Surprising acrobatics, modern and glamorous costumes, musical rhythms known the world over, and a stunning stage design are just a hint of what awaits you in this edition of Cirque du Soleil in Andorra.
In true Cirque du Soleil fashion, REBEL celebrates the musical heritage of the male superstars whose songs are forever etched in our collective memories. The show is a tribute to the rebellious spirit of rock, a soulful reminder that love—raw or tender, fervent or fiery, whispered in the ear or shouted from the rooftops—has filled songwriters from all eras with the urge to make music.
REBEL takes spectators on a glittering, nightlong journey from dusk till dawn, where virility and tenderness go hand in hand, and where the spirit of love—whether gentle or untamed, genuine or impetuous, virtuous or subversive—reigns supreme.
In this rock-infused, nocturnal fairy tale, spectators are taken on a visually striking acrobatic foray in which iconic songs from the past and present—from Jimi Hendrix to Charles Aznavour—are brought to life. The show is a testament to all those who heed the call of their rebellious spirit and, like an open book, choose to not only keep their loves close to their heart, but to wear them on their bodies in the form of tattoos—tangible proof of love lived large.
THE SCENIC ENVIRONMENT — Set Designer Simon Guilbault played with volumes and perspectives to create a thoroughly modern scenic environment that takes spectators from one place to another, from nightfall to the break of day. Pure lines and curves flow in graphic patterns that keep the focus on—and magnify—the artists on stage. This changing decor creates a geometrically variable space where everything is possible and where the atmosphere can shift from a neon-lit nightclub in a red-light district to a scene by the water on a starry night, all to the rhythm of the music and the beating hearts on stage.
THE MUSIC — For REBEL, Musical Director Jean-Phi Goncalves breathed new life into some of the most beloved songs written by male musical icons, reworked and rerecorded especially for the show. The soundtrack has deep roots in folk, blues and rock music, with electronic undertones that bring these hits in the “here and now.” In this show where eras collide, songs that have slipped into our musical consciousness sometimes mesh with the action on stage, and sometimes play out in striking counterpoint to dramatic effect.
THE COSTUMES — By fusing fashion with streetwear and by blurring the lines between the male and female forms, Costume Designer Nicolas Vaudelet created a coherent and visually stunning realm, drawing inspiration from the world of vintage tattoos, but with a modern twist. His highly textured, shimmering trompe-l’oeil creations inspired by the classics of high fashion create a retro-romantic rock star look worthy of the kings of pop.
THE LIGHTING — The lighting environment in REBEL was created using a whole panoply of lighting sources including moving lights, spotlights, neon, projectors, TV screens, and even a DEL-clad star-studded sky. Natural light shares the stage with highly formatted lighting effects in tune with the pulsing beats of this nightlong tale.
THE ACROBATIC PERFORMANCE AND CHOREOGRAPHY — In REBEL, acrobatics and dance combine the yin and the yang of passionate love. Acrobatic Performance Designer Edesia Moreno Barata mixes together disciplines such as aerial Cyr wheel, sway poles, roller skating, dance pole, and a high-octane act in which four electric motorcycles roll around inside a perforated metal sphere, like panic-stricken flies caught inside a light bulb. A troupe of ballet dancers personifying a gang of romantic rebels mix urban and contemporary dance idioms to underscore—sometimes in subtle ways, sometimes in broad dramatic strokes—the emotions bubbling on stage.
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MEET THE PEOPLE AND ARTISTS WHO HAVE MADE REBEL POSSIBLE
We introduce you to the people and artists who have made REBEL possible. It’s a fantastic team whose determination, dedication and passion for their work have created a show that will leave you speechless. They have you reliving the greatest musical hits by the best artists, and whisk you away to another era, to another time.
EDESIA MORENO | ACROBATIC PERFORMANCE DESIGNER
Edesia Moreno Barata started out as a top athlete on the Spanish national rhythmic gymnastics team. In 1998 she was spotted by the Cirque du Soleil which recruited her as a performer. She travelled the world with the “Saltimbanco” and “Corteo” shows for 10 years. Driven by a contagious passion combining sense of movement with the ability to produce results, Edesia took on the role of artistic and acrobatic coach for the Cirque du Soleil. More recently, she has worked as acrobatic performance designer, acrobatic choreographer, director and event designer for numerous Cirque du Soleil productions. In the last 20 years, Edesia has worked on 35 productions all over the world. Her experience has led her to develop a rare skill set including organisational skills, flexibility, respect, leadership, team spirit, creativity and passion.
AUDREY TOULOUSE | MAKE UP DESIGNER
Audrey Toulouse is a professional makeup artist with more than 15 years of experience in HD, artistic, airbrush and special effects makeup. Currently working at Cirque du Soleil, she specialises in makeup designs for new and upcoming shows. Her more recent designs can be seen in the show Diva in Andorra during the summer of 2018, Reflekt and in the advertisement campaigns Skoda Spain and Skoda Prague as well as in multiple private events, each of these designs bearing the mark of the Cirque du Soleil. Audrey distinguishes herself through her outstanding makeup, hairstyling and teaching skills, which she applies in both the theatrical and television sectors. Her talent has led her to take part in international productions, set in more than twenty countries. Creative, reliable, passionate and with an excellent capacity to adapt, she is extremely perceptive and receptive to any kind of creative guideline that comes her way.
NICOLAS VAUDELET | COSTUME DESIGNER
Nicolas Vaudelet was trained by the big names in Fashion: Christian Lacroix, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Sonia Rykiel, and Jean Paul Gaultier. With the latter, he participated in the design and costume production for Madonna’s “Confession” Tour and that of flamenco dancer Joaquín Cortes. After extensive experience in Seville as art director of the century-old house “El Caballo”, where he won the L’Oreal award for best collection in 2009, he designed the costumes for the Spanish National Ballet. In the same year, he met famous director Franco Dragone. For him he designed the 600 costumes that made up the wardrobe of the Parisian Cabaret Lido and those of Taboo 3 and 4 in Macau, Russian singer Philipp Kirkorov at the Kremlin in Moscow, the “Daï Show” in XiShuangBanna and Rixos World park and hotel in Turkey. This period, which runs to the end of 2016, clearly marks Nicolas’ predilection for the design of stage costumes. Since January 2017, he has continued this activity in Canada with Scéno-Plus for MGM Macau, Vallarta Adventures for “Savia”, directed by Gilles Ste-Croix, the Cirque du Soleil for the 2017-18 European Tour of German singer Helene Fischer, the inauguration and closing of the “Dubai World Cup”, the shows Syma and Varéila for MSC Cruises and “Diva”, presented in Andorra in summer 2018.
JEAN-PHI GONCALVES | MUSICAL DIRECTOR
A founding member of the PLASTER and BEAST groups, he started his career as a musician, touring with numerous established artists like Dumas, Ariane Moffatt, Martin Léon and Daniel Bélanger, amongst others. He became highly in-demand in the music industry with countless projects working as the director or arranger: Ariane Moffatt, Diane Dufresne, Jean-Pierre Ferland, Pierre Lapointe… His expertise are also recognised on the international scene, materialising through projects with Lauryn Hill and INXS. In 2010, he was asked to compose to images where he discovered his new passion. He then founded his music production company: XS, La Petite Boîte à Musique. Following this, his original music composition projects for the radio, TV, internet, cinema and shows multiplied. Over the last four years, he has directed the music for the Cirque du Soleil’s tribute shows, amongst others, rearranging the works of Beau Dommage, Robert Charlebois, Luc Plamondon, Les Colocs and this year, les Cowboys Fringants. He is also working on a re-reading of the classic Alegria for April 2019.
LYDIA BOUCHARD | SHOW DIRECTOR
Her artistic career stands out for its diversity and creativity. A product of the world of classical dance, she has worked with renowned choreographer Jean Grand-Maítre of the Albert Ballet Company and famed opera director Renaud Doucet. In 1998, she began a flourishing career in the field of performing arts, rubbing shoulders with numerous famous art directors and choreographers. She then turned towards musical theatre and worked with large Canadian companies such as Mirvish and Jacobson Entertainment, Just For Laughs and Drayton Entertainment. In 2009, Lydia Bouchard joined the Cirque du Soleil’s special events division where she discovered the passionate universe of the circus arts. After a 17 year career as an independent artist, Lydia has enthusiastically stepped into the field of directing and choreography. After around 10 years in the Cirque du Soleil, she is proud to be back working as a director in Andorra this summer in her brand new custom piece REBEL. Armed with a team of solid writers hand-picked by her, she offers her very own world from the singing greats, always in her off-the-wall, highly-sensitive style.
SIMON GUILBAULT | SET DESIGNER
Active on both the theatre and dance scene, he worked with Cirque Du Soleil for the first time as a set designer for the show STONE in 2017 and again on Juste une p’tite nuite in 2018. BAZZAR by Cirque du Soleil was Simon’s third collaboration with the company. Recently, we saw his scenography in Alexia Burger’s play Les Hardings at the Centre du théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, Molière’s L’Avare at Théatre Denise Pelletier and the new Peep Show production by Marie Brassard at Espace Go, in Montreal, Canada. He collaborated with Marie Brassard in the creation of the play Jimmy, créature de rêve (2001), La Noirceur (2003), Peepshow (2005), L’invisible (2008) and Trieste (2013). These plays were praised both locally and internationally, and performed in several European theatres.
ERWANN BERNARD | LIGHTING DESIGN
Having started out in 2006, Erwann now has close to one hundred lighting designs under his belt. In Montreal he is very active on the theatre scene, where he regularly creates lighting designs for several renowned theatres. He boasts various joint projects with directors Serge Denoncourt, Claude Poissant, René-Richard Cyr and Mani Soleymanlou, to name but a few. Some projects have even led him to work in France. Since 2018 he has been working with the Cirque du Soleil, in addition to doing the lighting for the opening and closing shows of the Dubai World Cup, broadcast live to over 150 countries and watched by more than a billion people. He is recipient of prestigious awards, including the lighting award for the year 2018 awarded by the subscribers of the New World Theatre for Caligula, directed by René-Richard Cyr.
