
rocking songs, appropriately titled "Barock."
"Barock" accompanies the energetic Russian Swing act and is another
instrumental that features a myriad of instrumental ad-libbing. A
descending guitar riff travels through most of the upbeat song as
various instruments provide tasty solos. In the middle, however, the
band quiets down to enhance the intensity of setting up for a flyer to
land atop a chaired pole. With the safe landing, the tune then returns
to its vigorous theme. During "Barock" the band appears to be having a
lot of fun as they are seen dancing around like rock stars.
Afterwards, comic relief is in store to be followed by the incredible
double trapeze act.
"Amazonia" is one of my favorite Cirque du Soleil songs. While
accompanying the dual trapeze act, this piece goes through a multitude
of time signatures and dynamics. The beginning includes Taïko drums
beating to synthesizer sequences behind the vocalist's spoken-word in
the famous Cirque du Soleil imaginary language. A bass guitar
interrupts the intro and begins a steady pattern of full-band
classical-like chord progressions. The climax of the song occurs when
the one of the trapeze twins slides down the other twin's legs to be
caught by her feet. Like the amazing routine, the high note hit by the
vocalist is spine-tingling. And as the trapeze twins take their bow,
the band plays a reprise of this wonderful song.
Morphing into a pulsating synth bass line, "Urgence" provides a
perfect backdrop for the Hand-to-Hand act of two strongmen, originally
performed by the Lorodor Brothers, now of "Mystère" fame. A great
representation of the bandleader's duties is represented in the video
by keyboardist, Bridgette LaRouche. After several hand-to-hand
movements, Paulo attempts to raise a hand-standing Marco by his feet,
which is the climax of the act and thus the music rises to the
occasion. However, Paulo has difficulty in raising Marco and has to
give up momentarily. Bridgette notices this and directs the band to
soften the song until he triumphantly raises his brother in the air.
Then on cue, the music's chord pattern ascends with Paulo's legs.
During their bow, Paulo expresses pain in his face. And to think they
do this twice a night, five nights a week.
The passionate side of "Saltimbanco" now ensues as one of Cirque du
Soleil's most operatic songs "Il sogno di volare," compliments the
beautiful Bungee Ballet. Franco Dragone wrote the lyrics and, as the
flyers take to the air, a string ensemble escorts a soaring melody
line. When the bungee artists descend, a sorrowful ambiance ensues.
The end is near.
To celebrate another successful show, all the performers gather on
stage and take turns flying and flinging on the bungee cords. Some
grab acrobats by the feet and sling-shot them so hard that they soar
to the top of the tent. The band plays a quirky little song that
embellishes the jovial mood, but with a sudden snap of the snare drum
the finale arrives.
Cirque du Soleil is known for rearranging live songs from the studio
versions, but the closing song, "Horéré Ukundé", has one of the most
distinctive changes. On the soundtrack this song is played with a slow
4/4 time signature; live, however, it is played to an upbeat 2/4
signature that almost seems rushed. This song includes some of the
most interesting imaginary lyrics with words like "qwu-eggy" and "mah-
leggy" that rolls off the vocalist's tongue. Maybe Cirque du Soleil
could just create a universal language for all to speak.
And...the bell tolls once again. The performers wave goodbye to the
admiring crowd.
On the soundtrack CD (RCA Victor/BMG Catalog #: 09026-61486-2), there
is a beautiful piece titled "Pokinoï" that as far as I know has been
never used live. Why? This song includes a wonderful staccato-string
accompaniment to Francine's operatic melody line and a heavenly choir
fills out the song's chorus.
The Japanese version of the CD (BMG/RCA Catalog #:BVCF-31076 74321-
82877-2) also includes two live cuts: "Adagio" and "Arlequin." Even
though the CD's liner notes gives no musician credits, I'm fairly
certain that it is close to the same line-up as on the video and I un-
mistakenly know that Mr. Caultier is playing the guitar. But, as a
side note, the live cuts on the Japanese CD are not the same as the
Saltimbanco video.
" 'Saltimbanco', at first was going to be a rock show...baroque rock.
Rock baroque," said an subtitled Franco Dragone on the Baroque Odyssey
video, "but in the end, the show, instead of rock stayed baroque, but
became tender. In a way, it was inevitable. The cast members were
sensitive types. I tried to turn them into rockers...heavy metal...but
they remained sensitive."
The second time I viewed the tape, I seized the emotion of the
complete show. There is a special energy in "Saltimbanco", but the
sensitive passion that Franco found in the performers has allowed the
show to stand the test of time and I hope to someday actually
experience "Saltimbanco" live.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within"
By: Wayne Leung - Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)
{Originally Published: Issues #14-17 - October 2002
through January 2003}
-------------------------------------------------------
PART 1: "A GREAT FIRE MAY FOLLOW A TINY SPARK"
***********************************************
Anyone who's ever attended a Cirque du Soleil performance, after
recovering from the initial overwhelming awe and wonder, must have
wondered about the complex creation process involved. They may also
have wondered about the seemingly otherworldly people behind the
magnificent performances and magical characters created on stage. For
fans and newbies alike Cirque du Soleil has created a 13-episode
documentary miniseries entitled "Fire Within" that will provide an in-
depth exploration of the creation of a new show, in this case their
latest touring production, Varekai.
Fire Within debuted in Canada on Sunday, September 15, 2002 and can be
seen each Sunday on the Global Television Network. The series is
produced by Cirque du Soleil Images and Galafilm. Fire Within is
written and directed by Lewis Cohen. Executive Producer credits go to
Arnie Gelbart, Marie Côté and Vincent Gagné. Running time per episode
is approximately 22 minutes without commercials.
Each episode begins with a flashy title sequence set, fittingly
enough, to the musical piece "Icare" from Alegría. The titles
introduce the performers we will meet over the course of the series;
Oleg (Acrobatic Pas de Deux), Stella (Triple Trapeze), Olga (Hand-
balancing on Canes), Raquel (Triple Trapeze), Ashley and Gareth
(Icarian Games), Kevin and Andrew (Aerial Straps).
After viewing the first episode what struck me most about this series
was how personal it was. The creation of Varekai serves only as a
backdrop, the real focus is on the performers' human drama. The series
follows their struggles, their challenges, their triumphs, and their
lives, and tells their stories in an honest and surprisingly personal
manner.
The series' frank and candid approach is riveting. It shatters the
illusion that the people at Cirque du Soleil are somehow super-human.
We find out that they deal with everyday issues like all of us.
Everything doesn't always go perfectly at Cirque and this series
doesn't shy away from showing us the grittier side of the company that
we've never seen before.
I now invite you on a journey as we explore the episodes of this
groundbreaking new series and search for the fire within.
Episodes 1 & 2 (One hour series premier)
----------------------------------------
The first episode begins on Varekai's opening night in April 2002. We
see the Grand Chapiteau in the Old Port of Montreal, clips from the
show and some backstage shots. Director Dominic Champagne gives the
performers a pre-show pep-talk; "Give your soul to touch their hearts,
that's what we have to do". Then we flash back nine months to the
artists' initial arrival in Montreal. An exciting but tense
atmosphere is established right from the onset; the viewer is made
aware that it is up to the artists to either make it or break it.
"Not all who started on the journey made it to the end," the narration
informs. We witness the performers meeting each other for the first
time and moving in to the Cirque du Soleil residences in Montreal.
This scene is reminiscent of my first time moving into residence at
university and conjures the same feelings of excitement and
anticipation mixed with a heavy dose of anxiety.
Throughout the episode we follow the artists as they venture through
the creation process at Cirque du Soleil. Studio Director Bernard
Petiot warns them, "We're not going to avoid complexity. We all
accept that it's not clear. That's your reality and that's our
reality". We sit in on various workshops; "movement training" a
dance/movement improvisation class, a rhythm and percussion workshop,
and a characterization workshop lead by Director Dominic Champagne.
We also get to come along on a weekend social outing as the artists
unwind after an arduous week of the Cirque du Soleil regime and sing a
version of the B-52's "Love Shack" in a karaoke bar.
Where Fire Within really soars is in telling the personal stories of
the people behind a Cirque du Soleil show. In this episode we are
introduced to several individuals, each struggling to discover or
rediscover his/her place within the Cirque du Soleil dynamic.
We meet Stella Umeh, a Toronto gymnast and Canadian Olympian ready to
become an artist as she ventures into new challenges and unchartered
waters at Cirque du Soleil. "I'm apparently signed on for a trapeze
number with five other girls and something called 'Body Skate', so
that's all I know," she tells her mother. We later find out that
although she is a talented gymnast, Stella has never performed on a
trapeze.
Raquel Karro Oliveira is one of Stella's performing partners. She
hails from Brazil and is a seasoned trapeze artist. She is trying to
deal with the strain of being away from her boyfriend.
Raquel and Stella are introduced to a brand new apparatus that Cirque
has created called the "multiple-trapeze". They both look at it with
what seems to be a combination of wonder and intimidation. The
multiple-trapeze is a large, rigid, cage-like structure that looks
like several trapezes fused together. It resembles a playground
jungle-gym that's been suspended in mid-air. This awkward new
structure proves difficult to work with.
We're introduced to Oleg Ouchakov, a veteran Cirque du Soleil
performer from Russia. We learn that he has dreamt of being a dancer
all his life and is now working to make the transition from acrobat
to dancer. Oleg has been on the road with circuses for the past nine
years and although his experience gains him much respect and
admiration amongst his peers he must still face the challenge of
breaking out of the old circus mold and working to create something
original while adapting to the style of a new creative team. At one
point during a characterization workshop Director Dominic Champagne
critiques Oleg's movement style and urges him to innovate, "It's a
little too 'Cirque du Soleil' for my taste. It's been seen so much,
you could be the poster you know. I would like you to surprise me a
little more."
The first non-performer we meet is Michel Laprise, a Cirque du Soleil
talent scout who is in charge of finding singers for the new show.
When auditions in Montreal and Toronto fail to find the required
talent he forges onward with an audition in New York City. His job is
made doubly difficult by the fact that the show's creators do not
exactly know what kind of singers they are looking for. The New York
audition produces one candidate, a woman with a powerful, gospel-style
voice. Michel presents a video tape of the audition to the creators
who reject the singer outright. Although his search is once again
fruitless he now has a better sense of what the show creators are
looking for. His search proceeds to Sofia, Bulgaria where he
auditions a slew of talented singers who can sing in the gypsy style.
He eventually winds up in Paris for yet another set of auditions. But
by the end of the Paris auditions he still has not found any suitable
singers. Time is getting critical and Michel's situation is urgent.
We are also introduced to Kevin and Andrew Atherton, of Manchester,
England. Andrew and Kevin are identical twins, both are champions
of the British National Gymnastics team. They meet with aerial
acrobatics coach André Simard on their first day and proceed to
rehearse their duo aerial straps number. Their act is already very
polished and impressive early on and they are promised their own act
in the show. Director of Creation Andrew Watson remarks how the
twins aesthetic produced a very "interesting image". Even in the very
early stages of rehearsal without lights, costumes, music or set the
act is already breathtaking and the magic is apparent. Their act puts
the twins at the head of the troupe, which could leave them
susceptible to the pressures and possible jealousy that entails.
Finally, we meet Ashley Beaver and Gareth Hopkins, performing partners
from London, England. At 21, Gareth is one of the youngest members of
the troupe and is away from his North London home for the first time.
Ashley and Gareth train with coaches Pedro and Adrian to learn Icarian
Games (foot-juggling), an ancient and rare circus tradition which is
to be a center piece for the new show. Their progress is slow and
difficult. The first day, Gareth attempts to land his buttocks on an
inverted Ashley's feet (the starting position for Icarian Games) but
instead lands on his "family jewels". Their progress continues to be
slow and agonizing throughout the first few weeks, and we experience
their frustration.
Gareth finds the Cirque du Soleil regiment to be suffocating. He is
at times temperamental and argumentative. Gareth's progress is also
hindered by his preoccupation with personal matters. In a poignant
moment he shares with us that his mother had been diagnosed with
cancer before he left and had to undergo an operation. He also
explains that his father left their family during his mother's illness
and he harbors much bitterness towards him. We begin to understand
that Gareth's personal demons are keeping him from succeeding at
Cirque. He is withdrawn from most of the troupe and refuses to be a
team player. The coaching staff holds a meeting and issues Gareth an
ultimatum; either adapt to Cirque or leave the show. At the end of
the episode Gareth is at a crossroads, he must decide whether he wants
to stay with Cirque or give it up. He takes a sabbatical and
returns home to Britain in order to see his family and to make his
decision. Meanwhile, we see Ashley beginning to rehearse the Icarian
Games with a new partner, Darren.
Episode 3: "The Rise and Fall of the Trapeze"
---------------------------------------------
("Guy Laliberte, creative guide for the show, reviews the planned
trapeze act." - TV Guide)
This installment of Fire Within centers around the first performance
of the budding new show for Cirque du Soleil President and Co-founder,
Guy Laliberté, who acts as a guide for the creators and cast. The
episode mainly deals with the performers' anxiety leading up to, and
the fallout from, Laliberté's visit.
The end of Episode 2 saw Gareth returning home in frustration after
several grueling weeks at Cirque. Gareth surprises everybody
(including himself) when he returns to Montreal and to Cirque du
Soleil. The two weeks he spent at home with his ailing mother, his
family and friends was the refresher he needed and he returns with a
greater inner peace and a willingness to work to make it into the
show. He credits his decision to "smart thinking", saying that if he
had stayed home he probably would have eventually gotten into trouble
and possibly ended up in prison. He now regards Cirque as his
personal high road.
Oleg throws a party to celebrate Gareth's return. Darren flips
through Oleg's photo albums and shows us pictures from Oleg's Quidam
days, posing backstage with celebrities such as Pamela Anderson and
Sharon Stone.
Meanwhile, the main buzz amongst the performers is their pending
progress review by Guy Laliberté. We encounter the nervous performers
on the day of the presentation. Oleg compares the stress and anxiety
of being judged and having his performance evaluated to that he
experienced as a competitive athlete.
As expected, the Atherton twins' Duo Aerial Straps number fares well
in the evaluation. Although, unbeknownst to the twins, the creative
team wants to change the number. Cirque's previous show, Dralion, was
lambasted in the Canadian press for its lack of innovation and minimal
originality, the local media fearing that Cirque may have reached the
peak of its creative potential. This was no doubt a prevalent thought
in the mind of Director of Creation, Andrew Watson, "If we could end
up with a strap act that didn't look like the hundred strap acts that
we've all seen then I'd be a happy man", he admits. The creators hope
to give a new spin to Aerial Straps and decide to pair the twins with
hip hop choreographer Bill Shannon.
Bill Shannon is an innovative dancer who turned his debilitative hip
condition and his reliance on crutches into a new form of dance. He's
taught this technique to cast members for a group dance act. Upon
review, Bill is told by Guy Laliberté that what touched him most about
the number in the first place was the "intimate moments" created by a
solo crutch dancer. The act will be changed.
As for creating new choreography for the Aerial Straps, the twins have
a hard time working with Bill since he is from the world of hip hop
music and break dancing and they are from the conservative world of
competitive gymnastics. Their working styles clash and the twins
become increasingly agitated. Bill works with the reluctant brothers
and reinvents the originally graceful and balletic strap act as a fast
and furious powerhouse reminiscent of skateboarding tricks, break
dance and extreme sports. The twins dislike the change and are
uncomfortable presenting the act to the creative team, "We were told
we have a presentation [for the creative team] and I'm embarrassed
totally to go out there and present something that I don't like and I
know we're not going to like it," one of the twins confesses. The
Athertons are surprised when the creative team loves the new
choreography. "It has good energy," said Director Dominic Champagne.
Like it or not the twins will continue to work with the hip hop
virtuoso.
Guy Laliberté's harshest criticism goes to the multiple-trapeze act
featuring Stella, Raquel and four other girls performing slides and
poses on the awkward cage structure. Upon first viewing it's obvious
that Guy is beyond dissatisfied with how the act has progressed, "I
don't like the act at all. We never see their full bodies. The
structure looks like a pile of scrap metal." Then, semi-
apologetically to André Simard the apparatus and act designer, "I'm
sorry, sometimes you're brilliant but I'm not engaged by this at all.
. .There are six people in the act, I won't have six people in an act
unless it makes me go 'wow'." Ultimately, Guy lays down the law, "Do
something fast or find another act," he tells the creators.
Thegirls are very dejected at Guy's comments. In a moment in
Stella's bedroom, she sews a dress and shares with us, "I wanted to be
a [fashion] designer before I wanted to become [a Cirque] artist. Now
I think I want to be a designer again." She forces a chuckle.
Raquel's disappointment is compounded by feelings of longing for her
boyfriend who is back home in Brazil. They've been apart for two
months, causing Raquel much emotional strain. Her boyfriend flies to
Montreal for a visit shown in a musical montage featuring the lovers
sharing a touching and tearful reunion at Dorval Airport.
The multiple-trapeze act is reworked to become more acrobatic and at
the same time more dramatic, we see the trapezists manipulating red
balls and making figures in a swath of red fabric a-la-Quidam. The
girls perform the modified act for Guy Laliberté once more, this time
privately, hidden behind large black curtains. The camera manages to
catch little peeks in the crack. The second review fails to impress
and finally, the decision is made to axe the awkward rigid trapeze
structure. The girls take it hard. After training for so long the
structure itself became the seventh partner in the act. Stella even
anthropomorphizes the trapeze, "I call her Midge 'cause she's rad. I
figure if she's got my life in her hands she'd better have a name."
"We fell in love with the multiple-trapeze. That's why everybody's
suffering," explains Raquel. Although she can see the producers'
point of view that having such a large and commanding apparatus for an
act that's merely pretty and short of spectacular could be
disappointing for the audience. Stella is having a harder time
accepting the loss. She laments, "I don't necessarily think that
three months on a brand new object that's never been used before is
enough research time." She later adds with a slight twinge of
bitterness, "We were hired because we were believed to possess
strength and aggressiveness and we were qualified for it beyond our
reach, all of us, and there's little faith in that, that's what I feel
like."
At the end of the episode the multiple-trapeze is trucked away like a
fallen comrade. Raquel, Stella and the other trapeze artists are
right back where they started, three months of hard work reduced to a
pile of scrap.
With Cirque du Soleil Fire Within the viewer is presented with a
fascinating mix of behind-the-scenes footage and real-life human
drama. Fire Within finally presents a series that does reality
television with the dignity and class the genre has sorely been
lacking. Right from the start this series captures your attention and
takes you on a voyage of discovery. I find myself eagerly awaiting
each new episode. Be sure to tune in to the next edition of
Fascination! as we continue our review of Fire Within.
PART 2: "FIRE IN THE SKY"
***********************************************
Every Sunday evening I find myself in front of the television
waiting in anticipation for the first strains of "Icare" the Alegría
borrowed, opening theme to Cirque du Soleil Fire Within.
Fire Within is, of course, the compelling behind-the-scenes series
that tells the stories of several Cirque performers and crew members
as they work towards the creation of a new show. However, the series
is much more than just that glib description. Fire Within isn't one
of the typical Cirque behind-the-scenes documentaries that usually
present the creation process via the views of the creators, usually
featuring interviews with the Director, Director of Creation,
Choreographer, Composer, etc. Instead Fire Within opts to present the
point of view of the performers and staff members at Cirque du Soleil.
The creators are still there of course, but they are not the main
focus, they stay in the background of the series and are never
directly interviewed on camera.
The series has a candid and intimate style that brings viewers right
into the daily lives of the performers. This is a video diary;
the characters are frequently willing to honestly and openly share
their feelings allowing us to vicariously fulfill our dreams of
running away and joining the circus. It is humbling to watch the
struggles and challenges faced by these super athlete/artists, and I
find myself often affected by the honest and raw view of the Cirque du
Soleil creation process that the series presents. Each episode weaves
several storylines together around a central theme, and frames them
with creative editing and an eclectic and evocative soundtrack.
Let us continue our exploration of this exciting new series from
Cirque du Soleil.
Episode 4: "Shooting Stars"
---------------------------
(New members of the troupe sign their contracts; the show's name is
chosen. - TV Guide)
Episode four opens about four and a half months prior to the show's
premiere. The recent evaluation by President Guy Laliberté has
initiated some significant changes to the show. The creative team is
now shifting into high gear. In a montage set to the song "Stella
Errans" we see make-up artist Nathalie Gagné creating several new
designs on the performers' faces and drafts people working on
computerized 3-D CAD models of various set elements.
We meet Louise Mercier of the Cirque du Soleil Marketing department.
Louise is the Brand Director for Touring Shows, which means she is
in charge of finding a name for the new production. "It's something
emotional, a name, a visual, it's something [Cirque] is really
protective of," she explains. At a meeting the marketing team comes
up with a list of dozens of potential names including Tsunami,
Bomboula, Gromm and Vigie. Director Dominic Champagne pushes for a
Russian name to reflect the cultural background of the majority of the
show's house troupe. He suggests "Praznik" (we celebrate) and
"Vstavaï" (awakening), neither of which the marketing department
likes.
Marketing is at odds with Dominic Champagne over the new name.
Louise and her team push forward to find a name that both they and the
director can agree on. The team creates a short list of four names
that they will essentially force Dominic to choose from; L'Envol,
Volte, Kesali and Varekai. Eventually, they whittle the short list
down to just the latter two. Andrew Watson, the show's Director of
Creation does not like "Kesali", "It's too weak for the show. It
lacks strength." Champagne agrees, he adores the name "Varekai". The
word "va" in French means "to go", and "kai", the director says,
sounds like an explosion. "It's exactly what we wanted; it takes off
and then explodes!" Though "Varekai" is not the marketing
department's favorite, they accept the director's choice. The show
has found a name.
Kevin and Andrew Atherton continue to work with choreographer Bill
Shannon to perfect their Aerial Straps number. Their progress
puts them at the head of the troupe. Guy Laliberté chooses them to be
the icon for the Cirque du Soleil corporate Christmas card. The
Athertons pose inside a German Wheel during a photo shoot. Kevin and
Andrew realize they are quickly becoming Cirque "stars" and want to
negotiate a better contract. "It is business for [the Cirque] and
they'll try to get us two as cheap as they possibly can," one of the
twins argues. We walk with them through the Cirque's massive
headquarters to the management offices, where windowed cubicles
overlook training rooms so workers can watch artists rehearse
while working at their desks. We leave the twins for their private
meeting with a Cirque business manager and catch up with them later
while they are training in the gym. The meeting didn't go as well as
they would have liked. "They really make you feel guilty for asking
for certain things and you actually start to feel guilty," one of the
twins tells us. The Athertons will try playing hard to get with
Cirque, "If there's no give and take then we're fully prepared for the
consequences. . . Things have got to change, they've got no choice, or
we will go." Weeks later, when they have not heard from management
about a new contract, they call their father at home and update him on
the situation. Ultimately, they talk and realize what course of
action they want to take. "We realized that if we [were] willing to
walk away from it . . . to do with our pride and things like that,
then we're gonna miss out on a massive opportunity. And, we realized
that we wanted to be on stage, and the act that we're doing here, this
is what we've always wanted to do. We both decided we couldn't really
give it up." So the twins stay on with their original contract.
As the cast members train feverously to be ready in time for the
premiere, Stella, Raquel and the rest of the trapeze team wait on the
sidelines. Their multiple-trapeze apparatus was cut from the show, a
casualty of Guy Laliberté's progress evaluation. Finally, their new
equipment arrives; the Triple Trapeze; a long steel bar suspended from
four ropes so it, in effect, looks like three trapezes fused together.
The girls are giddy and excited to be on the new trapeze . . . except
for Stella, who still harbours some bitterness and trepidation. "I
always have to try something to figure out if it's for me, but right
now, in my heart, I don't want to do it. I'm angry, I'm frustrated,
I'm sad, I'm just pouting. . ." Stella confesses. The other girls are
all seasoned trapeze artists, Stella is not, she has never been on a
trapeze before. "I have never wanted to do trapeze and I'm sort of
disgruntled that I'm being forced into doing trapeze. I'm not
qualified now for my job at all . . . I'm not interested." Stella is
also upset that she was not given the choice to perform in another act
in the show after the demise of the multiple-trapeze, "My choice was
either I do trapeze or I don't do the show." We watch as the other
girls joyfully swing and climb on the trapeze and then see Stella off
to the side watching with uncertainty and apprehension. Raquel has
confidence in Stella, "[Stella's] very strong, she's very courageous.
I'm sure she'll get it very fast." Stella gives the trapeze a try.
We see her smart as she gets burned by the rope. She falls while
attempting a figure and struggles with the basics. The other girls
teach her and Stella perseveres. She gives her all but the odds
are against her and the trapeze team as they work furiously to
catch up. They are three months behind the rest of the troupe.
Finally we catch up with Gareth, an Icarian Games performer who is
making great progress. He has gone from being "a worry" to his
coaches to being a model Cirque du Soleil performer. He and his
performing partner Ashley are training very hard to make up for time
lost during Gareth's sabbatical, when he returned home to be with his
ailing mother. In marked contrast to the difficult and argumentative
young man we met in earlier episodes, Gareth now seems happier and
more comfortable at Cirque du Soleil. He rehearses with newfound
determination and wants to "earn his place in the show". Gareth is
among the first to sign a contract for the new show and is the first
performer to get his measurements taken. We accompany Gareth as he is
measured and photographed. A total of 62 taken, a thrill for Gareth
as he has never even had measurements taken for a tailored suit. We
also watch as his head is covered in plaster to make a mould, a
process which all Cirque artists must undergo as all wigs, headpieces
and masks are custom-made to perfectly fit each performer's head and
face. Gareth gleefully relishes the image of his plaster cast head,
"That's weird seeing my own face like that!" Then, in a touching
personal moment, we listen in as he phones his still ailing mother
back home in London. They try to arrange plans to see each other at
Christmas.
The episode ends with Ashley in an impromptu performance in the alley
behind the Cirque du Soleil residences. In the original spirit of the
circus he juggles flaming clubs in the crisp, late-autumn air as light
snow flurries fall on Montreal.
Episode 5: "Christmas"
----------------------
(Cast members visit family and friends at Christmas. - TV Guide)
It is December 22, 2001. We pan across the frozen headquarters of
Cirque du Soleil covered by a white blanket of snow. The troupe is
preparing for their eagerly awaited Christmas holiday; they have not
had a break in four months. We will accompany them as they relax with
family and friends. This episode provides a temporary reprieve from
the hectic and stressful feel of the others and provides an
opportunity to get to know the performers in a more casual setting.
Before leaving for the holidays, Director Dominic Champagne sits down
with talent scout Michel Laprise and watches a video tape of an
audition for the new show's singer. Over 100 candidates have already
been rejected. This candidate is Adrian Berinde, a large, middle-aged
Romanian man, with a low, husky and guttural voice which particularly
stands out. The director describes him as "the Tom Waits of
Bucharest, the Leonard Cohen of Romania." Dominic Champagne is still
a little doubtful, "He's got no technique. He can't read music." But
Michel counters, "He plays guitar, he's in a band. He's launching his
fifth album this week and he's ready to drop everything for us." Not
wanting to prolong the start of his holiday, the director relents and
accepts the new singer.
Before everyone leaves for the break, Dominic Champagne calls a group
meeting where he will unveil the title of the new show. He explains
his inspiration. "These are people without countries, without roots
but they have [such a] strong culture inside themselves that they can
survive without a country, carrying their culture inside themselves.
So, I have the same respect and admiration for that culture [as I do]
for people like you; acrobats that have the key to open any door and
to enter the king's court. So that's why I suggest to call this show
'Varekai' which means, in the gypsy language, 'wherever'." The group
applauds their show's new name. Then, everybody splits off for their
respective celebrations.
We see the Atherton twins on Sainte-Catherine Street, Montreal's main
shopping district. They are waiting for an airport shuttle as they
will be spending their vacation in Las Vegas.
Ashley reunites with his girlfriend, Sarah, whom he has not seen in
four months. She comes to Montreal to live with him. Ashley shares
some of his concerns for their future, "It's all up in the air at the
moment with work and touring, 'cause I don't know what it's going to
be like and she's been asking me questions and I can't give her
answers 'cause I've not toured yet." He's been considering marriage
but is uncertain what the ramifications of life on the road will be,
"I don't even know what the show's going to be like and I've just
signed three years to do it. I just don't want [Sarah] to come here
and for it not to work." Ashley and Sarah share a joyous reunion at
the airport and some tender moments during the ride home.
None of the performers have relatives in Montreal, so show
choreographer Michael Montanaro throws a Christmas Eve party at his
home for those who have stayed in town. Acrobatic Pas de Deux dancer
Oleg regales his fellow artists with stories of his nomadic life. We
watch as the performers eat, drink and make merry.
Stella has gone home to Toronto for the holidays and has invited two
of her fellow trapeze artists, Zoe and Helen, to join her and her
family for a nice Christmas dinner. After dinner, the phone rings and
as Stella picks up, she eyes the camera and says, "I'm switching
phones." She facetiously rolls her eyes and says, "Ah, you think I'm
letting you guys come in on my conversation? You've got to be
joking." The camera playfully chases Stella to her bedroom where she
slams the door on it as she taunts, "Get out camera boy." We instead
join her mother, washing dishes in the kitchen, "Is that her boyfriend
Sam calling?" her mom asks. "Her most recent flavor . . . oh well,
poor Stella," she sighs.
We then join Gareth sleeping in his bed on Christmas morning. Or
should we say Christmas afternoon, he apparently had a very good time
at Michael Montanaro's party the previous night. He receives a call
from his mother in London. Gareth could not afford to fly home to see
her. He speaks briefly with his sister and baby nephew. His mother
is still not well, she must go back to the hospital for more cancer
tests. She informs Gareth as the melancholy song "Rideau" from
Saltimbanco plays in the background. Gareth wipes a tear from his eye
and we share his sorrow in a genuinely touching moment.
Meanwhile, we cut from snowy Montreal to rainy London, England,
Gareth's home town. We meet Russian hand-balancer/contortionist Olga
Pikhienko as she rides the bus to work. We pass Big Ben and posters
advertising the Cirque du Soleil show Quidam where Olga has performed
since she was 15 years old. She is now nearing the end of her five-
year run with Quidam and will soon move to Montreal to star in
Varekai. She arrives at the white Quidam Grand Chapiteau. Backstage,
Olga is wearing a new, two-piece costume and proceeds to apply her
make-up and paints temporary arm band and thigh band tattoos. The
soft-spoken and radiantly beautiful Olga shares her apprehension about
leaving Quidam, "I'm a little sad, I feel it more and more coming that
I have to leave this tour and leave my friends behind. There are new
people that I will have to hang out with and work with and I don't
know them yet, I don't know how they are inside and it makes me
nervous a bit." Christmas Eve is just another night for Olga and she
gives an absolutely electrifying performance for the London crowd.
From the few short clips of her performance it's evident that she has
gotten even better since Quidam was filmed in 1999. She gives her
heart and soul in a performance that's sexier and edgier than ever
before.
Olga says goodbye to the group of performers who have been her family
for the past five years. However, working in Montreal will allow her
to reunite with her actual family. Her father is an acrobatic coach
with Cirque and they will work together for the new show.
After the much needed rest and relaxation of the holidays the
performers go back to the Cirque grindstone and once again start
furiously rehearsing for the ever-encroaching premiere. In a montage
set to the music "Terre Aride" from "O" we watch the Russian Swings,
Triple Trapeze and several interstitial sequences in rehearsal. The
show's magnificently intricate set will be constructed in the studio
over New Year's and the performers will work to transfer their acts
into the new environment.
Finally, we attend a New Year's party with the performers at Stella's
boyfriend's stylish loft. They count down and jubilantly greet the
New Year with hugs and kisses all around. "Happy New Year Lewis,"
Gareth exclaims as he reaches toward the camera and shakes the hand of
Fire Within director Lewis Cohen.
Episode 6: "New Blood"
----------------------
(The cast assembles for rehearsals, seeking Guy Laliberté's approval.
- TV Guide)
January 7th, 2002; 107 days to the premiere. Several new artists join
the existing cast. The new artists can afford to join the show late
since they are already established performers. Director Dominic
Champagne introduces the newcomers at a cast meeting; the Georgian
Dancers, a team of Icarian Games specialists, hand-
balancer/contortionist Olga Pikhienko, and Adrian Berinde, the show's
singer.
We flash to the previous night; Adrian Berinde arrives in Montreal and
is picked up at the airport by Cirque talent scout Michel Laprise.
Adrian is already a bit apprehensive, concerned that his position is
still being advertised on the Cirque website. Michel reassures him it
is there erroneously. The next day Adrian is introduced to Varekai
composer Violaine Corradi and proceeds to rehearse the demanding vocal
score with a team of voice coaches. As he sings the song which
accompanies the show's Acrobatic Pas de Deux his voice is very harsh,
wild and tense. It is obvious he has had no formal vocal training.
He also complains that the score forces him to sing in a range that is
too high for his voice, forcing him to strain. The coach explains the
composer's reasoning, "She doesn't want you to be in a comfortable
range, we can feel it when you strain. If we modulate we'll lose that
urgency." Obviously, Adrian must work hard to adapt his singing style
to meet the requirements of the Cirque. He must also cope with
adapting to a new culture and new surroundings. In his native
Romania, Adrian is a well-established artist. In Montreal he is just
another performer in residence. It will take time for him to adjust.
Olga Pikhienko comes to Varekai directly from Quidam. She has been
cast as the female lead. Olga began her career at the age of six in
her native Russia, her father Sasha has been her coach ever since. He
now works with her to refine and adapt her Hand-balancing on Canes act
for Varekai. Olga is already well-known and highly regarded in circus
circles, head coach Boris Verkhovsky comments, "I don't think there
are any women equilibrists anywhere in the market that can compete
with her." However, with reputation comes pressure; the creators' and
coaches' expectations for Olga are very high. She attends a one-on-
one characterization and improvisation workshop with Director Dominic
Champagne. Olga's challenge is to develop a character that can convey
emotion in the show. She writhes inside a cocoon-like body sock and
is coaxed by the director to improvise movement, "This is a skin that
you don't like so you'd like to get out of it but you're not able to,
it's a conflict between you and your skin. So, in the story, suddenly
there will be a liberation when you will be able to be yourself in
another state," the director explains. Olga works with choreographer
Michael Montanaro to create movement for the show's interstitial
sequences. Her remarkable flexibility is astounding to watch as she
bends her body into various figures.
Carrying the double load of training to perform a solo number and act
as a main character weighs heavily on Olga. Her days are long and
draining. Her fatigue is betrayed during a choreography session where
she seems spaced-out and inattentive. The choreographer explains a
procedure but she stares off, he notices and brings her back to Earth.
"Hello!? Do you want to take a break? If you're too tired we should
just take it easy." Her performance worries the creators to the point
where a meeting is held between a Cirque administrator and head coach,
Boris Verkhovsky. Olga is constantly complaining that she is too
tired. The staff thinks that her daily habits may be the cause of her
fatigue; massive coffee consumption and a taste for chocolate snacks
which cause her to go from major highs to major lows. Boris is
unforgiving, "She cannot have [that] problem, it's not an option.
She's in the show from beginning to the end, she's a principal
character so that problem cannot exist and she knows that to start
with. I don't think there's any un-clarity in the assignment." The
coaching staff will tell Olga that she must change her attitude and
her habits. This segment really gives a strong sense of the
sacrifices Cirque artists are required to make for their careers. As
someone who absolutely relies on caffeine to function every morning, I
can really empathize with Olga's struggle.
Meanwhile, the expanded Icarian Games team rehearses together for the
first time, Gareth and Ashley watch as the new team, the Santos-Leal
brothers; identical twins Pedro and Ramon along with their older
brother Javier, execute brilliant and complicated maneuvers. Gareth
and Ashley have improved greatly at Icarian Games but are nowhere near
the level that the Spanish "Rampin Bros." are at. They must hurry to
catch up since there is a pending progress evaluation performance for
Guy Laliberté. The two teams exchange ideas and there is a lot of
good will on both sides. In a private moment Gareth and Ashley admit
that they are very humbled by the Rampin Bros. "You learn from the
best, lets put it that way, and these guys are the best," Gareth
admits. Ashley is a little more apprehensive about sharing the act
with a team that is much more advanced, "Because they've been doing it
like 15, 16 years and compared to our five piddly months, they're the
Dons!"
After an exhausting day of trying to keep up with the Rampin Bros.
Ashley goes home to his girlfriend Sarah. They've settled in their
home life. We watch as Ashley is tricked into preparing dinner as
Sarah goes off to rent a movie which Ashley is sure he will dislike.
In a private moment with Sarah she confesses that she is sometimes
envious of Ashley since she too is from a gymnastics/performing arts
background. She is happy for Ashley but almost resentful that he is
at Cirque and she is not.
The world premiere of Varekai is fast approaching, we visit the ticket
distributor's office on the first day of sales and watch as a room
full of operators is swamped with calls. The show is already
beginning to sell out performances. There is no turning back for the
performers and the creative team. The immediate hurdle they face is
Guy Laliberté's progress review. "It's like a professional, really
well-performed rehearsal," Choreographer Michael Montanaro explains.
Being the President of the company, Guy can make or break any act in
the show. Stella and Raquel's multiple-trapeze number was a casualty
of the previous progress review and they have only now begun to catch
up with their new Triple Trapeze act. Understandably, all the
performers are very nervous. Olga shares her anxiety, "I feel very
stressed. I don't know why, like I've been doing this for seven
years, but I just feel like this is the premiere."
Guy arrives in the studio and the artists stage their numbers on
Varekai's elaborate set. We watch as Guy views Oleg's Acrobatic Pas
de Deux, Olga's Hand-balancing on Canes, the Atherton twins' Aerial
Straps, the Georgian Dance and Stella and Raquel's new Triple Trapeze.
During the Icarian Games presentation the Rampin Bros.' spectacular
performance is juxtaposed with Ashley and Gareth's fumbles. Their
coach looks down disappointedly and Guy Laliberté sits back with an
exasperated scowl on his face. The episode ends with a bleak,
exterior, night-time shot of the Cirque du Soleil in the snow.
The narration informs, "Guy's verdict is delivered to the coaches.
It's gonna be a long winter."
Episode 7: "Pushing Acrobatics"
-------------------------------
(Cast members deal with limitations and insecurities as the world
premiere approaches. - TV Guide)
This is the most hectic and stressful installment yet. It is
February, 68 days before the premiere. Following his review of the
troupe's progress, Cirque CEO Guy Laliberté's impression can be summed
up in two words, "Not enough." Everybody has been working hard but
the show is nowhere near the level it needs to be at this time, two
months before the April premiere. Oleg, a veteran performer with
Cirque, is aware that the troupe is desperately behind schedule as he
compares his current situation to his past experiences during the
creation of Quidam. "Six years ago it was a little more strong. Not
even two months before the show, like five months, I remember my
number [Banquine]; we started to run through it in September compared
with right now, where all the big numbers don't even do run-throughs
yet."
Cirque's make-up, costume, and props shops are working well into
the night. The cast and creative team accelerate their work in order
to be ready in time for the premiere. They work 15 hour days, six to
seven days per week. Everybody is stressed and the strain is starting
to show. Director Dominic Champagne is becoming increasingly agitated
with the troupe's slow progress. At a group meeting he berates the
cast and asks them to start working with a more focused attitude.
During a late rehearsal of the group dance number that opens the show
the entire troupe seems tired and dispassionate. Choreographer
Michael Montanaro vents his frustration to the cast, "Listen! Listen!
Look, do you know what I want? I want to go home. I can't stand to
think that you're gonna be there opening night doing this [mocks
the cast by dancing around flimsily] Please, I beg you."
Accelerating their work is not easy for the already weary cast
members. Oleg is starting to show his age. As he rehearses his
Acrobatic Pas de Deux number with his partner Tatiana he has a
surprisingly hard time with many lifts and figures. During Oleg's
struggles, Tatiana must endure his frustration. However, Oleg's
experience tells him to take a break. He is burnt out from all of the
work so he takes a day off and goes to a spa. We watch as he gets
pampered with a massage and a haircut. He comes back to work relaxed
and rejuvenated, immensely improving his performance.
Two other veteran Cirque performers, Olga (Quidam) and Anton
(Saltimbanco) work with Dominic Champagne to develop one of the show's
interstitial sequences. Anton, a 16-year old Russian contortionist
will perform an aerial contortion act in the new show as well as the
lead character, the mythical Greek Icarus who flew too close to the
sun on wings of wax and feathers and fell to his death in the sea.
One of Anton's biggest challenges is to create an emotionally engaging
character who will thread through the show's narrative. Particularly,
he must develop a good on-stage relationship with Olga who plays his
love interest. "In the show I have to fall in love with [Olga] but in
real life she's six years older than me and . . . I don't know, we'll
see," Anton says bashfully. Later in the episode Dominic Champagne
directs the two leads in an underwater photo shoot where they film
images to be projected onto the set during the show. The underwater
filming produces some beautiful and evocative images.
Evocative imagery is just what Marketing Director Louise Mercier must
find. She is in charge of producing a poster and main icon for the
unfinished show. She works with a Montreal marketing agency which
creates several designs based on the show's Icarus theme. She is
under pressure to finalize the graphic since Guy Laliberté is leaving
for a month and wants the show's poster to be completed before his
departure. Louise meets with a group of the show's designers to
review the candidate posters. Louise's favourite design features a
sky of dark clouds pierced with a man-shaped hole set against the
moon, "This one would sell more tickets," she says. However, Guy
Laliberté prefers an eye-catching design with a yellow background.
Stella and Raquel's trapeze team works day in and day out to improve
the Triple Trapeze act. Guy Laliberté still has not approved the act
for the show. The team members have exhausted themselves trying
to catch up to the rest of the troupe and must now push even harder.
"It's painful because we do too much," admits aerial acrobatics coach
André Simard. Stella is frustrated and visibly fatigued. She
expresses her dismay during dinner with her boyfriend. "We have a lot
of work to do and we're not even close to doing any of it so that's a
little frustrating cause it's all going to come in one huge
explosion." On top of having to improve the acrobatics, the trapeze
team needs to work on their on-stage chemistry, the artistic and
dramatic elements of the act are not as strong as they need to be.
Director of Creation Andrew Watson encourages the team to be more
expressive, to make the act more sensual. Dominic Champagne motivates,
"I think your characters are sexually mature. This is a key, also.
It's quite important to assume that presence. Trust yourselves and go
make decisions, do your own homework and try to come here with more
decision. If you really want to stand up, now you have the
opportunity but you have to push yourselves a little more." The
artists come to a realization; to save their act they must take
matters into their own hands and give it absolutely everything they've
got. Stella explains, "We took control of our act, we took control of
our destinies and said 'y'know we're kinda being placated but we're
gonna show you that we're stronger than that, we're bigger than that
and we're gonna come up with stuff ASAP.'" Their coaches are
impressed by the progress due to their newfound determination.
At the end of the episode we see that the troupe's hard work is
beginning to pay off, the disparate elements that make up a complete
show are finally starting to come together, and slowly but surely
the show is starting to take off.
After viewing the first half of the series I can honestly say that I'm
absolutely hooked on Fire Within. The deeply affecting human stories
that the series weaves actually make me care about the characters.
With the degree of intimacy achieved I feel as if I'm getting to know
these people personally. Fire Within is really more about the human
condition than Cirque du Soleil so, far from being a show strictly for
hard-core Cirque fans, the series is simply good television that is
open to anyone, and successfully avoids the "promotional video" feel
that some of Cirque's other documentaries have. Now, at 22 minutes
each, the episodes are short and the series focuses on only a very
small group of Cirque performers. Of course, as a fan I wish I could
hear about more performers and that each episode could be longer, but
that doesn't mean the series is lacking, especially considering that
the producers had to work within the constraints of producing a show
for network television.
Besides, isn't that what good television is supposed to do, leave you
wanting more? And, "Fascination!" will give you much more of Fire
Within in upcoming issues so be sure to tune in next month, same
Cirque time, same Cirque channel.
PART 3: "L'ENVOL SANS FILLET"
***********************************************
Fire Within is reaching full flame. These next few episodes are full
of tension and excitement as the cast and crew of Varekai scramble to
ready the show for opening night. The level of stress and drama
reaches its highest during these few episodes and it feels as if the
earlier installments were meant to set the stage for these climactic
ones. The characters we have met and become familiar with during the
first half of the series are tested and challenged here. As viewers,
we empathize with the artists and urge them to overcome their
challenges. It remains to be seen who will triumph and who will
falter.
Not only does the series provide exciting and original content, but
Director Lewis Cohen infuses Fire Within with subtle but effective
stylistic touches that at times heighten drama or highlight nuances in
any given scene. The director makes use of many rapid-fire montages
of performers in training to give an ever-present sense of urgency.
Sometimes he'll emphasize an important object such as the big top or
the show's poster by making it the only colour object in a black and
white frame. Cohen will also interlace matted shots of the Varekai
performance to provide brief mystical moments in a very realistic and
down-to-earth series.
Fire Within also features very eclectic and evocative music. The
series makes good use of the entire Cirque du Soleil Musique
catalogue. "Meandres" from Nouvelle Experience plays in the
background of a scene to establish an ominous mood. "Il Sogno di
Volare" plays during Stella's family's quiet Christmas dinner.
Saltimbanco's operatic aria is contrasted with the raucous drums of
Dralion's "Bamboo", used as the background for the energetic cast
Christmas party. Musical pieces are also used as recurrent themes;
the melancholy "Rideau" from Saltimbanco is used as Gareth's theme and
"Terre Aride" from 'O' accompanies training montages. Live selections
from Varekai's score are used sparsely throughout the series, usually
in context. For example, the Acrobatic Pas de Deux music will be used
when the singer is learning the score or the performers are
rehearsing. To round out the musical landscape of the series, a
varied selection of non-Cirque music, ranging from folksy ballads to
Eastern European dances and even Hip Hop is also used. As in Cirque's
live shows, the music of Fire Within serves to set the tone of the
series.
Let us now journey deeper on our quest for Varekai as Fire Within
continues.
Episode 8: "Moving On"
----------------------
(Costume-fittings and mounting sets coincide with plans for dress
rehearsals. - TV Guide)
Varekai is scheduled to premiere in 45 days. The atmosphere at Cirque
headquarters is aptly described by the show's Lighting Designer Nol
Van Genuchten, "I think the stress is hitting the fan in here." As
spectators, we all have a vague sense of how hard Cirque performers
must work to make it in the world's best circus but it's still
humbling to watch them struggle with the challenges that they face.
After weeks of struggling to accelerate the progress of the show and
improve their performances, it is once again time for the performers
to show President Guy Laliberté what they've got. The stage is set,
the theatrical lights are lit and Guy is presented with fragments of
the opening sequence and several numbers including the rousing
Georgian Dance. For Icarian Games, Gareth and Ashley are relegated to
the back of the scene as the Rampin Bros. take center stage. Guy
watches the spectacular skill of the Spanish brothers with a big smile
across his face.
This presentation is also the moment of truth for Stella, Raquel and
the entire Triple Trapeze team. Laliberté axed their original
Multiple Trapeze structure and it has taken them months to develop a
new act. The performers have exhausted themselves trying to improve
their shaky number, both acrobatically and dramatically. After the
presentation, Cirque's Chief Operating Officer Lynn Heward gives the
verdict; "I have to say to you I know you were sad when you lost your
multiple trapeze but this [apparatus] does more for you than the other
machine did. We see YOU in this performance and I think that's
great." Then, turning to address the rest of the cast, "There are
still lots of things to work on, tons of things to work on, but your
movement forward is there and I just wish you all courage in the next
few weeks, a lot of hard work and above all, give all of your
attention and your focus to [Director] Dominic, he needs you, he can't
do this show alone."
The performers will need all the good wishes, the next few weeks will
be the grueling final stretch to the premiere. But for now, they
celebrate the acceptance of the Triple Trapeze into the show and a
successful presentation.
Adding to the list of reasons to celebrate, it is Gareth's birthday.
He holds a party in his apartment at the Cirque residences. He's been
trying unsuccessfully to phone his mother all day, we find out why.
She has come from London with Gareth's sister and baby nephew Tyler to
surprise him for his birthday. Gareth has not seen his family for
almost six months and is elated. We witness their heartwarming
reunion. The comfort of family gives Gareth the strength that he'll
desperately need to survive the next leg of his journey with Cirque.
"I've never worked so hard before in my life." Gareth professes. But
he will soon be asked to work even harder.
Also working at full steam is Cirque's marketing department. They
have still not finalized a poster for the new show and time is running
out. The original designs were tossed out when Marketing learned of
an underwater film shoot with the show's lead performers. The still
photos from the film are beautiful but their quality is not high
enough to be reproduced as a poster. Marketing is at odds with
Creative Director Andrew Watson over the poster design. The team
looks at a group of about 10 candidate posters featuring Icarus,
clouds, wings or any combination of these elements. Andrew Watson
still likes the poster of Icarus underwater, a marketer disagrees, "I
find it really soft . . . Andrew, you see it; I don't think the
consumer sees it." The group debates for hours before deciding to
look at some designs featuring a stylized puppet Icarus that Guy
Laliberté originally approved. "It's less cerebral, it's more
fantasy," says the marketer.
As marketing debates the poster design, the Grand Chapiteau is already
being erected in Montreal's Old Port. The performers will make their
move to the show's venue and accelerate their working pace for the
final stretch to the premiere. Stage Manager Armand Thomas prepares
the performers, "So now we go through to the next step: Showtime!
People are gonna get angry, people are gonna get angry at each other,
we're gonna get really stressed out, we're gonna get tired, we're
gonna get very frustrated and all that is normal for what we're gonna
live through." An exhausted Gareth is concerned about the
ramifications of the next step, "I don't know if I can handle it, I
don't know if I can handle that life. When they started talking about
'things are gonna get really hectic and tempers are gonna fly' I'm
like, I'm the worst person for temper." Gareth has been stressed and
is having trouble sleeping. He is not progressing as quickly as he
wants or needs to. Pedro, the Icarian coach, is frustrated at Gareth
and Ashley's lack of consistency in their performance. At Cirque du
Soleil if you aren't able to keep up with the best there will be
consequences. Andrew Watson meets with Gareth and Ashley. They
narrowly escape being fired. Gareth has been giving his best and it
still doesn't seem to be enough. He is visibly upset, "I think I'm
working well . . . What can I do? It makes me feel quite angry. I
feel I am working hard. I feel training is going well. It's the
final warning basically and if we have to have a meeting with him
again, that's it." Then, with a sigh he concedes, "But that's life,
y'know what I mean? That's show business."
Episode 9: "The Grand Chapiteau"
--------------------------------
(The circus stage, the Grand Chapiteau, is finally ready for a press
performance. - TV Guide)
T-minus 30 days to the premiere of Varekai: The artists move from the
studio to the Grand Chapiteau. The big top is pitched in the Old Port
of Montreal and covered in a light dusting of snow. For their first
day of on-site training the performers arrive at a yet-unheated
backstage tent. We see Olga and Anton huddled under a blanket and
Stella working out on an exercise bike while dressed in her winter
coat and hat. Everybody is busily preparing for the world press
launch of the show; a press conference for over 200 journalists.
After weeks of debate and many long hours, Louise Mercier and Cirque's
marketing team have finally decided on a poster and main icon for
Varekai, and not a moment too soon, she delivers the yellow poster
with the stylized stick puppet Icarus to Andrew Watson just a few days
before the press launch. She expresses her relief to him, "I feel
like a pregnant woman who has just given birth." "I have another 28
days," the Creative Director replies with a laugh.
Rehearsals continue under the big top. Adrian Berinde, the show's
male singer, is incorporated into the staging for the first time.
During a run-through of a group scene it is painfully obvious that
Adrian has never acted before, he has absolutely no performance
quality. He just goofs off and waves his hands.
Fortunately, others are having more luck. The Atherton twins' Aerial
Straps act has really come together. The new choreography is
spectacular. The twins are determined to make their act one of the
show's most memorable. "We don't want to be a standard apple, we want
to be the best we can be on the stage and we want people to talk about
our act when they've left. But that's all been sorted now, all that's
left for them to talk about is our costumes," one of the twins says
with a laugh. The Athertons are excited that their act has been
chosen as one of the few that will be presented as a teaser during the
press conference.
Icarian Games, another act to be presented in the teaser, still has
some major kinks to be worked out. Ashley and Gareth's futures at
Cirque are hanging by a thread; their performance is still weak and
inconsistent. Head coach Boris explains the ultimatum issued to them,
"The buck stops here and the next decision will be a drastic one."
With so little time left there is no tolerance for Gareth and Ashley's
fumbles. Boris talks to Icarian coach Adrian about their performance,
"[It's] not acceptable and the next step is, if we can't rectify it,
we take it out."
Stress is causing Gareth to become short-tempered and argumentative.
During a training session he is defensive and constantly argues with
his coaches. Ashley, on the other hand, just sits dejectedly and
listens. Adrian lays down the line, "Training doesn't mean anything
if you come last in a competition . . . We're not changing your
routine unless you drop him next time and then I'm gonna take it out
[of the show], end of story."
Later, Gareth works with Director Dominic Champagne to fine tune his
Lizard character; a menacing, dark figure which will open the show.
With the Icarian Games quickly slipping from his grasp the Lizard
character may be his redemption and his only chance to save his job.
Gareth goes fishing in the St. Lawrence River on his day off. He
seems pensive; a young man caught between a troubled past and an
uncertain future.
On top of problems with Gareth and Ashley, the Icarian Games proves to
be an immensely difficult act to create a lighting design for. The
inverted Icarian catchers are being blinded as they stare up into the
over-head stage lights. Varekai's frustrated Lighting Designer Nol
Van Genuchten admits, "Icarian Games is a really tough act to light.
By no stretch of the imagination do I have a good relationship with
them now."
Press Conference day arrives; the cast must temporarily put their
daily struggles aside and flash their rehearsed smiles for a room full
of jaded reporters. All the artists are on edge; even veteran
performer Olga has a case of stage fright. As she puts on her semi-
finished costume she tells the dresser, "I don't wanna go out there!
No!" Raquel relishes the challenge presented to her, she relates it
to Varekai's theme, "It makes you a survivor. Life gives you
opportunity to learn how to fight; if you make it then you're more
special than people who don't have anything to fight for." Ashley
catches the flu and cannot perform in the press conference show.
Guy Laliberté and the show's creators greet the journalists. The
mini-performance goes off without a hitch but little do the reporters
know that just beneath the Cirque's slick veneer is a team desperately
trying to salvage a show that is simply not ready. At the end of the
episode Dominic directs a full dress and technical rehearsal of the
show's opening sequence. It is less than three weeks to the premiere
and he has not yet done a run-through of the show in its entirety.
With the clock ticking down the final few days, it remains to be seen
whether all the disparate elements of the show can be pulled together
in time for opening night.
Episode 10: "The Lion's Den"
----------------------------
(The cast is tense with the first performance of the Varekai. - TV
Guide)
Crunch time has arrived. The world premiere of Varekai is only 15
days away. In a Cirque tradition appropriately dubbed "The Lion's
Den" the cast will give a preview performance to an audience of 500
Cirque du Soleil insiders including head honcho Guy Laliberté, the
Lion in Cirque's proverbial den. Head Coach Boris explains, "This is
the first time we have a run-through for about 500 people, a very
friendly but critical 500; the creative department. Definitely a
friendly audience but boy, an opinionated one, we know that, so that's
the little challenge of the day." The Lion's Den is effectively
Cirque's qualifying competition, performers who make the grade will
see opening night and those who falter, in the eyes of Cirque's big
wigs, won't.
Sadly for Ashley and Gareth their verdict has already been decided.
They will continue to train for Icarian Games but will not perform in
the show. They have been judged as not performance-ready. Ashley is
obviously very disappointed and disheartened that his months of
excruciating training were ultimately fruitless. Understandably, he
is in a bad mood before the performance, "I just got asked if I'm
bringing the [Icarian] chairs out [on stage] . . . Yeah . . . that's
ALL I'm doing . . . I so wanna do Icarian, I feel like I've done half
a job."
Before leading his cast into the Lion's Den, Director Dominic
Champagne hopes to inspire their performance by reminding them of the
show's Icarus theme, "A man is dying and he's sure he's dead. All the
family around will show him, 'No, it's not the end of something, it's
the beginning of something else.' This show is just that, so the
lesson that everyone has to share with [Icarus and the audience] is
'Something else is possible.'"
The audience arrives. Guy takes his seat. The show begins. The
performance is still rough around the edges but resembles a finished
show. Guy watches stoically and scribbles down pages of notes as the
cast, dressed in half-completed costumes, run-through the show.
Afterward, the camera watches from afar as Guy has an intense meeting
with Dominic and Varekai's entire creative team. We sense that the
show will see some major changes.
Oleg is the first to hear the outcome of the Lion's Den. He is told
that his Acrobatic Pas de Deux with Tatiana will not be featured in
the premiere. Oleg is disappointed and on edge, he was not told why
his act is being left out. He contemplates his future with Cirque,
"No, this sounds crazy. Of course I'm not staying if I'm not doing my
act. Nobody can prove to me that my act isn't good." Oleg feels
betrayed; he has sacrificed much of his personal life to be in Cirque
du Soleil. He has not even phoned his daughter in almost seven
months.
The axe falls hardest on the show's singer Adrian Berinde. The Lion's
Den was his first performance in front of Guy Laliberté.
Unfortunately, it was also his last. Adrian did not fit well into the
show's staging or aesthetic and after 100 days at Cirque he has been
fired. It is obvious that his working style clashed with the
Cirque's. Adrian sums up his experience, "The Cirque is an
exceptional place to be for some people but it can be a prison for
others. I came here to be useful but in the end I think it didn't
matter. In fact, I don't think anyone matters to them. What matters
is the show." And the show must go on. A new singer, Cirque veteran
Mathieu Lavoie, arrives to take Adrian's place in Varekai.
Cirque Talent Scout Michel Laprise goes to the airport to say goodbye
to Adrian. Varekai's ex-singer shares his thoughts on Cirque with
Michel, "Let's be frank. The fact that I only met with my composer
for half an hour during my hundred days at Cirque, that's not normal.
I don't think it's anybody's fault but I think that the Cirque must
stay grounded if it wants to continue to thrive."
In the aftermath of the Lion's Den, Michel is a very busy man. He
must fill some major holes in the show's lineup. "The show is
evolving into a new artistic direction so that implies new players,"
explains Michel. Guy feels that the show is lacking in high-calibre
acrobatic acts. Michel is charged with finding a "spectacular" act.
He spends days trying to hunt down an available high-wire act. Unable
to find one he instead decides to cast a world-class Mexican juggler
named Octavio Alegria. Stage Manager Armand introduces Alegria to the
Varekai cast just days before the premiere, "He's in the wrong show
but he's got the right name," Armand jokes.
Varekai is being shaken apart and rebuilt with major changes occurring
only days before the premiere. Rigging designer Jacque Paquin
worries, "We start having shows in ten days, we're not going to re-
paint the planet in ten days, there's just no physical time to do it."
With a displeased company president, an exhausted cast and virtually
no time left, the odds are stacked against Director Dominic Champagne
as he reshapes and fine tunes his creation for the pending unveiling.
Episode 11: "Countdown to Premiere"
-----------------------------------
(Guy and the director try to calm tensions as the world premiere
approaches. - TV Guide)
With each subsequent episode of the series the stress level increases.
This installment opens three days prior to opening night. Tension is
high, patience is low and big changes are being made to the show with
little time left to smooth over the rough patches. Director Dominic
Champagne is charged with the monumental task of locking down all the
elements of the show. The Director is not seeing enough performance
quality from the performers. He lectures the cast members about their
overall performance up to this point, "It's your show. It's clear
what you have to do. Do it and give it to the audience. Ok, I know
now this show is very demanding for you and I know you're scared about
doing that show ten times a week for years. Now we're doing the best
show we can do in the amount of time that we have. When you are [on
stage] you've got to participate, 'What's the action? What's the
focus? Where's the focus?' So you don't upstage but you're alive."
Gareth and Ashley have been removed from the Icarian Games act and now
perform only minor supporting roles in Varekai. They are both
obviously unhappy about their new reality. Gareth and Ashley's
replacements arrive; the Stevens Brothers are a world class Icarian
team from Italy. They will have to move extremely quickly to
integrate into the world of Varekai in the two days before the
premiere.
Olga is struggling with the choreography for her Hand-balancing on
Canes number. The acrobatic aspect of her act is flawless but her
dramatic performance lacks quality. Stella speculates, "Olga's act is
beautiful. She's an amazing and talented hand-balancer. She's good
on her hands, not so good on her feet . . . Maybe it has a lot to do
with her being the Cirque baby and being protected by her dad and
everybody sort of takes care of her that's kind of stifling her
maturity." After struggling through the dance portion of her act Olga
leaves the stage and is obviously distraught. We meet up with her
backstage, "It's no one's fault, it's just me, I'm just frustrated a
bit and I shouldn't be. Something goes wrong and I get just like
freaked out. So I have to be patient."
Raquel and Stella's Triple Trapeze number is finally blossoming after
months of hard work. The act is becoming fluid and aesthetically
pleasing. However, the women now have other concerns. At Cirque they
not only perform their trapeze act but appear as supporting characters
throughout the show. Raquel and Stella perform roles in the Body
Skating act which opens the show's second half and assist Olga during
her number which leaves the trapeze artists with very little time to
focus on their own act. Raquel and Stella express their concerns to
Head Coach Boris. They complain that having all of their duties
concentrated in the show's second half puts them at risk for injury.
Boris promises the problem will somehow be rectified.
At 11:00PM the night before the final invited dress rehearsal Dominic
stages Olga and Anton's wedding, the show's finale, for the first
time. The tired performers finish work at 1:00AM and relax with
drinks in the dining trailer. Tomorrow they will perform the show in
front of an audience for the first time. Luckily that audience will
mostly consist of Cirque staff and invited friends and family members.
The morning of the final dress rehearsal Olga looks exhausted and has
lost her voice. "I didn't sleep good, my throat is killing me. Oh
well, I still have to go." She says. Before heading to the big top
she must make a stop at Cirque Headquarters for the final costume
fitting of her yet-unfinished wedding dress for the finale.
Kevin and Andrew Atherton pick up their family at the airport.
Parents, sister, Grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousins, the entire
Atherton clan has come from England to watch their boys perform. One
of the twins confesses, "It's gonna be a bit weird to perform in front
of my parents, there's a bit of added pressure but I wouldn't say a
lot." Joining the Atherton family in the audience will be Stella's
parents, Raquel's boyfriend and Olga's parents.
Oleg and Tatiana receive some good news; their Acrobatic Pas de Deux
act which was previously shelved for the premiere will be performed
after all. They are elated.
Before the final rehearsal begins, Dominic Champagne informs the
performers that their brand new big top has just been christened,
"We're starting the life of a new big top tonight and the name of the
big top is Vivia which means 'full of life'. Viva Vivia!"
With Vivia full of invited guests, the lights dim and the stage comes
alive. Backstage it is pandemonium, performers scramble to make their
cues. On stage the performance does not go well, riddled with errors
and missteps. There are falls during the Icarian Games, the Solo on
Crutches dancer takes a spill, the Athertons fail to catch each other
in mid-air during Aerial Straps and then stumble on their landing.
For all her worries, Olga's hand-balancing act is one of the few that
is performed flawlessly.
Afterward, the artists give the performance mixed reactions. The
Atherton twins are disheartened, "The audience is just silent, it's
really crappy." Olga gets a verdict from her mother, "There has to be
that sense of magic. You can't fake it. You have it or you don't."
At this stage of the game there is not much that can be done to fix
the flaws in the performance, the performers and creators will have to
rely on a Cirque dictum: Bad dress rehearsal, good opening night.
Tomorrow they will premiere Varekai to the world and see for the first
time if it will fly or fall.
All of the struggles, triumphs and tribulations of Fire Within have
lead up to this point, Varekai's opening night. Be sure to check out
the next issue of "Fascination!" for the thrilling conclusion of Fire
Within!
PART 4: "RESOLUTION"
***********************************************
The time has come; all of the ups and downs, struggles, triumphs and
setbacks of the artists of Cirque du Soleil's newest show have
culminated in this event, the world premiere of Varekai! As viewers
of Fire Within, we share in the performers' excitement and anxiety as
they aim to impress with the new show. The final two episodes of Fire
Within represent the climax and resolution of the series. It is in
these episodes that we accompany the performers whom we've met and
become familiar with throughout the series as they finally take their
place in the spotlight and shine. Then, as Cirque packs up its Big
Top in Montreal and heads on the road to start the North American Tour
of Varekai, we bid a fond farewell to the artists and staff whom we've
met along the incredible journey that was creation of Varekai.
Fire Within is a groundbreaking series allowing fans unprecedented
access to Cirque du Soleil. It allows us to go deep inside the
company's creation process and witness the magic in the making. Fire
Within also allows us to see the human side of the Cirque. The
series' raw and honest portrayal of the performers and staff shows us
a side of the company that we've never been able to see before.
The series is not without its weaknesses. Fire Within focuses very
heavily on some characters while only showing momentary glimpses of
others. For instance, the series focuses heavily on Gareth and
Stella's characters while Oleg and the Atherton twins have smaller
roles. Understandably, this is because of the way the stories
developed. Stella and Gareth are the two most animated and open
characters of the bunch and also two individuals who had a
particularly challenging time during the creation process. Following
their struggles provides solid stories for the series. Conversely,
the Atherton twins, while fascinating individuals, were for the most-
part always on top of their game and at the head of the troupe when it
came to performance, which is good for them but it doesn't make for
very exciting television. The effect, for the characters that we did
get to know well, is that we start to root for them. There were
several times when I felt sincere emotion for these people as I
empathized with their struggles. Still, as a fan I would have liked
to have seen more of the other characters. Although this is by no
fault of series director Lewis Cohen, since his challenge was to work
within the confines of documenting reality and doing so within the
limitations of creating a series for network television. For the most
part Cohen does a wonderful job with the material he got. According
to the Cirque website, over 1000 hours of raw footage were filmed for
Fire Within and each of the thirteen episodes took nine weeks to edit.
The hard work is evident in the quality of the finished product; a
series that is as respectful as it is informative, insightful and
honest. The Fire Within series as a whole is a monumental
achievement for Cirque du Soleil.
Admittedly, watching Fire Within does take some of the mystique and
mystery out of watching Varekai live. I now see the performers as
actual people and not the fantastic super-creatures and magical
characters portrayed on stage. In a way, I now see through the
illusion. But on the other hand I have a profound respect and much
deeper appreciation of the artists because I've witnessed the grueling
work and immense challenges that these extraordinary individuals had
to overcome to become part of a Cirque du Soleil production.
So, for the final time, let us marvel at the hard work of the series'
creators and complete our journey through Fire Within.
Episode 12: "Opening Night"
---------------------------
(A focus on the premiere features highlights. - TV Guide)
It is April 24, 2002. We open on a time-lapse shot of a bustling,
pre-dawn Montreal and visit several performers as they prepare to
leave for work. We check in on a tired-looking Olga who tells us in a
raspy voice, "Today is a very special day; it's the premiere of
Varekai! I'm not nervous, I'm just sick." Raquel rides the Metro
(subway) to the Old Port of Montreal, Oleg and Ashley walk toward the
Grand Chapiteau on the Jacques Cartier Pier.
Throughout the day final touches are made to the show. All the
technical equipment is checked and last-minute adjustments are made to
the costumes. Every little detail must be perfect for tonight's
premiere.
The sun goes down and the invitation-only crowd, a cross-section of
society representing Montreal's cultural elite, starts to arrive. The
Cirque's ability to transcend boundaries is evident as the opening
night audience consists of politicians, famous musicians, actors,
sports heroes, Hollywood stars, "jet-setters" and, of course, a slew
of media reporters. All are eager to be the first to catch a glimpse
of the newest Cirque du Soleil production. A Cirque premiere is truly
Montreal's equivalent of Oscar night. "It's like a movie star land
out there," comments choreographer Michael Montanaro.
The backstage tent is full of nervous energy. The performers are
haunted by the previous night's bad dress rehearsal and are determined
to give everything they can for a successful premiere. Director
Dominic Champagne gives the troupe a final pep-talk before the show,
"It's gonna be a tough audience tonight but remember; there [are]
three things to make this show happen; emotion, emotion and emotion.
What is in your hands now is your eyes for the audience. Share this
show [with] the audience; give your soul to touch their hearts."
Before the show, Stella is experiencing a small crisis. Her parents
have gotten separated on the way to the Big Top and her father is now
lost. This is obviously the last thing she wants to deal with before
her big premiere. An edgy Stella yells at her mom over the phone,
"How do you two always manage to lose each other!? Well, you left the
poor little man standing out there with coat in his hand and no
ticket!" With only a minute to go before she takes her place for the
show's opening, Stella is boiling with frustration. When asked if she
found her father Stella fumes, "He called me and said, 'I can't find
your mother.' I said, 'I'll call you back.' He turns off his phone!"
Luckily, her parents are re-united before the show starts.
The rest of the performers are nervous but excited. Head Coach Boris
describes their state of mind, "It's an interesting energy in the
artistic tent right now. It's a calmness that you know is not a
result of calmness. It's either the result of fatigue and when it
hits them they will go bananas. They'll be bouncing off the wall."
Director Dominic sits outside and smokes nervously, "I'm going to
nervous breakdown," he tells us.
The performers storm the stage for the opening dance and the show
begins to the thunderous applause of an excited and energetic crowd.
During the show, the performers, creators and support staff can watch
the performance via a closed- circuit television monitor in the
backstage tent.
The Icarian Games team makes their entrance; the Spanish Rampin'
Brothers and the new Italian team, the Stevens Brothers. Backstage,
the premiere is a bittersweet moment for Ashley and Gareth as they
were replaced in the Icarian number. When asked how he feels, an
obviously disappointed Ashley replies, "It's shitty man. 'All dressed
up and nowhere to go' sort of thing. I've been here the longest
trying, well learning this act and now I'm not in it." The performers
huddle around the monitor and cheer the performance of their fellow
artists. Stella gleefully applauds the complicated flips and catches
of the new Icarian team. In contrast, Ashley watches with a blank
expression. He experiences a melancholy moment as he watches the
Italian brothers and realizes that his dream has slipped away from
him.
The Atherton twins go on to perform their Aerial Straps act. The
crowd gasps in awe at the image of a man leaping into the air, soaring
and then splitting into two identical copies of himself. The twins
touch down at the end of their act to an enthusiastic standing ovation
- they are a hit.
Next Oleg and Tatiana take to the stage to perform their Acrobatic Pas
de Deux. Oleg holds Tatiana in the air for the opening figure when
she slips and falls. The crowd gasps, they tumble into a heap on the
floor. The artists and coaches backstage watch the monitor worriedly.
Olga glances at us with a concerned look on her face. Mooky the clown
nervously bites her lip. Coach Boris, his eyes still on the monitor,
informs us, "Apparently Tatiana fell and Oleg managed to catch her at
the last moment but I did not see it so I cannot tell you."
Thankfully, the dancers are not hurt. They are able to overcome their
initial fumble to put on a passionate command performance. Afterward,
they return to the backstage tent and are obviously disappointed in
themselves for their mistake. They dejectedly walk towards the
changing area. Choreographer Michael Montanaro stops them and offers
his encouragement, "One little thing like that doesn't matter, it was
beautiful."
Next, Stella, Raquel and the other trapeze artists perform the Triple
Trapeze act. The months of hard work, the loss of their initial
multiple trapeze apparatus, the struggle to develop an act that would
be equally aesthetic and acrobatic has all amounted to this moment.
Their movements are sinuous and graceful. The trapeze artists exude a
beautiful sensuality. Afterward, they return to the backstage tent to
the applause of their fellow artists.
It is now Olga's turn to hit the stage. She descends from the rafters
of the set and performs her Hand-Balancing on Canes act. Olga's
costume glitters like a diamond under the lights, she moves fluidly
through the choreography. Her performance is sublime and the crowd
falls in love with her.
The show ends on the highest of high notes; the spectacular Russian
Swing finale. During the act, the celebrity crowd leaps to its feet
in a rousing, extended standing ovation. Afterward, all the
performers return to the stage for their curtain calls. This is the
reward for the months of grueling work, the highs and the lows have
culminated to this very moment. Varekai is a triumphant success.
Backstage, after the show, the performers are positively elated. Guy
Laliberté comes to cheer them. He is ecstatic about the success of
opening night. An exhausted and emotional Dominic congratulates his
cast on a spectacular job.
Even the movie stars are themselves star-struck by the Cirque
performers. Supermodel and Hollywood actress Milla Jovovich gets a
backstage tour. Upon meeting Varekai's star Olga, Milla breaks down
to tears and sobs excitedly.
The episode ends with Guy Laliberté driving up to Dominic and the
Athertons in his limo and offering them a ride to the big after-show
party.
Episode 13: "The Aftermath and Departure" - Series Finale
---------------------------------------------------------
(Casting adjustments are made as the three-year world tour begins. -
TV Guide)
The final episode of Fire Within opens on a miserable, rainy June
afternoon, a fitting pathetic fallacy for the tone of this last
installment. After seven weeks and over 60 shows in Montreal it is
time for the performers to pack up their lives and leave for the
three-year North American Tour of Varekai. The artists, once nervous
novices have all become set in the routine of Cirque du Soleil and are
now seasoned professionals. They get a briefing at Headquarters about
the tour schedule and life on tour. They are all obviously excited to
have this opportunity to travel and see the world.
On the morning of the final two shows in Montreal the performers once
again go through their pre-show routine. However, noticeably absent
are Gareth and Ashley. We ask one of the Atherton twins who replies;
"Well they're not here today so they must be at the Studios. They've
got a meeting with [Director of Creation] Andrew Watson. I'm hoping
for them, I've got my fingers crossed that it's not bad news." Raquel
elaborates, "They didn't make the premiere and now we have these
Italian guys [The Stevens Brothers; Roni and Stiv Bello] [who] are
great but it makes us scared to lose [Gareth and Ashley]."
Gareth arrives from his meeting and we catch up with him at the make-
up stall. He tells us, "I'm feeling alright considering my contract's
getting terminated after Montreal." Stiv Bello, who replaced Gareth in
Icarian Games, is applying his make-up in the neighboring stall. He
overhears what Gareth has said, looks over and asks in disbelief,
"What did you say? Are you playing a joke?" Gareth tells him that it
is all too real. Stiv asks about his future, "What are you going to
do, stay here at the studio?" "No, no I'm going home," Gareth
replies. "I'm sorry for you," Stiv consoles.
There is still no word about Ashley. Finally, he walks through the
door with a grim look on his face. He doesn't tell us the outcome of
his meeting but we can pretty much decipher it from his expression.
Varekai's Artistic Director Nicolette Naum leads a Tapis Rouge, a
meeting of all the performers. She informs them that Gareth and
Ashley are being let go after today's two final Montreal shows. The
performers are shocked and dismayed. Raquel reacts, "Unbelievable, I
can't believe that they do this. I don't understand. It can happen
to anyone at anytime? That's not respectful." One of the Athertons
shares with us, "Every time I've spoken with Ashley, this is his
dream. He's not like, 'I'm doing this for three years then maybe
something else.' He's like, 'I'm doing this for life.'" For Ashley,
the year of excruciating training was ultimately not enough; it is the
end of a dream.
The show begins. Gareth takes the stage for the final time as the
Lizard character that opens the show. He explains, "That's my
favourite part, terrorizing the audience . . . Yeah, I'm really gonna
miss that bit."
As he does every night, Icarus falls from the skies and loses his
wings. The Varekai family must help him learn to fly again. Only
this time, there is a parallel story happening backstage. The artists
pull together and support their fallen comrades. Gareth sits on the
couch in the artistic tent and stares deadpan into the air,
contemplating his future. One of the Water Meteor boys comes and
gives him a comforting pat on the shoulder.
The show ends to yet another standing ovation from the hometown crowd
and closes one of Cirque du Soleil's most successful runs ever.
Afterward, emotions run high as the performers celebrate their
success, but at the same time feel the loss of Ashley and Gareth. Guy
Laliberté, Dominic Champagne and the Varekai creative team come to say
goodbye to the performers. They pop open a bottle of Champagne for
Gareth and Ashley.
Along with the celebration, there is work to be done. The artists
must pack up the entire artistic tent and stow the contents into
several trailers to be taken to Quebec City, the next stop on the
tour.
Olga will once again be on the road. Even though she has already
toured for several years, she still finds it difficult to leave her
parents.
Stella must leave her boyfriend Sam behind. "I have to leave my
relationship and all, I'm an emotional basket case," she confesses.
"The smartest thing would be to not get into a relationship when
you're only in town for eight months. But obviously I missed that
fact." Sam will drive her to Quebec City before saying goodbye.
Raquel and her boyfriend Ricardo pack up their apartment and prepare
to leave. After living there for almost a year, Montreal feels like
home to them now. They will miss it, although they are both excited
to be going on tour. The Varekai tour is their opportunity to travel
the world together. They will begin their adventure by taking a boat
cruise on the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City. The trip is a sort
of pre-honeymoon cruise for them. They will soon be getting married.
The rest of the performers pile their bulging suitcases onto the
luxury coach that will be the Varekai tour bus. The bus hits the road
along with the numerous tractor-trailer rigs emblazoned with the
"Varekai" and "Cirque du Soleil" logos carrying the tour's equipment.
This is the beginning of an exciting adventure for our performer
friends.
One of the other artists is traveling as well. We meet up with Gareth
at the airport. He's packed up his life and will fly back home to
London. This time, he won't be returning. "Doing this was like a
hundred steps forward for me and now I've just fallen a hundred steps
back," Gareth laments. But he admits, "There's been some hard times
but the good times outweigh the bad times by a million." In a
touching final moment, his plane takes off as the soft, plucked violin
melody from Varekai plays and we hear the words from the soundtrack
album, "Fall of an angel, you can see the fall. . ."
As for Ashley, we see him back where it all began; Cirque
Headquarters. Michel Laprise and other members of the casting
department watch as Ashley auditions for a part in the next Cirque du
Soleil show. Ashley refuses to give up on his life-long dream.
As the melody of Patzivota swells, we fly up and away from Cirque
headquarters, symbolizing Varekai's take off and flight away from its
home and into the world.
-------------------------------------------------------
"The Houses of Cirque"
By: Ricky Russo - Orlando, Florida (USA)
{Originally Published: Issues #18, 22 & 27 -
February, June & November 2003}
-------------------------------------------------------
Cirque du Soleil's main houses of performance have been, are
currently, and will remain to be the formidable "Grand Chapiteaus".
But in the early 90's a fusion of design and intuition thrust Cirque
into a new era where their creations were also presented in permanent
venues, multi-million dollar theaters specially designed for their
productions. In our exploration of "The Houses of Cirque", we will
peek into each of these houses - from Big Top to Theater. We begin
with the Treasure Island ("Mystère") theater. We'll follow up with the
Bellagio ("O"), Walt Disney World ("La Nouba") and Beau Rivage
("Alegría") theaters. Then we'll move on to the various signature big
tops, either all white, white and gold, or blue and yellow (striped or
swirled), used on their world-wide tours.
# # #
The Mystère Theater, at Treasure Island
---------------------------------------
Researching the creation and implementation of the theater and set
designs for Cirque is no easy task, but in doing so one will find two
prevalent names: Michel Crête and Scéno Plus. Michel Crête has been
Cirque du Soleil's scenographer, or one who "paints the scene" using
the art of perspective representation, for many years now and is
hailed as a talented, one-of-a-kind individual. Monsignor Crête came
to Cirque in 1986, putting his knowledge of creation and design to use
as Costume Designer. In his tenure, he created stunning and innovative
(not to mention colorful) costuming for Le Cirque Réinventé (1987-
1990) and Nouvelle Expérience (1990-1993). But "within a few years,"
says the Cirque du Soleil website, "he traded fabric for the media of
wood, metals and plastics." The change resulted in many stunning sets
for both Cirque's permanent and traveling shows.
In 1992, Michel Crête left the world of fabric behind and designed the
sets for the mega-production known as Fascination (a combination of Le
Cirque Réinventé and Nouvelle Expérience) that appeared as a special
limited engagement in Japan. He went on to design the sets for
Saltimbanco (1992), Mystère (1993), Alegría (1994), Quidam (1996), "O"
and La Nouba (1998). Through it all, Michel has worked closely with
Scéno Plus, a Canadian company founded in 1985 with the quest to be
innovative in their design and construction solutions, for the
realization of his visions.
The first vision of this partnership was the Treasure Island showroom,
a beautiful 1541-seat theater within the $430 million expansion of the
Mirage Casino-Hotel in Las Vegas. Rumored to cost approximately $20
million, the theater comes complete with comfortable seats, a
wonderful view for all, and an interesting story of compromise with
its design. You'll find the theater in the back of Treasure Island
through a couple of sets of white and red wooden doors, but you won't
mistake their purpose; for beyond the ornamented doors lies Mystère, a
mega-production by our favorite circus.
The theater has several interesting points about it, many of which are
too technical to discuss here. However, one of the first things people
notice upon entering is its openness. The Treasure Island Theater
lacks a divider, or curtain, between stage and audience that is
usually found in most theaters. Thus the stage is completely open to
the audience, allowing the action to be thrust upon them. This was the
goal from the initial meetings between the Mirage staff and
Cirque/Scéno. The idea was to make the environment feel as if you were
in the intimate setting of a Big Top. Did they do a good job, or what?
In fact, upon further study you'll find that there's also no
Proscenium Arch, the technical name for that division. The lack of
this arch is what gives Mystère its life, but it almost wasn't to be.
The Mirage staff feared that without this arch (i.e. a more "standard"
design) they would have to shut the entire space down for costly
modifications if the show had failed. Because of this, the theater
almost didn't get built. Thankfully, quick thinking came up with a
series of catwalks built into the ceiling of the theater that allow
for quick (and relatively cheap) modification to a normal theater. Without the arch, however, there also would be no "fire curtain," a
fire-retardant cloth made to help contain smoke, heat and flame in
case of a fire. This absence meant that the theater would not adhere
to the fire code, which the Fire Marshals could not understand.
Cirque/Scéno had to haul in a scale model of the theater to the fire
marshal's office just to get approval!
There were other problems to overcome as well. In the original plans,
Cirque/Scéno envisioned a series of lifts that would raise and lower
the performers at will. In order to incorporate the lifts, they would
have to be buried in the ground. But Las Vegas sits on a crust of what
is called "caliche," soil particles that have been fused with lime.
This fusion created a substance that is as hard as (if not harder
than) cement, which made burrowing into it quite difficult and costly.
Since they couldn't dig down in the bedrock without elevating the
costs of the theater prohibitively, the solution is actually one of
the most ingenious and visible parts of the Mystère experience - the
Deux Machina.
The stage floor sits on specially designed spiral-shaped lifts called
"Spiralifts". The Spiralifts were designed by Gala, a division of
Montreal's Paco Corp., and employ a "coiled, flexible, flat steel
spring that expands with the insertion of a thin, vertically-oriented
spiral steel band." This allows for big savings in space while
providing a rock-solid system for lifting and lowering stages. The use
of the Spiralifts also meant that they wouldn't have to spend a lot of
money digging through the tough, solid ground, which greatly pleased
the Mirage developers.
I find once I'm in the theater I can't help but look at the set and
ceiling. A simple thing the ceiling is, but here too Cirque/Scéno
provided something beautiful and interesting. The ceiling is a cloth
mural specially crafted by Sky Art out of Colorado. The print on the
cloth is just as fanciful as the production below it - a fantasy map
of the world with ships at sea! And hidden up in that sea of ships is
the O-Daiko drum, the heartbeat of Mystère! The set is also an
interesting piece of mechanics, consisting of a hunk of metal as a
backdrop that can be rotated by a simple flip of a switch.
The 10 musicians are housed on either side of the stage, with drums
and percussion on the left and everyone else on the right. A
sophisticated communications computer allows the musical director to
speak with all the musicians and a monotone "click track" keeps
everyone in sync. Underneath the stage is a round turntable that can
revolve at 10rpm, and of course those slinky-lifts. Believe it or not,
the Mystère set still retains some of the elements that were part of
the theme first presented to Caesar's Palace back in 1991 (Caesar's
turned them down, but Mirage called soon afterward). For example,
Crête says that the set "suggests Ulysses, and the mythical obstacles
he had to overcome on his own journey. The two towers represent Scylla
and Charybdis, two of the perils Ulysses faced". All the trappings of
Rome (although Scylla and Charybdis are the names of sea monsters in
Greek mythology.)
Many challenges faced the design team for Cirque du Soleil's first
theater, but one by one everyone worked to resolve these issues no
matter how heated the debates became. The addition to The Mirage,
Treasure Island, opened on October 26, 1993. Though the public had to
wait another two months to have a seat in the theater, patrons were
lined up on Christmas Eve to bear witness to a unique event in Cirque
du Soleil's history. In 1994, Scéno Plus was awarded the Las Vegas
Best Theater of the Year award for their ingenuity. Not bad for their
first Cirque outing, wouldn't you say?
The "O" Theater, at Bellagio
----------------------------
"O", a phonetic play on the French word for water - "eau", is a
baroque world filled with disturbing images, impressive acrobatics and
amazing technical design. The theater built for the show, Cirque's
first aquatic show, is also a revolutionary conceptual space. Taking
approximately two years to build (February 1996 to January 1998) and
reportedly costing $42 million US (70 million CAD approx), it sports
an innovative theatrical design making the 1800-seat space the first
of its kind. What makes the theater so special? At the heart of the
155,300 square-feet show space is a 1.5 million gallon (6-million
liter) pool used for its stage. And that is pretty innovative, if you
ask me!
You'll find the Bellagio theater "tucked away in a seemingly normal
looking hallway on the casino floor," but nothing can prepare you for
what you'll see inside - a marvel of innovation masked by exquisite
beauty and detail.
Take for example the Cupola, or rounded ceiling vault. At some point
your eyes will dart skyward and you'll find a breathtaking ceiling
washed in turquoise, indigo and blue. But take another glance...
underneath that beauty lies an innovate framework of galvanized metal
mesh with a trellis (or frame of latticework) that allows for an
infinite array of lighting effects to be used. Cirque uses this space
to place scores of different colored lights to not only light the
theater but also the stage below. The Cupola also comes with a space
used for overhead performances, which is utilized during the beginning
of the show. A winch by Fisher Technical makes the performance
possible.
While the ceiling itself is a wonder to behold, how many of you have
sat with mouths agape as the curtain is drawn back into the depths of
the theater for the show's explosive beginning? If so, you're not
alone. The curtain impresses many who have seen the show. So, how does
it work? That amazing feat is done by another winch by Fisher, a 20-
horsepower F200 model that draws back at a speed of 14-feet per
second! At that velocity one would imagine the curtain would flutter
noticeably. But believe it or not, Cirque keeps the curtain from
fluttering with a series of weights that hold it in place timed to
release with the curtain's upward motion. This keeps the curtain
taught throughout the entire drawback sequence.
It moves away to reveal another innovation of the theater, the pool
itself.
The stage consists of a 150-foot by 100-foot pool reaching a depth of
25 feet. While the pool itself is an interesting marvel, haven't you
ever wondered how the pool becomes a stage? Below that liquid surface
lies a series of hydraulic lifts built specifically by Handling
Specialty of Grimsby, Ontario. There are four of these lifts, each
with a 1-million pound capacity. What's in them? Vegetable Oil! The
lifts can quietly rise, thanks to temposonic probes, and lower the
pieces of the stage in mere seconds (5 to 25-feet per second). Those
pieces are made out of a resilient rubber-like material in a series of
4-foot by 8-foot panels. Each panel contains 5,000 plus holes to allow
water to pass as the stage is raised or lowered. But the speed of
their disappearance and sudden reappearance can fool you into thinking
that the lifts and the stage are quite light. In fact, the combined
weight of the system is a hefty 460,000 pounds!
But the lifts are only part of the innovation. Many of the problems
with the show's development came because of the water itself. Ask
yourself a couple of questions: How would the noise of the splashes be
contained? How could the temperatures between the water and the air be
comfortable for both the performers and the patrons? How could the
smell of chorine be contained? They are all important questions to
solve, because, even with all the technology surrounding the theater
and the pool, the answers would determine if the two could be fused
together.
The solutions are novel in their own right. First, the noise of the
water is absorbed by a series of rocks scattered around the ring of
the pool. The rocks, used in conjunction with special matting from 3M
called Nomad, help absorb the sound of the water as it splashes about.
Second, the 87-degree Fahrenheit water is counter-balanced with a
special HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) system design
that pumps 55-degree Fahrenheit air directly under each seat. This
mixture of air keeps the humidity down while resulting in a
comfortable 72-degree temperature. Thirdly, using Bromide in the water
averts the chlorine smell.
There are many other technical advances of Cirque du Soleil's theater
at the Bellagio that remain secret behind Cirque's closed doors. And
perhaps that's the way it should be. Giving away too much takes away
from the marvel of the show, does it not?
The Bellagio opened on October 15, 1998 to much fanfare and press,
opening the theater of "O" for the very first time. The spectators
were taken to it, awarding Cirque du Soleil and Scéno Plus for their
ingenuity. For their collaboration on the Bellagio theater, the pair
has been awarded: New York's prestigious Eddy Entertainment Design
Award in 1998, the Canadian Institute for Technology's Award of
Technical Merit in 1999, and the Las Vegas Best Theater of the Year
Award.
The La Nouba Theater, at Walt Disney World
------------------------------------------
The La Nouba performance space is a collaboration of four entities:
Cirque du Soleil, Scéno Plus, Walt Disney Imagineering and the
Rockwell Group. All four worked together to design and construct what
would be Cirque du Soleil's first (and currently only, but that will
change shortly with the construction of the Tokyo 2008 project)
freestanding theater built exclusively for their needs. Armed with a
budget between $20 and $30 Million (USD), Scéno Plus designed the
approx. 75,000 square-foot (7,000 square-meter) drum-shaped theater
that is a wonderful testament to both structure and beauty and a
shining example of ingenuity and design.
Let us take a peek into this amazing performance space, shall we?
On the outside, the Cirque Theater is like a "castle" standing
prominently on the shores of its kingdom, in this case on the shores
of Village Lake in Downtown Disney's West Side. The structure,
accented in white Teflon-coated canvas fabric, stands approximately
160 feet tall from the concrete sidewalk to the tops of its spires.
Atop the theater rests the namesake of the company in big blue
lettering and even higher still, the castle is topped with four
fluttering flags featuring the famous sun logo of Cirque du Soleil.
And while the outside is something to marvel, the interior is no less
so.
On the inside of this concrete-canvas behemoth, on the second floor,
rests its performance space. Like many of Cirque's theaters, the first
thing you'll notice upon entering is the set and out-in-the-round
stage. The set, which has been referred to as an "Elizabethan-style"
stage due to its symmetrical style, is said to be reminiscent of a
well-traveled path or trail. While that may be true, many see the
insane nature of an asylum, and certainly that too is true. That
asylum-esque nature is created with a 60×200 foot trellis construct
made of PVC panels and scrim, which allow for wonderful projection and
shadow play conjuring up uncanny images of Orwellian reminiscence. The
wonderful backdrop is overshadowed by mountainous outcroppings,
jetting up from the floor on either side. These rocks stand
approximately 60-feet tall and are constructed of hard steel, but
padded using wood and bleached velour (a velvet-type material.)
Even the showroom seats are abound with detail; modeled after old-
fashioned auditorium chairs, these seats are steel and wood
constructed and covered in red velvet. They were built by American
Seating of Grand Rapids, Michigan especially for La Nouba. But look up
from your red-colored seats and see the seven cloud-like "Fabulous
Figures" that decorate the ceiling of the showroom; their whimsical
dance about the tops of the theater forever captured. These "figures"
are manufactured out of copper tubing and wrapped in mesh and measure
approximately 30-feet in length. You may not know, though, that these
fanciful leapers were designed by Michel Crête, the set designer.
You may spot the musicians next, resting upon two platforms housed in
the 75-foot towers rising on either side of the stage. Separated but
not disconnected from the performance, these musicians play the
various notes of La Nouba's live music. They do so by staying
connected via a complex audio system that allows each musician to
speak with the bandleader, their other band mates and take direction
if something were to happen. Usually the tick of a metronome is heard
throughout their setup to keep everyone on the same beat and time. The
platforms themselves are nothing more than steel planks welded
together (among other various pieces) and contain an external elevator
(which performers rise and lower from during the show.
The stage has many technological achievements also.
The retractable Power Track, as it is called, is 60 feet in length and
fully automated, which means computers control the retraction (at 2-
feet-per-second) of this enormously powerful trampoline. But don't let
that quick retraction fool you into thinking the floor is light; it's
not, it weighs over 10,000 pounds! The Power Track was specially
designed by Cirque du Soleil (and Paco Corp.) to allow the performers
to jump higher and faster than ever. The PowerTrack is the next
evolution of the FastTrack as seen in Alegría. Ironically the
PowerTrack became so popular that it was installed in Alegría, taking
the old FastTrack's place.
The stage comes alive during the performance by a set of elevators
commonly referred to as lifts. There are five in all, resting just
below the stage surface. The ascent and descent of these lifts are
controlled by numerous motors (45 in all!) that must be in complete
working order for the lifts to even function. The five lifts
themselves rise to a maximum height of 16-feet; the center stage lift
is also capable of descending 16-feet below the stage for a 32-feet
range of motion! And they each have a 3,000 pound weight capacity. The
stage itself is protected by an impact-resilient material called
"Mondo Sport Floor" applied over wood in order to avoid injuries to
the acrobats and dancers.
Two télépheriques (or tracks) installed along the back wall of the
stage are 78-feet (24-meters) above the ground and are capable of
moving props, scenery and acrobatic equipment during the show at 4-
feet-per-second. These tracks provide an easy system for moving
objects in and out of view of the spectators. You'll find various
strange props, lights and chairs gliding by throughout the various
acts including "The Grand Monument," a 40×30 foot structure of
aluminum and painted scrim.
The set is fully automated as well. The 25×60-foot Trapeze Net
(designed by Doug Kiddell of Cirque du Soleil), for example, is
protracted and retracted by eight motors, including two 40-horsepower
tensioning winches with up to 5,000 pounds of force. Not one soul
comes out to set up or tear down the trapeze net. Additional set
pieces are operated using a motorized counterweight system, such as:
the trampolines (which descend from the ceiling), the flying doors (of
which there are 9), the petite fenêtre volante (or New York Window,)
two pedestal platforms and the four trapeze grips.
The JR Clancy Company of Syracuse, New York installed the 44-line set
rigging system and 35 of the winches used for these props. The lifts
were designed and installed by Showmotion of Connecticut in
partnership with Disney Ride and Show Engineering. Westsun Scenic
Edge, Inc. of Winnipeg actually designed and installed the computer
control system, which makes the space come alive using a Windows NT
based program called Dynatrac.
With fixed tiered seating in a 180-degree semicircle around the stage,
the auditorium has neither a proscenium arch nor an architectural
ceiling, which makes it similar to many of Cirque's other theatrical
ventures. To some, the first glimpse provides the image of a
traditional big top; to others, it is Cirque du Soleil's greatest
achievement. Regardless of how you see it, it is a one-of-a-kind
structure for Cirque du Soleil in that it's Cirque's first stand-alone
theater complex, but also a self-contained Cirque world. What do I
mean? For the first time, a show space, ticket booths and Boutique
(which Scéno Plus also designed) are housed directly in the same
complex.
{Sources: Cirque du Soleil Press Room and the Cahners Magazine
Division of Reed Publishing USA Nov 1999 - Abby Bussel}
The Alegría Theater, at Beau Rivage
-----------------------------------
Cirque du Soleil would leave the trappings and lights of Las Vegas
behind in The Beau Rivage Theater. From May 20, 1999 until October 2,
2000 Cirque du Soleil found a home at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi,
Mississippi, "a place where genuine Southern hospitality and charm go
hand in hand with meticulous service." The Beau Rivage was Steve
Wynn's then-newest resort (now held by MGM Mirage) and with its
opening on March 16, 1999 came another collaborative effort between
Wynn and Cirque du Soleil. Within this $685 Million (USD) resort was a
1,552 seat theater reflecting the "warm welcome inspired by the
climate of southern France."
For those who bore its splendor, the design of the venue was simple
and elegant, featuring a wonderful splash of color. And, unlike the
"O" theater the Alegría Theater was ornamented with an elegant display
of the show's name - right above the door. Inside, the ceiling was a
vibrant shade of blue, representing the skies of the village Alegría
played upon. Here, Sky Art also provided designs for a 15,000 square-
foot mural "reminiscent of Claude Montet's water paintings." Below the
skies were the theater seats, bright yellow, creating an allegory of
the beaches where the Beau Rivage was founded. And then there were the
walls, adorned in oranges and reds, bringing meaning to the rising and
setting sun.
Besides the wonderfully adorned space, the Beau Rivage Theater
incorporated a no-proscenium arch design quite similar to its Mystère
counterpart. Like the Treasure Island Theater, the Beau Rivage Theater
also had no obstructive poles, providing a limitless viewpoint to all
spectators. The set and stage retained its familiar squarish form,
complete with the Fast Track built into the floor. Overhead an
enormous dome that for designer Michel Crête signifies "a sign of
imposing power," which reflects the theme of the show - an allegory
about power; who has it and who does not.
On October 2, 2000, Alegría packed up its troubles and prepared for a
journey to a continent it had never before played - Australia. Today,
the "Beau Rivage Theater" has been completely renovated for more
standard fare - such as Lord of the Dance and STOMP. Since it left
many of its secrets went with it, which is unfortunate because the
theater and its space were very beautiful.
While Cirque du Soleil and Scéno Plus continued to have a working
relationship on their permanent venues and other upcoming works in
progress, in January 2002, Cirque withdrew from Scéno Plus to make way
for a new company - Capital Communications - which is an affiliate of
the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
Le Grand Chapiteau
------------------
"In just 150 seconds, 134 side poles will be raised and the mass of
material will rise into the sky and shape itself into an enormous
space..."
Le Grand Chapiteau.
For Cirque du Soleil, their main house of performance has been, is
currently, and will always be the formidable Grand Chapiteau. Over the
years Cirque has performed in a variety of venues, and while perhaps
their most ambitious projects are housed in specially designed
theaters, it's the mobile big top that strikes Cirque's signature
colors. Perhaps it's the smell of popcorn wafting through the air. Or
the sounds of patrons excitedly filling their seats. Or perhaps it's
just the fact that you're under canvas that makes the Grand
Chapiteau's so magical.
Today Cirque du Soleil has a half-dozen big tops roaming the globe
supporting various tours, each with a capacity of more than 2500
spectators. But did you know that in the beginning only 800 spectators
could see a Cirque show in their small blue and yellow big top? And
perhaps more perplexing is the fact that the big top did not have
theatrical-style seats like they do now... spectators sat on arena-
style benches and even folding chairs! Believe it or not the benches
were a staple even through Alegria's first North American tour!
The numbers surrounding the chapiteaus are impressive indeed, but ever
elusive. If it's one thing Cirque du Soleil prides itself on it's not
giving away too many of it secrets. And while dimensions of a big top
may not be something you would consider privileged, information in any
form is held closely nevertheless. However, by piecing together bits
and pieces that have been released through the years in numerous
programmes, press releases and articles, Fascination will conclude its
exploration of the "Houses of Cirque" by reviewing the variety of
signature big tops, whether all white, white and gold, or blue and
yellow (striped or swirled), the Cirque du Soleil has toured the globe
with throughout its history.
By now the famous "make-or-break" story has reached the hearts and
minds of Cirque du Soleil fans everywhere. How Cirque du Soleil had
everything riding on top billing at the Los Angeles Festival in the
summer of 1987, with absolutely no money left to fill the tanks of
their trucks with petrol in order to return home if they failed.
Cirque wagered everything on their success in Los Angeles and luckily
for them (and for us), Cirque du Soleil became an instant hit and thus
history is sewn. Before long Cirque began to spread across the United
States with the as-yet-unnamed Le Cirque Reinvente tour! The tour
sported a blue and yellow-striped big top seating approximately 1700,
which was a big step up from the first touring chapiteau. By 1989, Le
Cirque Reinvente's final year in North America, approximately 1750
spectators could watch the show in all style of benches and folding
chairs.
The dimensions of the big top were quite impressive for its time with
an overall diameter of 40 meters (130 feet). The four masts, or
supporting columns, rose 17 meters (56 feet) into the air with the
cupola, or vaulted ceiling, at a height of 13 meters (43 feet). French
sail makers Voilières du Sud-Ouest of Bordeaux, France made the canvas
tent and Mr. Marcel Rossel, a 40-plus year circus veteran, helped
design the monstrosity. It took dozens of people anywhere from 30 to
44 hours to assemble, but only 14 hours to dismantle, the 18,145 kilo
(40,000 pound) structure. Believe it or not, anywhere from 30 to 58
vehicles were needed to transport the 450 tons from site to site, and
no wonder, with the entire site occupying 8,750 to 15,000 sq meters
(94,185 to 161,460 sq feet)!
In 1990 "Le Cirque Reinvente" was replaced with a darker, more
theatrical style show in "Nouvelle Expèrience". This new experiment
featured many of the same cast and crew, more sophisticated costuming,
a more melodramatic musical accompaniment, and a brand new big top
with a capacity of 2500 spectators. The canvas and masts were
manufactured in various countries, including France, Italy and Quebec,
and it took 50 vehicles to transport the 600-ton site from location to
location. The new big top was so sophisticated (and big) that it took
36 hours to dismantle and pack-up the site and a number of days to set
it up.
"Nouvelle Expèrience" toured North America for approximately 19 months
in a blue and yellow striped big top, but when a shortened version of
the show landed at the foothills of the Mirage resort in Las Vegas the
big top lost its signature colors and adopted a more "desert" motif --
a special white and gold striped version. It was the first (and last)
time this interesting color variation was seen as a Cirque du Soleil
Grand Chapiteau. But it wasn't the last time Cirque would perform in
an interesting venue or setting.
As an example, in 1992 Cirque du Soleil smashed together "Le Cirque
Reinvente" and "Nouvelle Expèrience" to showcase the very best it had
to offer to spectators in the land of the rising sun, Japan.
"Fascination" was a spectacle for the eyes featuring an entirely
redesigned and modernized set, more colorful and sophisticated
costumes, new music and even a brand new venue. The Japanese took the
"theater in the round" concept to new heights -- literally! They
removed the masts that would have obstructed the view and constructed
a multi-level background so artists could appear and disappear at
will.
Seating for Japanese performances was somewhat different than for
other non-Japanese showings, which is why I group Japan differently
into a "more interesting" category. In Japan spectators did not sit in
a 270-degree semi-circle as they would elsewhere; instead the audience
sat on pew-style benches in a square-like pattern in front of and on
either side of the circular stage. This pattern was also used for
Saltimbanco's 1994 Japanese tour in which the contents of the big top
were set under a specially designed "blue special tent" by sponsors
Fuji Telecasting and Nissan at Yoyogi Olympic Plaza. And it was to the
"Yoyogi White Theater" that Alegría came to when it toured Japan in
1996. Yoyogi White Theater and the theater used for Saltimbanco in
1994 were similar, sitting 3600 patrons.
Probably one of the greatest examples of ingenuity is the "New Big
Top" for Quidam's 2003 Japanese tour. This is an all-white dome
structure built by Fuji that contains no masts, so every seat is
unobstructed. There are 2900 seats with a complete 270-degree view.
What's impressive is the height of this big top at 28 meters (96 feet)
high, and a diameter of 57 meters (187 feet)! I say impressive because
there's nothing supporting the center of this enormous big top except
its steel frame!
Today Cirque du Soleil has five big tops that tour the globe: Alexis,
Bellinya, Funambule, Gaïa and Vivia. Each has its own style and flair.
Some are of the standard yellow and blue striped variety, and some are
of the yellow and blue "swirled" variety, while only two are white as
fresh fallen snow.
Of the standard striped variety there is only one, Gaïa, which
premiered with Dralion in 1999. Gaïa stands approximately 19 meters
(61 feet) high with four 26 meter (85 foot) masts holding it in place.
2500 patrons can catch a show within this 50.5 meter (166 feet)
diameter Grand Chapiteau.
The other two "non-white" chapiteaus are the newer, groovier "swirled"
type, so called for the ice cream-like swirl of blue and yellow
stripes that adorn them. Both Bellinya and Vivia fit within this
swirled category. These big tops feature a venue that is 19 meters
(61 feet) high and 50.9 meter (167 feet) in Diameter with four 26
meter (85 foot) masts keeping them straight and tall. Approximately
2600 patrons can sit inside these structures without breaking a sweat.
Bellinya premiered with Quidam during its second North American Tour
in 2002 (in Miami) the same year Vivia premiered with Varekai (in
Montreal).
Cirque du Soleil has two other big tops in its collection, and these
two are truly are the grandest of the Grand Chapiteau; Funambule and
Alexis. Both are all-white and were originally detailed for tours held
outside of the North American continent. Of the two Alexis is the
eldest, which premiered with Saltimbanco on its European tour in 1995.
Alegría and Quidam also occupied this big top during their European
tours (1997-1998 and 1999-2001 respectively). Funambule also
accompanied Alegría across Australia before returning to the North
American continent for it's current second NAT tour.
These two big tops boast a total area of 20,000 square meters, with
3,500 square meters just for the main tent. They are 50 meters (164
feet) in diameter, 17 meters (56 feet) high and have four masts that
are 25 meters (82 feet) high. Approximately 2500 to 2600 spectators
fill the theatrical-style seats inside. On the outside approximately
450 pegs are hammered into the ground to support the facility with 609
meters (2000 feet) of nylon cord to secure the big top to the asphalt.
Amazingly enough it's pretty self-sufficient. The site is powered by
three 350 kilowatt diesel fuel-powered generators and electricity is
distributed with approximately 3 to 4 kilometers of cable which wire
the site.
There's a lot of technology that goes into today's modern Cirque du
Soleil big tops, which is a topic for another time. However, in
comparison between the white big tops verses the yellow and blue
(striped or swirled) varieties are how the concessions stands differ.
For example, in the yellow and blue variety, the concessions and
boutique are split up amongst two smaller tents with empty space
between them unused (except perhaps for tent anchoring and/or the
ticket truck). But, for the white grand chapiteaus, the concessions
and boutique are one structure with the concessions at both ends with
the boutique running the length of space between them. It may be
something simple, but it sure makes for a magical evening when one can
step outside of the big top and still remain under canvas!
I hope you have enjoyed our three-part series on the Houses of Cirque.
As always there's much, much more to explore, and as time permits and
information becomes available, Fascination! will explore these facets
of tour technology. Regardless of which variety of venue you enjoy
watching Cirque in -- big top or theater -- one thing is certain:
you'll always be welcome in Cirque du Soleil's house.
-------------------------------------------------------------
"An Evenings Chat with BJ, Quidam's Percussionist" &
"BJ, Live from Japan! - An Online Chat"
{Originally Published: Issues #25 & #32 - September 2003
& April 2004}
-------------------------------------------------------------
PART ONE:
"An Evenings Chat with BJ, Quidam's Percussionist
--------------------------------------------------
It was a daunting challenge involving weeks of planning and several
authorizations but we finally achieved our end result... a chat with a
Cirque du Soleil musician! How would it be done? Which communication
program would we use? How would I keep control over the chat? These
and many more questions arose as those weeks began melting away. But,
on August 17, 2003 at 8:00pm Eastern Daylight Time, the chat began and
all the troubles of bringing it together were quickly forgotten. With
a "Good Morning from Japan," our guest, BJ, a percussionist with the
Quidam tour currently in Japan, joined us for about 2 and a half hours
that Sunday night and spoke about who he is, what he's doing, and
where he may be headed next, not to mention that he enjoys Sushi,
Sake, Pocky and a good Irish Pub! At one point the chat was opened up
to everyone in attendance to get a chance to speak directly to BJ - it
proved not only successful, but a highly active time. Now, I would
like to share with you the log of our chat in a more easy to read
Question and Answer format. So, take it away BJ:
BJ: With pleasure.
BJ: As you said, my name is BJ. I am 29 years old and currently
with Quidam in Osaka, Japan. I am the drummer since December
2000 and therefore did parts of the European tour, the entire
second North American tour, and now the Japanese tour. I was
born in Germany; I am German, grew up in Spain for a couple of
years and then moved back to Germany. I also have family in the
Boston area. And my favourite colour is blue.
Richasi: In the Quidam Japan programme, your name is listed as simply
"BJ". Does BJ stand for something? Is it your full name?
BJ: It does indeed stand for something: My middle initials.
Richasi: Fellow Fascination writer Keith Johnson wanted to know: What
first attracted you to drums? Who gave you your first drum kit?
BJ: That is a complicated story. I started drumming when I was
six. My mother is a music teacher and I had a lot of music
around at home. At five she put me in some elementary music
education course. After a couple of months the teacher told us
that she was from a bigger music school and that we could all
learn an instrument if we wanted. I instantly shouted "drums",
ran home and told my mom. She sighed and there we went. It is
not clear what made me say that.
Richasi: Wow, so at a pretty early age then. Were drums the only
instrument you wanted to play? Do you know how to play others?
BJ: I was never really interested in any other instrument until
the age of maybe 15-16. Then I started to learn the guitar and a
little later the piano.
Richasi: Multi-talented then. :) Do you just play drums with Quidam or
do you double with another instrument?
BJ: I hope there's talent involved... I just play drums. In
Quidam that is already a pretty busy job.
Richasi: No doubt. Sometimes twice a night, etc. Do you ever get tired
of it? Do you ever tire of playing the same music all the time?
BJ: That is a deep question because when I feel tired it is
hard for me to tell what I get tired of. I have spent quite a
great deal of time thinking about that one. I still enjoy
playing Quidam. Most mornings I wake up and get really excited
to play on that day. When I get tired of it all it is mostly due
to the circumstances. The travel, the pace of different cultures
that I have to get used to, the unbalanced way of life.
Richasi: Do you enjoy the travel or is it something you'd rather not
have to deal with?
BJ: The drumming part is a pleasure 99% of the time. The
surrounding stress might be hard on us. I love traveling, seeing
things, and exposing myself to different surroundings. But
sometimes the culture in the country we go to is so different
that the adjustment alone will eat a great deal of energy.
Richasi: When you feel the stress, and as you say you enjoy playing
the show, is there a piece you enjoy more above others? One you look
forward to playing each night? If so, what is that piece?
BJ: I used to see the show as a collection of numbers with
individual pieces of music. But as I grew into it my perception
changed. I see and feel Quidam more as two halves with waves of
intensity and energetic levels. I really love German wheel for
the way it gets me into it. If I get through German Wheel all
right then I am pretty much set for the rest of the show. I love
diabolo, Tissue. Gee, just about everything.
Richasi: Most fans would say that as well. Do you find yourself being
caught up in the emotion of the show?
BJ: On certain days I might enjoy Banquine less than Cloud
swing. But generally I try to look at it from a larger
perspective - as one thing. Various emotions. Every day is a new
emotion. Mostly - due to my specific job - I try to feel
intensity. It's not a specific emotion I try to have but I try
to be as intense as possible in my performance. The drums are a
very powerful component of Quidam. I better make it right. ;-))
Richasi: Is the emotion of the performance/music what drew you to
Cirque du Soleil and Quidam in particular or was it something else?
What made you decide to join CDS?
BJ: I did a tour with a German circus in 1996 and there I met
two artists from CdS. Before my experience with the German show
I was not into circus at all. They introduced me to cirque. I
then saw Alegría in Hamburg and soon after that Iapplied.
Mainly because I liked the music. Then I did not hear from
Cirque until late summer of 2000. I had almost forgotten about
it.
Richasi: Did you audition for Alegría?
BJ: No, I received a specific call for Quidam. They were in need
of a drummer for the rest of the European tour. I guess they
liked my drumming.
Richasi: So, you auditioned for Cirque in general?
BJ: No, I auditioned in Frankfurt, Germany on stage with the
Quidam band specifically for Quidam.
Richasi: Wow, and it must have gone great because you're on tour! :)
BJ: I guess I played a short piece of diabolo and then skipping.
I jinxed them to hire me ;-))
Richasi: Jen (JenJeninLA), who is not here tonight, wanted to know
whether being in Cirque was what you thought it would be...the
experience, the work, the training, the traveling, everything. Do you
feel excited to be part of CDS?
BJ: I remember that I was very confused with the setup and with
the way the music is conducted. I almost had to cheat my way
through it but I eventually made it through. Very much so. It is
a special work environment. I like touring, I like performing
and I like the way most Cirque shows are put together. There's a
bunch of very special people on tour with us. It's a lot of
work. A lot!! But my reward is the fact that people leave the
show with a big smile.
Richasi: I understand you've made some good friends, one of whom is
leaving soon. Does that make you sad? Will you still hear from this
person?
BJ: At present it is his plan to work on a solo project after he
leaves and so far I'll be the drummer. Other than that we are
already scheduled to meet in Ireland and have a pint of Guinness
together. We are indeed great friends and I guess that will
continue.
Richasi: Do you think Quidam will get back to Europe after Japan (and
Canada)? (I know, a hard one to answer)
BJ: very hard to answer. Usually we are the last to know.
Richasi: And we, meaning fans, are usually the first to know - lol!
BJ: That seems to be very true. ;-)) It is not my main
occupation to think about next year or the tour plans for the
rest of the decade. I am very concerned with my everyday
performance. I try to focus on what I do now.
Richasi: Must you renew a contract each year or is it two/three/four
years? A particular tour?
BJ: We sign for specific tours, i.e. the European tour, the
North American tour, the Japan tour. If a tour is longer than
two years it will be divided into shorter contracts. I will
negotiate my next year soon. And I know where we will be going
;-))
Richasi: So, if the tour were going to go to a few Canadian cities
(which we understand is a possibility), this next contract would
probably cover that?
BJ: I believe so. If it did indeed go to Canada. Maybe it does,
maybe not ;-))
Richasi: Albert (Treb, who is online here) wanted to know -- Exactly
how much of the music is live? Is there any bit that is pre-recorded
and played as a track every show? Or is every sound we hear live?
BJ: Most pieces are partially sequenced, i.e. a computer runs a
couple of tracks. Mostly choir, percussion, strings, extra sound
effects. The main structure of each number is played live.
Skipping and some shorter pieces between acts are absolutely
live. Diabolo is sequenced (percussion), hand to hand is
sequenced (strings), so is the opening (choir).
Richasi: Albert also asked, Does the music continue to evolve even
after the show's been on for all these years? And do you find that
you are allowed to make certain changes to fit your style?
BJ: As new artists join their acts and choreography changes we
have to adjust the music. I actually have a great deal of
freedom to play more "in my style". I need to make sure that I
transcend the essence of Quidam. But individual grooves or fills
are left to my taste and style. We constantly try to improve.
The composer visits every once in a while and alters things.
Richasi: What happens if you are ill? Is there someone who can fill
your place? Or, as I know they have for "O" and Mystère, do they have
your performance recorded... do you just get replaced with a recorded
you?
BJ: If I get ill the show is in serious trouble! We had to do
one performance with just recorded music in Tokyo because I was
so ill that I almost collapsed on stage and they literally
pulled me off the stage. I wanted to go on but I guess the fever
clouded my brain.
Richasi: Really? Wow! Did the audience know the difference?
BJ: Well the audience does not know how the show is supposed to
sound. But the artists and technicians feel a great difference.
The acts have to be perfect. A tape cannot react if something in
the act goes wrong.
Richasi: If you don't mind me asking, what did the musicians do? Hang
about? Appear to play but not?
BJ: That's what they did. Perfect playback and never stop
smiling. It only happened once and I hope it will never again.
Richasi: Yeah, it's no fun hearing it taped.
BJ: I was lying backstage and the mere thought of hearing the
show run and not being able to perform drove me crazy.
Richasi: We've had a couple of inquiries about... is anyone looking
over your shoulder right now? :)
BJ: No. I am alone in my room. I guess everybody else is still
sleeping. Craig (the singer) said he might pop in and check on
me but that might not happen. I don't know when he got to bed.
Richasi: Do any of the other musicians/performers get online that you
know of? Are they aware of fan groups and/or keep an ear to what is
said on the official forum?
BJ: Not really. I believe that a few do but generally we are
more concerned with life on tour. We email with friends and
family, some might chat but as far as I know this is the first
ever chat between a performer and fans.
Richasi: Speaking of the tour, what do you think of the new Fuji big
top? Is it better than the regular touring chapiteau?
BJ: It blows my mind. It is huge (2,900 seats) and has no masts.
That means it has no restricted view seats and looks even
bigger. I love it. It's quite a deal to tour it because it
actually is a semi-permanent structure that is set up on a
concrete foundation. There will be photos of it on
www.bjpercussion.de soon.
Richasi: I also assume Fuji placed you in a great housing facility?
BJ: They take good care of us. We live in the middle of the
city. In the heart of a network of shopping streets.
Richasi: I know you've said you've enjoyed touring... is there a
specific tour/city you've enjoyed above others?
BJ: London, Copenhagen, Boston, Pittsburgh, Nagoya. Most cities
have something interesting. Tokyo was hard because of the
culture shock. At the end of this year back again in Tokyo that
will be different.
Richasi: AmberrGrey (Carrie) had a quick question: What helps make a
good show so memorable for the artists and musicians?
BJ: Could you rephrase that question a little. I am not sure
what she means.
Richasi: I believe she's asking is there a particular aspect of a
show/performance/city that makes it memorable to you as an artist?
Say, makes you think of that particular city as the tour goes on?
BJ: That usually is linked to the private life on tour. I like
simple things. I like to be in a city with spirit - a heart. And
preferably an Irish Pub. A good hotel also makes things easier.
Richasi: Other than sitting at an Irish Pub during your off hours...
do you have any other hobbies you indulge in?
BJ: I like to spend my time with friends on tour discovering the
city. I read a lot. I also like to write little stories about
tour life and other things. But I don't know if that collection
will ever be published. At present I am reading a lot of books
that are related to Japan. "Memories of a geisha" for example. I
also read Nabokov, or Douglas Adams.
Richasi: Have you, by chance, taken in any Taiko drumming while in
Japan?
BJ: I will soon. A couple of people wanted to do it and we
finally found a possibility to do it. I am really excited about
that.
Richasi: I hope you get to see Kodo. They're just wonderful. I highly
recommend them! :)
BJ: I did see them but I haven't had a chance to try it myself
yet. Other than that: I am currently very busy working on a
couple of projects. Craig Jennings album requires a lot of
attention recently. I have just recorded some overdub drums in
Nagoya. After Osaka Craig will fly to the US and start mixing
the beast. I also work with a couple of people in New York or
L.A. Technology is fascinating.
Richasi: Any specific technology you find fascinating that you work
with on tour?
BJ: I can record drums in Osaka and send them to NY through the
Internet. I don't know how specific I can get with you guys.
You're not all crazy musicians, are you?
Richasi: Some of us might be, and those who aren't here, may be
interested in the details...
BJ: I like a hard disk recording device called Pro Tools. We
have used it for Craig's things. I also like my new mixers that
I have just installed at the beginning of the Japan tour.
Richasi: Kaliwolf wanted to know what kind of music does Craig do?
BJ: That's hard to describe. It is both very electronic and very
acoustic. Every track is different. A great challenge and a wide
range of styles.
Richasi: Any particular type of music you like? Have you listened to
other soundtracks from other CDS shows?
BJ: I know most soundtracks. I recently spent a couple of shows
in the drum booth with La Nouba's drummer Joe. I really love
that music. I also love Saltimbanco's soundtrack. But mostly I
listen to "non-cirque" music. Peter Gabriel, Toto, Miles Davis,
Keith Jarrett, Gino Vanelli, Beethoven, Zepplin, and Green Day -
whatever comes my way and touches me. It keeps me alert and
helps me tolerate different styles and play them.
Richasi: Changing gears a bit -- do you find that the Quidam crew is
tightly knit?
BJ: Extremely! Through thick and thin. We do a lot together.
Mostly smaller groups but if we have a reason to get together
and have a festivity - we sure show up. We stand together. In
some situations the life of someone depends on the reliability
of a fellow artist or technician. You need a great amount of
trust to deal with that.
Richasi: Would you give up your drumming role with Quidam to be with
another Cirque production?
BJ: I will always welcome new challenges in my life. The band
just did a gig together in Nagoya. only the music we liked. A
lot of rehearsing but a great gig. I guess the photos are on
psioui.com. So we do actually spend a lot of time on extra
stuff. Some artists have just started to rehearse for a cabaret
that we will stage at the end of the Japan tour. Only for
ourselves. Just for the sheer fun and excitement.
Richasi: If given the opportunity, would you want to change to another
Cirque show?
BJ: That very much depends on the show. I like some more than
others.
Richasi: Other than Quidam, do you have a particular favorite?
BJ: La Nouba. And Alegría. I have not had the chance to see any
of the Vegas shows but I hear that they are really good. Being
on tour does not really allow me to see the rest of our shows.
Richasi: What about La Nouba do you like? And Alegría?
BJ: I like the poetry of Alegría. It is a joyous and beautiful
show. And I love the soundtrack. In La Nouba I love the power.
It reminds me of Quidam. It is a bright and fast version of
Quidam. The creative team behind it was the same so you
recognize the trademark.
Richasi: Speaking of other shows, have you heard any buzz on Zumanity?
Interesting concept I must say... Have any thoughts on it?
BJ: None whatsoever. I know almost nothing about it. We
discussed it in the kitchen yesterday. We are trying to get more
information but Japan is far from Vegas. Of course I hope that
they are doing fine.
Richasi: All of the people (fans) I've spoken with thus far about the
show have glowing reviews of it. Looks as if Cirque has another hit on
their hands.
BJ: We did send them our best wishes for their premiere. But
that happens between most shows for every premiere in every
city.
Richasi: Random question: Do you get any time off on tour?
BJ: Between cities I usually have 8-12 days off. Depending on
the tour. The Japanese Big Top takes longer to tear down and set
up. I think we tour with 60+ trucks. They need six big auto-
cranes to set it up. It's the biggest structure Cirque has ever
toured with.
Richasi: Fans were able to see the big top being constructed in Tokyo
over a webcam. It fascinated me. Hopefully I'll get to see it someday.
I hear they'll use it for all Japanese Cirque tours.
BJ: I love it (but I said that already). Yes. They will use if
for all further Japanese Cirque tours. Have you seen photos of
the outside?
Richasi: I have, I think on your website if I'm not mistaken (but I
might be). Might be Pascals as well (psioui.com). I'm sure he has
some. It's a great looking bigtop. I bet it has a state-of-the-art
sound system in there, right? :)
BJ: The sound system is basically the same we used in the States
and in Europe. But we had to alter it slightly and add some
speakers and amps. The Dome is bigger than the Big Tops in the
US or Europe so we need more power.
Richasi: Nadia (Morpheus, who is with us) asked: Is there a marked
difference in the Japanese audience with relation to other cultures
that's he's perform to, ie, the reaction to certain acts or clowns
that is quite different than what they had anticpated?
BJ: The Japanese have a totally different way of reacting. They
are very quiet and polite. They find parts of the show exciting
that are considered "normal" or "unspectacular" in other
countries. Applause is generally much quieter. But that is not
related to the excitement they feel.
Richasi: Do you find that changes your perspective of the performance?
As in, I know some performers become unsettled if an audience doesn't
react to what they do.
BJ: We have a greater amount of people crying out of emotion
here than anywhere else. I certainly appreciate it if an
audience reacts. It gives me energy. In our case I had to learn
to take the Japanese way of admiring and reacting. Some people
have more problems with that than others. Our clowns can suffer
sometimes. They need participation.
Richasi: I remember hearing a remark that they didn't like coming to
the US because of that fact. And yet, audiences in the US seem to
react to just about everything (not always, though). Japanese are
reserved.
BJ: Japanese like to watch and silently take it in. US audiences
are very loud but I sometimes ask myself what that indicates. It
is not the volume of the applause that reflects the
appreciation. It is unusual for Japanese audiences to get on
their feet at the end of the show.
Richasi: And for the last moderated question, what type of equipment
do you use in the show?
BJ: I use Sonor drums, Sabian cymbals, Pro-mark sticks and Remo
heads. Micophones are mostly Shures with a couple of AKGs. I mix
on two digital Yamaha desks. For the electronic stuff I use
mostly Roland gear and samplers.
(At this point, the chat was opened up.)
KaliWolf: I was wondering, what was the composer's idea behind the
music? What was the core sound he was trying to convey?
BJ: The main idea behind the music of Quidam is eastern.
Ukrainian, Baltic music.
Treb: Do you know for sure if Richard will be compiling his
independent work any time in the near future? If so, will you have
any involvement in the project?
BJ: I will probably drum a few tracks on the album. But I cannot
say when that will be. He will leave soon and then take his time
to approach it.
Richasi: Katie (who isn't here I don't think) wanted to know about
your schooling background. As in a particular college/field of study?
BJ: Well I studied philosophy and German literature. For the
drumming part of my life: I was in music school for 9 years when
I was 8-17. The rest is pretty ramdom and always slightly
chaotic.
Pedro: What happens in the process of a new "Zoe" joining the show?
BJ: New Zoe's will do training in Montreal for several months
after they have been cast and join us about three weeks before
they start performing in the show. They then start to perform
the show with an "old" Zoe standing backstage singing and always
ready to jump in. So they lipsync. The next step would be to do
one half and then the entire show.
Treb: What happens when singers themselves become sick?
BJ: On the Japanese tour we have both Craig and Richard with us
and both sing in every show. Some shows Richard will sing most,
the next day they switch. That helps them save their vocal
chords. If one is out the other takes over but we've never had
that so far.
Treb: Is there a particular piece that you LEAST like to play?
BJ: The exit of the clowns right before cloud swing is not
always my favourite pat But it's only 20 secs so I guess it's
not so bad. The precision of the music with the acts comes from
a rather complicated system of cues behind the music.
Amberrgrey: For instance, what kind of cues? From watching the
artists?
BJ: Our bandleader wears a head microphone and counts in
individual parts of the music when he sees that the artists are
ready to move on to the next segment of their act. We can cut,
extend or repeat individual parts of every piece.
Treb: Do you find yourself struggling to communicate on your off hours
sometimes? Like, finding the right bus, etc
BJ: Communication here is really not easy. especially because
they also have a different way of body language. And my accent
is probably terrible.
Pedro: Has anyone ever offered money to get a Cirque band to play for
them privately, maybe at a party?
BJ: I have never heard of such an offer. But I guess that would
be really expensive.
Treb: You have mentioned that some parts of the music are pre-
recorded. If you have to repeat a segment of the music due to a
mistake in the act, how do those pre-recorded segments "work" out for
the whole music?
BJ: We work with a system called RPS. Realtime Programmed
Sequence.
Treb: Can you explain how that works? Maybe elaborate a bit?
BJ: Each number is cut into 5-20 pieces that are assigned to
individual keys on the keyboards. The keyboard player can - at
anytime - name the cue that comes up and "punch" it in with the
groove. It is my job to make it sound rythmical and logical.
Most cues have a fixed order so he does not have to announce
them. He just counts them in. Banquine is quite a bit of talking
behind the music.
Amberrgrey: Wow- how long did it take you to get used to that?
BJ: It took me nine days to learn it but I stopped having heart
attacks after two months.
KaliWolf: This may have been asked, I'm not sure. Do you have a
favorite act or segment of the show (not a favorite song)?
BJ: I do not see the show as individual numbers put together.
For me it is more loke a wave.
Treb: Do the acts every become "boring"? Does it get to the point
where any of the acts just become, "Eh, okay, I've done this a million
times -- this is just work now." Does it get to a point where it just
seems routine, or do you feel the magic every day?
BJ: Some get tired but we always find ways to motivate ourselves
and our colleagues. Most people get really excited when it is
time for them to perform.
A few moments later we ended the chat on a high note. I wish to extend
my thanks once again to BJ and his associates for making this chat
happen and to BJ himself for taking the time out of his busy schedule
(not to mention getting up early in the morning) to speak with us. On
October 3, 2003, BJ will celebrate his 1000th performance with Quidam
and in his words... "It's getting better and better."
BJ: Mesdames et Messieurs: Bonsoir!
PART TWO:
"BJ, Live from Japan! - An Online Chat"
----------------------------------------
On a wonderful Sunday evening in March, BJ, the drummer on tour with
Quidam, once again took a few moments out of his busy schedule to chat
with Cirque du Soleil fans via the Internet. Like last time, BJ joined
about 10 Cirque fans from across the globe on the IRC (Internet Relay
Chat) network. He spoke with us about Japan, his current feelings
about the tour, projects he's working on and various opinions about
where he is in life. The chat was not without its hiccups, however, as
the broadband provider compromised Internet service two or three
times. Regardless of the intermittent problems with the network, the
chat was a success and I hope everyone who attended had a great time!
For those who could not make the online chat, don't fear, as before
we've taken minutes to present for your enjoyment. Thus, once again,
take it away BJ!
BJ: Ohio gozaimasu!
Richasi: Ohayo Gozaimasu! (Good Morning) How is the morning?
BJ: The morning is cold and slightly cloudy. Yet also extremely
hung over from last night's sumo party. We had our final
Goodbye-Japan-Party yesterday night. It involved a lot of Sake
and a (fake but entertaining) sumo fight.
Richasi: So when do you leave Japan?
BJ: We leave in exactly two weeks. I fly out on April, 5th in
the morning. Not even 12 after tearing down.
Richasi: How has your week been, to start out?
BJ: Well, our week - my week - has been extremely busy. I have
played ten shows, done a lot of final shopping for the folks at
home and also worked on Craigs album for the last time before it
goes into the mixing stage.
Richasi: Have you figured out the art of Japanese gift giving?
BJ: Well, have the Japanese even figured that out? It's
complicated. But I guess that I have learned a little.
Richasi: And, a Q from the stage (from Quidamgrl): When will you
update your site?
BJ: Uhh, my site. I know. I feel extremely bad about that. I am
working so much and the guys in Germany who deal with the design
and the actual updates are constantly bothering me. I guess soon
is the time to update it. In fact, there are massive updates on
the way.
Richasi: Cool! So we can expect some goodies from your site soon, ne?
BJ: Yes, in fact you can expect quite some goodies.
Richasi: Q from Treb -- How are you and Craig coordinating the project
now that he's over at Varekai?
BJ: There will be more music, some videos and some conversations
with fellow artists and other musicians - not only from Quidam.
The coordination of this project is not very easy. I work on a
Pro Tools system that I tour. Craig has a Logic Audio system on
his side and our producer, i.e. Michael Picton who was our
keyboardist in Europe, also works with Logic. We send tracks
back and forth on burned DVDs and try to have everything as
seamless as possible.
Richasi: As a review for those who weren't here last time, can you
explain the project?
BJ: The project is simple. Craig has written an album. The idea
and the musical style are a cross mix of rock, pop and trance,
with very deep lyrics and the whole thing is sort of a concept
album.
Richasi: Q from Treb & Quidamgrl: When do we get it in our hot little
hands? :)
BJ: Almost two years ago we started recording it in Ohio but
because of the "other" job that we have, it takes a long time to
finish it. But we're close. The final mixing will start in
April. I personally hope to have a result in the late summer.
Maybe August. So far it sounds pretty cool.
Richasi: Will the album be commercially available via Amazon or other
online retailer or direct from the source?
BJ: As of now Craig does not have a record label for it but we
are working on options. One of them is Cirques new music
division, another is to create our own label but the easiest way
would be to just sell it to a big label. I hope that works. The
album really grew on me. I love the music and I feel incredibly
blessed that I was allowed to play such a big part in it. So far
we have a lot of bits and pieces and I think that I am safe when
I tell you that it's quite good.
Richasi: You said in one of your communications that you were
exhausted... circusboy wants to know what your average day is like
now?
BJ: My average day is busy. I get up in the morning (depending
on what time the first show is), shower and fight my way through
one million Japanese to work. Then I will have a meal, a sound
check and two shows. After that I might return straight to the
hotel or stay to make some alterations or discuss some ideas
with other artists or technicians. The evenings vary from going
to a sushi bar to going straight to bed.
Richasi: Rod_digga wants to know if you're enjoying Japan and whether
or not you're ready to leave?
BJ: That's a difficult question. I am very ready to leave. In
fact, I want to leave as soon as possible. But that has nothing
to do with Japan. I love Japan and most every thing I have seen
here. But with our relentless schedule I have almost no time to
see Japan and explore it. So I am not tired of Japan. I guess I
am just tired of our schedule and of the fact that it is
extremely difficult to communicate here and that many things
within the Japanese culture will always remain a riddle for
which I never had the time.
Richasi: Have you found the Japanese people to be patient with you?
Have you attempted communicating with any Japanese?
BJ: Japan is beautiful. Above all I love Kyoto but also Nara,
Hakone or Nikko. Everybody should go there and learn that there
is a different world on this planet. I have communicated with
many Japanese and just because I am an entertainer their
patience is almost unlimited. But it is unthinkable not to be
patient in Japan. You cannot push anybody! Patience is
politeness and that means a lot here.
Richasi: Q from Quidamgrl: Have you learned to read/speak much
Japanese?
BJ: Unfortunately I have not had the time to learn much
Japanese. I guess I have picked up some words and phrases but I
have to admit that my Japanese has remained poor. I think that
we all are excited to go back to a territory where we can
understand and comprehend and where our schedule is less
demanding.
{Editor's Note: The chat barely got started when we were rudely
interrupted. It took about 15 minutes or more but we all hung in there
and before long the chat started up again. The rest of the chat time
from here on out was open forum, which meant any of the fans could ask
their question directly to BJ. While this can turn chaotic, it can be
quite fun. This section has been edited to remove comments and/or
questions not for BJ.}
Q: Will Richard Price be performing with the show in Vancouver?
BJ: No, he will leave us in two weeks. He just came back to help
Andree, the new singer. But trust me: Andree is quite up to the
job. You will be pleased. The show sounds excellent at the
moment. We have a new sound guy since Fukuoka and he really
knows his job. We have also started to do multi-track recordings
of every single show. There might be a Quidam live album ahead.
I am serious. There might be a live album. THERE MIGHT!!! Don't
quote me on that one.
Richasi: BJ, what did you get to see out in Kyoto, Hakone?
BJ: I saw the Gion quarter in Kyoto and I actually saw a Geisha.
Other than that I saw many shrines and temples and other sites
in Kyoto. I went there several times. It's just beautiful. My
favorite place in Japan so far.
Richasi: Did you happen to see the movie "Lost in Translation" and if
so, can you relate to it?
BJ: I have not seen it. It's banned in Japan for its racist
content. Some of my colleagues saw it and they did not actually
appreciate it for its unbalanced view. The Japanese are strict
with that stuff.
Richasi: Reading any manga or watching any anime while there?
BJ: Well, there are no translated mangas and I can't really read
Japanese. But most everybody here reads them.
Q: Did ya make it up Fuji-san?
BJ: Fuji was on the agenda a couple of weeks ago. Went there
with Laetitia, our young singer.
Q: BJ, are you going home or on vacation after Japan or are you going
straight to Vancouver?
BJ: Home! There is no food like moms food. I will have about
three weeks with friends and family and no drums. Home for me is
a small city by the name of Aachen about one hour west of
Cologne. But I will not spend my entire time in Germany. Just
after flying into Germany I will pack a small bag again and fly
to London and do a short bike tour with Richard Price. Just for
fun among really good friends.
Q: Does Andre sound completely different than Craig/Richard?
BJ: Yes, he does. But he has his own beauty. I am quite happy
about the fresh air he brought to Quidam. And trust me. Quidam
is nothing like the DVD anymore.
Q: Do you think it'll be weird adjusting to a smaller big top after
getting out of Japan?
BJ: Quidam has changed and evolved. It might be weird for a
short while but I know that old big top so well. It will
probably feel like coming home. Just bare with me. I don't play
like Raynald who is on the DVD. I sound quite different.
Q: BJ, any new equipment upgrades since our last chat?
BJ: New overhead microphones, new mixing desk for me, new room
microphones different snare drum and new socks for my costume.
Q: Are the crowds picking back up for the show? I know you mentioned
somewhere along the line they were thinning out.
BJ: At the moment we are sold out straight. The Japanese take
the end of a run very seriously. I hear that there are tickets
for the very last show in the black market for over $1000.
Q: How would you compare Marina Trouchina's handbalancing to Olga's?
BJ: Marina is more straightforward with her act. She does a
couple of things that Olga would never have been able to do but
she is a craftswoman. Olga was more poetic. Both have their
beauty. I can't decide whom I prefer. But the music for the act
is stronger than ever.
Q: Same music I assume, that Elena Lev performed to when she was
contracted?
BJ: Elena was great to work with. What a nice girl. I think she
preferred Alegría as a show because she could smile more but she
loved Quidam for the friends backstage. Over all I think she
misses Quidam a little more. At least, that's what she told me.
Q: Has the music for the Aerial Hops changed any?
BJ: Aerial Hoops sounds the same. The funny thing is that you
will hear Craig Jennings on that. Richard always used to play
didgeridoo on that and Craig did an impression of a monk voice.
Andree had trouble with that so we sampled Craig's voice and in
the very beginning and end you will hear Craig's voice for some
seconds.
Q: What's the name to the Handbalancing song again? (Quidam)
BJ: I have no idea what the name of the handbalancing song is.
We don't use the commercial names of the record. We just call
the tunes by the names of the act.
Q: BJ, you ever work with Jutras on Quidam's music?
BJ: Of course I worked with Benoit.
[. . .]
BJ: Peter Jackson just came to see us the other week. Really
nice guy.
Q: How is he to work with?
BJ: He is very specific with certain things. But I guess that
after 3 and a half years and after being the longest serving
drummer on Quidam we know each other well enough. He trusts me
quite a bit and I have a lot of leeway. If he feels that you
give your best he is very easy to work with. He sat with me in
the drum booth and I had no comments from him other than that he
loved to be there. After that we got pretty drunk with Irish
beer. So what can I say?
Q: Does Benoit visit the show regularly to see how things are kept up?
BJ: Benoit is currently busy with MGM so he does not have a lot
of time. But he likes to check on things every once in a while.
The band at the moment is pretty good. So Benoit feels safe not
to show up.
Q: Any clue what Audrey's doing now?
BJ: I have no idea what Audrey is doing. Unfortunately! But I'll
let you know as soon as I know.
Q: What other show would like to play in?
BJ: I could see myself playing Alegría and La Nouba.
Q: How are Daniel and Asa doing with the show?
BJ: Daniel and Asa are doing really well.
Q: We heard Roman got injured. Is he doing ok?
BJ: Romans right foot is broken so he is out of the show until
late in Vancouver. Dima fell on it when the big tower in
Banquine collapsed. Very unfortunate incident.
Q: How is everyone taking the fact that Guy is now on the list of
billionaires? Does anyone care? :)
BJ: As long as Guy drinks Guinness with me, I'm fine. I think
that most people are happy about it. In the end it indicates how
successful we are. I personally don't care about how much
someone earns. But he is a nice guy and still knows his vision.
That's worth much more.
Q: What genre/style will Richard Price's solo project be?
BJ: Do you know Steely Dan? That would be the style of music for
Richard. Just VERY intelligent Pop with lots of influences from
Jazz, Rock and various other styles.
Moments after the chat came to a close. He did have 4 suitcases to
pack he said, and to call his mother. And, even though we were sad to
see him go we understood. Before he left, however, we advised him how
much we looked forward to hearing him play on our pending CirqueCon
2004 trip to Vancouver. To that he replied, "I will be there, on
stage, dressed in blue, drumming like never before."
BJ: Mesdames et Messieurs: Bonsior!
Hai, arigato gozaimasu, BJ!
Thank You!
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Who Has What It Takes?"
By: Keith Johnson & LouAnna Valentine - Seattle, Wash (USA)
{Originally Published: Issues #41-44 - February 2005
through May 2005}
-------------------------------------------------------------
PART 1: "ARRIVALS"
***********************************************
The Audition. Job interview of the entertainment arts. Where years
of training, sweating and pain come together in a burst of creative
energy. And all too often for an artist their hopes are dashed
immediately, in front of a large group of people including the
"winners." Yet they subject themselves to the process again and
again, sometimes with success, more often with failure.
But how better to judge an artists' training, capability, stamina, and
creativity in a physical art than to see it, performed in real time,
live in front of you? The audition is a time-honored tradition of the
entertainment industry, and though it has evolved as performance arts
have evolved, the stress on the candidate has stayed largely the same.
It speaks to the courage of artists that they are willing to
repeatedly subject themselves to the likely potential of rejection.
If you're a different kind of organization, with a different ethic and
mindset, must you continue to use the old audition model? If you're
Cirque du Soleil the answer is a resounding no. Taking advantage of
their desirability by artists looking for opportunities to expand
their creativity, Cirque has, as it has with circus arts, reinvented
the audition model. One that combines the search for technical
excellence with an examination of the artist's inner soul.
When Fascination! started and we began tracking the fannish Internet
network, we quickly found there wasn't a week that went by when there
wasn't a post on Cirque Club or somewhere else that took the form of,
"I'm in (gymnastics, dancing, acting, juggling classes - take your
pick) and one day I want to work for Cirque du Soleil." Or "I want
Cirque du Soleil to be my first job." A lofty goal and worthy of
struggle, but often obvious in those messages was that the writer had
little knowledge of the challenge involved in making it onto a Cirque
stage.
Being the premiere circus company it is many artists would like to be
employed by Cirque. And the numbers illustrate the challenge they
face. Each year, Cirque receives thousands of demo tapes for its many
disciplines (dancing, acting, singing, musicians, acrobatics and
circus arts). Of that number many will come to one of Cirque's
auditions in the hope of becoming part of the larger Cirque du Soleil
family of about 3000 employees' total; of which 720 are artists and
the rest are office employees, technicians, cooks, coaches, etc.
Their ages range from 13 to 72.
Auditions are held in Montreal as well as in various cities around the
world each year. In 2003 there were about a dozen trips for a total
of about 100 days of general auditions. And there can be even more,
especially for specific disciplines. More specialized auditions are
held regularly for acrobatic and circus disciplines.
Cirque's casting FAQ list (at < http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/
CirqueDuSoleil/en/jobs/onstage/specialities/artisfaq >) describes the
audition process this way: "It is a very exciting time for everyone.
Because no one knows what's going to happen, it's like the suspense
before discovering a new world! It's very important for Casting to
meet the artists in person. At auditions, we assess technical
performance, along with artistic potential. We also pay close
attention to the individual's personality. Open-mindedness and
generosity are the key words, and you should be ready to experiment.
Please note that the audition period includes several elimination
processes."
Results of auditions are entered into the expanding Cirque database.
Each artist invited to an audition has a profile with all his or her
personal information in the database. Files are kept on those that
are "chosen" as well as those that are not (you'd need to know why a
person wasn't chosen). There are also QuickTime movies showing the
best parts of their audition. These movies are for casting purposes
only. The entire file can be accessed at any location, so a candidate
from Montreal could be seen by an Artistic Director in Las Vegas.
So what exactly is this unique Cirque du Soleil audition like? What
makes it so different from others? It was this question that we as
Fascination! wanted to explore more deeply. And when it was announced
that Cirque would be holding auditions in Seattle, Washington, we were
quick to ask Corporate Headquarters if we could cover the auditions
for our readers, to give them a better idea of just what it takes to
be a Cirque audition candidate. And we were delighted, and a little
surprised, when they said yes.
But, they advised us, there were some rules for allowing the media to
view auditions. (How exciting for us to finally be considered
"media"!) These had to do with making sure the audition process was
not disturbed by media presence. And no flash photography. No
problem for us!
Friday, April 23rd, 2004
8:40am - A cool dry spring morning in the Emerald City. My wife,
photographer LouAnna Valentine, and I arrive at the football stadium
parking lot at Seattle Center, where remnants of the 1962 Seattle
Worlds Fair have been converted into museums, performance halls, and
open space. Wearing our blue denim Cirque jackets we proceed to the
north side of Center House to find the doors - locked! We knock
loudly and a security guard lets us in, informing us we should have
come to the south side of the building this early in the morning.
Zipping in as the door closes is a young lady in her early 20's with
blond frizzy hair, black exercise shorts and a powder blue top.
Between LouAnna and I we refer to her throughout the day by the city
from which she hails, "Toronto." She had sent her audition tape to
Cirque a year and a half ago when she lived in Alberta, Canada. But
by the time she got her audition callback she had moved to Toronto.
For her it was quite a long and expensive flight. Her sweet
personality and excitement make us root for her throughout the day.
The 4th Floor of Center House is dedicated to offices and low-cost
rehearsal spaces. Theatre 4, where the auditions are to be held, is
hidden behind a thick white fire door, and down a long narrow hallway
with brickwork on one side and pipes overhead. To us it looks so
stark that we don't think anyone would ever come here to see a
performance, though it is touted as a performance space. But it looks
like a place for work, not for show.
Others arrive slowly. Soon after we arrive an Asian lady from LA
appears, as well as a lady from Phoenix (whose feet, with calluses and
a sore, bear the marks of a dancer). Conversation is more camaraderie
than competition or psyching out. They all stretch, contorting their
legs and bodies into incredible pretzel shapes; impossible positions
most people could never achieve but which they do as a simple part of
warming up.
9:20am - People keep arriving. Yet nobody from Cirque, they are now
20 minutes late. The chatter level rises; the natives are getting
restless. There are 13 people now - 5 men, 8 women. They have
survived the first day of auditions, which started with 27 people -
more than half of whom were cut.
9:31am - A man in his early 20's, wearing jeans and a polo shirt with
a lanyard hanging from his neck comes down the hallway from one of the
business offices to use the restroom. He looks at the group with a
bemused expression; he's seen this many times before.
9:35am - The Cirque audition team finally arrives. A tall man in his
late 30's instantly spots us as the reporting team from Fascination! -
we are the only ones not wearing tight fabrics and stretching. This
is Richard Dagenais, who welcomes us into the audition room and helps
us set up.
Theatre 4 is a sparse room about 60 feet deep and 30 feet wide with
windows high along the wall to our right and full-length mirrors on
the wall to our left. Curtains that allow the room to become totally
dark hang on both walls. The floor is littered with strips of gaffers
tape. Stage lights and speakers dot the ceiling. This room has been
well used.
A small room behind the near wall has an elevated platform where the
tech crew sits. The lighting console and sound equipment are here as
well as a long plywood table and some stools. A window of glass
separates the platform from the rehearsal space. It is from here we
will watch the day unfold. LouAnna sets herself on a box with her
camera; she will use this vantage point to take pictures. I set up my
note-taking equipment to her left. Richard, to my left, operates the
sound and light equipment and helpfully answers our many questions.
We are introduced to the members of the Cirque audition team:
Richard Dagenais - Head of Auditions and Logistics, Casting
Charles St-Onge - Audition Coordinator
Anne-Marie Duchène - Artistic Scout
Charmaine Hunter - Dance Evaluator
Charmaine is a free-lance external evaluator based in Las Vegas. Her
role is to run the dance part of the audition, show choreography and
judge the candidates' technical ability. She can tell Anne-Marie if a
candidate has good technique or weaknesses. "She's wonderful and
great for the artists," says Richard, "It's very easy to work with
Charmaine with her openness and expertise."
Anne-Marie is also a dancer, in her role as Artistic Scout she knows
the profiles of all the shows and what Cirque is looking for. She
will be running the afternoon session.
As Audition Coordinator, Charles deals with the logistics of the
auditions, from welcoming the candidates to renting the hall to
booking hotel rooms, as well as running the camera and sound/light
systems. He's been with Cirque for four years and comes from a ballet
jazz dance background.
And Richard? "I supervise the auditions and all the logistics for
casting in all its various aspects. I need to look at the audition
process every once in a while, analyze how we do it as a whole. See
if it's still valid, if it still works, see if there are things we can
improve or add. I attend the auditions in Montreal and at least once
a year I try to go on a trip with an audition team. This year
Seattle, last year I was in Berlin and New York." In Montreal,
Richard supervises nine people. Casting has grown a lot. When he
first joined Cirque there were about 18 in the department, there are
now 37.
Richard started his career as a dancer for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet,
and was there for 10 years. Upon finishing his dance career he went
to work for Canadian Actors Equity in contract negotiation and as a
union rep. After being away from his hometown of Montreal for 18
years he was looking for an opportunity to be back with his family
when a contract negotiator position opened in Cirque casting. In the
department he was involved in contracts for the artists on several
productions. Now 40 and married, he lives in a Montreal condo with
his wife, a popular yoga/Pilates teacher, and counts photography and
being a Big Brother as among his interests.
The candidates pin numbers to their outfits. The numbers don't have
any sort of order to them, just three digits with "Cirque du Soleil"
across the top. The audition team sets up on the far side of the
room, facing us. Anne-Marie opens a laptop and begins to tap away.
Charles sets up a video camera on a tripod; most everything this day
will be recorded. Charmaine waits and watches. Richard hops onto the
technical platform and prepares the sound/light equipment, which he
will control for Charles all day. He will lead us step-by-step
through this second day of the dance audition process. Having arrived
three days ago, they will be auditioning dancers, actors, singers and
musicians during their two-week stay in Seattle.
"Auditions are one of the first ambassadors of Cirque du Soleil,"
explains Richard. "We (auditions) are the first contact artists have
with Cirque. Even [though there are] scouts that go to festivals and
shake their hand and make contact with a lot of them, this is really
the first Cirque du Soleil experience they have. So it's important
that the process be an interesting and positive one for them, because
they will leave with that impression."
"[Artists] discover a lot during our auditions. They have probably
never been asked to do these kinds of things. So they learn and a lot
of times surpass themselves, they will go beyond their limit and
discover new aspects of their talents. So far we've had very good
feedback and they love our auditions. Sometimes they want to come
back just because they love the process."
But wouldn't a more traditional "cattle call" casting process bring a
wider variety of talent? "We don't want hundreds and hundreds of
people to come in. We'd rather work with a smaller group of people
and go into very specific things. Our auditions are different from
any other audition. We want to go further with them, to see how far
they can go. Because all of them have something. They've come a long
way just by getting to this point. We like to treat everyone with
respect. And we want them to have fun and learn something, because
the artists that we do not select could potentially be selected during
the next audition they attend."
"It's not like a Broadway audition where they show choreography, the
director is there, and people are chosen on the spot. We try to make
[the selection process] as simple as possible, considering that we
don't have the artistic director with us. If you look at a ballet
company or Broadway show the artistic director of the show is at the
audition table. He makes the cuts, he makes the decisions. So people
that are picked at the end of the audition are the artistic directors'
choice. With us, we have to be [the artistic director's] eyes and
ears. The reason we videotape everything is to be able to show these
images to the Artistic Directors or the Creators in order for them to
decide who they want in their show."
Of course, along with the joy of telling a candidate they have been
chosen to be part of the database, there is the sad job of
disappointing those who aren't chosen? "It's part of the process. We
try and do it as respectfully as possible and give them a little bit
of feedback. We try to open the door for them to write us if they
want more feedback about the audition and why they weren't picked. If
we give someone specific corrections, in two years they may come back
and impress us. And eventually they might end up on our stage. It
makes good business sense for us, and they leave with a good feeling.
They leave the audition and they have a smile on their face even
though they may not have been selected. And they've learned
something."
Anne-Marie agrees. "Very quickly, especially in the audition process,
if people aren't prepared, we know right away. If they choose to
accept [our feedback] and accept that they didn't prepare, it's all
good. It's a learning experience, they're going to go back and get
all their tools and create a really solid foundation, a great toolbox,
and in another year they're going to re-apply. And they're going to
remember that scouts name because they're going to call him/her. We
scout for new artists but at the same time we have a precious database
of artists that we go back and review. We know that if they've
already auditioned for us there's a maturity, knowledge, an acceptance
that they know, "I'm going to get my booty kicked, but it's worth it."
Can the pressure of an audition really show a scout an artist's true
personality? "Auditions are nerve racking," Richard admits. "And
sometimes an artist isn't at his best because of his nerves. We try
to get them to forget they're in an audition and feel relaxed. The
more comfortable they are the more they'll let go and the more we'll
see who they really are, what they can do, what they have to offer.
So the more comfortable we make them, the better it is and the better
results we get."
"We don't look for "cookie cutter" type of artists. We like the fact
that they're different, that they have personality and quirkiness,
little "weird" things that they do. We ask them, "Is there anything
you do that is different?"
What's the most fun about going to an audition? "Contact with the
artists. There is openness when they come to our audition that is fun
to see. Singers for example: sometimes somebody comes to the studio
and touches you with their voice and their choice of songs and you're
almost in tears; it's wonderful."
So what exactly is Cirque du Soleil looking for in an artist? "We're
looking for talent, of course. And we have specific things because we
have specific profiles for each of our characters, so sometimes there
are height and look requirements. There's a fullness to an artist
that we're looking for which includes talent, maturity, openness, and
experience. Sometimes, especially with acrobats, we get lots of
competitive experience but they've never stepped on stage before. But
they're incredibly talented as gymnasts. That's why we have general
training for acrobats every year so we can teach them a little bit of
how to be an artist Cirque du Soleil style and what it's like to be in
front of an audience. We try, in the short amount of time we have to
work with them, to make them a more complete performer."
The Cirque casting website is also to-the-point: "We want to get to
know dancers of every background and origin. Avant-garde, new dance,
solo creators, performers... the basic requirement is technical
mastery. The pace of 8 to 10 shows a week requires sustained
commitment and self-discipline."
While positions for circus acts and acrobats might be obvious in their
needs, dancers and actors are less so. Where does Cirque utilize
dancers, we asked Richard. "The dancers in our shows are characters.
In Mystère for example, we have Green Lizards, the Black Widow, the
Bird of Prey, and the Beauty Queen. They are all dancers, but they
all have their own character to play in the story. We also have some
pure characters that could be played by a dancer. Eugen in "O", is
played by an actor, but could potentially be done by a dancer. Target
in Quidam is presently played by a dancer."
PART 2: "THE AUDITION BEGINS"
***********************************************
9:47am - "Kumbalawe" from Saltimbanco plays on the sound system as
people continue to warm up.
The kinds of artists Cirque is looking for is heavily influenced by
what the creative teams and artistic directors of a show are looking
for. For example, Richard explains, Dominic Champagne is one of the
creators of Varekai, along with the rest of the creative team (Andrew
Watson, choreographer Michael Montanaro, composer Violaine Corradi,
and so forth). "Once the show is up and running there's an Artistic
Director that will keep the artistic integrity of the show alive.
Dominic is not going to go on tour with the show, although he might
visit once in a while and give his comments."
"Our scouts meet with the artistic directors and get to know them,
their tastes, what they're looking for. So when they are in an
audition they're not seeing artists through their own eyes but through
the artistic directors' eyes. It's difficult but that's what they
have to do, to see whether these people are going to be able to
satisfy what the artistic director is looking for. You have to strike
a balance between your own opinion, your taste, and putting yourself
in a room with somebody watching a movie that has never met those
people."
"When you're touring with Cirque, and you're going all over the world,
your endurance, personality, focus, availability, generosity -
everything counts," notes Anne-Marie. "When you see that [in a
candidate] from the get-go you say, "OK, this is the one." You have
to keep a global picture of everything that's going on with each
artist, so you maintain an open mind knowing there are all these
categories. My job is to present artists to creative directors, so
I'm the link between the artists and the creators. I say, "We don't
have a profile that [this person] fits, I just want you to look at
her." Then, if an artist gets signed the scout is so happy. "Oh did
you see? That's my artist! My audition!" (Laughs)
"There are certain profiles we need that are challenging to find,"
Richard continues. "We have about 20% turnover in artists every
year." Is 20% annual turnover of 720+ artists high? "For a dance
company it's not uncommon. It's also normal for us. Some people want
to retire, others get injured, some we don't renew their contracts.
Some people switch shows; that's how we can keep some of them for 10-
15 years. So all of that put together counts for 20%. When you have
120 artists in a [ballet or theater] company and only two shows it's
different than when you have 720 artists, 10 shows and new creations
[as Cirque does]. We scout the whole world for acrobats and artists
and sometimes it gets a little bit difficult, you wonder where you're
going to find people. And you don't have to find just two, you have
to find 20 or 40 or 100. It grows and grows and it makes it very
challenging for us. That's what makes it exciting, that challenge."
Cirque fans are familiar with high-profile artists switching shows,
such as Olga Pikhienko going from Quidam to Varekai. Does it happen
often? "A little bit, not a lot. There comes a point where an
artist, for one reason or another, wants to do something different.
It's something we encourage because we can keep our artists longer,
which is a good thing for us."
The constant need for artists keeps Richard and his group busy. "A
year ahead we do an audition calendar with the scouts, decide where to
go during the year. Four to five months ahead of time we look at the
number of candidates we have to evaluate in a territory. Do we need
to do marketing, such as in the paper, to attract more? We book
studios and hotels about 2 months out. We then look at all the demos;
do we have the possibility of a good evaluation? If they're complete
they're put in the database and about 1 month out we invite them to
audition. We also look through the profiles of the candidates, to see
if we have a lot of specialty dancers or just general dancers."
How many people might view an audition tape or demo during the
process? "We have scouts who will evaluate demo tapes. For musicians
and singers it can be an outside evaluator, somebody who's not
necessarily with the casting team. They will work with the scout to
help choose the people that we will invite to the auditions. If
there's an opening the tape will be presented to different artistic
directors and the director of the show. We might also show it to the
choreographer. So that's about five. And the Artistic Director of
the show makes the final choice."
We asked Richard how auditions are handled for the various disciplines
Cirque is looking for. "[For dancers,] the first day is basic dance;
movements, vocabulary. The second day [which we're witnessing] is
more specific movement, and we also do acting exercises with them.
It's a lot of fun with dancers because it's all physical." And the
search for dancers takes Cirque around the world. "The thing with
dancers is that they travel. We're in Seattle and we have Brazilian
dancers (as well as a person from Toronto). We go to Berlin and we
see Canadian dancers. So we go where they are but they also come
where we go."
What about actors? "For actors the process is similar. The first
day, they present us a 3 minute act which will show us who they are
and what they do. The second day we do more elaborate acting
exercises."
"Singers and musicians are done in a sound studio because we need good
quality recordings. With singers we bring them all in the first day;
we can see 20-30 per day. We give them 10 minutes to do 2 or 3 songs.
We have an expert singer evaluator who evaluates technique. If they
get called back we'll give them specific things to work on. Either
specific things from our shows or other styles ofmusic we want to
hear from them so they choose their own songs. For that we use a
pianist." But there aren't many positions for singers, are there?
"There aren't that many slots for singers, but the database needs
people for emergencies and other situations. We always tell them they
might be called next week or maybe in the next year or two. And we
keep following up with them so we know where they are and their
availability. But we'll know that they fit what we're looking for."
"Musicians are different in that there's no callback. We book
individual appointments and can see about 8 a day. It takes 45
minutes to 1 hour to evaluate musicians. We need to know if they can
play well and play in the style we're looking for. A lot of them play
at least two instruments and have solid technical training; it's not
only what we're looking for, it tends to be what we get.
"Musicians are a treat to audition. To see them dance, or hear them
sing or play. That makes it difficult if we have to tell them we're
not going to keep them in our database. We know they're talented but
they just don't fit." I noted that many of the musicians in Cirque
shows are from Canada. "We have a lot of Canadian musicians because
there are a lot of great musicians [in Canada]. We have a lot of good
ones in our own back yard, why not take them?"
What about the circus arts disciplines? Is there one area of the
world that excels? "For circus arts, Eastern Europe has a big circus
history. It's a question of cultural and social tradition. In some
of the gymnastic disciplines Eastern European countries have a bigger
pool. Europe has a big circus culture; for example there are hundreds
of circuses in France."
9:53am - Anne-Marie kneels on the floor as the candidates gather in a
semi-circle. She talks about what will happen during the day, going
one step at a time. "It's up to all of you," she tells them, "to show
the audition team who you are. To take risks. Allow yourselves to
enter the unknown. And, most importantly, have fun."
9:58am - Charmaine conducts warm-up exercises, helping stretch muscles
so they won't get injured. Following her lead, the group kicks legs
high in the air, effortlessly achieving what my wife LouAnna and I
have difficulty with in aerobics class. Their amazing strength and
flexibility is evident as they move. But they have been doing this as
their lives' passion for years, even decades.
10:16am - Charmaine leads them in another dance exercise to music from
a dance class CD. Several tracks from the CD are used during the
morning for various exercises. LouAnna snaps several pictures under
less than ideal circumstances; perched on a chair on top of a large
box, she has to crane her neck close to the glass separating us from
the audition room.
What kind of career can a dancer have in the high-pressure world of a
Cirque du Soleil show? "Acrobats and dancers have short careers,"
Richard explains. You age out of the discipline, but not necessarily
out of Cirque. Because we have ex-dancers or acrobats that have
progressed into character roles. When you're a dancer or acrobat you
learn all these acting skills and you're able to transpose that into
acting."
The challenge lies not so much physically as mentally. "For a dancer
from a ballet company that is used to doing 100 shows a year, that has
to learn a dozen ballets a year, it's very challenging and it's always
different. When they come to Cirque it's the same show 374 shows a
year, 10 shows a week - it's tough. Dancers have to really think if
that's what they want."
"It's kind of like doing a Broadway show. Some dancers find it too
repetitive, some love it. You have to find the right person and they
have to keep themselves motivated. It's a different approach because
you don't get challenged and motivated because you're doing something
new, you have to find it somewhere deep in your role. Once they
understand and grab that it becomes challenging and motivating for
them. But it's a new mindset."
What kind of experience is Cirque looking for in dancers? "The most
useful kind of experience with regards to dancers is stage experience
in front of an audience. You learn a lot in front of an audience; you
have one shot to give them the experience you're supposed to give
them, to leave an impression. It's different than being in a studio;
the studio is your kitchen, you can make a mess there. But in the
hall it's different."
"There's not one kind of specific experience we need. We need
classical dancers for La Nouba and Mystere. We need African dancers
for Dralion and Zumanity. We have a lot of modern dancers - such as
the Green Lizards in Mystere. We have Indian dancers in Dralion, an
exotic dancer in Zumanity. We don't close our doors to anything."
The Cirque casting website makes mention of this as well. "Your
background may be in one of the great traditions or in one of the new
dance forms; you may be unconventional, on the fringe, or totally
outrageous; your dance may come from near or far; whatever the case,
put your best foot forward!"
Richard describes a case in point: "Zumanity goes to show that you
never know what will be needed. A couple of years ago we got a demo
tape of a pole dancer - "Oh my God, look at this!" - Back then, we
couldn't use it. Then a few years later they came to us and said, "Do
you have any pole dancers?" "Oh, we had a great one!" And we had to
scramble to find that videotape and contact information."
10:25am - Charmaine stops and discusses another music selection with
Richard, selecting a solo bongo track. The candidates, having warmed
up, start removing jackets and overshirts, bearing muscular arms and
taut stomachs. As we continue talking, Charmaine is teaching moves,
counting out time and beating out the count with claps of her hands.
The most important key to unlocking the door to an audition with
Cirque du Soleil is The Demo Tape. "A lot of artists don't know how
to put a demo together. They'll send a demo with a piece of paper
saying, "I'm the fourth one from the left," and there are 60 dancers
on stage. So we tell them to go to the website and see what we're
looking for. If you give us a good demo it gives us a chance to see
who you are. But if you're in a group of people on your tape we don't
know. In that case we usually ask for another demo."
Cirque has spent a considerable amount of time analyzing and refining
their demo/audition approach. For Richard this meant placing a
priority on refining the pre-selection process. Instead of having
general auditions that involved a whole bunch of people Cirque knew
nothing about, they went to invitation-only auditions. Now, "We don't
see as many people as we did before, but the number we keep has stayed
about the same. So the percentage of people that we keep has
increased quite a bit. In New York, we had 65 dancers audition and we
kept 6." Here they have 27 and will probably keep around the same
number.
He also knew that Cirque needed to better the communication with the
candidates about what was needed on their demos. "[We needed to] ask
for more precise things on the demos to have a better evaluation and a
better idea of their technical level and their artistry. Because our
needs are so specific, we don't want to waste the time of the people
who do come in, spending money flying and so forth that might not
correspond to what we are looking for. So it was important to look at
ways to improve that pre-selection. Now instead of dealing with 65
people we deal with 27, it's much easier, less stressful."
One of the things they stopped doing was making general requests for
demos in their audition publicity materials. "We realized that people
stopped reading after, "Send us a resume and demo," and didn't go any
further. So they would never go to the website
(www.casting.cirquedusoleil.com) and find out what we really needed,
they would just send us incomplete material. So now we say, "Our
auditions are by invitation only. For more details, go see the
website." So they go and see exactly what they need to send. And
it's starting to work because the number of complete files that come
in has greatly increased compared to what we'd gotten before. We
don't get so many of the "I'm the third one from the left" demos
anymore. We're starting to see results, and it's encouraging."
Indeed the Cirque casting website, under "How to Apply," has very
explicit instructions on what is to appear in demos for all of their
disciplines. Take the requirements for a demo from a classically-
trained dancer, for example: Two-minute presentation to the camera;
Pirouettes - basic, attitude, arabesque, à la seconde; Fouettés;
Jumps: tours en l'air, jetés, petit and grand Allegro; Pointes; Adagio
showing flexibility, strength and extension; Flexibility: split (side
and front), back bend; Three-minute solo choreography in studio; a
solo segment in performance. Or, this one for actors: Presentation to
the camera: (2 minutes); Excerpts from a performance or rehearsal (10
minutes) or an original scene (3 minutes); Characters. Show us 4 to
12 characters in short interludes (15 seconds to 1 minute) on stage (8
minutes).
Anne-Marie agrees that being more specific has helped, adding, "We're
honing down on people's skills. Hopefully the word will get around
that the auditions are tight, we're serious, we're gonna push you, you
gotta give it up, and really get artists that are exquisite or have
really special skills and are generous."
10:35am - The team divides the candidates into groups of three and has
them perform the dance they were learning, but facing the ever-present
video camera. In direct comparison to each other, candidate's
strengths and weaknesses become evident. The woman of an Argentinean
dancing couple, while doing a stretch on one leg, bobbles the move;
her balance isn't very strong. In our first prediction of the
morning, LouAnna suggests she will soon be cut. But there are more
factors than technical talent the Cirque team is looking for. She has
something else to offer, as we will soon find out. Besides, she
survived the first grueling day.
We ask Richard if the people we're seeing will all make the final cut,
after the culling of half the troupe yesterday. "There are some
people [here today] that are in a gray area, a few question marks. At
the end of the day we have to ask; if we presented these people to an
artistic director, do we think that this person would corresponds to
what the AD is looking for? If we think they do, then we're sure."
"We try not to make an opinion too quickly. Yet there are some
[people] that are obvious. Our process is very subjective. Because
our taste is our taste, we are influenced in certain ways that the
artistic director will never be influenced until they actually meet
the artist, if they ever do. They have to see it through a camera
lens, while we have a personal interaction with them. Sometimes it's
funny because you go back home and you look at the tapes and you start
to doubt. "How come that's not the person I saw?" That's why we have
our technique and why it takes two days. We need a lot of material,
we need to give them a chance to really shine and be able to put on
camera the talent that we see. The camera needs to be able to capture
it, and it's not always easy. It's like when you see a live show on
TV, it's not the same feeling. And that's one of the difficulties
that we deal with."
PART 3: "IMPROV EXERCIES & FINAL CUTS"
***********************************************
10:45am - Richard and Charles look for another song for Charmaine to
use. They search through the CD collection, finally settling on a
track. Charmaine teaches them a piece of choreography from one of
Cirque's shows. LouAnna shoots more pictures and is already through
here first roll. But the "No Flash" rule means she has to increase
her exposure time, and attempt to capture the candidates in a rare
moment of relative stillness.
The selection process, Richard comments, is like carving a statue.
The Audition Team are the miners of the rock, while the Director of
Creation and Artistic Directors are the carvers, taking the raw stone
and creating a thing of beauty.
Cirque du Soleil is always in the process of creating, from KÀ to
Cirque 2005 to the Celebrity Cruise Lines shows to the Beatles/Mirage
show. The Montreal headquarters is now constantly buzzing with
creative activity. "Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within" gave us a peek
into that process for Varekai. How true-to-life is it?, we ask
Richard.
"What I liked about Fire Within was how well it documented what the
artists went through. It showed the reactions to the different
environment that's been created in Montreal. The creation process is
one of the most wonderful things an artist can go through because
something is created on them based on what they do and who they are,
as opposed to something that's been done before by somebody else. But
it's also incredibly demanding, physically, emotionally. That's what
makes it wonderful, that intensity that you live with. But it's not
for everyone, not everybody likes it, but some people thrive on it."
"For some people, creation is all they'd like to do; go from one
creation to another. Because artists are extreme, they love the
intensity of emotions of the creation process. It starts out like a
honeymoon and gets intense until the completion is in sight. When
they look back on the creation they feel it was all worth it."
Outside of roles in existing shows, the audition team is also on the
lookout for artists that can be used in new shows and creation
processes. "What's coming is a lot of fun too, because we don't know
what they're going to ask for, so we just look for something special.
People that are different, an open personality. For example, for a
touring show you look for someone that likes to tour. So we look to
what's already there and what might be coming later."
"Anyone that can impress us in any kind of way - to show us their
individuality - even if we can't see it in our shows right now, it's
important for us to keep and document. Because what we in casting and
the scouts present to the creators and artistic directors of our new
shows can influence which direction they're going to go. Because if
there's a "weird" talent or something they've never seen before they
might say, "Oh yes, I want that person, I want that image." We feed
them. And it's important to find these people so that we don't miss
anything and we can present these things. It's all about getting new
things."
"Sometimes an artist creates a character that resembles themselves.
It's what they do, they do one thing great and that's what we want.
So they could perhaps have a career out of that [one thing]. One of
the synchro swimmers in O, he had his arm behind his head in an
unconventional way. One moment he was part of a group and the next he
has a solo. Why? Because of one thing he does well. And it was a
powerful dramatic image."
How does the creation process work? "There's no formula. Each
creator has a storyboard, and as the creation process develops things
change. Artists might suggest certain things. A lot of times they'll
start with too much. Zumanity was once a three-hour show and had to
be cut. It's always better to have too much than not enough."
"Sometime some elements get eliminated in the process. But eventually
[the artists] understand why. Especially if it's the first time they
go through the creation process, at the end they "get it." They
understand why it happens [like it does]. It's usually because of the
product that ends up on stage. Because it's trial and error. Some
things will work, some things will change, and that's the creation
process."
"That's why Guy Laliberté, in his role as Guide, is wonderful. His
strength is his eyes, his vision. The ability to look at what is on
stage and simply see what works and what doesn't. With his experience
and what he's done he's able to pinpoint - "This is what will work, I
need more of this" - and that's one of his main roles now. That's
probably why this company is doing so well artistically."
11:30am - A break is called. Several of the candidates hang out in
the back room, chatting amiably with each other. This doesn't seem to
be a high-pressure situation for them; this isn't a winner-take-all
reality show. They come from such diverse places as Seattle,
Portland, Vancouver, Phoenix, LA and Toronto. They sent in their demo
tapes from 2 months to 1.5 years ago. I mention to one how much
people are sweating. His answer, "Yeah, but we love to sweat."
We ask Richard what kind of atmosphere they try to maintain during an
audition. "It's tricky because some people are incredibly good at
auditions but when they're in front of an audience it's a different
story. And some people are not as strong in auditions but you put
them on stage and they shine. So you have to try to see it. That's
why we try to help them relax and create an atmosphere almost like a
game. And you can see on the second day there's already a connection
between the artists. All the auditions I've seen for dancers and
actors it happens this way. They might never see each other the rest
of their lives but during that moment they are sharing the same
experience and emotions. So there's a very strong bond. And because
of the nature of the roles we have, and how different we are, they
understand very quickly that there's a place for each one of them so
they're not in competition with each other."
11:45am - The improv section of the audition starts. The candidates
watch from the far end of the room as each takes their turn in front
of the team (and the camera). As we watch the Argentinean woman do
her improv, Richard suggests, "It must be fun for them to watch the
other do something independently."
Would those who go later and can consider their reactions, we wonder,
have an advantage over those who go early? "Sometimes the people at
the beginning have more spontaneity," Richard responds. "Sometimes
when you think too much about something it doesn't work because it's
not natural."
It is here we begin to see the difference between other auditions and
Cirque du Soleil auditions. These artists are being asked to show
their minds, their personality, their very essence to the audition
team. It's obvious that just having the dancing chops won't be
enough; candidates should be well versed in acting skills as well.
"Some of the exercises we do are tools for evaluation to get to know
the candidates," says Richard. "But acting and emoting skills are
important. You have to be as complete as possible. It's important
because of what we require from the artist, because of what they have
to do on stage."
12:38pm - As we break for lunch, cuts are made. A tall lanky young
man, a girl with cornrow hair, and one other girl. They will not be
back this afternoon and pack their things, faces grim. Ten of the
original 27 artist candidates remain. Before heading off to lunch I
comment to Richard how, with his help, we can see how people we
thought would be cut in the morning are still here. "It's nice to
know our process makes sense to other people" he smiles. "There's a
purpose behind our madness."
1:40pm - After lunch, the group re-convenes. Anne-Marie gathers them
again in a semi-circle to give instructions about the rest of the
afternoon. Charles manipulates lights in the ceiling to better aid
the videotaping; Richard helps by controlling the light board. An
older woman with white hair has joined the troupe (we later find out
she is 78 years old). She is a tap dancer who was here yesterday and
has been asked to attend the last half of today as the morning session
wasn't geared toward her skills. She's very open, we're told, and
they want to test other aspect of her talent. LouAnna and I refer to
her as "Taps."
1:55pm - The audition continues. The artists line up against the near
wall, Anne-Marie sits on the floor near the audition table. The music
is a lilting repeating melody from a French film soundtrack. One by
one each is called forward for a solo improv exercise.
Why do some of the exercises you do, we wonder. "The people on our
stage are not just dancers, they're not just musicians or singers,
they're characters," Richard says. "So we need to evaluate that. We
want to see their range and their imagination, their quickness to
respond to direction. It's a way for us to clarify our decision.
Somebody could have beautiful legs and feet, but if that's all they
have and they're totally blank up here [in the mind] and can't do
anything else, can't communicate with the public, then they are not
ready for us."
"We're testing a different aspect of their talent. Some will be OK
with it, some won't. For us it's easy to find the ones that fit right
away. It's easy to find the ones that don't fit at all. The ones in
the gray area, that's the hard part. Can we see them in one of our
shows? There are so many questions, so you test. We give them a
chance to show us what they can do, and if they can respond well."
Anne-Marie often has to remind the artists not to move. Playing a
character while not moving, Richard says, is "incredibly telling. The
hardest part for an artist is to just stand there and project. It's
easy to attract attention by a whole bunch of frantic movement."
Is it the same process with musicians as well? "Musicians it's a
little bit different because they are often in the background, or in
the booth. But we do a little exercise with them to see their
openness. Are they willing to participate with us or not? If you're
not willing to be taken outside your comfort zone you might not be the
best person to go into a creation. Also we want to know how easy they
are to work with."
2:40pm - Time for a different exercise, this time a group improv.
With this exercise, "we want them to show their creativity outside of
dance, their versatility," Richard advises.
3:12pm - Time for a break. As the remaining candidates relax in the
back room, LouAnna asks if she can get a group photo. They all huddle
together and smile as if they were already a close-knit family.
Shortly afterward, Anne-Marie asks if anyone has anything special they
would like to share. If any of them has a specialty now's the time to
show it! The Argentinean couple hands Richard a CD. With the video
camera watching they perform a dance number, and they shine. They are
very good! One candidate (influenced by street dancing) does a work-
in-progress improvisation of an opera singer interrupted by a piece of
hip-hop music and becoming influenced by it.
3:30pm - Taps does a tap number. To our eyes she isn't as polished
and technical as we were expecting. One sings a song a cappella. The
girl from Toronto shows off her athletic prowess, striking various
gymnastic poses. Another also shows some skills. Anne-Marie asks her
to do splits to both sides, which she executes flawlessly.
3:45pm - Anne-Marie announces a final exercise.
4:10pm - A break, and more cuts. Another girl is cut, as is Toronto.
We were disappointed; we had been rooting for her since this morning
when she had entered the building with us. She had gotten so far only
to be cut at the last minute. But in watching her we could see she
lacked maturity in her movements and thinking. To her credit she
waits until the audition is over, asking Anne-Marie for feedback about
why she wasn't chosen.
Out of an initial group of 27, the group is down to 8, less than a
third of what they started with. These are the finalists, the ones
going into the database with positive marks and video highlights.
While being videotaped, each is asked to walk from the left side of
the room to the right, then forward to the audition table. What can
you tell about a person by the way they walk, we ask Richard. "Self
confidence. And posture. For singers it's very revealing. In
Saltimbanco for example the singer has to walk in high heels, so we
need to make sure the candidate would be able to walk with such shoes
on."
When they reach the camera Anne-Marie stands next to them for a
moment. Everyone at Montreal IHQ knows Anne-Marie, Richard mentions,
so at 5' 10" tall she is used as a height comparison. Then they speak
their name and anything they would like artistic directors to know.
They also sing. "We like to test the voice. They don't necessarily
have to sing, but if they sing well and a creator wants to use that
then we know they have it. It's a process of documentation. We try
to document everything and not miss anything. Because that one little
thing may be the difference between their getting the job and not
getting the job."
4:46pm - The street-influenced dancer does her walk-up. At the end
she points excitedly to herself and exclaims, "Pick Me! I'm the one!"
Everyone laughs at her enthusiasm.
5:12pm - The audition is finished. Gathered again in a semi-circle,
the entire audition team solicits feedback from the artists on how the
audition went, what they liked, what they didn't like. This is as
important a part of the process as the auditions themselves are for
the team. Richard leaves his seat beside us to listen to the
discussion.
Each remaining artist is given a letter with a form to fill out.
Several sit cross-legged on the floor, bending far forward to reach
the paper as they write their information. The letter begins:
"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE MADE THE FIRST CUT! We are adding your name
to our list of potential candidates. Of course, this does not
represent an immediate commitment on our part. Making it through this
first stage means that you may be selected for a position requiring
your expertise. What happens now?" The letter asks for a photocopy
of their passport (and advises them to keep it valid) as well as a
recent resume and videocassette, and reminds them to keep Cirque
appraised of any changes to their contact information. The letter
concludes, "If we wish to approach you about replacing someone in one
of our current shows or in any new production, someone from our
Casting Department in Montreal will contact you. Please be patient
while you wait to hear from us." There is also a form asking for a
more detailed breakdown of their skill set.
We ask Richard, as things are winding down, what he finds most
rewarding and challenging about his job. The challenge in working for
Cirque, Richard notes is not so much doing the work as it is thinking
about how you're doing it. "You constantly have to re-examine your
process and question it. To see if it's still valid, if you're going
in the right direction, if you can do it better. It's the same thing
creators do with shows, from show to show; you do Varekai, now what
next? How can you do better? We go through the same process with our
techniques, our process of auditions and casting. It's challenging
because you're not second-guessing yourself, you're questioning.
"It's part of our day-to-day routine. [After every audition day] we
sit down and ask, "How did we do today? Are there things we did that
we could have done better?" And we find we can push our limits and
find new ways to do our thing. What we did 10 years ago may not work
now, so you try something else. It's always encouraging to find
you're able to do it, it gives you hope and an incentive to go through
that questioning process; it's not threatening anymore. I think it
makes us better at what we do. It makes us better people, too."
Being able to work for a company you love and respect is a blessing
too few of us enjoy. But not so for Cirque du Soleil employees.
"There's a pride to working for Cirque. Yes, there's a lot of work;
Cirque is a big machine and there's lots of work to be done. But
people work incredibly hard. The interesting thing is that a lot of
them will work late into the evening, 7-8pm. The scouts are renowned
for working late and hard. Me too!
"And it's because we love our jobs. I don't have any problem getting
up in the morning to go to work. Going on an audition trip for me is
a treat but I don't mind having to go home (to Montreal) and catch
up."
"You're proud of what you do and you want to do a good job. Like the
scouts, looking for a particular type of artist. They'll search all
over the world until they find what they're looking for. (This was
strongly illustrated in "Fire Within" as they searched for a male
singer.) That feeling is so strong that they want to deliver a good
product. Because they know they have to live up to the quality of
Cirque, or better it."
"Cirque treats us right. At the Cirque Headquarters there are lots of
things they do to enliven the atmosphere. Sometimes on Friday they'll
have a big popcorn machine and they'll give us popcorn. Or the winter
carnival. They organize trips for us to ski in the winter. So
there's always something. And we get a lot of feedback. The letters
people send are distributed throughout the company, "Here's the effect
you have.
"All those t-shirts [you see Cirque employees wearing], they're free
for us. And we're proud to wear them. Like my Cirque jacket, I love
that jacket. When I'm in the Montreal subway and I'm wearing my
Cirque jacket, I won't sit down. I'll stand with my back to the
biggest window of the car so the back of my jacket, with the Cirque
logo, can be seen through the window."
"At one point, Cirque was voted one of the best places in Canada to
work, and I agree!"
Cirque du Soleil has worked hard to achieve and maintain its
reputation as the premiere circus arts production company. They have
literally changed the face of circus, and have grown far beyond its
creator's wildest dreams. But as Richard reminds us, it didn't start
out that way. "I don't think Cirque du Soleil took on the mandate of
changing the world of circus. Yes, one of the shows was titled, "We
Reinvent the Circus" but I don't think that was meant as pretentiously
as people think. There is one goal, and Guy reminds us of it all the
time, to bring a smile to people faces. That may sound a bit hokey,
but that's what it is. You put on a good show so that for an hour and
a half people forget their problems and have a good time."
"It just happened that in the process all those other things [came
about]. And I think that's because of the integrity of keeping that
goal. It's not about money, it's about putting out good product so
that people live a wonderful experience through our shows and
appreciate it."
"And it brings good people to work for us. The working conditions at
Cirque are really good, the artists and employees are well treated.
And that's why we are able to get good people, good creators. That's
why we end up with the type of product we have, because we innovate."
And it all comes back to the man at the top of the triangle, Guy
Laliberte. "I think the people that work for him have a lot of
respect for him because of his vision and the way he runs the company.
Because of what he gives back to us and to the community with Cirque
du Monde and all that. Anybody who has that kind of vision is OK in
my book."
5:23pm - The artists leave, knowing they're going into the database
and, as is typical of the artist's life, may or may not be called.
The audition team packs up and leaves, their day far from over. They
will spend the rest of their evening de-briefing the day and making
notes, ending about 10pm. They will then move on to the auditions in
their other disciplines, staying in Seattle another two weeks.
And the artists will go on with their lives, hoping for that special
phone call.
We'd like to express our deepest gratitude to those special Cirque
people who helped us immeasurably with this series, most especially to
Richard Dagenais - Head of Auditions and Logistic, Casting (our host)
for his openness and willingness to let us in on the process. Also to
the rest of the Seattle audition team; Anne-Marie Duchène - Artistic
Scout, Charles St-Onge - Audition Coordinator, and Charmaine Hunter -
Dance Evaluator. Also thanks to Chantal Côté - Corporate Publicist,
and Simon Frances - Marketing Agent, Casting for helping arrange our
day. And finally, thanks to all of the artists who allowed us to
eavesdrop on their job interview.
PART 4: "CANDIDATES!"
***********************************************
Last month we concluded our coverage of Cirque dancer auditions that
took place in Seattle. After the day was over we had the opportunity
to speak with two of the artists who were selected as active
candidates to go into the Cirque du Soleil database. They kindly
spent a few minutes to talk with my wife LouAnna and I.
Morgan McConnell is a 30 year-old graphic designer from Vancouver.
His work can be seen at his nifty website, www.dangerboydesign.net.
Janine Teidi (Juh-neen Tee-dee) is 33 and originally hails from
Buffalo, New York. She dances with Lingo Dance Theater in Seattle
(www.lingodance.com). She also teaches "Slo-Body" movement, a Yoga-
based technique (www.slobody.com) and "YogaBeans" a movement program
for children 3 and up (www.yogabeans.com).
KJ: How long have you been dancing?
MORGAN: 4 years.
JANINE: 30 years. I started when I was 3 and now I'm 33, pretty much
the whole way through, some times more than others. For the last 10
years I've been trying to figure out how to be an artist and make a
living from my artistry. And that's part of why Cirque du Soleil is
so enticing. My skills as a dancer/gymnast - I don't really like to
call myself a gymnast anymore - but as an artist I feel I would fit
with them, so it's worth training and coming to auditions, seeing what
I need to do and training some more. It's worth it, totally worth it.
KJ: What's your background?
JANINE: Mine is dance.
MORGAN: None. Never done gymnastics, martial arts, anything really.
I started out with fire dancing. I went to a club and I saw this guy
spinning fire, I'd never seen that before. Just this little guy with
this big stick spinning and rolling around on the floor - and I
thought, "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen. I could do that!"
So I picked it up and went from there.
KJ: How did you find out about Cirque du Soleil?
MORGAN: I met an ex-performer when I was in Australia. She saw a
show I did and said, "That was great. You really should send Cirque
an audition tape." So I sent them a videotape, I never would have
otherwise. And they invited me to this audition in Seattle. I was in
Australia at the time but thought, "Why not? I'm going home [to
Vancouver] anyway." It was easy to adjust my schedule a bit.
JANINE: This isn't my first Cirque du Soleil audition. I auditioned
[for them] first in 1998, in Atlanta; I flew there from New York. It
was just a one-day audition, and I got all the way through to the end
and they put me on their active files. But I didn't send them a shred
of information and sort of wrote it off. Five years later I got an
email saying, "We want you to come to an audition in Vegas." And my
boyfriend said, "You have to go!" I was almost going to delete it but
then I started thinking about it, and yes, I had to go. And I went to
Vegas and I was cut in the first cut. I was mortified.
KJ: Did you find out why were you cut?
JANINE: Actually, they weren't up front about giving feedback to the
people who were getting cut at that audition. There were a lot more
people and the space wasn't arranged very well. There was nowhere to
go and sit, we had to go outside, and everybody was kind of smushed
together. That created a completely different atmosphere. But it was
eye opening because we just did an hour of ballet and I got cut and I
thought, "Oh, this is what I need to be doing." It kicked my butt.
But I came back and went to ballet class every day until this
audition. It shows, and I'm so glad I did it. I was thinking, "Damn
it, I'm better than that!" Ballet isn't my strong suit.
MORGAN: That's where having specialty skills comes in handy.
JANINE: Yeah. I can walk on my hands, but I didn't get to do any of
that. We didn't get to anything else; it was just straight-up ballet.
So I wrote [Artistic Scout Anne-Marie Duchène] an email as soon as I
got back saying, "After all that arranging and flying there and [other
things] my audition sucked. I know you're going to be in Seattle, can
I come to that?" And she let me and I made it all the way through.
So I've been through it three times now, and I would do it again if I
had the chance.
KJ: I assume you've both been through several auditions, how does
this audition process compare to other auditions?
MORGAN: This is my first audition.
JANINE: I love that you (Morgan) have only been doing this for four
years and you might get a spot in a show like this.
MORGAN: I love it too! (Laughs) I've done shows before but it's
never been through an audition. It's been more like, "We need
dancers, we need volunteers, quick, come!" Community productions,
stuff like that. When I was in Australia I did a lot of those but
never anything like this.
JANINE: This is a lot longer than other auditions I've been to. I've
gone to auditions where you can't even ask questions. They show you
something and you do it across the floor four at a time - "OK, we're
cutting." That's a different situation, a cattle call, where they're
auditioning you and you are dancers, and they don't break down that
barrier [like they did here]. You see it in Backstage Magazine, grab
your resume and headshot, go in, there are 150 people - it's a whole
different situation. Here you've already auditioned to be invited to
the audition. They've done a first cut. They're not going to see a
lot of people. They're being particular about who they're going to
see in person. And that's different from a lot of others.
But I don't audition a lot. I did when I was in New York, but not a
lot when compared to others I knew who auditioned all the time. They
would have three auditions in a day and I would have one. And one was
enough! But I don't think I got as much out of those auditions as I
got from this one. I really think they're learning experiences,
especially as I get older.
It was great to go to that audition in Vegas though it cost me a lot
of money. It really changed things for me as an artist. Because I
live in Seattle, and Vegas dancers are a lot different than Seattle
dancers. There's not a lot of competition dance here or real
contortion-ey or jazzy dance. It's a very modern scene [in Vegas],
where it's very ballet here. So all these competition dancers and
cruise ship-type dancers and Vegas contortion-like dancers were there,
and I thought, "Oh yeah, I remember this scene."
And then we did ballet, and I hadn't been to ballet class in months.
And I thought, "Oh yeah, I'm supposed to remember how to stand in
fifth position if I'm going to call myself a professional dancer." It
just was an eye opener. I want to call myself a professional dancer;
that's what I do, I dance with a company. And I want to be more
proficient. I would like to be able to teach a ballet class if this
is what I'm doing to do. So it pushed me, and I knew I had this
audition [in Seattle]. I wanted to come in and have them say, "Wow!
That was the same girl?" And that's what happened. (Smiles)
KJ: (to Morgan) You've not been through an audition process before,
what did you think of this process?
MORGAN: It was extremely challenging. (Janine agrees.) It pushed me
so hard. There were times I just wanted to leave. But you can't turn
around after coming this far and say, "I can't handle it." I've been
in situations where I've done shows and I tell them I do fire dancing
and they tell me, "Well, this is the choreography, and we're doing
[this]." And I'd tell them, "No, I don't do that." And I felt that
with this audition. But I knew I was here for a reason, they want to
see what I can do and I'll just fight my way through the discomfort,
and there was a lot. I've never done acting, never done character
stuff or anything like that, so that was a huge challenge. A tree?
How do I become a tree?
KJ: What do you take away from this audition? Anything you felt you
learned? What impressed you most about what you did, other than the
fact that you were picked and made it to the end?
MORGAN: I was impressed by the level of talent. I expected it - to
get this far you have to be good at what you do - but I had no idea
what to expect. I didn't expect so many dancers, I was expecting
jugglers and acrobats and contortionists and unicyclists. People did
some really amazing things. It made me feel really humble just to see
the amount of time [people have spent at their art], like 30 years [as
Janine has done]. And I've just been in it for 4. (Laughs) The
commitment people have is astounding. And for lots of people who put
that amount of time into their work this is the pinnacle of their
careers.
KJ: I've heard from many people that if you want to work for somebody
in a circus arts/performance type of situation, Cirque is the one.
And everybody else is somewhere below them. But I also keep tabs on
chat lists and places where 15-16 year-old kids write, "I want Cirque
to be my first job." And I want to say to them, "Go out and get more
experience." (Both nod.)
MORGAN: It is that type of circus. They don't take the fresh faced.
KJ: I've been told they only hire about 200 artists per year.
JANINE: Of course that's not what we want to hear right now.
(Laughter)
KJ: But they also replace 20% of their artists each year.
JANINE: Makes sense though if you look at the caliber of performers.
You wonder how long they can possibly do that. The tumbling is hard
core. Even though in Alegria they are on tumble tracks, [which
lessens the intensity on your joints] you're still compressing,
compressing, you're landing, landing, landing. You can only do that
for so long, I learned that from gymnastics.
Fortunately in this day and age and with technology people are doing
things longer. I see people dancing into their 40's. And I remember
when I was 23 people said, "Aren't you getting kind of old?" And here
I am 33 and still doing it and I feel better than ever. I feel strong
and I'm not in pain all the time. I heard some [of the younger ones
today saying], "What are you going to do when you're 34?" And I was
laughing because I was doing a handstand on the wall and I was
thinking, "I'm 33 baby, and you have no idea." (Laughs)
KJ: So what happens now?
JANINE: My dance troupe is doing some great things. The company I'm
working with is just starting to take off. They're bringing some
French presenters to our rehearsal today, right now in fact. When our
Artistic Director told us I was concerned because I had this audition
today. So they had to put someone in my role for the segment they
were going to show. And I would love to go to France, so I was torn.
I wanted to be here, but I also really wanted to be there with them.
And we just found out that we're doing another showcase for presenters
in Dusseldorf, Germany. So it's possible we'll do a European tour.
I was hoping I would make it all the way through [here], and it would
end with, "Here you go, you're on our active files, send us a copy of
your passport." But I've been on their active files for five years.
For them to call me back is an honor in itself. It makes me think
there must have been something they liked. And for me to do really
crappy in Vegas, ask for another chance, and for them to let me try
again, they must have that sense that they believed I had something to
offer.
KJ: What about you, Morgan?
MORGAN: I do graphic design. That's my primary occupation, this is
just secondary. I just moved to Vancouver about a month ago and my
business is just kicking in. I've got a couple of clients there plus
some I got in Australia. And I'll explore the performance community
there.
Most of the time what I'll do is at 11 o'clock at night I'll take my
sticks out and put on my Walkman and go spin for an hour. Though now
that I've seen what's expected I wouldn't mind taking some flexibility
classes or some martial arts classes to make my body more flexible.
At that point we had to call our interview to a close so we could all
go home and rest after a hard, heady day of discovery. And they, like
the others, will go on with their lives and hope for that phone call
from Cirque du Soleil.
If you'd like to see some of Morgan's graphic design, check out
www.dangerboydesign.net. The dance company Janine works with can be
found at www.lingodance.com. She also teaches, check out
www.slobody.com for information on Slo-Body Yoga movement, and
www.yogabeans.com for her yoga and movement program for children.
Our sincere thanks to Janine and Morgan for spending time with us.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Six Thousand Fifty-Seven"
By: Rich Alford - Bothel, Washington (USA)
{Originally Published: Issue #55 - Sep/Oct 2007}
-------------------------------------------------------
6057 - No, that's not my ATM pin or password, or the code to my alarm
system, place of business or car; it's a number that became very
special (dare I say magical) one fantastic night during CirqueCon Las
Vegas in September 2006 while in attendance of Mystère. And I shall
tell you now that it involved an enormous baby, a bouncy red ball and
a fabulous experience of a lifetime.
On a fateful day in 1994, this tale beings, a day my journey took me
to the hot desert climate of Las Vegas for some much needed rest and
relaxation. I found myself at the concierge desk at my hotel (the name
of which I have forgotten) that afternoon, eager to see one of Vegas'
fabulous night-time shows.
"What's good to see in Vegas?" I asked the lady behind the
counter, who was tending to the brochures in her charge.
"Oh!" she turned to me, and without hesitation, recommended a
great new show in town called Mystère. "It's a Canadian circus - seerk
doo soulay - with acrobatics and dance rather than animals."
"A circus with no animals," I replied. And since I was game, I
purchased a ticket from her on the spot and prepared for the show
ahead.
I had no idea how huge that simple decision was and how it would
forever enhance my life.
I took my seat in the grand Mystère Theater at Treasure Island and
waited somewhat impatiently; I didn't know what to expect. As soon as
the lights dimmed and the cries of two enormous babies on a quest for
nourishment filled the theater, I instantly fell under Mystère's
spell. Their odyssey of discovery became mine and at that very moment
I was forever intertwined with the zany world of Cirque du Soleil.
It's hard for me to express to you in words how quickly my life
changed and how instantaneously I was transported away from the ills
that existed in the "outside world" for me, into a world of fantasy
and delight where wonder and grace were norm. I tell you it was as if
someone flicked a switch inside me.
I was hooked!
I saw Mystère the following night, the next night after, and virtually
every time I've visited Las Vegas since for a total of 21 times.
You might imagine just like everyone else, there is one aspect of the
show that is my absolute favorite. In my case, one character in
particular, in fact, rises above all others: Bébé Francois. For the
uninitiated, he's the Big Baby that bounces his big red ball around
the stage, giggling and having a grand time, and picking on audience
members to be part of the show. I've always wanted to be one of those
audience members. And as many times as I've seen the show, though
close a few times, I've never been chosen as Bébé's poppa.
Much to my chagrin.
On Friday, September 22, 2006, during the "official" show (#6057) at
the CirqueCon Las Vegas Cirque Passionate gathering, I stepped into
the T.I. Theater for my 22nd viewing of Mystère.
I had a ticket in the right section - Section 103, Row A, Seat 9 - and
since I had related my story of woe to just about everyone in the
group that week, everyone was kind and gracious in support of me as we
all took our seats that night. The stars were all aligned... would
this be my night?
As I so very fondly remember and have come to expect, the opening
music transported me to a very special and magical place. The stage
rose from the depths and I held my breath. There! There was Bébé! (A
girl character this time.)
She started to bounce the ball, making those fabulous gurgly baby
noises, playing the part to the hilt, as she looked over the members
of the audience. At this point I was silently pleading for her to
notice me... begging and praying (in my own way)... for her to toss
the ball at me. When she raised the ball up to do so, I braced to
catch it but... SHE TOSSED IT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM ME! OH
NO!
It landed in the opposite side of the front row section where another
Passionate was sitting; she quickly grabbed it up. At that moment I
knew I had missed my chance... again. Disappointment washed over me
quickly, but did not linger for I knew I would get another chance in
the near future (what's another try after 22 failures?). Happy that
another of our brood was going to get a chance to play the part, I sat
back to enjoy the rest of the show.
The passionate threw the ball back and Bébé caught it, making her the
chosen one.
But Bébé kept bouncing the ball...
What was she doing?
Bounce. Bounce. Giggle. Bounce.
This wasn't supposed to happen. She should have acknowledged the first
person who threw the ball back...
Bounce. Giggle. Giggle. Bounce.
She raised the ball up again. Was she going to toss it?
YES! AND SHE THREW THE BALL RIGHT TO ME!
I became so excited I could hardly sit still. Ricky, who was seated
next to me, said, "there you go, this one is yours." And I leapt from
my seat, grabbed the red ball and tossed it back. For a moment Bébé
and I locked gazes and I pleaded with her to choose me. My heart was
pounding so hard. I was beginning to sweat!
Giggle. Giggle.
And then she said the word I had longed twelve years to hear...
"POPPA?"
I was chosen! WOOHOO!
I could hardly contain myself, after twelve long years my dream was
finally coming true - I was the chosen audience member who would take
part in the show!
Bébé giggled heartily and ran over, as babies do, for a quick hug.
Then, as I knew the routine, she wouldn't let go once I tried to pull
away and would squirt me with her bottle but... that didn't happen. I
even pulled off my glasses just in case but we just stood there and
hugged, it was so nice! Then she needed my help to get back onto the
stage so she called for me...
"POPPAAAAAAAA!"
I immediately jumped up to help her. At this point I had totally
forgotten about the squirt so, as I approached the stage to assist
her; she jumped up without issue and surprised the heck out of me.
SQUIRRRRRRRRT!
Oh, it was fabulous! Now I was giggling like a baby!
The show eventually went on, of course, and every act was just as
magical as I had remembered. The energy in the theater that evening
was smoking - it defies description - and I know the artists felt it
for they gave it their all. It's amazing how much emotional energy can
transfer from a huge group of passionate fans to each other and to the
artists; I think it became a very special showing for everyone in the
theater that night.
"POPPAAAAAAAA!"
A bit later on, Bébé called upon me to take a ride in her over-sized
baby buggy. She came roaring into the crowd then and called to me and
once again I leapt from my seat and raced up the stairs to where she
was waiting. Within moments of hopping into her cart, she sped away,
and I was back stage. I felt euphorically triumphant the instant I sat
down next to her, watching everyone look at me, many with smiles on
their faces. It took a moment for that rapture to calm down enough for
rational thought. When it did so - at that precise moment - I realized
I was really back stage!
There stood artists, getting ready for their queues or hanging out;
and crew, preparing the next apparatus or checking the rigging for the
next part of the show. I was simply "gobsmacked."
The folks backstage helped to get me dressed in my costume - a big
baby with a pacifier and diapers - and I was put back on the cart to
whiz across the stage. When we emerged onto the stage I could hear the
ROAR of the crowd; it was overwhelming and time seemed to have slowed
to a crawl yet flying by oh so quickly. I can only akin it to suddenly
being accelerated to high Warp speeds from a stand still (for you
trekkies).
Behind-the-scenes, on the other side of the stage, we had a moment
where a couple of artists came over and joined in a quick photo. I was
then instructed on what was happening and what was going to happen
(although I already knew): the cart was going to appear to be having
difficulties and I was going to "push" it back across the stage.
We appeared out on stage again - once again the roar of the crowd
tremendous - Bébé at the wheel of the cart with me behind, pushing.
Moments later we arrived back on the other side of the stage and my
part in the show was over. A couple of artists came by and gave me a
"great job, mate" and I was escorted back to my seat and I finished
watching the show. My heart was just pounding with excitement, I was
exhausted, but I couldn't be happier!
Consequently, as I was riding in the cart, the artist told me that she
had noticed me when she first started her routine (when I was really
begging all out for her to throw the ball to me). She decided to
prolong my agony by playing a trick - rather than bounce the ball to
me, she sent it to the other side of the row. Knowing that I think it
just made the whole experience that much more fun!
Finally after all these years my dream came true!
The show was amazing and the energy that night was more powerful than
I've ever felt. Being allowed to participate in the show, after all
these many years, elevated Mystère to a spectacular level. Having the
experience occur during the CirqueCon gathering with all my new
friends brought the event to a point I could never have dreamed of,
and even now I still have difficulties finding words to do it justice.
Six Thousand Fifty-Six shows have gone by with others playing the role
of POPPA, but Six Thousand Fifty-Seven is mine. I shall never forget
the kindness of the folks sitting next to me for allowing me the
chance to "catch the ball" and being so happy for me that I did. I'll
never forget the emotion and intensity in the theater that night. And
I'll never forget the enthusiasm of the cast and crew who put on such
a fabulous show for us.
Mystère will always be my most favorite Cirque du Soleil production
because this show, in my opinion, represents the soul of Cirque du
Soleil. It is without a doubt the reason I am a fan today. And for
that I have to thank everyone involved.
It doesn't hurt that #6057 and the experience I had that night will
always have a special place in my heart, though!
Thank you and...
Live Passionately!
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COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER
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Fascination! Newsletter Compendium
Volume 8, Number 4 (Issue #60) - Jul/Aug 2008
"Fascination! Newsletter" is a concept by Ricky Russo. Copyright (c)
2001-2008 Ricky Russo, published by Vortex/RGR Productions, a
subsidiary of Communicore Enterprises. No portion of this newsletter
can be reproduced, published in any form or forum, quoted or
translated without the consent of the "Fascination!
Newsletter." By sending us correspondence, you give us permission
(unless otherwise noted) to use the submission as we see fit, without
remuneration. All submissions become the property of the "Fascination!
Newsletter." "Fascination! Newsletter" is not affiliated in any way
with Cirque du Soleil. Cirque du Soleil and all its creations are
Copyright (c) and are registered trademarks (TM) of Cirque du Soleil,
Inc., and Créations Méandres, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No copyright
infringement intended.
{ Sep.26.2008 }
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