“Cirque Rituals: What do Fans do?”
By: Ricky Russo – Orlando, Florida (USA)
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Ritual: 1) the established form for a ceremony; specifically, the order of words prescribed for a religious ceremony. 2) ritual observance; specifically, a system of rites. 3) a ceremonial act or action 4) a customarily repeated often formal act or series of acts.
Throughout the sports world, practicing a ritual throughout the sports world is a fact of life for fans and players alike. While the players may be more superstitious — wearing a certain sock for the entire season, making sure they touch a certain part of a sign in their locker room, or never saying a certain phrase during an interview, for example — fans also have their own regimen of superstitions and rituals they go through in order to help their team pull through or to celebrate the event as it occurs.
As a fan of Cirque du Soleil, I often wondered then what fans of our chosen sport — watching Cirque du Soleil productions — do? So I posed that question to the Cirque fandom at large through the CirqueTribune forum and my own LiveJournal — “Does anyone have a specific set of rituals they perform at Cirque shows or when listening to the music? The responses confirmed that yes, we Cirque du Soleil fans do perform certain acts or series of acts before, during, and after a Cirque du Soleil show, when listening to the music or watching on Television.
And what are some of these rituals?
Carrie, who goes by the nickname Ambergrey online, eloquently sums up what many no doubt experience before the start of a Cirque du Soleil show, when one first steps upon the site and basks in the glow of the Big Top. She told me she enters the VIP or regular tents before each show to look at everything. “Not only the stuff I want to buy,” she says. “I look at the display items, the decorations. I watch what is going on and absorb the atmosphere. It makes me feel I am immersing myself into the world of Cirque [and] leaving my own every day [problems] behind.
“When I get into the Grand Chapiteau right before they start the show,” Carrie continues, “I close my eyes. My head empties of all else except what I am there for [and then] I am in another world for a precious two and a half hours.” She doesn’t care whether the artist messes up, a singer isn’t quite on cue or she sees an act she doesn’t care for. For Carrie, being on site listening and watching what is going on around her is her own celebration. “I’m still immersed in something that I love which is outside of my normal everyday life. It amazes me, the power of CdS — the music and visually stunning performances and environments — and how they allow me to immerse myself like that. So when I am at a show, I will ‘center myself’ if you will to emphasize that feeling and experience.”
Jeff Tolotti, who runs the online CirqueTribune forum, had this to say about his rituals: “My biggest has to do with the music, of course. When I’m within a month [of] seeing a show I don’t listen to its music at all. Even though I’m completely familiar with every aspect of the music, I still feel like it makes hearing it live that much more special.” He also confesses that he mimics the angel moves during “Malioumba” (the song that accompanies the “Flying Man” act in AlegrÃa) and “I also snap my head to the side during a point in the Triple Trapeze (in Varekai), because Zara (the show’s original female singer) used to do that.” He’s usually also “just about the first person to start the standing ovation on the first curtain call (after the artists have left the stage once).”
Rod, who is known as “junebug” online, feels similarly as Jeff. He also leans to the left at the appropriate time in “Malioumba”, but also gyrates his hips similarly like Sheetal Gandhi did in Dralion’s handbalancing act. He’s also known to summon the curtain away like Eugen in Cirque du Soleil’s “O”.
Rie Sugawara, a huge Cirque du Soleil fan from Japan, says “when Quidam was in Tokyo, I bought something from the shop every time, [since] there were a variety of [original Japanese] goods [not available] in the United States or Canada.” She also adds that, “when I was seated in the first row I wore a white shirt to be spotted by the clowns — I was picked up twice! [And] I voiceless-copy (aka lipsynch) the opening MC in English, French and Japanese.”
“Jah206” says this about his daughter: “My daughter’s favorite show is Alegría. We have seen it six times. Every time we went she would always go up to the stage steps after [the Snow Storm] at intermission and collect a handful of snow to keep.”
Gabrielle, A_La_Lune_719 online, has many things she does for her favorite show, La Nouba: “For starters, I always listen to the La Nouba CD and look at my La Nouba program before I go to sleep.” Yes, every day, she adds, since she first saw the show in July 2003. “Any day I have a Cirque function [or] band concert I wear a Cirque shirt to school. I write out Cirque countdowns in my calendar for shows, new releases, etcetera.” Exactly 30 days before a show she avoids listening to the show’s CD (like Jeff) or “pretty much anything related to that show.”
Some like to work out to Cirque du Soleil, while others try and obtain the same section, row or exact seat at each performance. So what about yours truly, do I have any rituals or celebratory acts that I do before, during or for Cirque du Soleil shows? Yes I do. For instance…
Whether I’m listening to the show’s soundtrack or watching it live under the Big Top, I will always lean to the left at the appropriate time during “Malioumba”, the same way the performer does just before he soars into the heavens.
During performances of Mystère I will mimic the movements of the Taïko drummers during the Opening and Closing of the show, as well as scoot down in my chair for the Bungee act so I can watch them perform their angelic mastery in a surrealist-like mode.
If I’m walking past the La Nouba Theater at Downtown Disney West Side and “Once Upon a Time” is playing on the LCD preview screen I will march past just like the Urbanites in the show. Or, on a good day, I’ll crane by like Le Titan, complete with a scowl upon my face.
During the Balancing on Chairs act in La Nouba, the Green Bird, originally played by Elena Day, has a hard time coping with the uncertainty of the stack of chairs and at some point makes her feelings known quite vocally, as she passes out. Her performance brings a tint of humor to an otherwise tense situation; I perform it right along with her either in the theater or while listening to the soundtrack. It’s great!
If I’m standing, I’ll perform the same little leg kick that Ebon Grayman’s Fleur did in Alegría at the start of the Russian Bar performance. If I’m not standing, I’ll pretend I did by snapping my head in the same direction.
In the crescendo of “Atmadja”, which is a theme used throughout Quidam, but more specifically during the start of the show, I will mimic John’s movements as Zoë« places Quidam’s hat upon her head. Also, during John’s interstitial where he attempts to please Zoë« by spinning rings around his bicycle handles he’s conveniently placed in his suspenders; I will pull on my invisible suspenders the same way John does as the drummers file on stage.
And while I’m sure there are others, like grabbing for snow at Alegría or watching Alice the Snail until the very last person leaves in Mystère, perhaps the Cirque Experience is best summed up by what “Jochen” does at the end of a performance. “I turn around at the last step [when exiting the Grand Chapiteau] and whisper ‘I will return!'”.
Bravo!
