REVIEW /// “Cirque Week 2011 (Part 2)”

Whether you’re a casual fan, an enthusiast, a Cirque devotee, a super fan or an aficionado, Cirque du Soleil has created the perfect event to satiate your appetites for all things Cirque. It’s called CirqueWeek and it’s a gathering of Cirque du Soleil fans (a convention if you will, similar to CirqueCon but organized not by fans but by Cirque du Soleil itself) that offers unique show and event packages with exclusive behind-the-scenes experiences.

As we discussed in the first part of our article from last month (read the first part here), I was in town for some of the activities surrounding CirqueWeek, as were many fans of Cirque du Soleil. Last month, with the help of fellow fan and Passionate Barb Lewis (who also attended the majority of these events) we brought you Cirque Week activities from the beginning through Mystère’s Bungee Demonstration on December 4th. Now let us bring you the rest of CirqueWeek 2011…

/// DECEMBER 5th – ZUMANITY REHEARSAL

Get up close & personal with the sexy artists of Zumanity! Guests will have the opportunity to sit through a live rehearsal of one of the show’s acts, followed by a Q&A session with the artists and crew afterwards in the gorgeous Zumanity Theatre.

CirqueWeek attendees poured into the voluptuously sensual Zumanity Theater for the second time (the first was the “Inside Cirque” panel giving fans an exclusive peek at the business side of the show through a Q&A with company President and CEO Daniel Lamarre, joined by a panel of key executives from numerous departments from Casting to Marketing) to partake in a series of rehearsals designed to give the show’s sexy vixens the wherewithal in case a particular performance did not go forward as planned. Called “what ifs,” these run-throughs sketch out segments of the show whereby something crucial could go amiss, such as a missing prop, performers out sick, or what to do when a piece of equipment malfunctions. This type of rehearsal also allows for the integration of new artists into Zu’s coven and tutor seasoned show performers with new marks or subtle ways to change-up their day-to-day performances.

There are multiple places throughout Zumanity where a cock-up might occur, and the performers continuously rehearse “what ifs” on a weekly basis, rotating through the acts in the show. Today’s rehearsal centered on young Russian artist Arslan Gusengadzhiev’s bone stretching act: Dislocation.

While we waited for the setup, Arslan explained to us how his skill differs from general contortion – contortionists entertain through their very limber, flexible bodies; a dislocation artist on the other hand is able to unhinge their limbs to twist themselves into unusual poses (for example, one of the poses he struk for us was a “backwards pushup” with his hands on the floor behind his back instead of in front of him – which elicited more than a few gasps from the crowd). Although Arslan is flexible and he does need to rehearse, because of the danger of repeated dislocation, as the run-throughs commenced he only performed some of the easier moves, withholding those that strain his body the most. A video monitor was available showing the entire act from start to finish helping the audience maintain the context of his performance.

The first run-through was rather innocuous and straight-forward, allowing the newcomers a chance to interact with their marks first-hand and giving seasoned performers (such as silk artist Alan Jones Silva) a chance to ham it up as a John looking for a good time – and he’ll pay! In fact, that’s what the set-up of this performance is all about: Having no money to pay for some… companionship from the Botero Sister’s harem of girls (they’re running a brothel), Arslan attempts to woo the girls into a score of happy endings with his… unique talents. Does it work? (SPOILER – unfortunately not, all the men strike out and the girls come away with all their money!)

The second scenario detailed what the company could do if Arslan’s performance rug did not appear on the lift as it rose to performance height. It is imperative that Arslan’s rug (or some kind of carpeting) be used as it is very unsafe for him to perform with his greased up body directly on the stage floor (as it would be unsafe for those performers who came out after… girls sliding around in their high heels… shameful!) Should the rug not appear with the lift, the Satyr character (the one who runs on all fours) is tasked with fetching a rug off-stage for Arslan in adequate time and make the insertion of the set piece appear seamless to the action, so nothing is amiss! [And it works quite well!]

The third scenario dealt with the mechanical malfunction of a swing which lowers one of the girls down into the action on stage and then swings her back and forth as the action unfolds around her. Should the swing malfunction and not release the grips holding the performer in place, she could be crushed between two other set pieces moving on stage (in this scene, the backgrounds that make up the brothel). There are two ways the automation department can handle this situation: the first is to retract the swing to a safe point (which is programmed), which will allow the movement of the background pieces; the second is to leave her in the swing and stop the background pieces from moving, necessitating a change-up in how the girls exiting the thrust of the stage.

It was all quite exciting!

Following the rehearsals all the members of the ensemble came down to the thrust of the stage, introduced themselves and told the audience a little bit about who they are, what they did and how they came to Cirque du Soleil. It was quite the rare treat. From Africa to Russia and all points in between; who knew how worldly this cast really was? If you attended this activity you found out.

Following a break in the CirqueWeek activities – the 6th and 7th were “off days” – festivities picked back up at the VIVA ELVIS Theater.

/// DECEMBER 8th – VIVA ELVIS DEMONSTRATION

With an onstage demonstration of the Jailhouse Rock set, attendees will see what it takes to move a three-story, 90,000-lb. set piece and learn how the artists perform upside down.

If you’ve ever walked into the VIVA ELVIS Theater, you know it’s huge. But did you know it is the fourth largest theater in North America? It’s true! And that’s just one of a number of amazing facts about the show CirqueWeek attendees learned at the Viva Elvis demonstration. Unfortunately, Nicole and I had to leave Las Vegas during the break in CirqueWeek activities; therefore we were not in attendance during the Viva Elvis Demonstration or the KA Battle Scene activities that followed. But Barb Lewis was there and the Company Manager, Artistic Director, Assistant Head of Rigging, and the Head of Automation expounded upon many more interesting facts, such as:

In General:

The theater is three stories high, which includes the fly lofts plus to more stories stuffed with set pieces below the stage!
Backstage space encompasses 200 feet from left wall to right wall and the grid is 105 feet up.
Most projections are synched with a time code. 98% of things that move in the show are manually controlled, generally from unseen places.
There are 125 tech staff in 8 departments from wardrobe to automation working on the show. 85 people are needed to run the show every night and perform daytime cleanup. Support activities run 24/7 so it is a non-stop production!
The rigging is inspected every day for anything life supportive. They use Genie lifts or they rappel. Weld inspectors do magnet tests twice a year.
Cirque employs its own welders in-house.

“Gotta Lotta Livin’”:

The “Gotta Lotta Livin’” set piece is monstrous, and heavy, and it flies! (There would be no room for it in the basement. It is 80 feet wide, 32 feet tall and 32 feet deep!)
The set, which weighs 64,000 pounds, is picked up four to five times a day using a series of nine winches – four down in front and five attached at the rear. Each of the winches can pull ten times their actual weight – a Cirque du Soleil standard.
The trampoline work performed on this set is a mix of what we see in Mystère and La Nouba. On the trampolines themselves, there are 720 springs that are changed out quarterly, Cirque replaces every other spring on a normal rotation.
The trampoline artists are well aware when replacements are made: they are invited to check out the new tension settings and make adjustments accordingly.
When raising the “Whole Lotta Livin,’” set less than ¼-inch deflection is allowed. The 4 drive units are laser-guided while raising this set piece 70 feet above everyone’s head. The winches have double brakes and double load capacity. They utilize safety integrated logic Level 3, the same level as used in nuclear plants.
But why the superhero motif? Elvis was a voracious reader of comic books; Captain Marvel Jr was his idol (he wore a shorter cape; the character’s symbol was a lightning bolt with the initials “TCB”), so it made sense to include this fact since VIVA ELVIS is an abstract biography of the famed performer.

“Jailhouse Rock”:

The 3-story “Jailhouse Rock” set piece (60 feet wide by 45 feet deep and almost 40 feet tall) weighs 82,000 pounds and up to 36 performers really dance on the ceiling using a series of harnesses, which are hand-made for each artist and cover the entire body using a “double car system” (but don’t worry, they’re checked twice per show).
Artists hang upside down while dancing for 2-5 minutes, since Cirque du Soleil doesn’t want its performers to hang upside down for more than five minutes. And the artists don’t dance upside down in all 10 weekly shows, they’re rotated in and out to minimize any injuries performing upside down might cause.
The “Jailhouse Rock” set piece is laser-guided; it does not move on tracks! Moving the piece takes six drive units and 650 castors. When those castors are lined up, though, it only requires three people to push it.

All too soon our time with VIVA ELVIS came to an end, but before we left the theater Cirque du Soleil discussed the recent announcement that the show would close at the end of 2012, placing it into contractual context: although Cirque du Soleil entered into a 10-year contract with ARIA/City Center to present the show, ARIA did not feel it was drawing sufficient audience so it opted out at the 3-year mark set within the contract itself. So what will happen with all the equipment when the show has its final curtain call? It will all go into storage. Cirque du Soleil believes they have a good show in VIVA ELVIS (“if Zumanity is the ‘sensual side of Cirque du Soleil’ then VIVA ELVIS is ‘the Broadway side’”) and will be actively searching for a new home for The King.

We wish them luck!

/// DECEMBER 9th – KÀ BATTLE SCENE DEMONSTRATION

Cirque du Soleil shows constantly evolve from the minute they open their doors for their very first performance. The finale of KÀ – the gravity-defying Battle between good and evil – has been undergoing a major transformation for more than a year to prepare for the addition of new characters to the scene. Members of the cast, Artistic and Technical teams will discuss what it takes to make such a large change to the show after more than six years and 3,000 performances.

Officiating this activity was KÀ’s Artistic Director, the artist who plays the twin brother (with the show for eight years now) and one of the warrior men (doing battle in the show for five years – he was the battle captain and how he is the climb captain.) And while they were making their introductions, behind them a rehearsal of The Battle was commencing – a new performer nearly ready to enter the show was put through his paces to shakedown his costume (remember that we learned from the Mystère costuming Q&A that a correct fit is a necessity or else it could pose a safety hazard!). Although it looked like everything was progressing well an issue did crop up: while working at 80-degrees vertical his wig popped off. Luckily he was able to catch and retain the hairpiece and the rehearsal was able to continue once he and another performer reattached the wig.

Meanwhile the Artistic Director told us that following CirqueWeek 2010 last year, Cirque du Soleil decided to create a special performance for Cirque Week 2011 guests, spending from nine months to a year designing, staffing and practicing a special battle performance. The original choreographer came in to help create the scene with The Twins fighting to regain their kingdom. She told us that almost everyone in the show had contributed to the special Cirque Week production and it was a fantastic performance!

And then we got to the Q&A:

The Battlefield Deck:

On the upright Battlefield Deck wall there are 16 cable lines, 14 of which are used by the performers. There are 30 artists trained to perform on the Battlefield Deck, which is raised to 80 degrees (not 90 degrees). Each of the 30 artists is cross-trained on the performance duties of 3 different lines since performers in different positions on the wall act out with different movements.
The artists control themselves! There are wireless controllers for each person’s line in the vest portion of their costume, but there are limits to what an artist can do: they can only move 11 feet per second (still quite fast) and cannot move above or below the deck by themselves. When that motion is required a team of technicians at the top and bottom of the deck will take over control.
Performers who rotate in twisting belts during battle spin on bearings. There is air in the equipment around the performers’ waists. The air depletes quickly while in use, therefore, the Battlefield scene in the show runs about seven minutes.
The show’s twin brother performer explained that the angle of the Battlefield Deck is intended to give the audience a bird’s-eye view of a perpendicular stage, looking right down on the top of the battle. For performers to give the illusion of warriors “walking” on the raised Battlefield Deck, artists have to hold their abdominal muscles and neck positions under super-tight control in a position needed to look like they are walking perpendicular to the raised wall. Instead of the center of gravity being related to their feet, their actual center of gravity is in their backs. As a result of these controlled muscle actions, everyone has “six-pack” abs!
The battery packs hidden in the back of the warriors’ vests and the rigging equipment for each person performing on the Battlefield Deck weighs 10 pounds. The costume contains a strobe light which the performer can use to signal if there is something wrong, the performer signals by crossing their arms about their chest and flashing the strobe. Each battery pack is fully charged before each performance so there’s no need for a backup (and that extra weight!)

The Sand Deck:

The 50 foot by 25 foot six inch thick Sand Deck weights about 88,000 pounds but can move about sixty-six feet thanks to hydraulic cylinders on either side of the deck. These five cylinders, each containing 7,000 gallons of hydraulic fluid, if stood on end would reach as high as the Statue of Liberty (150 feet). Sixteen high-speed winches are used, which pull the cylinders at fourteen feet per second!
Although it’s called the “Sand Deck” no sand is actually used on it; specks of cork are used instead, custom-ground for Cirque du Soleil in Portugal. Cork is used because it is less heavy than actual sand, is softer to land on and easier to sift through.
The cork must be maintained in a 45%-55% humidity atmosphere (a little more troublesome in a desert environment), three full-time Cirquesters are employed just to handle the substance.
KÀ purchases about 12,000 pounds of the cork per year and uses approximately 2,000 pounds of it per show. Most of it is caught and recycled after each performance and it is replaced every three years. Plans are afoot to recycle the replaced cork it replaces into drinking coasters with the KÀ logo burned in; you might be able to find them in the boutique soon!

Some of the CirqueWeek audience members were repeat visitors to the world of KÀ and wanted to know where the Pillars from the cancelled Pillars act ended up. Unfortunately the majority of those materials were recycled although there are a few placed in the green room! The performer playing the male twin role then proudly told everyone that she was the only girl performer who could do Pillars without missing a step. The warrior? He missed at least a step in every performance! At least falling isn’t an issue – you’ll most likely fall into an airbag!

Typical airbags receiving performer falls are 10 feet by 10 feet and generally run from side to side at the front of the stage area. As one never knows when a fall may occur (whether it’s scripted or unintentional) the bags are kept at a constant state of inflation. But if there is a problem with an airbag a “NO JUMP” call will be sent, and every performer on the Battlefield will grab a peg to stop the choreography – better safe than sorry. Even the “language” spoken between performers in the show (though mostly gibberish dialog) is laced with safety words in case one performer needs to grab the attention of another.

And rounding out our time we found out just what Cirque du Soleil puts its artists through to see if they experience vertigo: they’re asked to climb a rope to the top of the deck and sing once they get there.

KÀ’s performers really are versatile after all!
(And happy, KÀ performs 476 shows a year and has retained 45% of its original cast!)

* * *

CirqueWeek had one more special activity before it all came to an end – a special VIP meet and greet (limited to 100 fans) with Criss Angel after that night’s performance of his show, BELIEVE. Believe it or not – we didn’t attend, bringing our time with Cirque du Soleil to an end following KÀ’s special performance Friday afternoon.

By in large CirqueWeek 2011 was a rousing success. But if there are any bad marks we’d give the entire endeavor it would be these:

Ten days was just too long, with the activities too spread out amongst them. It makes it very expensive in terms of hotel and food costs (not to mention gambling) for a return of just one hour of “special activities” per day.
And while you’re shrinking down the number of days from a budget-busting 10 to a more affordable 4-5, move the event away from the National Finals Rodeo, when hotel prices go way up to gouge those cowboys. Here’s a hint – the 2012 Rodeo will be December 6-15.
Why hold a special event like CirqueWeek during a critical show’s (The Beatles LOVE and “O”) extended dark period?
The seating categories offered should be identified more clearly in the ticket packages. For some shows the seats were in Category 1 while in others they were in Category 2 or 3, making the package price seem more reasonable – until you got into your show seats to find they weren’t optimal. We suggest as many seats be Category 1 as possible – if they are catering to fans they should never offer Category 3 seats, especially the upper balcony at “O”!
Offer tickets to all performances of all shows certainly, but have “official” performance of each of the shows. Offer fans the opportunity to mass together as one enthusiastic entity where the energy of the audience spurs the show to greater heights. We have found with CirqueCon how powerful those experiences can be, for artists and audience.
And, allow for better a-la-carte ticket packaging to ensure fans get tickets to the shows they want to see, not the shows you want them to see.

Hopefully this is something Cirque du Soleil will take into account for CirqueWeek 2012 – which will be coming to Las Vegas next winter.

Perhaps we’ll see you there!

REVIEW /// “Cirque Week 2011 (Part 2)”

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