Corteo, CirqueCon, and Me

“Corteo, CirqueCon, and Me” (Guest Submission)
By: Rich Alford – Seattle, Washington (USA)

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I recall being in Orlando, Florida during July of 2004 and getting notification from Cirque du Soleil that a new traveling show will be premiering in Montreal, QC in April of 2005 and I was getting the chance to buy tickets to the premier before the general public if I acted right away. There wasn’t even a moments hesitation, I logged on and got my front row, Tapis Rouge ticket right then (along with a second ticket for the next day, I knew I’d want to see it twice, after all it is Cirque du Soleil).

A few months later, while surfing the Internet for Cirque related info and looking for any advance tid-bits about the new show, I stumbled across CirqueCon 2005. I had heard of these folks previously, simply by happenstance while in Vancouver, BC at Quidam. I was delighted to have found them again, remembering all the great things I had heard about the attention they got from Cirque, I immediately decided to join and, being the Cirque geek that I am, sent in my check with a letter to the organizer written on my own custom created Cirque letterhead. Little did I know what that simple gesture was going to get me into or, how much fun I was about to have, even before the show began.

CirqueCon
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Being involved with CirqueCon has made the whole experience of Corteo something incredible. I became the “Graphics Guy” and was asked to create a program book, name badge, tickets and other things that we would use during our get together. That process took almost five months during which, the show and the experience were alive for me every day, and I certainly got my membership’s fee worth. The payoff for me was walking around Old Montreal and seeing people wearing “my” name badge and, there were a lot of us… being part of that group was awesome and seeing how everyone seemed to enjoy what we created made it even more great!

Being a member of CirqueCon gave me the opportunity to tour Cirque du Soleil’s International Headquarters. That was a once in a lifetime experience for me. Being able to see where the magic happens and feel the ambience of the place was amazing and, makes everything Cirque much more personal to me. Along with all that, I had the incredible experience of making many new friends from all over including Mexico and Australia, all with a common passion for Cirque. That to me was totally awesome. I can’t wait for next year (Viva Las Vegas)!!

Corteo
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This is the first time I was able to see a Cirque show during it’s premier. After watching “The Fire Within” I had some expectation that the show would still be developing it’s finesse and I was excited to see that. I could see that not everything was as polished as a seasoned show but, for me, that made it cool. When I see it again later this year, everyone’s timing will be on and all the little kinks will be worked out, it’ll be like watching it grow and mature. I was thrilled with how the show was developed with the different placement of the stage (in the center with audience on both sides) and some more daring acts (the beginning of the second half of the show is amazing). I love to watch a good juggling act and, the one they have in the show is great. It was better on the 2nd night I saw the show than the first, I imagine that by this winter (when I plan to see the show again) it’ll be near perfect. Being there from the beginning will make Corteo a very special show of all the Cirque du Soleil shows for me.