Q&A /// Meet TORUK’s Daniel Crispin

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A Brisbane man swapped his shirt and tie for blue body paint after he was confirmed as the principal actor in Cirque du Soleil’s latest show, inspired by James Cameron’s Avatar.

Having graduated from a diploma in teaching and learning in 2014, Daniel Crispin, 28, was put on placements in various Brisbane schools to get classroom experience, with his passion for acrobatics continuing after school hours.

He worked as an acrobatic instructor at Flipside Circus in Brisbane’s north every afternoon and trained vigorously every evening for his role in Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK – The First Flight.

“I had only completed my placements and internships at the beginning of this year, what made training for this show incredibly exhausting as placement hours are 100 per cent unpaid,” Daniel said.

“If I could fit in 90 minutes of focused work I would be very happy.”

Daniel said it was “hard to put into words” how he felt when he found out he’d been named as the principal actor of the show.

“It has been my dream and a goal for a decade to work at Cirque du Soleil,” he said.

“To be a part of such an amazing team and to take a bow in front of 8000 people and receive a standing ovation as the main character goes beyond what my dreams ever could have imagined.”

As a child, Daniel practised Taekwondo and had always had “an awe for all things acrobatic”, moving from competitive sport to performance art after “realising his legs were too short to reach Olympic glory”.

DanielCrispinAfter high school, Daniel travelled across the United States, teaching acrobatics at summer camps, before returning to Australia to graduate, on a scholarship, from the National Institute of Circus Arts in 2010.

A major shoulder reconstruction in 2013 put his dreams on hold for a while and Daniel undertook a graduate diploma in teaching and learning, to ensure he had a plan B for the future.

“I am appreciative of the career I have and every single day I step on stage I am auditioning for the right to have such an incredible life,” he said.

“There will be a point that my body cannot keep up with the physical demands of acrobatics, which is something I am at peace with.”

For now though, Daniel is embracing all that life has to offer, travelling to new cities every five days with the largest theatrical producer in the world – something which could last for up to 10 years.

Daniel has performed for Madonna and featured on reality TV show Australia’s Got Talent and said he would like to continue performing on stage or screen for the rest of his life, in whichever capacity his body allows.

“I have aspirations to work as a creative and artistic director at Cirque du Soleil and I am always working on side projects of visual art, music and stage and screen projects.”

{ SOURCE: Brisbane Times | http://goo.gl/46qRNQ }