Fascination! Newsletter

While news of Cirque’s Kodak Theater show’s delay has circulated the fan scene in recent days, the reason for the delay has not been widely known. An article out of the Los Angeles Business Journal today sheds some light on those reasons. From the article:

The Los Angeles city government is stepping in to help save plans for a reconstruction of the Kodak Theatre so the home of the Oscars can accommodate Cirque du Soleil’s 10-year Hollywood-themed show. L.A. developer CIM Group, which co-owns and operates the Kodak at Hollywood & Highland, is seeking a $30 million loan from the city to replace a private financing deal that collapsed in the capital market meltdown.

Under the deal, the city essentially would borrow $30 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and then loan that money to CIM for the project. It carries some risk to the city. If the Cirque show tanks or otherwise is unable to pay, then CIM is obligated to pay. But if it can’t, the city would lose up to $30 million of HUD money.

Already, design changes have forced a delay of at least nine months in the project’s opening, pushing it back to summer 2011 from the September 2010 opening date originally announced. The major change has involved fitting an on-site training center for Cirque performers into the existing complex.

Read the full article here.

{ SOURCE: Los Angeles Business Journal }

Interested in the physio side of Cirque?

When physical therapist Vanessa Gurie assesses the condition of her clients, she often looks way up into the rafters of an arena to see them fly and flip and tumble in astonishing displays of daredevil acrobatics. If you’ve ever seen a Cirque show, you’ve probably wondered how the performers’ bodies hold up under the strain of these incredible performances — often two a day. The answer: They’re as vulnerable as any athlete, so Cirque employs people like Gurie to head off show-stopping injuries.

Read the full article here.

{ SOURCE: The Times and Transcript }

In an open letter published by The Montreal Gazette this morning, Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté thanks the people of Quebec for their patronage and support, and explains why he wants to blast off into outer space this Fall:

Today I am back in Star City, Russia, resuming my training for my 12-day journey into space.

I’ve just had an incredible week full of events that put me in contact with my family, my friends, my employees, and the public, young and old.

And all of you took the time to give me sincere, inspiring and truly touching encouragement for my adventure - our adventure.

Whether at the International des Feux Loto-Québec, on the street, or at Cirque celebrations of our 25th anniversary, your “Bon voyage!” and “Go, Guy!” greetings touched me deeply.

And then there was Gaspé - a whole town wearing clown noses welcomed me. This gesture was part of my dream 25 years ago and to see it happen with such generous and genuine people will remain in my heart forever.

Once again, I found the source of unconditional motivation you’ve always represented. Thank you to the people of Quebec!

Read the full article here.

{ SOURCE: Montreal Gazette, canada.com }

The Globe and Mail, one of Montreal’s prestigious newspapers (and one we quote quite often here at Fascination!) has printed a story this morning about the war of words brewing between Cirque du Soleil, our favorite avant-garde circus, and Maclean’s, a magazine billing itself as Canada’s only national weekly current affairs rag. The reason for the fight: an article entitled “Sex, Drugs and Acrobats” that Macleans published highlighting the recent “tell-all” book by Montreal author Ian Halperin and the comments the magazine made about Cirque du Soleil therein.

The lawyer for Cirque du Soleil is reviewing an “editor’s note” in the latest Maclean’s to see if it satisfies a complaint he made last week about the magazine’s recent “Sex, Drugs & Acrobats” cover story on the famed Quebec troupe.

Meanwhile, the Cirque lawyer, François Fontaine, has received a demand letter from counsel for Montreal author Ian Halperin whose new book, Guy Lalibert é: The Fabulous Story of the Creator of Cirque du Soleil, was excerpted in Maclean’s and serves as the basis of its controversial June 15 cover story. The letter calls on Laliberté to retract comments the Cirque founder made about Halperin to Canadian Press and Yahoo News on June 16.

The letter, written by lawyer Michèle Frenière, asks that the retraction be made by June 25 and threatens to seek punitive damages of $500,000 – $250,000 from Laliberté, the same from Cirque itself – plus $25,000 from Cirque spokesperson Renée-Claude Ménard who also is alleged to have slandered Halperin.

Read the Globe and Mail story here:
“War of Words: Maclean’s vs. Cirque du Soleil”

Read the original MacLean’s story here:
“Sex, Drugs & Acrobats”

And read an earlier Maclean’s blurb here:
“Dishin’ the Dirt on Cirque”

{ SOURCE: Globe and Mail }

Cirque du Soleil’s arena tour of Saltimbanco is coming to the Tampa Bay area! John Fleming, St. Petersburg Times Performing Arts Critic introduces the show to the community. From his article as published in the St. Pete Times:

Cirque du Soleil’s campaign to take over the world — at least the show business part of it — has a fresh manifestation in its arena show Saltimbanco, which opens tonight at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. This is not a new Cirque show. Saltimbanco goes all the way back to 1992, and its creator was Franco Dragone, one of the gurus of the Montreal-based company. It’s more of a pure circus show — complete with a juggler, trapeze duo and trick bicyclist — and doesn’t have the thematic pretensions of later Cirque productions like Quidam or Alegria. When I saw the show in Lakeland in April, these questions popped into my mind:
1. What’s with the title?
2. Does it have a plot I can follow?
3. Why an arena staging?
4. Will fans of the Cirque tent shows see their return?
5. What are Saltimbanco’s best parts?
6. What’s it like to fly so high with no safety harness, no net, in a daredevil act like Russian Swing?

See the answers and more by reading the original article.

{ SOURCE: Tampabay.com, St. Pete Times }