Joey Arrigo saw his first Cirque du Soleil show — on a VHS tape — when he was 5. It was “magic,” he thought, twirling in imitation around the family’s Newmarket home. Twenty years later, and countless gruelling hours of dance training, Arrigo is playing the central character Waz in the company’s production of Volta. He spoke with the Star about the physical and mental demands of doing up to 10 shows a week.
Q. What does it take to be at this level of performance?
We need to listen to our bodies. That’s No.1. I train with my physiotherapist four to five times a week, doing high intensity interval training to keep every muscle, joint, tendon as strong as possible . . . That means weight-training — low-weight and high repetitions — to build strong, lean, tighter muscles. As an acrobatic dancer, I don’t want a lot of bulk because that will be harder on my joints as I’m jumping around.
Q. Some performers overtrain, leading to fatigue and injury. Because of that, do you ever hold back?
Sure. I’ve gotten to a point where I’ve overtrained and I’m exhausted, physically and mentally. I’ve learned to listen to my body . . . When my body is sore and tired, training is not beneficial, so I find an alternative, like yoga or stretching — and make sure I get enough sleep.
Q. What’s more challenging: physical or mental exhaustion?
Mental exhaustion because of the long hours and the crazy things we do throughout the day. Yes, it’s a circus and show, but behind this it’s a business and there are so many things we deal with, on top of staying physically fit and giving a great show.
Q. How do you give yourself a break?
I go for a walk, go shopping and brunching is one of my favourite things because it’s a big hearty meal. Having “me time” is super-crucial to then being in this atmosphere. It’s a circus (on stage), but (also behind the scenes), everybody is constantly moving, training and learning new skills.
Q. Do you worry about injury?
Every day. For any of us, it could be the last day we’re performing. But as long as we do our part keeping ourselves as strong and healthy as possible, there’s no stopping us.
Q. Are you mindful of nutrition?
It’s about what you need to put in your body, as opposed to what you don’t. Our bodies require necessary amounts of omega fatty acids, protein, magnesium, iron, potassium, which are good for muscles and helping them repair. I have a daily regimen to keep myself as healthy possible: I eat three eggs every morning. I take muscle-enhancing supplements, like L-carnitine and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), and I drink a greens mix of spirulina, barley grass, kale, wheatgrass. Throughout the day I eat regularly because we’re burning so much . . . I do utilize, but not abuse, pre-workout powders that get the blood flowing.
Q. Are there things you avoid?
I drank casually, but stopped for health reasons. Hangovers suck. Alcohol did things to my stomach that pushed me back as a performer. I’d get to a level with training and then have a night with a couple of drinks and the next four days I wouldn’t be at that high level anymore. I would love to have a long career. I want to get the most out of these years so that maybe in my 60s I can enjoy a brandy once in a while.
{ SOURCE: Toronto Star | https://goo.gl/2FTHFv }
