======================================================================= ______ _ __ _ __ / ____/___ ___________(_)___ ____ _/ /_(_)___ ____ / / / /_ / __ '/ ___/ ___/ / __ \/ __ '/ __/ / __ \/ __ \/ / / __/ / /_/ (__ ) /__ / / / / /_/ / /_/ / /_/ / / / /_/ /_/ \__,_/____/\___/_/_/ /_/\__,_/\__/_/\____/_/ /_(_) T h e U n o f f i c i a l C i r q u e d u S o l e i l N e w s l e t t e r ------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.CirqueFascination.com ------------------------------------------------------------ ======================================================================= VOLUME 18, NUMBER 5 May 2018 ISSUE #172 ======================================================================= Welcome to the latest edition of Fascination, the Unofficial Cirque du Soleil Newsletter. Before we get started, we here at Fascination would like to extend TORUK-The First Flight's cast and crew a hearty congratulations for performing its 600th show in Sanya, China on April 30th! And now... * * * ALEGRÍA: THE RETURN OF AN ICON! * * * The big news of the month is, of course, the official announcement that Alegría, one of Cirque du Soleil's most iconic shows, will return to celebrate its 25th anniversary. "Staying true to the essence of the original creation, Alegría will retain its unique spirit of joy and optimism for which it was renowned around the globe. Cirque du Soleil will revisit the show through today's lens to ensure it is as inspiring as it was 25 years ago." "Alegría has marked a whole generation of Cirque du Soleil fans. We want to honor their connection to the show and recreate the emotions they felt back in 1994, while leveraging all the possibilities offered to us today. Alegría is a rallying anthem for change and hope, and that is, after all, timeless", explained Diane Quinn, Cirque du Soleil's Chief Creative Officer. Cirque du Soleil first presented Alegría in April 1994, a production destined to change the history of the company, an emblematic show that was to win over more than 14 million spectators. Under the traditional Big Top and in its arena version, Alegría visited 255 cities around the world in its 19 years of touring before finally bidding audiences farewell on December 29, 2013 in Antwerp, Belgium. Since its last performance, Alegría has remained very much alive in the hearts of its fans, who regularly request its comeback. Its emblematic title song, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1995, continues to be a fan favorite and remains Cirque du Soleil's most watched song on YouTube still today. "It was important for us to highlight the immense impact that Alegría has had on our fans as well as our company. Audiences and employees alike have asked for its return for years, and what better way to do so than through the celebration of its 25-year anniversary. As we continue to look forward and strive to innovate in everything we do, we wanted to pause and celebrate one of the shows that has made Cirque du Soleil what it is today – a global leader in live entertainment", said Yasmine Khalil, Chief Executive Producer at Cirque du Soleil. Alegría will premiere in Montreal's Old Port on April 18, 2019, 25 years after its official premiere, before setting out for a limited tour under the Big Top. Check our ITINERAIRE section for stops in Gatineau and Toronto following its Montreal run. AND, be sure to read the "Cirque Brings Back Alegria, Changes Direction" news article within for more information regarding the Alegria announcement and more. Cirque Club members can purchase tickets online now at: < http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/alegria > Check out these fantastic videos about Alegria's return: o) The Return of an Icon! LINK /// < https://youtu.be/kA9PYuCL6xs > o) Very Special Performance of Alegria's Theme Song: LINK /// < https://youtu.be/mKvZJSrN-Bw > o) One Hour Non-Stop Alegria! LINK /// < https://youtu.be/hggqE-8PQU4 > o) The Best of the Alegria Press Conference LINK /// < https://youtu.be/uCNDl-5r07k > And follow Alegria on: o) Facebook: facebook.com/Alegria o) Twitter: @Cirque #Alegria o) Instagram: cirquedusoleil #Alegria * * * VOLTA RETURNS TO ACTION * * * "We would like to sincerely thank you all for the messages of love and support that you sent us from around the world over the last weeks," said Cirque du Soleil through its Facebook Page. "The VOLTA family has decided that it was now time to step back on stage, confirming that we will resume the representations of VOLTA in East Rutherford, New Jersey, starting on the 20th of April at 8 PM. We can't wait to see you again." VOLTA returned to performances on Friday, April 20th in New Jersey, offering a tribute to the aerialist who died last month on stage. It was the first show since the March 17 accident that claimed the life of Yann Arnaud, 38. VOLTA began with a tribute to Arnaud, the 38-year old aerialist who perished after falling about 20 feet to his death. The accident happened March 17th during an aerial straps routine in Tampa. New Jersey's tour was postponed in the wake of that death, and opened with an on-stage speech honoring Arnaud, as the performers hugged each other while surrounding a tribute wreath dedicated to his memory. "Yann loved to perform," said an unidentified speaker at the start of the show. "He performed in Paris, in Las Vegas, many cities around the world. In our production of TOTEM and more recently in VOLTA and he gave joy to many, many people. And I believe it is the only way to bring honor to him by also doing what we love. To inspire dreams to touch hearts, and share with you our entertainment. So I'm going to ask for your love and support tonight to raise the roof with your applause in celebration of Yann. On behalf of the VOLTA family, our largest Cirque du Soleil family. I have the great honor to dedicate this show to our Superman, our hero, our papa, Yann Arnaud. Yann, this is for you!" The show ended with a moment of silence in Arnaud's memory, as the performers knelt around the memorial wreath. Although a day after its big debut, VOLTA was again canceled, but this was just for one show. The company says it chose to do away with a two-show lineup at the Meadowlands on Sunday because performers remained emotional after the death of one of their peers. Marie-Helene Lagace, head of public relations for Cirque du Soleil in Montreal, said that the company couldn't have known the performers' state of mind until the show returned on Friday. "It's actually proven to be more emotional than we anticipated," Legace said. "The conclusion after that first show is that presenting two shows per night is too soon for them. It's absolutely essential that they are in the right state of mind before going on stage. All of the other shows are being presented as scheduled." The other shows did go on, but... not without a hiccup. On Friday, May 4th, a trampolinist missed her jump and slammed her head on a perimeter bar during the show. "There were four men and two women. It was the intermission, and they were building up for their finale," one spectator said after the show. "The one girl jumped two stories onto the trampoline, then went up -- and on her way back down went too far and smacked her upper back and neck area on the perimeter bar." There was a thump and a scream. "Then the other performers signaled to cut the music, that there was an emergency. The paramedics came out. They ended up walking her out on her own." And then the show resumed about 15 minutes later. Hang in there VOLTA. * * * 45 DEGREES IN FULL VIEW * * * Cirque du Soleil's Special Events team has been in the spotlight quite a bit this year, most recently for presenting the opening and closing ceremonies for the Dubai World Cup (see the news section within), but you'll find them in the news again for Helene Fischer's tour: On April 9th, Semmel Concerts and Helene Fischer were awarded for "Arena Live Tour of the Year" at the German Live Entertainment Awards. Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group's 45 Degrees and 4U2C teams designed the tour. And that's not all. In addition to "DIVA" at Andorra la Vella and "Juste une p’tite nuite" (an Hommage to Les Colocs) - both presenting this summer in Andorra and Quebec respectively, 45 Degrees also recently announced that Cirque du Soleil will be performing in Monaco, as 45 Degrees has been asked to create a unique performance at the Monte-Carlo Sporting Summer Festival. "This original 75-minute production will pay tribute to Monegasque history and culture through the creative lens of Cirque du Soleil. Set in a fantasy world, inspired by the glamour of the 1920's, the performance will carry the audience on a journey filled with exciting and fantastic adventures in search of love." From August 14 to 18th, Cirque du Soleil will be in the Hall of Stars for 5 unique performances! Price: €353.50 on August 14, €253.50 from August 15th to 18th € per person excluding drinks Opening doors: 8:00 p.m. Event type: Dinner – Show Dinner: at 8:30 p.m. Dress code: Mandatory jacket Additionally, MSC Cruises, who partnered with 45 DEGREES to offer unique on-board entertainment experiences on board its newest ships, highlighted SONOR, one of two shows available exclusively aboard MSC Meraviglia. Check that out here: < http://www.cirquefascination.com/? p=11497 > Okay, so let's go! /----------------------------------------------------\ | | | Join us on the web at: | | < www.cirquefascination.com > | | | | At CirqueCast: | | < http://www.cirquecast.com/ > | | | | Realy Simple Syndication (RSS) Feed (News Only): | | < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?feed=rss2 > | | | \----------------------------------------------------/ - Ricky "Richasi" Russo =========== CONTENTS =========== o) Cirque Buzz -- News, Rumours & Sightings * La Presse -- General News & Highlights * Q&A -- Quick Chats & Press Interviews o) Itinéraire -- Tour/Show Information * BigTop Shows -- Under the Grand Chapiteau * Arena Shows -- In Stadium-like venues * Resident Shows -- Performed en Le Théâtre o) Outreach -- Updates from Cirque's Social Widgets * Webseries -- Official Online Featurettes * Videos -- Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds o) Fascination! Features * "How Cirque du Soleil Turns Gymnasts Into Artists" By: Dvora Meyers as featured in Deadspin Magazine * "VOLTA: A TECHINCAL BOX OF WONDERS" Part 2 of 2: Lighting & Sound A Special Reprint from Lighting & Sound America * "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques" Part 13 of 16: Dralion, Part 2 (2001-2003) By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA) o) Copyright & Disclaimer ======================================================================= CIRQUE BUZZ -- NEWS, RUMOURS & SIGHTINGS ======================================================================= *************************************************************** LA PRESSE -- General News & Highlights *************************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------- 45 DEGREES: Dubai World Cup blooms with festive spirit {Apr.01.2018} ------------------------------------------------------- Acrobats, fireworks and a stunning ceremony choreographed by the team behind Cirque du Soleil brought the grandiose to the Dubai World Cup this year. The opening and closing ceremonies at the show-stopping event at the Meydan Racecourse saw 70 performers take to the stage to put on a breathtaking performance. The live action light and sound show saw 28 acrobats and 42 dancers from over all over the world take part, wearing 70 hand-made costumes, while performing on an 86-metre long moving stage that weighed more than 170 tonnes. Both ceremonies were produced by 45 Degrees, a Cirque du Soleil company. "We developed an entirely new concept for the performance based on the theme Make the Desert Bloom," said Fernand Rainville, the creative and show director at 45 Degrees. "The show was brimming with immersive innovations designed for mass visibility, including the moving stage." A laser and special effects show was projected onto the grandstand and Meydan Hotel, even as flamethrowers enthralled the crowds, backed by a pyrotechnic drone show, along with giant heliosphere balloons carrying aerialists more than 40 metres in the air as they were illuminated by 10,000 confetti petals. Yasmine Khalil, the president of the events and special projects company, said: "We are honoured to have been selected to create and produce the ceremonies at this prestigious event. It has been a great privilege to work hand-in-hand with the organising committee of Dubai World Cup, who each year have continued to set the bar higher." FESTIVE ATMOSPHERE While the entertainment had the cameras flashing, the festive atmosphere at the Dubai World Cup was not limited to this alone. Musical performances, stilt walkers, BMX riders and the fashion A-game was in full display. "I come every year for the World Cup. I love the races," said Liza Georgia, a tourist with bright blue hair, visiting from Australia. Whether people were at the event to watch the races, participate in the Style Stakes competition, or simply there to watch the incredible line-up of live entertainment, no one was left disappointed. The entrance of the Meydan grandstand saw live performers including acrobats, drummers, clowns and more. Children were kept entertained with mimes running around and acting out stories. BMX riders dressed up in horse costumes rode around the lobby area and bounced around the back wheel of their bikes. Inside the grandstand, a total of 118 horses and jockeys took to the track, as crowds cheered for their favourite to win. As each horse neared closer to the finish line, the crowds screamed in unison. "The energy from the stands was contagious. Every time a horse would swoosh past us, everyone would stand up and yell," said Hana Magdi, a young woman watching from the stands. The fashion was also one of the main forms of entertainment at the event. "Everywhere you look, there is a fascinating hat or ensemble to catch your eye" said Hiba Hani, a young Emirati enjoying the outlook from the Apron Views. Geraldine Asim-Ita, who came from Nigeria, enjoyed some of the perks offered at Apron Views including neck massages, manicures and express blow dries to keep her look fresh for the whole day. "I just want to look different. I came from Nigeria specifically for the World Cup and I'm here to enjoy it and get pampered," she said. CHECK OUT THE POST ONLINE FOR PICTURES: LINK /// < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?p=11460 > { SOURCE: Gulf News } ------------------------------------------------------- Mukhtar Gusengadzhiev Jailed for 22 years, Sex Crimes {Apr.03.2018} ------------------------------------------------------- Mukhtar Gusengadzhiev, 53, also known as "Snake Man", was convicted of abusing the six underage girls including a relative and the nine-year- old daughter of a former girlfriend. The Russian circus actor must also undergo compulsory "treatment" for paedophilia, according to reports. During a search of his flat, police found several videos featuring child pornography and one of the victims told police that Gusengadzhiev repeatedly undressed her and touched her intimate body parts. Law enforcement sources also said that between 2012 and 2015 he "performed violent sexual actions against underage children" in and near Moscow. Gusengadzhiev, from Moscow, insists he is innocent and says that he was set up by jealous members of his family who wanted to take over his apartment. He was supported by 1,500 female fans who signed a petition claiming that he had been framed. "We think that the case was fully made up… and we demand thorough investigation," said the petition. The contortionist lived in a desirable high-rise block of flats – one of Stalin's "seven sisters" skyscrapers – in Moscow's exclusive Kotelnicheskaya Embankment. He said a video, which formed a key part of the evidence against him, was filmed by a nephew who wanted his elite apartment. An unnamed friend of Gusengadzhiev, said: "He is not guilty in any part of the things he is being accused of. I am convinced that this is all lies. Bottom line, there is no evidence that he is guilty, the investigation was done with brutal mistakes." The contortionist, a former Cirque du Soleil artist and leading member of the Federation of Yoga of Russia, had been in police custody since his arrest in September 2015. "The investigators established that victims of those crimes came from the families of his friends and relatives," said a statement by the Russian Investigative Committee. { SOURCE: UK Daily Star } ------------------------------------------------------- Ruby Lewis Will Star in New Marilyn Monroe Musical {Apr.04.2018} ------------------------------------------------------- While Bombshell, the fictional Marilyn Monroe musical from NBC's Smash, inches toward the actual stage in a long-gestating development process, another show exploring the life of the film icon will play Las Vegas. Marilyn! The New Musical will play the Paris Theater (in Las Vegas) beginning May 23 before an official opening June 1. The show features a book by director Tegan Summer and an original score by Gregory Nabours, plus additional songs made famous by Monroe. Ruby Lewis, who starred on Broadway in Cirque du Soleil's Paramour, will take on the title role. The cast will also include Brittney Bertier as Norma Jeane (depicted in the musical as Monroe's ever- present rival alter ego), Frank Lawson as Charlie, Travis Cloer as Milton Greene, Chris Fore as Bill Pursel, Randal Keith as Darryl F. Znuck, Christopher Showerman as Joe DiMaggio, Matthew Tyler as Arthur Miller, Lindsay Roginski as Jane Russell, Una Eggerts as Jayne Mansfield, and Chanel Edwards-Frederick as Ella Fitzgerald. Kelley Jackle will serve as the standby for Marilyn. A rotation of celebrity guest performers will also appear in various roles throughout the run. The production team includes choreographer Ferly Prado, set designer Matt Steinbrenner, and casting director Michael Donovan. { SOURCE: Playbill } ------------------------------------------------------- Get Glimpse Into LOVE With "Magical Technical Tour" {Apr.20.2018} ------------------------------------------------------- After nearly nine million guests have enjoyed captivating performances and show-stopping numbers, Cirque du Soleil has opened the doors to The Beatles LOVE to the public for free – giving Beatles and Cirque du Soleil fans alike a rare inside look at the world's most celebrated and revolutionary experience. Beginning Friday, May 4, guests can experience LOVE's exclusive Magical Technical Tour, a complimentary open house showcasing the production's state-of-the-art technology, one-of-a-kind set pieces and more, every Friday at 1 p.m. at the LOVE Theatre inside The Mirage Hotel & Casino. Guests will be ushered into the best seats in the house where they will sit back and enjoy an exceptional and one-of-a- kind presentation. As part of the experience, attendees will delight in a demonstration of the show's powerhouse opening number "Get Back" – removing artists from the equation to highlight the production's immense technical capabilities. Guests will also hear the theatre's epic sound system, which creates an authentic, concert-like experience allowing fans to enjoy the GRAMMY Award-winning soundtrack unlike anywhere else in the world. The Magical Technical Tour is now every Friday from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Please note that technical demonstrations are subject to cancellation. To confirm that day's activity, please call 702.352.0221. Guests will receive an exclusive ticket offer, which may be redeemed at the box office. All ages are welcome. Please arrive early. Due to safety, late arrivals will not be allowed in. For more information, please call 702-352-0040. { SOURCE: Broadway World } ------------------------------------------------------- Cirque Brings Back Alegria, Changes Direction {Apr.25.2018} ------------------------------------------------------- It's been hailed as the quintessential Cirque du Soleil show and today Cirque management said it was re-launching the emblematic Alegría "by popular demand". A "first" for the company, a move which does not impact new creations currently under development, we've been assured. "This is special," Daniel Lamarre, CEO of Cirque du Soleil said. "This does not stop us from having 12 projects being created right now." "We've had so many requests over the years, from our fans, internally, our employees, asking us to bring back this show," said Yasmine Khalil, chief executive producer. "So we thought what better time to do that then as it celebrates this important anniversary." "Alegria," which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1995, remains Cirque du Soleil's most watched song on YouTube. The organization says it was a no-brainer to bring it back. "Honestly there was a huge demand from fans and there were a lot of people inside (the Cirque) who were as excited as the fans," said Daniel Fortin, the newly appointed vice-president of creation at the Cirque du Soleil. "So we said, ‘Why not?'" The biggest challenge is to respect the vision of the original creators while taking into account the cultural changes that have happened over the past 24 years, said Fortin. "It is a show that, for me, was a big surprise. I didn't know we were able to do that kind of show 25 years ago and I was impressed. This is where my respect for that company came from. Since the narrative and the story of the story is very today, there's no problem bringing it back. And we will be able to see it through the lens of the Cirque of today, acrobatically, (and in terms of) costumes, lighting. This is why we're bringing back this masterpiece." "It's probably the first show that most of our fans ever saw of Cirque du Soleil," Khalil said. "It's the show that broke the barrier and told people that this is a company with a creative vision, that treats circus arts in a non-traditional way." GILLES STE-CROIX, CONSULTANT ---------------------------- Gilles Ste-Croix, who was officially retired, was present at the unveiling this morning. He will act as consultant on the new project, assuring us that the idea of revisiting this show is not his, even if he welcomes this decision. "It was a good vintage," he said, smirking. How much does he want to change? "You cannot transform it too much without losing things," Ste-Croix said. "But we will of course try to go further." "We're going to keep the concept as it is, we're just going to modernize the show in terms of costumes, scenography and so that's the creative challenge we have," said Cirque's President and CEO Daniel Lamarre. And what elements of the show would he want to hold on to? "The humor," he said. "Acrobats can be replaced; we can find stronger people. But the spirit of Alegría was special. At the time, we had recruited Russian clown Slava Polunin [creator of Slava's Snowshow] and his melancholy humor gave the show a beautiful color." The Director, who will have the delicate task of respecting the original and to update it, will be announced "in a few months". But some of the creative team seems to have already been elected. Daniel Ross has been appointed as Alegría's Director of Creation. CHANGE OF DIRECTION ------------------- The Cirque du Soleil also announced Wednesday that it has re-organized its creation and production department. 45 Degrees, a division of the Cirque dedicated to the creation of special events, has taken over the Montreal-based circus's creation and production department. Jean- François Bouchard, who was head of creation at the Cirque du Soleil, recently left the company to join former Cirque head Guy Laliberté's company Lune Rouge. The new Cirque creation team is headed by Diane Quinn, a veteran Cirque manager who will be chief creative officer. She will be working with Fortin, who used to be executive creative director of 45 Degrees, and Yasmine Khalil, who becomes chief executive production officer. She was president of 45 Degrees, which created the Cirque's recent ice show Crystal. "We have so many shows that we had to gather (everyone) under one roof and work together and now we're looking at adding some more people because we're really busy," said Fortin. "It's fun because we have different points of view. We have different ways of seeing things. It's not just one direction. It's many directions." The arrival of the 45 Degrees team running the creation department will lead to a diversification of the types of things the Cirque produces. "We're trying to look at different ways of doing creation," said Fortin. "We're doing Cirque yes, but immersive content. Different kinds of shows. We want to do the kind of shows we did at 45. Like we did a fountain show in France. We did a special tasting moment with food. Like how do we create a dinner show for example? It starts with the dinner. It's not only the show." * * * Alegría, with a cast of 53 artists and musicians, is bound on a "limited tour" of about four years, mainly in North America, following its run in Montreal. The show will feature some revamped costumes and makeup, and will incorporate new technologies to keep the show relevant. The 25th Anniversary Tour begins April 18, 2019. { SOURCE: La Presse, Global News, Montreal Gazette } ------------------------------------------------------- STONE, Hommage à Plamondon Album Coming Soon! {May.02.2018} ------------------------------------------------------- The soundtrack created for STONE, Cirque du Soleil's Hommage à Plamondon, has been the subject of high praise since it was enjoyed by the public at the Cogeco Amphitheater in Trois-Rivières last summer. So, for the first time, an album featuring the songs from the tribute show will be the subject of a music album release, available May 18th! STONE, the album, will contain fifteen pieces of music as crafted by musical director Jean-Phi Concalves for the show. On the album we'll find: "Le Parc Belmont" by Martha Wainwright, "Monopolis" by Milk & Bone, "Oxygène" by Betty Bonifassi, "Le monde est Stone" by Beyries, "Lili voulait aller danser" by La Bronze, "Ma mère chantait toujours" by Marie-Pierre Arthur, "L'île aux Mimosas" by Klô Pelgag, "Je danse dans ma tête" by Marie-Mai, "Call-Girl" by Valérie Carpentier, "Tiens- toé ben j'arrive!" by Catherine Major, "Le blues du businessman" by Safia Nolin, "Les sans-papiers" by Marie-Josée Lord, "S.O.S. d'un terrien en détresse" by Ariane Moffatt, "Le monde est fou" by Gabrielle Shonk and "L'Hymne à la beauté du monde" by the entire show team. But it wasn't as simple as just placing the music on a soundtrack; Concalves put in a lot of studio work to adapt the show's musical pieces for an album. "It was necessary to adapt the music because sometimes there were breaks or lengths required by the show in the structure [of the music]. Additionally, I had to remix [the music] completely [for the album] because the mixing done for a large amphitheater is very different from one made for an album that will be listened to at home or in a car." "In the end, I [feel] that the album stands very well on its own, detached from the visual of the show. Of course, it is a soundtrack so people who have had the chance to see the show will [relive the experience], but it will also be interesting for those who have not seen it." Although Conclaves is not convinced STONE is his best work among the three shows presented at the Cogeco Amphitheater thus far, he is convinced that this soundtrack deserves to be heard. "In the context of shows, it's the one I went the furthest away on from musically because we did not work from master tapes; we had new performers. The end result definitely deserved to be on an album. For me, it was a shame to lose this work after only twenty shows. I wanted it to survive and it's a feeling that people at Cirque also shared." This does not mean that Cirque will necessarily repeat the same approach in the future. "It's always case by case," explains Goncalves. "For example, with the Colocs, we work from original tapes, which the process more complex because there are a lot of legalities involved. Every year we wondered if we could release the music for these shows, considering it as much from an artistic point of view based on the rights that needed to be secured." "For Stone, the context was different and it was more justified." That involved the contribution of fourteen or fifteen performers and it's certainly the most imposing collective work that has been done on the side of music." On behalf of the Trois-Rivières Events Corporation, General Manager Steve Dubé was delighted with the news. "We are really happy. We've exhibited three shows that have performed only 20 times each, now there is one that will stay forever. This is excellent news." "There was a demand from the public for [the music] from each show," Dubé said. "Each time things prevented such a release, but this time when Jean-Phi Goncalves called us to see if we agreed, we did not hesitate a second. Especially since he has done such an amazing job every time. Having listened to two excerpts from the next show, I can guarantee a fantastic summer. But in the case of Plamondon, the songs have already lasted for decades and Jean-Phi gave them a very current vibe that will allow them to survive for many decades more to come." The album will be widely available in CD format at various music stores across the country, and will also be found on all main digital platforms. Additionally, a few hundred copies have been pressed on Vinyl. The album will be officially launched on May 18th. { SOURCE: Le Nouvelliste } ------------------------------------------------------- Getting From Stage Left To Right (And Back Again) {May.03.2018} ------------------------------------------------------- Creativity is key for Cirque du Soleil as it transitions tent performances of "Corteo" to large arenas. The old way of doing it involved running underneath bleachers. That doesn't work in an arena, so Cirque du Soleil commissioned the building of a machine last year that solves the problem. The machine, called the Crossover, zooms performers underneath the stage to get them in place on the other side in less than 40 seconds. Tour Publicist Max Batista says the audience is thinking, "Wait, this person just crossed and is crossing again to the other side. How's this possible? Do they have twins here?" He likens the Crossover machine to a zipline, explaining the acrobats tuck their costumes in, lay down on an inflatable mat and grab a rope. It zips them to the other side of the stage in a very small space under the stage. There is even a safety mechanism where if they don't let go of the rope the machine will stop. If 40 seconds isn't soon enough for the performer, he or she will start pulling themselves until the rope kicks in. The rope goes both ways and six performers at a time can ride it. "Corteo" is a celebration of the life of a clown who imagines his death and reconnects with all those he shared his life with. Artistic Director Mark Shaub said it's not all about technology. "There's a lot of humanity in the show and it expresses itself in interesting ways. Certainly there are characters that you could meet in real life." Automation is key to the show. Acrobats depend on Cirque's Arena Rigging Specialist Robert Tita. He directs a local crew of 100 people and inspects all of the trusses — there are more than 1,000. "It's like a puzzle. All those trusses come together like Legos and they are put in place with pins rated 10,000-15,000 pounds," he says. *************************************************************** Q&A -- Quick Chats & Press Interviews *************************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------- How Elizabeth Williams became a Cirque acrobat {Apr.20.2018} ------------------------------------------------------- Once upon a time in New York City, a girl with a big dream walks into Starbucks. While waiting for her order, she notices a pull tab advert and reads: "Private aerial classes with former Cirque du Soleil artist". Totally intimidated but excited, she is calling the number. The girl already knows that she is going to sneak out of her dance school classes. She knows that the new chapter in her life starts right here, right now. But what she does not know is that eventually she will be performing difficult trapeze acts flying through the air with a perfect grace. Today Elizabeth Williams is a 27-year-old aerialist at Cirque du Soleil and a charming woman smiling with her lips, her eyes and her whole spirit. She is also that ambitious girl who fell in love with Cirque aged 13 and has had a genuine talent in gymnastics from the age of four. "I knew it was what I had to do with my life," says Elizabeth. "There was more to the tumblers than the ‘perfect ten' qualities of a gymnast. They were artists. Dancers. Movers. Characters." I cannot argue with her. Once you watch one of the magnificent shows, you realise: Cirque du Soleil is the circus worth running away with. So the young gymnast promptly came to her first ballet class with her "chin way too high", as she admits, laughing. After years of hard work, Elizabeth was accepted to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre study programme so that one day she could be brave enough to call the right number and discover her passion for heights. "The strength and coordination of a gymnast with lines and precision of a dancer, aerial work is where I wanted, needed to be!" exclaims Elizabeth. Elizabeth's dreams came true when she decided to audition for Cirque... Being diversely skilled, she auditioned for Cirque in Las Vegas as a generalist acrobat. First in the group, with a big pin-on number one, Elizabeth successfully completed acrobatics, dancing and acting with six stages. She, who never touched a trapeze in her life, was cast to perform a Triple Trapeze act in the Varekai show. "It felt like you could do anything after completing those challenges," remembers Elizabeth. "Under pressure with the scrutinising looks you just had to do it. Drop your fears and inhibitions and do it." Cirque's auditioning motto "Expect the unexpected" soon became an everyday reality for her – magical yet demanding. Circus life can be both exciting and difficult – but never boring... "Circus has taken me all over the world. Such a beautiful and eye- opening blessing," says Elizabeth. She took her first contract in Singapore and has since been with tours in Brazil, Australia, Japan, Russia and many other countries. However, constant travel with the circus can be exhausting both mentally and physically. The acrobat tells me about her extreme homesickness. "I'm tired of missing things," sighs Elizabeth. "Weddings, funerals, birthdays, holidays… It never gets easier to walk away from my family at the airport terminal." She also admits that not a day goes by when her body does not ache. It comes as no surprise after Elizabeth described her intense training at Cirque's headquarters in Montreal: "A lot of hours, bruised skin, ripped hands and conditioning. But beyond this familiarity came the vocal lessons and acting which definitely pushed my comfort zones." She mentions her experiments with workout and dieting plans depending on the strength and range of motion required. Elizabeth prefers her role in the Totem show over Varekai where she performed Triple Trapeze! For Elizabeth, the hardest stunt was Triple Trapeze, a group act of four female acrobats on one bar, due to almost unpredictable conditions. She explains: "Change in humidity would cause the bar to be slippery. One of the girls having a bad day would cause the ropes to swing out of sync. Communication had to be subtle but very clear to coordinate bodies in space and time." This is probably why Elizabeth enjoyed her role in Totem show more whereas her favourite Cirque shows to watch are legendary Quidam and Alegria. The acrobat says that she is greatly motivated to improve her technique because "it offers effortlessness, comfort and ease" while performing under the big top. Elizabeth remains an optimist who truly dedicates herself to her passion... "When you step into that big top tent, you dream," she smiles. "The music fills your whole body, you are surrounded by actors, impeccable lighting and then the crazy acrobatics start." Music inspires Elizabeth the most and she cannot survive a day without her small iPod, "ideal for someone hanging and twisting upside down", as she laughs. Circus becomes home away from home for the acrobats living like a one big family... Her YouTube channel is filled with videos of Cirque's team singing and dancing backstage. Elizabeth thinks that it is crucial to have some fun while working under pressure. "Imagine 40 circus performers in one tent many hours a day. If you care to observe, you begin to know your workmates almost better than family," she says. Some of them actually became a family: last year Elizabeth got married to Guilhem Cauchois, a specialist Cirque acrobat. "So, we fell in love on top of the world!" exclaims Elizabeth telling about their vacation in Tibet. Now both performers are taking separate contracts, but not giving up on their dynamic relationships. Elizabeth's husband is joining her on tour with Amaluna in South America, although keeping his own Duo Fixed Trapeze act alive. "We are willing to sacrifice and bend our careers but certainly not our relationship," says Elizabeth confidently. The show must go on... Elizabeth is constantly looking for self-improvement and currently performing her new own specialty Aerial Straps act in Amaluna. She also intends to continue with choreographing and sharing her exceptional skills with others. "Beyond circus and the near future where I plan to push and use my body while I still can, I'm laying the foundation to transfer to the creative side of performing arts," reveals Elizabeth. "It's an equal passion of mine to help shape another artist – not just my own art." Follow for more on Elizabeth's Instagram: elizabethannwilliams { SOURCE: Julia Sharkova.com } ------------------------------------------------------- Crystal Brings Skater Shawn Sawyer Full Circle {Apr.27.2018} ------------------------------------------------------- Growing up in Canada, Shawn Sawyer said it was practically in his blood to put on a pair of skates as a child. Sawyer liked skating fast and skating alongside his brother on the hockey team their father coached, but quickly realized that scoring goals and being part of a team didn't thrill him. Knowing how much Sawyer liked coming to the ice rink, Sawyer's dad suggested he give figure skating a shot. "Being born in a very small, East Coast province, New Brunswick, I didn't even think that was an option," he said. "I didn't think that boys figure skated. I literally thought boys did hockey, girls did figure skating. Obviously I was very content to learn that it doesn't matter what gender you are, you can just do the sport that you want to do." Sawyer has been skating ever since, and represented Team Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. As a professional skater, he has toured with "Stars on Ice" and "Art on Ice." The next phase of his career finds him skating in "Crystal," the first show from company Cirque du Soleil to feature the element of ice. The show follows Crystal, a young woman with her head in the clouds who feels out of sync with the world around her and dreams of something more. After falling through a frozen pond, Crystal is transported to "an underwater world of her own imagination," as per a news release, where she encounters her reflection, an alter ego of sorts, who shows her a distorted version of her life and tries to show Crystal, a writer, just how creative she is. Sawyer said Cirque had been tossing the idea of an ice show around for years but that the 33-year-old company wanted to do their research and make sure things were done properly before attempting something like "Crystal." Sawyer heard about the show through fellow skater (and four-time world champion) Kurt Browning, who worked as the skating performances senior designer on "Crystal." Browning wasn't allowed to talk about the show initially, but he did drop a few hints for Sawyer: stay in shape, stay current and be available on certain dates for workshops in Montreal. "It's a little bit of a dream come true," Sawyer said about working with Cirque. "When a friend makes it happen for you, it's even more special because there's a certain bond and a relationship there to backup a typical job." Over the course of his figure skating career, Sawyer has built up a repertoire of jumps and is known for his flexibility and artistry. Even still, without a background in Cirque-like acrobatic elements ("There wasn't really much time for me on the side to go to circus school," Sawyer said), he knew going into rehearsals that he had a lot to learn. "The mentality I had when I started working on the creation of ‘Crystal' is to basically think that I'm going to show 10 percent of what I know and the next 90 percent is something that I was going to learn either from the choreographers, from the creators or just from my peers that are also performing here," he said. Sawyer doesn't have a specific role in "Crystal," but he's on the ice for the majority of the show, sharing the rink with the other 40 artists. He said the cast and crew worked hard to fill the ice as much as they could to give the audience the chance to see something no matter where they look. "They can even just close their eyes and listen to the music," Sawyer said. "There's something for everybody." Sawyer is the first to admit that his performance in "Crystal" brings him right back to what he worked to avoid as a young skater – hockey skates and team sports. But he thinks his younger self would be more than thrilled to see where he's ended up. "It really has come full circle of me starting skating with hockey skates and not really being a team player and now being on a Cirque du Soleil show sometimes wearing hockey skates and being so proud to be part of this team," he said. "I would definitely be really proud of where I am now as a performer and as a person." { SOURCE: The Spokesman-Review } ------------------------------------------------------- All in a Day's Massage Work at Cirque du Soleil {May.04.2018} ------------------------------------------------------- At Cirque du Soleil, Acrobats, Contortionists, and Clowns are all in a day's massage work. Their feats of strength, flexibility and athleticism seem to defy the boundaries of what the human body can do. Not surprisingly, the level of their performances translates into a need for massage therapy. MASSAGE Magazine spoke with massage therapist Chris Melmoth, LMT, BCTMB, NREMT, who is employed at Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, Nevada, who shares what it's like to work on these incredible athletes and artists. Q. Chris, can you tell us about your massage background? In 2003, I graduated from the Shiatsu Massage School of California as a Shiatsu-Anma specialist and instructor. I moved to Las Vegas shortly after. During my first five years in Vegas, I worked various day and resort spa jobs. In 2005, I began teaching massage therapy and CPR. In 2008, I became the department chair for the massage therapy program at the former Las Vegas College and began working for Cirque du Soleil. In 2010, I left the school to focus my energy primarily on Cirque. Today, I continue to spend most of my time working for Cirque du Soleil, but also have my own massage clinic set up inside a local gymnastics school where I offer a variety of private bodywork sessions and classes, and teach my own specialized form of shiatsu therapy called Chi Bodywork. I also am a nationally certified EMT, and provide CPR training to other health care professionals. Q. How did you get involved with Cirque? I had been enamored by Cirque du Soleil ever since I saw Alegría in Santa Monica, California in 1994. As a massage therapist just starting out, I moved to Las Vegas specifically to work with various types of performing artists, but after seeing the shows Kà and Delirium, I knew that I absolutely had to work for this company. A couple of years after moving to Las Vegas, one of Cirque's artistic directors was referred to me for massage therapy. After working on her a few times, she asked me if I wanted to "audition" for the new Criss Angel Believe show they were opening. Of course I did, and was hired to work on at that show twice a week. Soon after, I was put on the schedule for Kà, Zumanity, and Mystère as well. Over the years, I've also worked on the shows O, The Beatles Love, Viva Elvis, Michael Jackson: One and Zarkana. Q. What is it like working with Cirque? The Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas are called the resident shows, as opposed to the touring shows that travel around the world. There currently are seven resident shows in Las Vegas. At one point or another, I have been on the permanent schedule for all of them. For the past 10 years, I've worked an average of five nights [for] 20 hours per week. Each show has a treatment clinic–called Performance Medicine, or P-Med–set up back stage. Each show's P-Med is run by two or three athletic trainers, also called athletic therapists, and each employs one to three massage therapists, pilates instructors and personal trainers. Usually, there are three hi-lo treatment tables set up in the clinic, one for use by the massage therapist. Most of the shows have around 80 performers who perform 10 shows per week (two shows per night). Each artist is offered two 20-minute massage treatments per week. When I get to work each day, depending on the length of the shift, I have a list of between seven to 15 artists scheduled to see me. I begin working a few hours before the first show starts and continue working up until the beginning of the second show. My clientele at Cirque includes acrobats, aerialists, martial artists, baton twirlers, jugglers, hula-hoopers, straps and silks artists, tramp and teeterboard artists, dancers and musicians, high-divers, synchronized swimmers, contortionists, trapeze artists, magicians, comedic actors … the list goes on and on. Q. What else do you do? I also coordinate the massage therapy team for the annual Run Away with Cirque du Soleil event, which is a charity 5K fun-run that takes place at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. There's live Cirque entertainment, circus apparatuses for kids to experience, arts and crafts, and many of the artists are present there in costume to take pictures with the participants.] I usually bring six to 10 massage therapists that provide post-event sports massage therapy to the runners. All proceeds support the Springs Preserve and Cirque du Soleil foundations. Because of my affiliation with various massage schools in the area, I occasionally train student massage therapists to do the type of work I do at Cirque. I bring groups of students back stage to work on the artists and staff. We call these events "massage- a-thons." We set up 10 to 20 treatment tables in the show's training room and provide 20-minute sessions to all employees. The students are carefully monitored by myself, other instructors, and by the P-Med staff. I do this about once a year, or whenever I can find massage schools that are interested. It's a rare educational opportunity for the students to work on such unique physiques, the artists always have a fun time, and management loves it because everybody gets taken care of. After the event, the students are usually given seats to see the show. I truly enjoy working for Cirque. The best parts are the positive working environment, the ability to truly use my soft tissue skills, and that there is always something new to learn from colleagues that I work with regularly. Q. What are some of the most common issues you treat? I can get anything from "I slept wrong last night" to "I fell in the net wrong last night." The simple fact that they do 10 shows per week, all at optimal performance levels, combined with demanding daily trainings, ends up keeping them on my table and keeping me very busy. But I'd say about half of the work I do is related to chronic tension patterns relative to the job that the artists do every night. So, same low-back or neck pain complaints that other massage therapists get, but mine are from hanging upside down in a harness all week, swinging from the right arm every night, or continually extending the back into unnatural positions. The other half of my work is related to rehabilitation from an injury or surgery. I work in collaboration with the athletic trainers to determine the correct treatment approach for an artist needing rehab services. Q. What are your most commonly used techniques? I deal with a wide variety of issues occurring in all areas of the body, so it helps to be familiar with the unique body types we have in the circus, as well as with what each artist does in the show in order to treat [them] properly. I try to see each show regularly just to stay aware of the extremely high caliber of athleticism I am dealing with. My assessment and soft tissue skills must be on point. I have to be able to very quickly assess each situation and plan the treatment. The main techniques I use are a combination of myofascial and neuromuscular approaches, with active, passive and positional release techniques, and I regularly incorporate isometric contractions into each session. I also add in cupping massage and instrument-assisted soft tissue manipulation, whenever appropriate. Q. Why is it important for Cirque to offer massage therapy to its artists? Most of the artists are career athletes that must be in top physical and mental condition in order to do their jobs. Massage therapy has proven to be an integral part of their weekly maintenance. Massage therapists at Cirque not only provide all of the soothing, stimulating and relaxing massage that everybody loves, but they also provide much of the clinical soft tissue work that is a standard part of biomechanical rehabilitation. In essence, massage therapy isn't just a luxury for them; it's a necessity. Q. How has working with Cirque artists impacted your own massage abilities? Working for Cirque has taught me to establish fast and accurate assessments and effective techniques. Since I usually have only 20 minutes with each artist, I need to quickly assess the indications and contraindications, any relevance of referring out, and the most effective and efficient treatment approach. It has given me a wider understanding of kinesiology, anatomy and physiology, and the ability to communicate with other healthcare professionals effectively. I have learned many facets of sports medicine, such as how to assess and treat common sports injuries and basic athletic taping. I have also learned different aspects of injury and surgery rehabilitation and when the use of electric modalities, such as electric stimulation and ultrasound, are appropriate. Also, since our artists come from all over the world, there sometimes is a language barrier that can make communication difficult. So, I have had to get creative with my nonverbal skills. For example, one of the most common manual techniques that I use is active movement combined with compression—but without being able to communicate the active movement that I need them to do, I have been forced to discover passive and positional movements that are just as effective. Q. What advice would you give massage therapists who may be interested in working for Cirque? You must enjoy working between the hours of 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. You need to be able to perform deep tissue sports massage therapy for three to four hours straight on sometimes very large, muscular athletes. It helps to have a sufficient understanding of kinesiology, anatomy and physiology, and to be able to communicate with other health care professionals effectively. I recommend perfecting your assessment and soft tissue skills and getting proficient in myofascial and neuromuscular work and active, passive and positional release techniques, and being able to incorporate isometric contractions into your sessions. I know its taboo these days to use the word "fix" in massage therapy, but the reality is that if you aren't able to "fix" them, they are not going to keep signing up with you, so it's important to be able to focus intently on the artist in front of you and give your all. { SOURCE: Massage Magazine } ======================================================================= ITINÉRAIRE -- TOUR/SHOW INFORMATION ======================================================================= o) BIGTOP - Under the Grand Chapiteau {Amaluna, Koozå, Kurios, Luzia, Totem & Volta} o) ARENA - In Stadium-like venues {TORUK, OVO, Séptimo Día, Crystal & Corteo} o) RESIDENT - Performed en Le Théâtre {Mystère, "O", Zumanity, KÀ, LOVE, MJ ONE & JOYA} NOTE: .) While we make every effort to provide complete and accurate touring dates and locations available, the information in this section is subject to change without notice. As such, the Fascination! Newsletter does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of these listings. For current, up-to-the-moment information on Cirque's whereabouts, please visit Cirque's website: < http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/ >, or for a more comprehensive tour listing, visit our Itinéraire section online at: < http://www.cirquefascination.com/?page_id=6898 >. ------------------------------------ BIGTOP - Under the Grand Chapiteau ------------------------------------ Alegria-25th Anniversary: Montreal, QC -- Apr 18, 2019 to Jul 21, 2019 Gatineau, QC -- Jul 31, 2019 to Sep 1, 2019 Toronto, ON -- Sep 12, 2019 to Dec 1, 2019 Amaluna: Cordoba, AR -- Apr 26, 2018 to May 6, 2018 Santiago, CL -- May 31, 2018 to Jun 22, 2018 Lima, PE -- Jul 22, 2018 to Aug 12, 2018 Quito, EC -- Sep 6, 2018 to Sep 16, 2018 Bogota, CO -- TBA Buenos Aires, AR -- TBA Koozå: Hong Kong, CN -- Apr 19, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018 Kurios: Tokyo, JP -- Feb 7, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018 Osaka, JP -- Jul 26, 2018 to Oct 29, 2018 Nagoya, JP -- Nov 22, 2018 to Jan 27, 2019 Fukuoka, JP -- Feb 15, 2018 to Mar 31, 2018 Sendai, JP -- April 2019 Luzia: Washington, DC -- Apr 12, 2018 to Jun 17, 2018 Boston, MA -- Jun 27, 2018 to Aug 12, 2018 Guadalajara, MX -- Aug 30, 2018 to Sep 16, 2018 Monterrey, MX -- Oct 4, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018 Mexico City, MX -- Nov 8, 2018 to Dec 23, 2018 Totem: Barcelona, ES -- Mar 23, 2018 to May 20, 2018 Malaga, ES -- Jun 1, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018 Alicante, ES -- Jul 20, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018 Zurich, CH -- Sep 5, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018 Paris, FR -- Oct 15, 2018 to Dec 2, 2018 Vienna, AT -- Mar 9, 2019 to Apr 7, 2019 VOLTA: East Rutherford, NJ -- Apr 19, 2018 to May 6, 2018 Uniondale, NY -- May 17, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018 Oaks, PA -- Jul 12, 2018 to Aug 26, 2018 Seattle, WA -- Sep 14, 2018 to Nov 4, 2018 San Francisco, CA -- Nov 15, 2018 to Jan 13, 2019 San Jose, CA -- Jan 30, 2019 to Mar 17, 2019 ------------------------------------ ARENA - In Stadium-Like Venues ------------------------------------ TORUK - The First Flight: Singapore -- May 24, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018 Bangkok, TH -- Jun 14, 2018 to Jun 24, 2018 Rotterdam, NL -- Oct 11, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018 Oberhausen, DE -- Oct 17, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018 Cologne, DE -- Oct 25, 2018 to Oct 28, 2018 Hamburg, DE -- Oct 31, 2018 to Nov 4, 2018 Berlin, DE -- Nov 7, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018 Turin, IT -- Nov 15, 2018 to Nov 18, 2018 Bologna, IT -- Nov 22, 2018 to Nov 25, 2018 Frankfurt, DE -- Nov 28, 2018 to Dec 2, 2018 Zagreb, HR -- Dec 7, 2018 to Dec 9, 2018 Pamplona, ES -- Feb 6, 2019 to Feb 10, 2019 Milan, IT -- Feb 14, 2019 to Feb 19, 2019 Antwerp, BE -- Mar 14, 2019 to Mar 17, 2018 Munich, DE -- Jun 5, 2019 to Jun 9, 2019 OVO: Saint Petersburg, RU -- Apr 28, 2018 to May 5, 2018 Moscow, RU -- May 8, 2018 to May 20, 2018 Kazan, RU -- May 23, 2018 to May 27, 2018 Tolyatti, RU -- May 30, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018 Ekaterinburg, RU -- Jun 6, 2018 to Jun 10, 2018 Sochi, RU -- Jul 12, 2018 to Jul 29, 2018 Liverpool, UK -- Aug 16, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018 Sheffield, UK -- Aug 22, 2018 to Aug 26, 2018 Newcastle, UK -- Aug 29, 2018 to Sep 2, 2018 Glasgow, UK -- Sep 5, 2018 to Sep 9, 2018 Nottingham, UK -- Sep 12, 2018 to Sep 16, 2018 Leeds, UK -- Sep 19, 2018 to Sep 23, 2018 Manchester, UK -- Sep 26, 2018 to Sep 30, 2018 Birmingham, UK -- Oct 3, 2018 to Oct 7, 2018 Dublin, IE -- Oct 10, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018 Belfast, IE -- Oct 17, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018 Lille, FR -- Nov 8, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018 Bordeaux, FR -- Nov 14, 2018 to Nov 18, 2018 Toulouse, FR -- Nov 21, 2018 to Nov 25, 2018 Montpellier, FR -- Nov 28, 2018 to Dec 2, 2018 Strasbourg, FR -- Dec 5, 2018 to Dec 9, 2018 Nantes, FR -- Dec 12, 2018 to Dec 16, 2018 A Coruna, ES -- Dec 21, 2018 to Dec 30, 2018 SÉPTIMO DÍA - NO DESCANSARÉ: Inglewood, CA (Los Angeles) -- May 3, 2018 to May 6, 2018 Asuncion, PY -- Jun 20, 2018 to Jun 23, 2018 CRYSTAL - A BREAKTHROUGH ICE EXPERIENCE: Spokane, WA -- May 2, 2018 to May 6, 2018 Red Deer, AB -- May 2, 2018 to May 6, 2018 Saskatoon, SK -- May 16, 2018 to May 20, 2018 Medicine Hat, AB -- May 23, 2018 to May 27, 2018 London, ON -- Jun 14, 2018 to Jun 17, 2018 Hamilton, ON -- Jun 20, 2018 to Jun 24, 2018 Youngstown, OH -- Jun 27, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018 Baltimore, MD -- Jul 5, 2018 to Jul 8, 2018 Estero, FL -- Jul 12, 2018 to Jul 15, 2018 Sunrise, FL -- Jul 18, 2018 to Jul 29, 2018 Orlando, FL -- Aug 1, 2018 to Aug 5, 2018 Greenville, SC -- Aug 8, 2018 to Aug 12, 2018 Raleigh, NC -- Aug 15, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018 Greensboro, NC -- Aug 22, 2018 to Aug 26, 2018 Hershey, PA -- Aug 29, 2018 to Sep 2, 2018 Sioux Falls, SD -- Sep 20, 2018 to Sep 23, 2018 Grand Forks, ND -- Sep 26, 2018 to Sep 30, 2018 Winnipeg, MB -- Oct 3, 2018 to Oct 7, 2018 Green Bay, WI -- Oct 11, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018 Des Moines, IA -- Oct 17, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018 Wichita, KS -- Oct 24, 2018 to Oct 28, 2018 Oklahoma City, OK -- Oct 31, 2018 to Nov 4, 2018 Tulsa, OK -- Nov 7, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018 Cincinnati, OH -- Dec 27, 2018 to Dec 30, 2018 CORTEO: Cincinnati, OH -- May 3, 2018 to May 6, 2018 Chattanooga, TN -- May 10, 2018 to May 13, 2018 Lincoln, NE -- May 17, 2018 to May 20, 2018 Broomfield, CO -- May 24, 2018 to May 27, 2018 Loveland, CO -- May 31, 2018 to Jun 3, 2018 Oshawn, ON -- Jun 21, 2018 to Jun 24, 2018 Ottawa, ON -- Jun 27, 2018 to Jul 1, 2018 Kingston, ON -- Jul 4, 2018 to Jul 8, 2018 Saint Catharines, ON -- Jul 11, 2018 to Jul 15, 2018 Bridgeport, CT -- Jul 18, 2018 to Jul 22, 2018 Nashville, TN -- Jul 26, 2018 to Jul 29, 2018 Jacksonville, FL -- Aug 1, 2018 to Aug 5, 2018 Charlotte, NC -- Aug 8, 2018 to Aug 12, 2018 Louisville, KY -- Aug 15, 2018 to Aug 19, 2018 Indianapolis, IN -- Aug 22, 2018 to Aug 26, 2018 Fresno, CA -- Sep 20, 2018 to Sep 23, 2018 West Valley City, UT -- Sep 27, 2018 to Sep 30, 2018 Victoria, BC -- Oct 4, 2018 to Oct 7, 2018 Vancouver, BC -- Oct 10, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018 Kelowna, BC -- Oct 17, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018 Kamloops, BC -- Oct 24, 2018 to Oct 28, 2018 Lethbridge, AB -- Oct 31, 2018 to Nov 4, 2018 Minneapolis, MN -- Nov 8, 2018 to Nov 11, 2018 Cleveland, OH -- Nov 15, 2018 to Nov 18, 2018 Quebec City, QC -- Dec 6, 2018 to Dec 9, 2018 Toronto, ON -- Dec 12, 2018 to Dec 16, 2018 Montreal, QC -- Dec 19, 2018 to Dec 30, 2018 --------------------------------- RESIDENT - en Le Théâtre --------------------------------- Mystère: Location: Treasure Island, Las Vegas (USA) Performs: Saturday through Wednesday, Dark: Thursday/Friday Two shows Nightly - 7:00pm & 9:30pm Extra Performance Dates: o Mon, Dec 31, 2018 | 4:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. Single Show Dates (7:00pm Only): o Sunday, May 20, 2018 o Thursday, May 24, 2018 o Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 o Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 2018 Dark Dates: o Wednesday, Apr 11, 2018 o June 2 - June 6, 2018 o Saturday, Sep 29, 2018 o October 27 - 31, 2018 "O": Location: Bellagio, Las Vegas (USA) Performs: Wednesday through Sunday, Dark: Monday/Tuesday Two shows Nightly - 7:30pm and 9:30pm Special Performance Dates: o Tue, Jul 17 - 7:00pm & 9:30pm o Tue, Oct 09 - 7:00pm & 9:30pm o Tue, Dec 11 - 9:30pm only o Mon, Dec 31 - 4:00pm & 6:30pm 2018 Dark Dates: o June 2 & 3 o August 6 - 14 o September 16 o November 26 - December 11 o December 27 Zumanity: Location: New York-New York, Las Vegas (USA) Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark Sunday/Monday Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm KÀ: Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas (USA) Performs: Saturday through Wednesday, Dark Thursday/Friday Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm LOVE: Location: Mirage, Las Vegas (USA) Performs: Thursday through Monday, Dark: Tuesday/Wednesday Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm MICHAEL JACKSON ONE: Location: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas (USA) Performs: Two Shows Nightly - Dark: Wednesday/Thursday Two Shows Nightly - 7:00pm and 9:30pm JOYÀ: Location: Riviera Maya, Mexico Performs: Tuesday through Saturday, Dark: Sunday/Monday One/Two Shows Nightly: 9:00pm (Weekdays) 7:00pm & 10:15pm (Fri, Sat & Holidays) ======================================================================= OUTREACH - UPDATES FROM CIRQUE's SOCIAL WIDGETS ======================================================================= o) WEBSERIES -- Official Online Featurettes o) VIDEOS -- Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds --------------------------------------------------- WEBSERIES: Official Online Featurettes --------------------------------------------------- *) CIRQUE IT OUT Hosted by Gold & Silver Medalist 2016 Olympics - Artistic Gymnastics, Winner of 'Dancing With the Stars' Season 23, NY Times Best Seller - Laurie Hernandez. Tune in and follow along with us every week as we go through different workouts with Cirque du Soleil athletes and their coaches. o) EPISODE 4 - Quick Gym Workouts with LUZIA Artists {Apr.04} In Episode #4 of our Fitness Series, CIRQUE IT OUT, learn how to work on your leg lifts and chin-ups the Cirque Way with 2 LUZIA artists: Kelly McDonald - Adagio Flyer, and Shelli Epstein - Running Woman & Swing Flyer. LINK /// < https://youtu.be/jBjKbBjm18c > o) EPISODE 5 - Full Body Gym Workout with Wayne Skivington {Apr.11} In Episode #5 of our Fitness Series, CIRQUE IT OUT, follow a Full Body Workout with Zumanity Hand to Hand Artist, Wayne Skivington and Performance Conditioning Specialist Mat Miller. Looking for a specific exercise? o) 1:45: High knees o) 1:58: Butt kickers o) 2:13: Jumping jacks o) 2:33: Air squats o) 3:00: Twisting heel touch o) 3:46: Front Lunges o) 5:10: Turkish get up o) 7:10: Front squats o) 8:08: L-Sit pull ups o) 9:23: Dumbbell snatch o) 10:06: Dumbbell overhead walking lunge o) 10:47: Dumbbell bent row o) 12:03: Burpees LINK /// < https://youtu.be/bR-m5UyPRW0 > o) EPISODE 6 - Suspension Training & Conditioning Workout {Apr.18} In Episode #6 of our Fitness Series, CIRQUE IT OUT, follow a Full Body Suspension Training and Conditioning workout with The Beatles LOVE Aerial Rope Artist, Alberto Del Campo and Performance Conditioning Specialist Mat Miller. LINK /// < https://youtu.be/JnsW9U1FY0k > *) ASK CIRQUE! ASK CIRQUE! is a BRAND NEW SERIES that will take fans backstage and behind the scenes of all Cirque du Soleil Shows. However, this series is different from all of Cirque's other behind the scenes videos - because YOU, the audience, rule the show! What questions have you always wanted answered? Now is your chance! Comment on any social media platform and tag #AskCirque. What are you waiting for? Join the hosts Fabienne Daigle and Carla Sifoni (CDS Content and Social Media advisors)... they are ready to answer! o) EPISODE 8 {Apr.09} 1.Marie-Andrée Foisy - Senior Producer, Manager Content Creation and Production 2.Amelie Ouellette-Robitaille - Senior Manager Public Relations & Social Media Touring Shows 3.Shaun Gregory – Corteo Artist 4.Odka Bayambadorj – KOOZA Artist 5.Ugo Laffolay – LUZIA Artist 6.Yves Sheriff – Talent Scout 7.Alexander Grol – OVO Artist 8.Martin Barreau – CRYSTAL Artist 9.Florencia Aracama – Sep7imo Dia Artist 10.Frederique Gagnier – Public Relations Manager 11.Yvonne Tousek-Renne – Talent Scout LINK /// < https://youtu.be/M22gKgfmbvk > o) EPISODE 9 {Apr.16} 1) Janel Santos – Digital Media Manager – Resident Shows 2) Jamie Helmick – Director of Digital Strategy – Resident Shows 3) David Resnick - Corteo Artist 4) Anik Lefrançois – Communications Advisor 5) Emma Stones – CRYSTAL Artist 6) Manuel Martin Gonzalez – The Beatles LOVE Artist 7) Sarah Davison – Head of Casting and Artistic Advisor – Resident Shows 8) Oyun-Erdene Senge – TOTEM Artist 9) Pierre Parisien – Senior artistic Director – Resident Shows 10) Sonseeahray "Yoda" Jones – Michael Jackson ONE Artist 11) Toto Castiñeiras – Sep7imo Dia 12) Misha Usov – TOTEM Artist 13) Kit Chatham – KURIOS Musician *) DUELING MASTERS Russian Standard & Cirque du Soleil have teamed up on common ground, showcasing the skills required to be the world's fastest! Who will win? The Bartender or the Juggler? o) EPISODE 5: Football Freestyler, Part 1 {Apr.23} < https://youtu.be/YAvVR7DvhL8 > o) EPISODE 6: Football Freestyler, Part 2 {May.04} < https://youtu.be/0Biszkc9WLM > *) BEHIND THE CORTEO REMOUNT Corteo first premiered in Montreal in 2005 and has visited more than 60 cities in 19 different countries as a Big Top show before transforming into an arena show in 2018. o) EPISODE 2: Behind the Captivating Characters {Apr.06} In the remount process, from the Big tent to the arena, many of the artists are back, while others are excited to be joining the show for the first time! LINK /// < https://youtu.be/M3nk5WEi9v8 > *) MUSIC VIDEO w/LYRICS o) KÀ - "Koudamaré" {Apr.10} Koudamaré souta djé lou Koura si kando ma you Koudamaré souta djé lou Sounta dju ré mayou ra dou Koura si ki sanda nou Sounta dju ré mayou ra dou Si mia kou djé Mika ra doujko vei Yémazour douba mayou Tsorié ma Koudajou mi yé rez do Si mia kou djé Mikara si douzko rei Koumia do rama rio lou Doubako Doubako mi dji rei de lou Koudamaré souta djé lou Koura si kando ma you Koudamaré souta djé lou Sounta dju ré mayou ra dou Koura si ki sanda nou Sounta dju ré mayou ra dou Si mia kou djé Mika ra doujko vei Yémazour douba mayou Tsorié ma Doukajou mi yé rez do Si mia kou djé Mikara si douzko rei Koumia do rama rio lou Doubako Doubako mi dji rei de lou Si ta soumia kou djé si takara So kando mi A kando to moniéréz dou a simo rei Si mi kanda tou réi Si mi gania A soumanti a kando Kando erez dou a si dou réi Koudamaré Si mia kou djé Mika ra doujko vei Yémazour douba mayou Tsorié ma Doukajou mi yé rez do Si mia kou djé Mikara si douzko rei Koumia do rama rio lou Doubako Dji rei de lou Dju da ma koudjé Koudamaré souta djé lou Koura si kan do ma you ra si Dju da ma Koudamaré Koudamaré Koudamaré LINK /// < https://youtu.be/Z8McyHEqpXc > o) «O» - "Mer Noire" {Apr.17} Aaaahh E yeka sé-é kronia sve gia ka ne ka ze ku na E yeka sé-é kronia sve gia chia ka ko lé (6x) Es nia sue korya ku Émeyanij maso ye vo snové nya te tra cha meso maï soyé do sekro nia sve cho so nyo we skunya yode seku ya se ko lia ku ve ne ya rij nazvé gra ko E yeka sé-é kronia sve gia ka ne ka ze ku na E yeka sé-é kronia sve gia chia ka ko lé (2x) LINK /// < https://youtu.be/1bp3IKQ4pf4 > o) Kooza - "Kooza Dance" {Apr.24} Verse 1 Crooner gal You want to spend some time with me, boy. But I'm not coming home till three, boy. Cause I, I, I, Wanna dance the KOOZA The perfect way to start the revels For dishy dames and handsome devils! Yes, I, I, I, Wanna dance the KOOZA Cause it's Marvelous! Bizarre-velous! Celestial! And bestial! Spectacular! Aphrodisiac-ular! Dust off your shoes, And lose your blues! Tonight we choose The KOOZA! Verse 2 Crooner gal So dump your date and dance beside me Come on, don't knock me till you've tried me Cause I, I, I, I'll make you dance the KOOZA Can't beat me even if you fought me Cause right there is the guy that taught me Crooner guy And I... (Ai yay yay!) Wanna dance the KOOZA! Crooner gal Cause we're Marvelous! Bizarre-velous! Superstar-velous! Oo-la-la-velous! Crooner guy Celestial! And bestial! Spectacular! Aphrodisiac-ular! Crooner gal So dust off your shoes Let's lose your bloes! Tonight we choose... Tonight we choose... Tonight we choose the KOOZA! Yes, the KOOZA! Dance the KOOZA! Dance the... KOOZA! LINK /// < https://youtu.be/ySioBrWISmQ > --------------------------------------------------- VIDEOS: Official Peeks & Noted Fan Finds --------------------------------------------------- *) CIRQUECAST is BACK for SEASON TWO! CirqueCast is a Vodcast (that's video podcast) for Cirque fans by Cirque fans – featuring artist interviews, Cirque headlines, and the inside scoop to your favorite Cirque du Soleil shows! Join your hosts José Pérez (TheChapiteau), Richard "Richasi" Russo (Fascination!), Ian Rents (Hardcore Cirque Fans), and new addition Max Olson, as we bring you a behind-the-scenes look into Cirque du Soleil, complete with discussions and the latest Cirque news. o) SEASON 2 EPISODE 2 – Interview with Alexey Goloborodko March 25, 2018 Meet Alexey Goloborodko - possibly the most flexible man in the world! Alexey is currently performing in Cirque du Soleil's Luzia, where he wows the audience every night thanks to his amazing contortion skills. Did you know Alexey practices a specific type of contortion that consists of different elements from other disciplines? Watch our mini interview episode to find out more about Alexey and his contortion skills! LINK /// < https://youtu.be/Ok4-0-mbTNg > o) SEASON 2 EPISODE 3 - CirqueCast at Crystal! May 9, 2018 On this episode of CirqueCast, we explore the world of Crystal, Cirque du Soleil's newest arena production, which is performed entirely on ice. Watch to learn more about the show from Crystal's publicist, Julie Desmairas, and don't miss our exclusive interview with Crystal acrobat Emma Stones. LINK /// < https://youtu.be/TpJSh8cEWrE > *) OTHER VIDEOS o) THE WORLD OF... MJ ONE {Apr.20} LINK /// < https://youtu.be/9vc9O3Da7O4 > o) Cirque Celebrates Partnership with Golden Knights {Apr.26} LINK /// < https://youtu.be/JobUwce4aMw > o) Making Of Cirque & Golden Knights Collaboration {Apr.28} LINK /// < https://youtu.be/qi55gfktmUQ > o) Golden Knights Perform for Cirque {May.02} LINK /// < https://youtu.be/_2gTKP9ehw4 > ======================================================================= FASCINATION! FEATURES ======================================================================= o) "How Cirque du Soleil Turns Gymnasts Into Artists" By: Dvora Meyers as featured in Deadspin Magazine o) VOLTA: "A TECHINCAL BOX OF WONDERS" Part 2 of 2: Lighting & Sound A Special Reprint from Lighting & Sound America o) "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques" Part 13 of 16: Dralion, Part 2 (2001-2003) By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA) ------------------------------------------------------------ "How Cirque du Soleil Turns Gymnasts Into Artists" By: Dvora Meyers as featured in Deadspin Magazine ------------------------------------------------------------ Even a casual viewer of Olympic gymnastics knows that the gymnasts they watch are young. It's the one thing that everyone knows about gymnasts, besides their being good at gymnastics—they tend to peak in their teens, and then leave the sport. This has been one of the main stories of the sport since Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci became household names in the 1970s. Once they tumble off-screen, they're gone, and new miracle teenagers take their place. Except that they're not gone, of course. Of all the questions I've been asked during my years of writing about gymnastics, Where do they go is among the most frequent. What happens to them next? I typically start my answer with the boring, factual stuff—that actually some elite gymnasts continue into their 20s and keep winning medals, that there's also NCAA gymnastics, which offers female gymnasts another four years of the sport, albeit at a different level and in a different context. But even an elite career that extends beyond the teenage years will probably end by the early or mid 20s, which is also about as far chronologically as a college gymnastics career can take you. And then what happens? The vast majority of collegiate athletes never move onto the pros, of course, but basketball, football, baseball, and hockey players at least have professional leagues to dream about. Gymnasts don't even have that, and only a handful of the competitions available for elite gymnasts even offer a cash prize for top finishers. The big bucks are reserved for Olympic gold medalists, and those come through endorsement contracts and other marketing opportunities. But if going pro isn't an option per se, there are still a few career paths available for the acrobatically gifted. Many former gymnasts make their living doing stunts for movies and TV; one of the most successful of that cohort is the aptly named Heidi Moneymaker, a former UCLA Bruin who was a member of their first national championship team in 1997. Others former gymnasts have found success in NBC's American Ninja Warrior franchise; former Towson University gymnast Kacy Catanzaro became a Ninja icon—it's a real thing—after she became the first woman to complete a city finals course on the show. Former Australian Olympian and Oregon State star Olivia Vivian has also pursued the Ninja Warrior path. Catanzaro recently announced that she was joining WWE, which is another potential career route. But if you're a former elite gymnast who wants to do gymnastics for a living for as long as possible, your best bet is joining the circus. Or, more specifically, joining Cirque du Soleil. The Montreal-based circus arts company recruits heavily from the ranks of gymnasts, and will have a recruiter in St. Louis this weekend for the 2018 NCAA gymnastics championships, just as they do at most major gymnastics events. According to Cirque, about 35 percent their 1,400 performers come from sports disciplines, including competitive gymnastics. That Cirque recruits former gymnasts makes sense, given that circus arts require many of the same acrobatic abilities that gymnasts spent many years honing. But gymnasts can't just flip off the mat and onto the trapeze, and the difficulty of that transition reflects the difference between what gymnasts do and what Cirque du Soleil is. Gymnastics, despite its judging and artistic pretensions, is a sport. Cirque, for all the use it makes of those tools, is something altogether different. * * * The first thing that Cirque du Soleil wants you to know is that the gymnasts, once they've joined the company, are artists. I noticed this from my first conversation with Stacy Clark, the casting director for Cirque du Soleil. I'd say "athlete" or "gymnast" in my question. She would, politely but very intentionally, say "artist" in her response. We were eating lunch at a cafe in Montreal, about a 10-minute walk from the Olympic stadium where the 2017 world championships were underway. That the meet was being hosted in Cirque's home city was convenient but by no means the only reason Clark was there. She attends many competitions and events every year. We first met at the 2015 world championships in Glasgow, Scotland, where she was doing the same thing she was doing in Montreal—scouting gymnastics talent to funnel into Cirque shows. Clark's not-so-subtle language shift—from athlete to artist— underscores what Clark is looking for when she watches a gymnast. Most of the gymnasts competing at a world championship have the requisite acrobatic skills to perform in Cirque du Soleil shows and the talent to pick up new elements as needed. What Clark and her team are looking for are the gymnastics who also demonstrate artistic potential in their performance. "You quite quickly start making that differentiation once you start," Yvonne Tousek-Renne recalled. "Because as soon you walk through the door in headquarters, you're not referred to as a gymnast anymore." Tousek-Renne, a two time Olympian from Canada in 1996 and 2000, performed with Cirque for 11 years after her NCAA career ended in 2004. Now she works as an acrobatic casting advisor for the company. "I think that actually helps make that shift in mentality," she said of the vocabulary shift for the newly initiated. "That's one of the things that is quite notable when you first walk in the door. Everyone's an artist." Of course, not everyone Cirque recruits is actually an artist when they walk in the door. But those who watched her elite gymnastics career in the mid to late ‘90s know that Tousek-Renne, at least, inarguably was. She was also clearly comfortable with Cirque-style weirdness, and attracted a cult for floor routines that were bizarre in the most delightful ways. Kristen Maloney, on the other hand, didn't exhibit the same artistic chops during her elite career. A former two-time U.S. national champion and 2000 Olympic team bronze medalist, Maloney was known for her incredible athleticism and physical toughness during her elite career, but not her artistic expressiveness. But five years at UCLA under the tutelage of head coach Valorie Kondos-Field, a former professional ballerina, help turn the ace trickster into a polished and engaging performer. Kondos-Field is the choreographer of the human shows at San Diego's Sea World, and Maloney, along with Tousek-Renne, also performed in those during the summer after her college graduation. It was Maloney's idea to audition for Cirque. Tousek-Renne, Maloney's UCLA roommate, was just tagging along on the trip to Las Vegas. "I wanted to keep flipping and performing but not competing," Maloney wrote to me in an email. "I thought this would be a good path for me." It turned out to be a good path for both of them. When one of the casters learned that Tousek-Renne was also in Las Vegas, she reached out to the former Canadian Olympian and asked if she would like to audition. "I said, ‘Why not?'" she said. "Kristen and I were one of the five or six people who made it through to the end of the audition day." It was not Tousek-Renne's first exposure to Cirque du Soleil. That came at Gymnix, an annual international competition held in Montreal. "They brought us to the studios to have a tour and I was watching practices happening and I thought it was the neatest thing what they were doing," Tousek-Renne recalled. The tour that Tousek-Renne participated in as a young gymnast was, I imagine, similar to the one getting underway just as I arrived at the Cirque facilities. Most of the people there were wearing credentials that signified some kind of involved with the world championships—coach, judge, some other gymnastics official. I didn't see any competing gymnasts during my visit, although it was smack in the middle of the competition schedule. It takes more than a shift in language to turn Cirque recruits into artists. When gymnasts arrive in Montreal, they undergo extensive training in various performance arts. "We do everything from voice class, singing to acting classes to clowning," Tousek-Renne said. "Everyone who comes in as a gymnast is a little bit hesitant, but by one month in you're already starting to be more vulnerable, be more flexible, open your mind to creating characters and stepping out of the box a little bit." Caitlin Maggs, an acrobatic choreographer for Cirque, has worked with the gymnasts both in Cirque and outside the company, and noted that they tend to struggle with expression. "I've noticed that their [the gymnasts] emotions are very fixed," she told me. "They'll just go from having a happy face to an angry face to a sad face with no apparent basis, not connected to any real emotions. It's just facial expressions. "[But] those transitions are really important," Maggs continued. "The trick they're doing, what is the emotion they're expressing through that trick and how is it connected to the whole act. What are they expressing? What's their character? For them, to think in those terms, in this trick I can actually still be the character I'm playing." For gymnasts, choreography and expression is something that happens between tumbling passes and difficult technical elements; it represents a break in expressing. Dance and acrobatics are not continuous in a gymnastics performance. First you tumble, then you dance, then you tumble again. The acrobatics and expression, if they manage to pull the latter off in a credible way, are seen as quite distinct from one another. "The acting part is physical expression and the acrobatic/gymnastics part is also physical expression," she said. The gymnasts Cirque recruits may be a blank slate in an artistic sense, but they arrive in Montreal with decades of training on their bodies and all of the attendant wear and tear. It was particularly extreme in Maloney's case—this "as told to" in espnW goes into great detail about the number and extent of her injuries, which shoulder surgery and multiple procedures on a stress fracture in her leg. All former elite gymnasts have injury stories to tell, but for them to have a performing career after their competitive careers are over, they have to figure out how to make their bodies do what they need them to do for as long as they can. In that sense, the line between professional athlete and professional performer effectively disappears. Maloney was cast in Alegría and spent about two years with Cirque. "I was having a lot of shoulder pain and knew I couldn't keep doing it forever," she told me. "They suggested surgery but I had already been through so many surgeries that I couldn't imagine going through surgery and rehab for a torn ligament again." * * * The story of a gymnastics competition, or any sort of athletic competition for that matter, comes down to an unpredictable outcome. We know who is favored to win before it starts, of course, but what's fun about watching sports is not knowing how something is going to end. Basketball player miss shots they should make and make shots they have no business taking. Quarterbacks throw near-perfect passes that get picked off and imperfect passes that turn into game-winning scores. Gymnasts fall, or don't. It's that suspense that gives a competition its narrative arc. That's not how it works in live theater. No matter how difficult the elements, the audience doesn't expect to see falls in the way they do at a gymnastics competition. Mistakes do happen, of course, but they're rare. They're certainly not part of the appeal of watching a theater performance. The best theatrical performances have quirks and grace notes and other identifying marks, but by definition they don't have mistakes. There's more than one difference between sports and theater, but this is a definitional one. I asked Clark how it was possible for the artists—I picked up her parlance eventually—to hit very complex technical elements day after day, without seeing the kind of misses we had just watched at the gymnastics world championships. (2017's competition was particularly splat heavy.) "What we'll do," Clark said, "is ride a very fine line between pushing as far as we can the boundaries of what it is our that our artists do onstage while ensuring that their actual execution is as predictable as live performance can be." This isn't just a matter of practice and more practice. Cirque has folks who do risk assessment and performance coaches who keep track of which elements have high hit percentages versus other that may be more inconsistent. A gymnast might decide to put a risky skill in her routine because it's a worth a lot in terms of point value. But for Cirque, there isn't the same incentive to increase the difficulty of an act if it means a sacrifice in execution. In performance, each and every skill isn't quantified; there's aren't any bonus points for doing a triple back instead of a double. This is another advantage that theater has over sports in this area—the required elements are built around the performers, instead of the other way around. "For us to actually put any new type of skill into an act, into a show, takes a very rigorous procedure to ensure that that artist is hitting that skill virtually each and every time so we don't take the kind of risks or implement the kind of strategy that somebody might in a competitive environment," Clark said. "We simply have an elaborate sort of system to ensure that everything onstage is 100 percent ready to be onstage." But of course nothing—no sport, no theatrical performance, nothing that has anything to do with any human being—is perfect. Last month, Yann Arnoud, a Cirque artist, slipped and fell to his death during a show in Tampa. He was an immensely experienced performer, having been with Cirque for 15 years. One of the things that several of the articles on his death noted was that at the time he fell, he was performing a new act onstage for the first time. He was the second artist to die in Cirque's history. (In 2009, one Cirque artist died in a training accident at the Montreal headquarters.) The first happened in 2013 when Sarah Guyard-Guillot fell and died during a live show. Back then, the Guardian reported: "Safety protocols and detailed risk analyses are a part of every routine's creation and there are a host of trainers, physiotherapists and even performance psychologists on staff to keep artists healthy. In a 2009 study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers from six Canadian and American universities examined five years of data for Cirque, and found the company's injury rates less than those for college gymnastics." This college gymnastics season, in particular, has been particularly devastating. According to this unofficial tally, 21 gymnasts ruptured Achilles tendons and 7 tore ACLs. These are season ending—and in the case of Florida senior Kennedy Baker, career ending—injuries. Being considered safer than college gymnastics shouldn't really be a feather in anyone's cap. Guyard-Guillot's death was ruled an accident and Cirque du Soleil was fined $25,000 for several safety violations according to the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration. * * * When I started working on this story, I was mostly interested in the ways that gymnastics diverged from the performing arts and how gymnasts had to change in order to fit into the world of Cirque. I was sure that was how it would work: that the gymnast needed to change. But sometimes the influence flows in the other direction. Clark told me that what she looks for at competitions are not just individual performances but current trend lines in the sport. In particular, the transformation of an event like uneven bars over the last decade has been most advantageous to Cirque. If you go back and watch routines from the 90s and early aughts, the majority of gymnasts, save for geniuses like Svetlana Khorkina, tended to concentrate their elements on the high bar and only touched the low bar as often as the rules demanded and did very little of substance there This was the bar routine that earned the gold medal for France's Emilie Le Pennec at the 2004 Olympics. It was certainly a gold medal worthy routine—she performed an incredibly difficult rarely seen Def in combination with a hop full and double twisting double somersault dismount. But Le Pennec largely ignored the low bar in this performance. Compare this to the routine from Russia's Aliya Mustafina, who won the Olympic gold on bars in 2012 and 2016. In her routine, Mustafina works both bars, going back and forth between the rails. The low bar is more than a hurdle she has to clear with her legs when she taps for the giants. It's not just Mustafina; many elite gymnasts are performing routines like hers. Over the last eight years, the event has become much more dynamic. And according to Clark, the gymnastics apparatus inspired a whole act in one of Cirque's shows. "Think of any beautiful bar swinger and we would love to have them on Amaluna where we have an act which is designed and inspired by uneven bars," she told me. Though the artists in Amaluna are not performing transitions that are difficult as some of the ones Mustafina performed in her Olympic- winning routines, the act still features the same dynamics of moving from bar to bar. It also recalls an earlier period in women's gymnastics uneven bar history, from the late 1960s to early 1980s, when the bars were close enough together so that a performer could grasp the high while beating her hips against the low and rebounding up. Tousek-Renne performed in the uneven bar act of Amaluna alongside other gymnasts such as Imogen Cairns and Marissa King, both Olympians from Great Britain. King, an alumna of the University of Florida and a member of their first ever NCAA championship team in gymnastics, still performs along with many former gymnasts. "In my act alone, eight out of the nine of us competed collegiately," King wrote in an email. "On top of NCAA careers, there are four Olympians, and former national team members just within the Amazons." (In this particular act, the female performers are playing the roles of Amazons, sans the breastplates.) Like Renne-Tousek and Maloney, King had been trying to figure out a way to extend her acrobatic life after her four years of collegiate eligibility was used up. But she had one more year to go to finish her dual degree. "I decided to also help out with the gymnastics team to stay involved and give myself an opportunity to train for Cirque, as this was something I was really hoping to do next," she said. King said that she wasn't burned out on gymnastics the way some of her former elite peers were. Still, things didn't fall into place as easily for King as they did for Maloney and Tousek-Renne. "After sending many emails and video material, nothing opened up for me." King had to do what her non-acrobatically inclined college peers are forced to do—look for a desk job. She briefly worked as an associate producer for FloSports, at their gymnastics site FloGymnastics. After a few months, Cirque finally came calling. "Cirque offered me a contract for Amaluna," she wrote, "and here I am now." * * * This weekend's NCAA championships in St. Louis will mark the end of many young women's competitive gymnastics careers. The seniors—or the sixth year competitors in the case of Peng Peng Lee of UCLA, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility after being forced to sit out two full seasons due to consecutive ACL repair surgeries—will get one last turn, and then will have to turn to face a future away from the mat. In 2010, former world champion turned Sooner star Hollie Vise was interviewed by Inside Gymnastics Magazine at the end of her NCAA career. Vise, who had gone from winning the 2003 world title on bars to not making the 2004 Olympic team—in a supreme act of cruelty, the team was named live on NBC so that the cameras could capture the anguish of teens who missed out on their dreams in real time—was reborn as a gymnast at Oklahoma. She went from being completely out of shape as a freshman to making lineups on all four events and helping the Sooners to their best ever finishes—second—at nationals. (Since then the Sooners have only improved, winning three NCAA titles and entering this weekend heavily favored to pick up their fourth.) "I find myself thinking, ‘When I go in the gym the next time, I'll try this,' and then it's like, ‘Oh, there is no next time,' That's scary," Vise said shortly after her last NCAA competition. "As soon as it started getting really good, it's over." This is what hurts about endings, in sports and everywhere else. But, as Cirque's growing corps of gymnasts proves, what looks like the end might just be a change— from leotard to costume, gymnast to performer, and from one challenge to another. ------------------------------------------------------------ VOLTA: "A TECHNICAL BOX OF WONDERS" Part 2 of 2: Lighting & Sound A Special Reprint from Lighting & Sound America ------------------------------------------------------------ Along with the multimedia extravaganza, the lighting design goes a long way toward establishing the overall atmosphere of Volta and creating the illusion that there's a live TV program in progress. But, as always, lighting is also tasked with highlighting performers and focusing the audience's attention on particular details. "It's a really weird process, because at Cirque we have to do a lighting design even before they start rehearsing, so we're spending $1 million to buy equipment for a show that we can see only on paper," Labrecque says, noting that Volta is his fifth big top show. LIGHTING UP VOLTA ----------------- "I have to make sure I can light the performance, make an ambiance, and be able to do something totally different if we change course during rehearsals. If the director or producer says, ‘I don't like the look of it; we need to do something different,' I have to be able to react. I have to think about that while I'm making my equipment list for purchase. I used to say that I'm making a box of crayons, a toolbox. I make sure to have all the colors and everything I might need in that toolbox, so I can go either way: If the design changes, fine, I can react; if it stays on the same course, I have what it takes to light it. "And it depends on the acrobatic level of the performance: Some shows are bigger, acrobatically, and others are easier to light. Even now, there's a number coming into the show that we're still working on, and I have to be able to light that, too. But I have a big toolbox to play with. I make sure I can respond to any demands I get, as well as to my own demands, too." Regarding lighting positions, the four masts bear most of the load simply because, apart from the floor, there aren't many others available. "It's a different way of thinking because you have to think vertically," Labrecque says. "We can't hang much from the grid because there's a lot of rigging up there. On the bridge, I have only a few fixtures, because it's used as an acrobatic apparatus and it moves a lot. In any event, it's almost already at the maximum weight it can support, so most of the hanging is on the four masts." No more than a pair of ETC PAR MCM fixtures can be placed at each end of the bridge. "Also," he notes, "this was the first big top show to have video, and we're all fighting for places where we can hang." Each of the downstage masts includes a followspot operator position equipped with a Robert Juliat Lucy unit located about 24' off the floor. Some 12' above that are a Claypaky Scenius Spot and a pair of Claypaky A.leda BEYE K10s; higher still are six ETC Source Four PAR MCM fixtures with medium flood lenses, two at 40' and four at 42.5'; another two are hung 16' off the floor. Just under the spot operator platform are four ETC Source Fours with 36° field angles. The upstage masts are configured differently. Between 20' and 41' off the floor, two identical arrays are hung on the sides of each mast facing the stage: In descending order are a Scenius Spot, A.leda B-EYE K10, Ayrton MagicPanel-FX, and another A.leda B-EYE K10. This sequence is repeated, and, below that, at 18', is a pair of ETC Source Four PAR MCM fixtures with medium flood lenses, and, at 16', two ETC Source Fours with 26° field angles. On the upstage side of these two masts, two A.leda B-EYE K10s are hung at about 23' and 27'. Topping the upstage-right mast at 42.5' are six ETC Source Four PAR MCM fixtures with medium flood lenses. On the upstage-left mast, the corresponding six fixtures are hung a bit lower, out of the way of the catwalk anchored here. A Claypaky Mythos 2 hybrid light is hung at each of the cardinal points on the outside edge of the grid, with an additional Mythos 2 hung right in the center. "There's not much space to hang and we're all fighting for it. I need the beam mode and I need to be able to use gobos, too, so I didn't use [Claypaky] Sharpys because they do only one thing," Labrecque says, explaining the necessity of selecting versatile equipment. "We used [the Mythos units] a lot in beam mode, so we could structure the light." He also hung nine Chauvet Professional COLORado 1 Quad Tour LED wash lights upstage and nine downstage, on the grid, as well as a single ETC Source Four with 19° field angle under each end of the catwalk in the grid. Two small trusses, rigged on span guys over the rear seats next to the wall of the big top at stage left and stage right, each carry five ETC Source Fours with 19° field angles. For lighting behind the upstage wall, Labrecque hung eight ETC Source Four PAR MCM fixtures with medium flood lenses, spaced about 5' apart. Floor space around the deck is extremely limited. A slightly sunken shelf was built on each side of the stage in the angle where it fans out into the additional upstage performance space to accommodate a single Mythos 2 unit. A Claypaky Alpha Profile 1200 beam shaper sits atop each of the band pods, upstage left and right, while three Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 wash moving heads occupy the corners of the Cube's roof, and a fourth is centered on the truss under which the Cube rests in its default upstage position. Although Volta's lighting design is comparatively modest—with 40 moving lights as opposed to some 400 in Labrecque's design for the Pan American Games—it does the job extremely effectively, hitting all the right notes and pumping up the already high energy onstage. Programming on the MA Lighting grandMA2 console was by François Marceau, the project manager for lighting was Annick Ferland, and Kareen Houde served as the lighting assistant. Integral to the scenic design are 22 "lampposts" shaped like inverted hockey sticks, six of which are deployed in several locations around the stage throughout the show. Each of the 16 fixed lampposts sports either one Épix Tour Bar or one ÉPIX Strip Tour LED strip under the upper short angled arm and, depending on the post's height and width, either two Épix Tour Bars or three ÉPIX Tour Strips on the vertical portion. The movable lampposts are fitted with generic RGBW LED strips and are batterypowered, using a custom wireless system. Each lamppost is spiked into a corresponding anchor in the stage about 1.5" in diameter and 8" deep. "We use a total of 27 EPIX Drive 900s to control the whole system," Fox says. In addition to the lights built into the stage, a noteworthy lighting feature is the prop cell phones that entrance the Greys with their eerie ultra-white glow. Studded with white LEDs around the edges, these self-contained, battery-operated devices were designed and manufactured for the show by Inventions Guite Inc., of Montreal. Together with Waz's laser-adorned coat—a development of the costume designer Zaldy Goco's model for Michael Jackson's This Is It Tour that never was—they constitute a extension of the use of light into other departments. Rounding out the lighting gear list are two Elation Professional Protron 3K LED strobes. Also used are four Ultratec Special Effects Power Fog Industrial 9Ds, three Ultratec Premier Fog Effects Generators, two Look Solutions Tiny CXs, one Look Solutions Viper, one Martin by Harman Jem Glaciator X-Stream, and two MDG Atmosphere APS haze generators. NONSTOP SOUND ------------- Volta is propelled by a non-stop, high-energy music score composed by Anthony Gonzalez, the single full-time member of the electronic music project M83. Shifting from atmospheric soundscapes to rhythmic urban pop and soaring symphonies rich with orchestral-sounding synthesizers, Gonzalez's highly cinematic score evokes a range of moods that flow with the unfolding narrative. Always in sync with the acrobatic performances, the score is also tightly synchronized with the lighting effects, thanks to the interactive responsiveness of the multimedia design. The score is played mostly live by a four-piece band with two onstage vocalists. The female vocalist occasionally doubles on electric violin. Offstage, the band is divided in half, with two instrumentalists in each of the upstage band pods. To the left are the band leader, playing keyboards and doubling occasionally on sax and electric bass, and the drummer. The band leader also operates an Ableton Live software music sequencer. The second keyboardist and guitar player, in the opposite pod, join the cast onstage on several occasions. "In the beginning, we didn't have the musicians onstage as much, but we've been hearing that people don't realize that it's live music, so we've been putting them onstage more," Fox says. One electronic keyboard controller used by the band is the unique and very expressive Roli Seaboard. While the keys are laid out in the conventional piano sequence, the entire keyboard is covered in a continuous surface of pliable silicone. In place of the usual control wheels for modulation and pitch bend, the player executes these effects by moving fingers up and down over the pliable surface, holding keys down while vibrating the fingers to achieve vibrato, for example, or moving the hands sideways along a strip below the keys to effect pitch bending. Gonzalez has taken advantage of the innovative way that sounds that can be modified using the Seaboard to the point that it seems inconceivable that Volta's score could be accurately executed without it. "We have stereo synths, stereo drums, stereo bass, stereo guitar, stereo extra vocals, and 32 outputs of Ableton Live coming back to the front-of-house and monitor consoles, so that we can separate all the audio," says the sound designer Jean-Michel Caron. "We also have a few inputs for special effects. If we want to have something move around, we can put it in the [Meyer Sound] DMitri Space Map and have those sounds dance around the big top or any speaker we want." These spatial effects are executed from a D-Mitri matrix system with a 32-fader control surface at the front-of-house position, through a sound reinforcement-system centered on the masts, with subs beneath the stage, and surround and ambient loudspeakers hung in six locations near the curved wall of the big top. "Every speaker is on a discrete output line from D-Mitri, so we can send sound to any or all of the speakers," Caron says. "The D-Mitri Space Map lets you move sound around speakers: It could be two speakers, or it could be 90. You just draw where you want to move the sound image and it pretty much does the trajectory. It's repeatable, and you can make it go faster or slower. It's a great tool for sound design. It gives you flexibility to do pretty much anything you want. You're not stuck with a console with a normal output structure. It is an immersive kind of system. The main thing was to use the sound to get the audience to focus on the action. And it was important that we be able to move sound around. It gives it more fun; sound becomes a character in the show." "Everything happens on stage but because the audience is in a 240° arc all around, it's always been very hard to get a great image on the side, to help people focus on what's going on at the front," Caron adds. "For me, it was important that wherever you sit around the stage, the audio would seem to come from that 41'-diameter stage. It's not so much pinpointing where the actor is, but, in a more general way, for the audience to say, no matter where they're sitting, ‘I'm watching the show, the action and music are there, everything comes from straight in my face and there's nothing coming from where it shouldn't be coming from'." Because of weight restrictions, powered loudspeakers were ruled out. "We're using a d&b audiotechnik passive loudspeaker system," Caron explains. "While Meyer has been a great speaker for us for a long time, we ran into a problem with the weight. The set is bigger; that bridge is so massive and heavy. There's only so much weight that can be supported by the masts, so every time they put something else up in the air, we have to take something down. The d&b passive speakers are very light, and that allows us to put more speakers on each mast to achieve the coverage we need. The amplifier racks are under the bleachers on the floor, with four amplifiers for the loudspeakers on each mast." Each upstage mast is rigged with a matching complement of six loudspeakers, angled to provide optimal coverage to all seats, including: two Vi7P three-way point-source loudspeakers, one 12S biaxial two-way narrow-coverage loudspeaker, one 12S-D biaxial two-way wide-coverage loudspeaker, one E6 two-way compact coaxial loudspeaker, and one 8S two-way compact coaxial loudspeaker. Similarly, each of the downstage masts is rigged with a matching loudspeaker complement that includes two 12S, two 12S-D, one E6, and three 8S units. "The masts are configured with a front speaker and a cross speaker," Caron says. "If you're seated on the left side, for example, the image from the cross speaker is going to appear as if it is coming from the right, farther away. No matter where you sit, you have a left on one side and a right on the other. Everywhere around the big top, it's the same configuration." The subs under the stage are offset from the center by about 6', "just to clear the track of the Cube," Caron says. "I've got three subs, rear-firing in cardioid pattern, which is the perfect pattern for the big top. This way, it's one point-source for the subs. There's no addition or cancellation due to multiple [spaced] sources. It was easier to time-align it with the rest of the system, so we ended up having a system that's pretty tight. The bass is awesome." For front fill, fourteen 4S lightweight two-way coaxial loudspeakers are mounted on the inside of the façade panels, more or less evenly spaced around the 240° arc of the stage facing the audience. Above the stage, two 10S two-way narrow-coverage loudspeakers are hung on each side of the grid, together with a single 10S-D two-way wide-coverage loudspeaker at the downstage center of the grid. "The front fills allow us to bring the image down to the stage," Caron says. "We can send a Space Map from DMitri to make a sound effect appear to move with the action on the stage. The three loudspeakers hanging under the grid from which the artists are suspended allow us to bring the image up to the cupola if we want." The designer chose six positions near the wall of the big top to rig the surrounds: "There's a funicular where they pull back the tent to get the tension; we hang speakers from there and pull them back a little bit, so they get closer to the canvas wall and about 20' over the audience's heads. We use two speakers in each position: one 10S-D facing toward the stage, and one smaller 8S speaker facing toward the tent. It hangs behind the larger surround speaker and is focused directly to the canvas. I'm using the canvas as a deflector, so I can use that speaker to do effects when I don't want to hear the source clearly defined." As an example, Caron cites a scene in which the clown Shood Kood Wood bats away at an unseen flying insect. "I didn't want the audience to know where the buzz was coming from, so we used those rear-facing speakers to do that effect," he says. To support distant-sounding effects emanating from the front, Caron installed a pair of 10AL-D biaxial wide-coverage line array modules just in front of the upstage wall, one atop each of the band pods. All amplifiers are d&b audiotechnik four-channel models, including two D80s, eight 30Ds, and four 10Ds. In the case of the lip fills, the loudspeakers are doubled-up, two to an amp channel. Band microphones include Wisycom MTH400 handheld transmitters with MCM306 custom DPA super-cardioid condenser microphone capsules for the singers, who occasionally switch to lavs worn on custom-made headsets. "They're mostly on handhelds, except in one song when the male singer climbs up onto the bridge," Caron says. "With its position, we had trouble getting the necessary gain before feedback, so we had to go with a Countryman [H6]. Similarly, there's one scene where the female singer walks around the stage playing the violin. Toward the end of the song, she sings a few lines, and for that she's wearing a headset with an omnidirectional DPA capsule," a d:screet 4061. In the band pods, drums mics are a Shure Beta91A and Solomon LoFReQ on the kick, Shure Beta 98AMPs on the snare and toms, Audix D6 and D4 mics on the floor toms, Rode NT55 on the hi-hat, and an Audio-Technica AT4050ST stereo mic for overheads. Shure SM57s are used on amplifiers, with Radial JDI and JDI Duplex passive direct boxes on the instruments. During the opening Quid Pro Quo scene, Waz struts atop his Cube to striking effect behind a 24K gold-plated Heil Sound microphone. The Fin is a stand-mounted, vintage- looking mic illuminated by four internally mounted phantom-powered white LEDs. In another scene, the clown executes a mic drop using a more dispensable Shure SM58. "We want to hear the thump when it hits, so we use a 58 so he can throw it anywhere. We didn't want him to drop a very expensive microphone," Caron says. One aspect that might be overlooked in staging a show under the big top is the choice of electric, rather than acoustic, stringed instruments. "A big problem we have with some of the instruments, such as violin and double bass, is the temperature shift in the big top," Caron notes. "It's so inconsistent. Also, it can go from very dry to very humid quickly, so it's always a pain for acoustic instruments, even acoustic guitar, but especially for violin and cello. It gets to be a pain with the tonal change, and hard for the musicians to play. We tested the acoustic violin against the electric violin, and the electric violin is much easier." Monitoring is provided only for the musicians, including four drummers up on the bridge who have to follow the precision drumming of a downstage performer in a sequence during Act 2. A DiGiCo SD9, in the tiny "doghouse" backstage, serves as the monitor console, with the mix being delivered via a wireless Wisycom in-ear monitoring system. "The SD9 has a small footprint, so for us it's perfect," Caron says. "In the big top, the stage, sets, and props are getting bigger and we're getting less and less space, so it was perfect to get a small desk. We're still using 96 inputs, though." The analog mic and DI outputs are split via a custom Radial Engineering Convertible V12 modular snake system and fed to the analog inputs of the front-of-house and monitor consoles. The AES/EBU digital outputs from the Wisycom MRK 690 wireless-microphone receivers are converted to Dante network audio via a Focusrite REDnet D16 interface and routed along with the outputs from the drum and keyboard samplers and Ableton Live software sequencer via the Dante network to both consoles. Dante audio from some 90 matrix outputs from the 144-input D-Mitri front-of-house system is routed over the network to four d&b audiotechnik DS10 audio network bridges, one in each amplifier rack under the bleachers near the base of each mast, where it is converted to AES/EBU and input to the amplifier DSP for loudspeaker processing and amplification. A Waves SoundGrid, used for effects processing at the front-of-house position, connects to D-Mitri via AES/EBU. The MADI output from the DiGiCo monitor console is converted to analog via an Antelope Orion 32 D-to-A converter for distribution to performers. "D-Mitri is set up, at the moment, with 144 buses," Caron says. "We use the buses for different sends, so we can localize certain elements. We've set up a left-right bus and a vocal bus, and that allows us to localize the singer in the center of the image or elsewhere. For example, when the singer is up on the bridge, we do different bussing to send his audio to different speakers, so we can feel like his voice is coming from up there." In the scene where Waz is watching home movies in the Cube, the sound image and quality are manipulated to change the audience's perspective as the scene progresses. "We wanted to create the illusion that when you're looking inside the open cube, you're backstage with Waz," Caron says. "We made it so that the TV show sounds like it's happening on the other side from our perspective ‘backstage;' then, as the cube rotates, we shift the sound image so that we switch around from being backstage behind the Cube to the show being onstage in front of us." The target sound pressure level for Volta is 97dB, but it seems much louder. The fact that peaks reach only 105dB SPL is, perhaps, indicative of a generous amount of compression and peak limiting that increases the perceived loudness. The touring head of sound is François Lanteigne, and Marc-André Gilbert served as project manager for sound. Wired and Tempest wireless systems from Clear-Com are used throughout, with noise-cancelling closed-cup headsets from David Clark provided for followspot operators seated up on the masts. The cue light system is from Leon Audio, with GDS BlueDomes for the blues system. While big top shows have relied extensively on generator power in the past, "We're using city power in Toronto, and in general we're leaning more toward that vs. generators for its lower environmental impact and because it is cleaner power," Fox says. * * * Volta is galvanizing audiences for many reasons—not least the tight interactivity of the action with the music, sound effects, lighting, and multimedia content—but if any part can be singled out beyond the BMX finale for sheer I can't- believe-what-I'm-seeing value, it's perhaps an aerialist who, seeming to levitate from a cushion, fluidly executes an extended, spinning flying act suspended only by her hair. Or maybe it's the mesmerizing synchronized choreography of a riveting pas de deux by a ballerina and a BMX flatland cyclist. This show really does have something for everyone. ------------------------------------------------------------ "We're Off and Running - A Series of Classic Critiques" Part 13 of 16: Dralion, Part 2 (2001-2003) By: Ricky Russo - Atlanta, Georgia (USA) ------------------------------------------------------------ A few months ago, as I was flipping through a few classic Cirque du Soleil programme books (as is my wont), I was happily caught off-guard by a brief history of the company that it had written about itself in Saltimbanco's original European Tour programme, published sometime in 1996. Not because the historia was in English, French, and Spanish, but rather I found the wording a bit more colorful… haughty… than what you'd find from the company today. Something about its whimsical and heady nature spoke to the way Cirque du Soleil saw itself then, containing a youthful verve and arrogance that is simply no longer present. When did Cirque lose this dynamic sense of self, this liveliness, and vivacity about its past, present, and future? Unfortunately, not long after. Thereafter the speak becomes less joie de vivre and more lié aux affaires, and Cirque du Soleil turns from a rag-tag band of street performers into a bona fide corporate entity right before our very eyes. This is not a new revelation - far from it in fact - but this re-discovery struck a chord of curiosity within… How did others see Cirque du Soleil during this period? Think about it: as Cirque's multitude of shows travel around the globe in either arenas or under the big top, at each stop, in each city, there is a write-up in the local press. Sometimes the coverage is just a brief blurb about the show and its theme, occasionally there's a short interview with a performer, a stage hand, or creation director, and other times it's an assessment of the show itself, evaluating its technical and acrobatic merits with what had come through before. But the reviews we see today are too current, discussing these shows through a contemporary lens; shows that have/had 15 to 20 years touring the globe, shows we would refer to as "classic" or "signature". What I'd become interested in knowing was what some of the first reviews, peeks, and evaluations of these shows were as they took their first steps across North America. How did the press see Le Cirque du Soleil in 1998, 1994, 1990, 1987? It was time to peck through the archives. What I found was extraordinary, and more than I expected. And I'm sharing these discoveries here in Fascination through a series of collections, beginning with the 1987 tournée of Le Cirque du Soleil (better known today as Le Cirque Réinventé), and continuing on from there. In this installment, we finish up with Dralion's early reviews, featuring those from 2001 through 2003. # # # ALONG THE HUSDSON, A TENT OF DREAMS By: Robin Pogrebin | New York Times April 6, 2001 Hard to imagine, perhaps, that there could be drama in the simple raising of a tent. But as scores of men and women struggled against the chill wind blowing off New York Harbor, using their bodies and breath to heave up 104 metal poles that rose one after another like a cresting wave, and as the blue-and-yellow big top spread across the sky, stealing the expansive view of Lower Manhattan, unmistakable showmanship was in the air. The circus had come to town. In this case, it was Cirque du Soleil, the legendary Canadian spectacle of avant-garde acrobatics, returning to the New York metropolitan area after a three-year absence. Squeezed out of its previous home in Battery Park City because of real estate development, the circus had settled this time in Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The show, "Dralion," started in Montreal in 1999 and was most recently in Miami before coming here, where it is now in previews. It will open on Thursday and run through June 3. Certainly much has changed since 1984, when Cirque du Soleil first left audiences awed and taken aback by its unorthodox approach. Now there seem to be circuses everywhere you turn, many of which emulate this one. In New York City alone last December, three one-ring shows vied for attention: Barnum's "Kaleidoscape," the Big Apple Circus and Circus Oz from Australia. But after observing firsthand the intense seven-day period that Cirque du Soleil spends setting up shop, it is clear that circuses remain compelling, no matter how ubiquitous. They combine the delicate artistry of theater with the gritty brawn of a rock band on the road. Because Cirque du Soleil tours 52 weeks a year, the people who work on it are a breed all their own, rootless in true Gypsy tradition: operating out of trailers, eating and smoking and sharing apartments together, moving around so much that it isn't even worth forwarding their mail because it will never catch up. "It's an incestuous little dysfunctional family," said Marc Beaudry, the circus's logistics director. "We love and hate each other very, very much. I know who did what last night, far more information than I need." People traveling with Cirque du Soleil often have to brave the elements; the operation is largely outdoors. The night of the premiere of "Quidam" in Battery Park City three years ago was so stormy that spectators thought the tent might collapse. More recently, the circus braved unexpectedly frigid temperatures in Atlanta; pipes burst, generators broke down. "We brought in tons of heating equipment wherever we could find it," Mr. Beaudry recalled. "Daily maintenance is no longer a priority when you've got winds of 50 miles per hour and you're making sure the tent stays stuck to the ground." At the same time, this is high-end transience. The cast and crew are fed three by-all-accounts delicious meals from Cirque du Soleil's kitchen, which has five chefs, including one devoted to pastry. ("Everyone gains weight on tour," Mr. Beaudry said. "We're all getting a little round.") They earn decent pay and receive health benefits. And they can learn three languages (French, English and Mandarin) free, since the circus pays Berlitz to go on site. Nevertheless, touring with the circus can be a trying existence, moving from city to city, performing the same taxing stunts night after night, keeping the costumes clean and the sets safe. They do it, members say, until they no longer love it anymore. "I used to despise moving with such a passion," said Mr. Beaudry, who hauls his motorcycle with him in a trailer behind his car. "Now I've gotten pretty good at it. Everything fits into its place in about an hour and 15 minutes." After 17 years of pitching tents around the world, Cirque du Soleil, created by Guy Laliberté in Montreal, clearly has the system down. It has also become big business, though the company is privately owned and does not release earnings figures. The tent packs them in: more than 2,500 people a performance at ticket prices that, for "Dralion," range from $63 to $85 for adults and $43.75 to $59.50 for children. A new "Dralion" V.I.P. package for $190 ($130 for children) includes prime seats, a souvenir program, drinks, hors d'oeuvres and outside entertainers in a special tent on site called the Lincoln Suite (Lincoln, the car company, is the presenting sponsor). Even without the V.I.P. seats, the potential weekly gross is about $2 million. Cirques du Soleil now proliferate around the world. Since March 1999, "Quidam" has been on a four-year European tour; it is about to open in Belgium. "Saltimbanco" continues its Asia-Pacific tour, playing throughout Japan. "Alégria" returned to the big top in January, beginning a tour of New Zealand and Australia. "Mystère" and "O" play permanently in Las Vegas at Treasure Island and Bellagio, respectively, both casino hotels. And since December 1998, "La Nouba" has played at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. After New York, "Dralion" is to move to Chicago, with another year of traveling to go. By the end of its three-year tour, the show will have visited 17 cities across Canada and the United States, including Atlanta; Boston; Denver; Houston; Irvine, Calif.; Minneapolis; and San Francisco. Although Cirque du Soleil performances have a consistent approach -- no animals, extravagant costumes, mind-bending physical feats and pulsating music-- each show is created from scratch. "Dralion" features a troupe of 37 Chinese acrobats who perform everything from ballet on light bulbs to hoop-diving to double trapeze. There are 19 more artists from 8 other countries: Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, the Netherlands, the Ivory Coast, Chile, Ukraine and the United States. CREATING A FANTASY Guy Caron, the director of "Dralion," said he wanted the show to celebrate the four elements that maintain the natural order: air, water, fire and earth. The fifth element, he said, is the soul, represented by two singers. Mr. Caron, founder of the National Circus School in Montreal, was artistic director of Cirque du Soleil from 1984 to 1988. He came back to do "Dralion." "For me, this is magic," he said in a heavy French accent. "For some people, it's not." While casting the show, Mr. Caron said, he flew to China to see eight acrobatic troupes, then chose one. The "Dralion" title was his idea: it combines the Chinese symbol of a dragon with the Western lion. For inspiration, Mr. Caron keeps a notebook filled with clippings and photographs, striking images he may return to later, ranging from Magritte paintings to comic strips. He gives these to a team he calls his conceptors, who then help bring the ideas to life. For the music, which is original to Cirque du Soleil, Mr. Caron said he listened to some of his 1,500 CD's, jotting down pieces that might inspire the show's composer, Violaine Corradi. For "Dralion," the result was a fusion of sounds from around the world, including Hindu melodies and instruments from Andalusia, Africa, Central Europe and the West. "This is my universe," Mr. Caron said. Yes, there are clowns. This is a circus after all, he said, not conventional theater. And no, it is not fame that attracts him to the job. "You meet me, but you can forget me because it's Cirque du Soleil," he said. "Me, I don't need to be a star." Robert MacKenzie, the tour manager, put the show's budget at about $15 million. Although "Dralion" has several sponsors, Cirque du Soleil provides the budget money. While Mr. Caron had to work within a budget, he said the circus's management in Montreal gave him the money to do what he wanted. "I say, 'Find it; I want to do this,' and they find it," he said. "It costs, but that's why we break the rules. Something happens that never happened before." "That's why I like to work with this company," he continued. "Because you go through your dreams." 'DON'T BREAK YOUR LEGS' The big top was raised on March 28, a bright but cold Wednesday morning. Present were Cirque's regular staff in addition to about 50 local hires. At the coffee break, they clustered separately: the regulars at the danish table, the locals at the doughnuts. At the peak of the big top -- made of heavy-duty industrial vinyl, with a radius of 83 feet -- was the so-called cupola, already in place from the day before, suspended from cables in the center of the sagging tent. Slowly, machines started cranking up the tent's sides. Once the ceiling was raised, the workers went under and in, hoisted poles from a flatbed truck -- two people to a pole -- and hooked them around the rim of the tent to create the sides. When it was time to push the poles up, Jan Homan, the tent master, gathered the crew for instructions: go sequentially, like dominoes, he said, and be careful. "Take it easy," he warned the workers. "Don't break your legs." And then, one by one, with cursing, whooping and grunting, the poles were raised. Overseeing it all was Larry Clark, the circus's technical director. In Bermuda shorts and sunglasses, Mr. Clark might as well have been spring skiing. It's not as if he were a Cirque du Soleil veteran, either; he joined only nine months ago. Nevertheless, he was confident that all would go smoothly. Of course, there will be mishaps, Mr. Clark said. But he and his crew spend a good deal of their time and energy trying to prevent them. And once the circus is up and running, every piece of equipment that the artists use is checked daily. Every week, the entire apparatus has a full inspection. All the welds used in the tent have to be certified by a structural engineer or a welding specialist, Mr. Clark said. Sometimes they are even X-rayed. He said he had decided to join the circus because he was a fan, having seen and loved "Quidam" in Montreal in 1996. He was working for a dance troupe at the time. "When I left, I thought, 'That's the competition,' " he said. This circus, he added, is a challenge all its own; you create the space from scratch every time. "If you're involved in the technical end of the entertainment industry," he said, "you're used to doing things that are arena shows: the theatrical structures are already there; you move into them. This show is completely interconnected with the structure itself, even more than previous Cirque productions." While most past Cirque du Soleil acts were supported by structures on the ground, the performers here fly from equipment attached to the tent itself, Mr. Clark explained. That means that the tent matters more than ever before. So he and his crew have to take extra care that everything works, "down to the last rope and the last pulley," he said. From the cupola are suspended three aluminum rings: one, called the grid, holds the catwalk for performers and a work area for riggers; another is for hanging projectors and an enormous lantern; a third, called the sun, can move up and down and rotate. In the old days, raising the big top meant "throwing the tent up with elephants," Mr. Clark said. "If it was standing there and it looked comfortable, that was enough; you could move the show in." "We're pushing the boundaries," he continued. "We're making the tent itself work harder. It's not just a shell anymore." "We have the discussion every once in a while, 'Why don't we do arenas instead?' " he added. "But it's a circus. The big top is the thing. And I, for one, am glad that Cirque has chosen to maintain the under- the-big-top mystique." A SELF-CONTAINED WORLD Choosing a site for Cirque du Soleil begins in Canada with the tour development department, which sends people to scout locations. They evaluate the slope of the terrain, soil conditions, nearby housing, available transportation. Then the logistics team arrives to evaluate the site in more detail: to make sure that three-foot pegs can be pounded into the ground to secure the tent's foundation, that no water mains or sewer conduits lurk beneath. In some locations, the circus has to consider tornadoes and hurricanes; in others, earthquakes. Always, the company must be mindful of holding 2,500 people up on bleachers. "We've all heard scaffolding horror stories," Mr. Beaudry said. Cirque du Soleil works with each city to obtain the necessary permits. For "Dralion," this was particularly complicated because the site is park land. "It wasn't an easy thing," Mr. Beaudry said. "There were concerns on both sides." Because the site had been a field and grass is inhospitable to heavy machinery like forklifts, the circus had to put down asphalt at a cost of $500,000, Mr. MacKenzie said. Under its agreement with the Parks Department, the circus will restore the field after it closes. ELECTRICALLY AUTONOMOUS On site, the work begins with what is called a premark: spray-painting the outline of everything, establishing center points, deciding where trailers will stand. This is also the first tour on which the circus has had washrooms rather than Portosans. There is about three feet of space under the stage so that performers can enter through trap doors during the show. They move around beneath on dollies, lying on their bellies. Cirque du Soleil has its own generators, making it electrically autonomous; the only things it needs from the city are water and telephone lines. Mr. MacKenzie, who has been tour manager for three years, started as lighting director, then became technical director. He is in charge of coordinating the managers of the seven departments: logistics, technical, artistic, production, kitchen, administration and sales. Moving the circus involves about 45 trucks. "From a human stress point of view, it's always the set-up and tear- down," he said. "We have such tight deadlines. We're moving 1,000 tons of equipment from one city to another." The sets were designed by Stéphane Roy, the lighting by Luc Lafortune. The choreography is by Julie Lachance. Mr. MacKenzie said "Dralion" was a significant artistic departure from past Cirque du Soleil shows. "It's brighter, happier, more child- friendly," he explained. Mr. MacKenzie, who formerly worked on world tours of rock 'n' roll shows, added that he liked the circus life. "I have such diverse responsibilities; it's never dull," he said. "I enjoy moving from city to city." Similarly, Jason Vaughan, the head of wardrobe, or chef des costumes, said he had grown accustomed to the nomadic life of the circus, even though there were more than 1,000 costume pieces to maintain. ("I counted them one day," he said.) He carries framed art with him and puts it up on the walls of his various apartments to make them feel like home. Mr. Vaughan said he joined Cirque du Soleil because the shows affected him. "They are so creative, so fresh -- things you don't see live," he said. "The emotion I felt while watching their shows was incredible." He checked the circus's Web site for jobs and sent in his résumé. These days, he is a little less starry-eyed; maintaining the costumes is hard work. "Dralion" is a huge show, he said. There is intricate detailing -- beadwork, trims -- all time-consuming to keep in top condition. Most of the performers have two sets of costumes, and still, something always goes awry. "There are several emergencies every week because there are so many costumes in the show," he said. Often, his staff has to sew repairs while the performers are wearing the clothes, so that they can quickly make their entrances. The costume designer, François Barbeau, used more than 16,000 feet of fabric for "Dralion," including silk, Lycra, velvet and leather. He also used unorthodox materials like horsehair, raffia, window screen, emu feathers, Styrofoam, a Slinky and Christmas decorations. When Mr. Barbeau comes around, Mr. Vaughan said, he brings humor and helping hands. "He'll work, he'll sew, he'll cut," Mr. Vaughan said. "He'll do whatever needs to be done." Mr. Vaughan has a staff of four: one who covers sewing and makeup, another who focuses on shoes, another on hats, another who is a dresser and handles the laundry. THE LAUNDRY If an article of clothing touches the body, it is cleaned every day. That makes for a lot of loads. Cirque du Soleil travels with five washers and four dryers. Mr. Vaughan said he spends two days training the laundry person, who washes some pieces by hand. Cleaning the "Dralion" animal costumes alone -- each of which is worn by two people -- takes 12 hours. Fur is involved, and hundreds of little snaps. "It's a huge logistical nightmare," he said. A MAJOR CAMPSITE The day after the tent raising was spent setting up more technical equipment, including the stage (41.67 feet in diameter, larger than any Cirque du Soleil stage before) and the metallic scenery wall (59 feet wide and 26.25 feet high, larger and heavier than ever before). There are no nets in the circus; the performers are attached to cables. Cirque du Soleil hires 21 technicians for the show, though only 16 are needed to run it; they work in rotation to allow one another days off. There are seven musicians and two singers. In total, 160 travel with Cirque, and 150 more are hired locally."We're operating one of the largest campsites in North America," said Mr. Clark, the technical director. "And the people who work here find ways to make it work, day after day." The other elements requiring construction include restrooms, concession stands, the box office, fences, seats, the V.I.P. tent and the kitchen. This was supposed to continue last Friday, but because of the wind and rain, the site was closed. The tent stood, buffeted and soaked, alone and uninhabited. "We hadn't anticipated losing a day," Mr. Beaudry said. "Having to make the decision to send everyone home was not an easy one." Work picked up over the weekend, and Tuesday was spent preparing for a dress rehearsal at 7:30 p.m. Viktor Kee, 30, an expert juggler, was warming up in the artistic tent a couple of hours before the show. He said he appreciated Cirque du Soleil's mix of dance, circus art and theater. And is it difficult to have a social life on the road? "From the point of a serious relationship?" Mr. Kee asked. "Yes. To have fun? No." As show time neared, invited guests began to file in, including suppliers, photographers and some people in a youth-at-risk program. Souvenirs were on sale. Popcorn machines were up and snapping. The show left people cheering. Despite having been on break from the show for a while, the performers seemed to know exactly how to conjure their particular brand of contorted, gravity-defying magic. And that, say people who work on the circus, is exactly what keeps them going. "Some days you get tired," said Mr. Vaughan of wardrobe. "If I'm not feeling the love for the circus today, I will go watch the top of the show." "It just is a big recharge," he continued. "And I think: 'O.K., this is what this is about. This is why you're doing this.' " * * * * * * BIG CHANGE UNDER THE BIG TOP By: Lola Smallwood | Chicago Tribune June 20, 2001 For months they have traveled from Montreal to Miami to New York, turning hundreds of performers, more than 1,000 costumes and countless feats of technical wizardry into the theatrical bonanza called "Dralion." But ask these two longtime artistic designers with Cirque du Soleil to pinpoint what audiences can expect from the troupe's latest offering, and perplexed expressions creep across their faces. Could it be just more of the same: funky music, wild acrobatics and cool lighting? "No!" they say emphatically in heavy French accents, each one sitting up a little straighter in his plush red velvet chair. "I've seen [`Dralion'] so many times, and each time I take something different away from it," says the show's artistic director Sylvie Galarneau, who describes the show as a vortex of color and movement. Lighting designer Luc LaFortune says "Dralion," which begins a four- week run at the United Center on Friday, is full of youthful purity and a splash of the unexpected. "Dralion" is a celebration of the artistic contributions of Eastern and Western culture as well as a tribute to the four elements of nature: air, earth, water and fire. Boasting the largest cast of acrobats of any Cirque production, "Dralion" marks the formation of new creative team, which has put a global spin on the production. RECIPE FOR SUCCES "It's new. It's change, and it probably will be totally different from the next show that we create," says Galarneau, who has been with Cirque since 1990. "It's supposed to be that way. People come to Cirque du Soleil with an expectation that they are not going to get a recipe. All the shows create a kind of emotion and a feeling that is unique to them." Built on being different, Cirque has evolved into a household name since being unveiled 17 years ago by creator Guy Laliberte. The dramatic spectacle of outrageous costumes, circus art and street entertainment, magical lighting, and original music first became a hit in Canada and then expanded to other parts of the world, including Chicago, where it debuted in 1989. Its success hasn't gone unnoticed, as others have tried to emulate Cirque's concept of no animals but plenty of theatricals. Last year, "Barnum's Kaleidoscape," a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey production, came to Chicago, complete with a one-ring carpeted tent furnished with sofa chairs. The year before, Cirque Ingenieux brought its fusion of Broadway fanfare and European spirit to the Shubert Theatre, where it was dubbed simply as a Cirque du Soleil knockoff. "It makes us feel good that there are people out there who like what we do enough to copy it," Galarneau says. CIRCUS IN CONSTANT CHANGE Since the success of its first production, "La Magie" in 1984, Cirque has created a dozen others; "We Reinvent the Circus" was the first U.S. production, in 1987, and made its Chicago debut two years later. Today, "Quidam," which came to Chicago in 1994, is midway through a four-year European tour; "Saltimbanco" continues a three-year stint through Asia-Pacific via Japan; and "Alegria," a 1992 production, was taken out of retirement earlier this year to travel to New Zealand and Australia. If that isn't enough, three shows enjoy permanent residency in the U.S., including "La Nouba," based in Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, and "Mystere" and "O," both housed at casino hotels in Las Vegas. And in a daring attempt to branch out to the big-big screen, Cirque released an IMAX production called "Journey of Man" in January. Galarneau and LaFortune say the myriad productions do not dilute the company's creative juices but rather squeeze invention out of everyone involved with the development of new shows. "We can't afford to become routine or to become what people expect from Cirque," LaFortune says. "If you do what you think people will want or what they expect rather than what pleases you, then [the work] lacks conviction, it lacks intention and truth." EACH SHOW IS ORIGINAL He says each show begins as an original idea from the show's creative team, which outlines the concept. That concept is then presented to a second-tier of designers for lighting, acts, costume, sound and casting, where it is honed into an actual show. The project is further tweaked as performers attempt to do what has been put down on paper. "In a sense it's never finished. It starts like a funnel with the wide part open for ideas and a year and a half later it narrows down," LaFortune says. "In some ways, it's difficult because when you come up with something the director will say `No, you are repeating yourself,' and then you have to go back and come up with something that is unique." They say "Dralion" is a fresh approach. Missing are the gray, dreamlike tableaus and the European pizazz. With 56 performers from eight countries, including China, Brazil, South Africa and Ukraine, "Dralion" features costuming and choreography that seems to be influenced by East India, West Africa and Aboriginal Australia. But that does not eclipse stunts like "Ballet on Lights," in which seven women, on pointe, perform ballet on light bulbs or "Skipping Rope," involving a 10-man pyramid jumping rope. "There are no tableaux, just non-stop energy. The show is very much alive," Galarneau says. * * * * * * CIRQUE RAISES THE BAR By: Chris Jones | Chicago Tribune June 25, 2001 Cirque du Soleil, back in town with a huge new show called "Dralion," knows all about expectations and danger. Despite various appearances to the contrary, these are, after all, circus people. When Chicagoans found a weird tent pitched at North Pier in 1992, few knew what to expect from a bunch of obscure Canadians offering a "Nouvelle Experience." The seats were hard and the tent stuffy, but we still thrilled to the novelty of a revisionist circus that eschewed animals in favor of a signature post-modern blend of dance, performance and circus arts. It was immediately clear that this could revolutionize the American circus. It did. Imitators multiplied. Even the powerhouse Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey had to create a knock-off called "Kaleidoscape," which came through town a year or so ago. It was a poor imitation. Even though it now comes to Chicago only every three years, Cirque has reached the point where it has to please a core audience that has probably by this time seen at least one of the troupe's high-tech permanent installations in either Las Vegas or Orlando. Vegas' stunning "O" is performed in a huge pool of water. And "Mystere" has hydraulic lifts that can make the entire playing area disappear. It's tough to follow that in a tent. Then there are the memories of the previous touring extravaganzas. "Quidam" evoked both Atom Egoyan and Magritte. "Saltimbanco" seduced with bungee chords and unforgettable characters called "Baroques." And even after a decade, who can forget Vladimir? This beautiful flying man had the power to break up marriages and subsequently landed his own show in Vegas. By now, the ever more upscale Cirque has raised its own bar -- not to mention ticket prices -- to such heights that the gravest threat to its franchise is its own successes. More dangerous still, there has also been a changing of the creative guard. Andrew Watson's name is gone. Former artistic director Guy Caron, who was absent for Cirque's big 10 years, returned to direct "Dralion" as part of a new team headed by Gilles Ste-Croix, Cirque's director of creation. Fans need not worry -- there has been no fall-off in show quality or entertainment value. More culturally specific, spectacle-driven and overtly Chinese in influence, Caron's harder-edged "Dralion" lacks the dreamy, surrealiste quality of this company's earlier work. Former composer Rene Dupere has never been equaled. And the harsher and more frenetic pace of "Dralion" reflects, perhaps, the unfortunate trend in live entertainment toward a sampling culture and a fear of aesthetic reflection. There are no hauntingly meta-theatrical images in this show that stamp the mind quite like its predecessors. That's a shame. Having said that, Cirque cannot be faulted for moving with the times or ensuring its appeal to younger audiences (its work is still aimed primarily at adults and teens rather than young children). By necessity, this spectacular show has also grown enormously in technical sophistication and production budget. Borrowing from lessons learned in Vegas, the razor-sharp "Dralion" benefits from a ring with a basement exit, as in "O." And fans of "Mystere" will enjoy the numerous and bizarre mechanical creatures who also strut around "Dralion" in the same spectacular fashion as they do at Treasure Island. The sumptuous visuals of "Dralion" are far and away the most extravagant ever to tour. At least you can see where some of your money has gone. (By the way, avoid the top ticket prices. The seats in the rear are in some ways the better ones). Overall, you are left with the sense that this show was aimed to compete not with the Big Apple Circus but with Madonna. In the accepted sense, at least, Madonna doesn't come with clowns. But the quartet of funnymen in "Dralion" wisely eschew the usual boring abuse of the audience in favor of a slew of accessible, inventive and fabulously funny routines that deftly parody Cirque's own signature conventions. Clowning at the Cirque often has been a weak spot in the past, and these warm guys are this troupe's best ever. But the real highlight of "Dralion" is its feast of Chinese acrobats. In all previous shows, what Cirque likes to call its "house troupe" have played a supporting role and showed up in between the big circus acts to shift sets and stare meaningfully. Technology can now do that. So Ste-Croix and Caron nixed that component and cast a crackerjack troupe of frenetic, friendly and youthful Chinese performers who jump through hoops, create impossible human pyramids and generally dominate the show. We love them more and more because each time they return to the ring they seem to get better and better. Despite its state-of-the-art techno-tent, corporate sponsors, Yuppie ambiance and gourmet hors-d'oeuvres, the Cirque knows it still needs to connect with an audience's inner child. That's what brings in the money. * * * * * * CIRCUS OF THE COSMOS By: Unknown | Globe & Mail December 15, 2001 They've come a long way since their first performance in an 800-person tent in Gaspé, and the Cirque du Soleil's tradition of flamboyant theatricality continues to amaze with a new television special, Dralion. Back when it started in 1984, Cirque's first claim to being different was its performer-driven show that made no use of lions or tigers or elephants. With magical costumes and an innovative approach, Cirque took recognizable big-top acts and made them unrecognizable, revolutionizing circus arts and making it cool again. Sure there are jugglers, acrobats and trapeze artists, but always with a twist. Dralion is no different. The premise of the 90-minute show is the marriage of cultures, with a particular focus on Chinese circus arts, since Cirque directors Guy Laliberte and Guy Caron had long wanted to pay tribute to the culture's expertise. "Dralion is kind of a East-meets-West deal," says Luc Lafortune, part of the creative team behind Cirque and who designed the lighting for Dralion. "There is a very strong Chinese presence, in excess of 40 performers, but we didn't want to put them in Chinese costumes set to Chinese music and do their Chinese performance. So what we did is take them out of their context and gave them costumes that were probably more neutral in that sense and much more evocative on a broader level without being specific to a culture." Even the name of the show is suggestive of a hybrid, says Lafortune, combining the words dragon and lion to create a show that seems mythical, powerful and symbolic. And this hybridization is not only thematic. Fifty-six highly skilled artists from eight countries were retrained to learn special choreography for Dralion resulting in a cosmopolitan fusion of techniques. Put them in luminescent costumes making use of materials as odd as Christmas decorations and horsehair, add a New Age soundtrack, and you have the future of circus. At first, Dralion seems like an allegorical narrative: a young boy appears with an hourglass. He is soon followed by a burst of four characters, each of whom represents one of the four elements, but also stands for four of the major regions on the planet: Africa, India, South-East Asia and Europe. Then the fun begins. Teeterboard artists, brightly clad in green, launch each other into the air, serpentine jugglers use every body part to keep the balls from falling, acrobats madly tumble across the stage and dive through rings, Chinese dragons turn somersaults and a beautiful pas de deux is performed in mid-air. In case this sounds a little too serious, Cirque lightens the tone with its own brand of clowns (after all, it wouldn't be a circus without clowns). But don't expect any flowers squirting water, and there are no little cars in sight. Skeptics might call it a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. And surely if you've seen one, one-hand balancing act, you've seen them all. But Lafortune says the purpose of the show is to defy easy definition. He is reluctant to assign a particular story to Cirque's shows, because he feels it limits the audience's interpretations of and reactions to the performances. "It's like going to an art gallery. When you look at the paintings, some move you and some don't, and the paintings that do move you, you don't necessarily know why. And you don't begin to decipher the meaning and try to understand the reasoning why there is such a character in such a context - it's not a necessary part of the process. "Every act is a different painting and you go from one to the next, you're being transported." Lafortune started with Cirque in 1984 immediately after he graduated from Montreal's Concordia University with a degree in fine arts specializing in theatre arts. Back then Cirque du Soleil was strictly a Canadian concoction, with headquarters in Montreal, mostly Quebecois performers and funding from the Quebec provincial government. "I remember when we first headed out, we rented a minivan and left St. Therese in Montreal, and drove 14 hours straight to Gaspé. That's where we had the world premiere of Cirque du Soleil - in a tent that wasn't ours because we had some problems with ours - it was kind of ad hoc," he says laughing. "When we first headed out, there were 65 of us. Now there's 2,500." At first it took him a while to understand how to design the lighting for the shows since the performers had special and sometimes bizarre- sounding requirements for the acts. "If you're doing a tightrope or hand-balancing act, there are certain things that need consideration and take precedence over the aesthetic of the design,' he says. "When they were doing hand balancing or when they had to do somersaults they told me they needed light on the ceiling. And I couldn't understand why they needed light on the ceiling when they had light on the floor. What I eventually understood, is that they need to see the floor and ceiling because they need more than one record as to where they're at in space. "Probably the biggest challenge any time that you're lighting an acrobat performance in the context of Cirque du Soleil is to balance the theatricality of the lighting design with the lighting that's required by the artist to do what they do." While the televised performance doesn't have the same intensity as seeing Cirque du Soleil in person, the benefit of it is that you get better angles and close-up views of performers as they mentally prepare for that next balancing act. Plus there are some great aerial views of the spectacular performances, particularly the pas de deux, revealing just how detailed the choreography is. You also don't have to wait while the carneys get the equipment for the next act ready (although the commercial-free broadcast makes it harder to break for peanuts and popcorn). True to Cirque tradition, Dralion is one of the most colourful spectacles you will see on television, in no small part due to the dedication of its staff. "I think that most of us do it because of a passion for what we do, and the mandate we give ourselves is that we want the people who see our shows to be moved just as we are," sums up Lafortune. * * * * * * REVIEW: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: DRALION By: Lawrence Christon | Variety March 7, 2002 "Dralion" is among the more robust of Cirque du Soleil's programs, and among the funniest — Guto Vasconcelos, Phillipe Aymard, Colin Gee and Gonzalo Munoz are the clowns who parody some of the acts in addition to inflicting mayhem on each other. Some of it is spectacular, especially in the double trapeze act of Han Yan, Zhu Sha, Zhou Chunmei, Wang Dongguo, Zhang Hongwei and Hao Desheng, whose moves appear designed not just around athletic prowess but mathematical possibilities. And some of it is plain beautiful, as when pas de deux aerialists Igor Arefiev and Colette Morrow rise and descend and swoop gracefully around the ring in one of ballet's most poignant joys — freedom from Earth's gravity. "Dralion" is no different than when it made a 1999 tour stop in Santa Monica. Yet there's still a lot to appreciate in how far the music and design team of Cirque du Soleil, not to mention the more than 55 performers, has blended a succession of acrobatic novelty acts into an art form that expands the possibilities of dance, theater and the circus. One of the most consistent pleasures here is not just the unfolding sight of the human body in graceful fusion of strength and physical perfection, but the body set to music. As impressive as any of the sounds and spectacular light designs, it's the human form and its amazing power of expression that gives "Dralion" and the Cirque du Soleil's other programs their primary appeal. Many of the acrobats' acts are so old that Marco Polo's Silk Road must have been littered with the broken bones of teeter-board aerialists who missed, or aging hoop divers who had fallen and couldn't get up. The format isn't exactly fresh, either. As described in the promo kit, the theme of "Harmony Among the Elements," consisting of Air (Colette Morrow), Earth (Henriette Gbou) Water (Amrapali Ambegaokar) and Fire (Benjamin Pring) suggests the kind of vaporous uplift that makes you want to stay after school to petition for world peace. Music and costumes evoke Third World cultures; harem pants, the American Indian Trickster dance, those hoopsters done up in Australian aboriginal body paint, Japanese drums and modern funkadelic supply diversity without bombast. Cirque du Soleil is so unlike any other circus group that its only competition has been with itself. Much of "Dralion" has been seen elsewhere, tricked up in different ambient settings. You have to wonder what it would be like if this brilliant creative team set its mind to a phantasmal narrative classic, like Dante's "Inferno," Homer's "The Odyssey" or "Orpheus and Eurydice." The Cirque du Soleil revolutionized the circus. If the members put their minds to it, they could probably revolutionize theater, too. * * * * * * IN THE EYE OF DRALION By: Misha Berson | Seattle Times July 26, 2002 After testing the waters with a hit local run of "Saltimbanco" two years ago, Canada's Cirque du Soleil troupe is returning to the Seattle area soon with another nouvelle circus extravaganza. Opening Thursday, in a blue-and-yellow big-top tent pitched on the same spot next to the Renton Boeing Plant where "Saltimbanco" played, is the long-touring Cirque du Soleil show "Dralion." The title refers to the "half dragon, half lion" dancing spirits who appear in the production. Dragons? Lions? This spectacle is unique among Cirque du Soleil efforts, in the way it draws inspiration (and the majority of its 55 performers) from the esteemed circus culture of China. Many of the super-agile acrobats, bamboo-pole climbers, hand balancers, hoop divers, rope skippers and foot jugglers in the ensemble hail from China's Red Flag Circus Troupe. Director Guy Caron, and others in the "Dralion" artistic team, traveled to China to recruit them, and to immerse themselves in venerable Chinese circus traditions. But "Dralion" artistic director Sylvie Galarneau, who is responsible for keeping the 1999 show fresh as it continues to tour, emphasizes that this is first and foremost a typically pan-cultural Cirque du Soleil event. "We have clowns from Chile, America, Brazil and France in the ensemble, a juggler from the Ukraine and a pas de deux team from England and Russia. Most of our musicians are American and Canadian. We're like a little U.N. on tour." Her description is backed up by the condensed cable-TV version of "Dralion," which earned three Emmy Awards and is available on DVD and VHS. Onscreen, the show promises to be an eye-popping Cirque du Soleil fantasia, pulling from many cultural sources to evoke an imaginary universe where supple, colorfully adorned creatures perform amazing physical feats to ethno-fusion music. "The result of our trips to China was a meeting, a hybrid, of Soleil's signature style and some major Chinese content," Galarneau explains. "But it is not strictly a Chinese show." Like the six other active productions currently in the prosperous Montreal-based troupe's empire, "Dralion" is gauzily wrapped in a cosmic theme. "The main images here are of the four major elements — earth, air, fire, water," says Galarneau. "And we've added a fifth, a Chinese element we call 'strength of soul.' Our director wanted to show all these little unending circles of life, which all need to join together in balance to survive." The world-class skills of the performers, hypnotic world-jam score (with lyrics in a made-up language) and seductive marketing ploys have been intrinsic to all Cirque du Soleil exports, since the company became a major entertainment draw in the late 1980s. (Soleil's four touring productions, and three resident shows in Las Vegas and Orlando, sold 7 million tickets last year.) But the dazzling visual- design work is also critical to the troupe's success. French Canadian costume designer François Barbeau drew on his extensive experience in theater, film and ballet to create the vibrant dream-wear for "Dralion." "Basically, the costumes are simple, and the accent is very much on color," says Barbeau, who won an Emmy for his "Dralion" designs. "The colors are very, very powerful — there are no pastels. When we deal with the element of water it is all green, because looking down at China from the airplane I saw many green lakes below, like pieces of jade. "Fire is red, of course. The earth is represented with browns and ochre and reddish browns, and the air is blue. It's very basic, but quite sophisticated." One challenge for Barbeau was making the shimmering, "sculptural" costumes durable enough to hold up well on tour: "The fabric is dyed in spectacular ways, but each piece is designed to last," he states. He adds that typically a performer will wear five different costumes in the show, and must make presto offstage changes so the visual spell is never broken for audiences. "Dralion" comes to Seattle after an extended Portland run. Due to advance ticket demand, the Renton engagement has already been extended a week, through Sept. 8. * * * * * * THE MARVEL OF CIRQUE DU SOLEIL By: David Yonke | The Toledo Blade July 20, 2003 To find the limits of what the human body can achieve, take one part dragon, one part lion, and the four elements of fire, water, air, and earth. Add a traveling troupe of 55 athletes, acrobats, and artists from around the world and you've got "Dralion," the latest entertainment spectacle from Cirque du Soleil. The Montreal-based Cirque, which will bring its newest production to Columbus for a three-week engagement beginning Thursday, has become a show-business marvel by combining displays of strength and agility with elaborate choreography, colorful costumes, high-tech staging and lighting, and a contemporary musical backdrop. Since it was founded in 1984 by Guy Laliberte, who started by organizing a show featuring jugglers, stilt walkers, and other Montreal street performers, Cirque du Soleil has traveled to 90 cities and entertained more than 37 million spectators. Kati Renaud, artistic director of "Dralion" (pronounced "drah-lee- OWN"), said in an interview last week that she is still amazed by the athleticism displayed in such acts as the double trapeze, single-hand balancing, the teeterboard, hoop diving, and juggling. "I've been with the show two years and sometimes I look at it and think, `That's incredible!' But that's what good training is all about. A lot of the artists have been doing this since they were children." At the center of "Dralion" is a troupe of 39 Chinese acrobats, who travel with five coaches and three interpreters. The show also features performers from nine other nations - Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Ivory Coast, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United States. A large part of Renaud's job is to rehearse the choreography and to keep the acts "tight," she said, and directing artists from 10 different nations presents a number of challenges. "Most of the non-Chinese seem to speak English," she said. "But for the Chinese, we always have one interpreter stuck to us when we're training. Everybody knows a little bit of Chinese and we always have a Chinese-English dictionary." Renaud, a native of Montreal, was a dancer with another Cirque du Soleil show, "Mystere," for four years before becoming artistic director. Having been a performer herself makes it easier for her to direct "Dralion" artists. "I'll speak to them more on a one-on-one basis, rather than a boss to employee," she said. "And I can do that because I've been where they're at. It's good for them and it's also good for me. Sometimes I really do feel like a mom." "Dralion," which debuted in Monreal in April, 1999, is the 15th Cirque du Soleil show and the eighth that is currently being performed. Five of the productions are on tour in North America, Europe, and Japan, while three are permanently based - "O" at the Bellagio and "Mystere" at Treasure Island in Las Vegas, and "La Nouba" at Walt Disney World's Pleasure Island. There is no specific story behind "Dralion," Renaud said, but the fast-paced show offers a fantasy theme based on the four elements, each associated with its own "family" of artists in corresponding colors. Blue represents air, green symbolizes water, red is for fire, and ochre represents the Earth. The costumes, designed by Francois Barbeau, are fitted for each artist and made from combinations of natural and synthetic fibers including lycra, silk, leather, and cotton, accented with everything from emu feathers to Styrofoam. The makeup for each performer requires between 20 minutes and an hour to apply for each show, Renaud said. The person who plays the Fire Element has the most extravagant makeup, which initially took two hours to apply. With practice, the daily task has been reduced to about an hour. "Dralion," presented inside an enormous blue-and-yellow circus tent, has a set that includes three large metallic rings hanging 42 feet above a shock-absorbing floor made of Taraflex. A metallic wall, covered with perforated, semi-transparent aluminum, serves as both an orchestra pit and a stage wing. Cirque du Soleil is constantly scouring the planet for more performers, sending talent scouts around the world to search for top athletes who also possess an intangible ability to "express their inner creativity," Renaud said. One of the major attractions for the artists who join Cirque du Soleil is that the choreographers and designers don't just dictate the roles, but during the development stages work closely with performers to make the best use of their individual talents. By contrast, Renaud said, she was trained in ballet, which leaves little room for the artist's interpretations. "In ballet, the choreographer comes and shows you the steps. You learn the steps and then you execute them. But Cirque is different," she said. "The artist has as much input as the creative team can accept or absorb. It's really 50-50, in terms of choreography. Cirque uses the artist's positive traits to make the show more beautiful and well- executed." A production as physically demanding as Cirque eventually results in injuries - "we call them little boo-boos," the motherly Renaud said - but to keep the cast's ailments to a minimum, "Dralion" travels with three physiotherapists. "One works with the artists on training during the afternoons," Renaud said. "Another works on body conditioning to keep the artists strong and, if injured, to bring them back to health. And one is there at night during the shows, of course." "Dralion" also has its own traveling kitchen in order to meet the dietary demands of its diverse cast and crew. The menu always includes rice, fish, and vegetables, she said. "There are the occasional French fries, but most of the time, being health-conscious is a priority." # # # That's all for in this issue, but there's still a little bit more! o) Issue #173, JUN 2018 - Varekai, Part 1 (2002) o) Issue #174, JUL 2018 - Varekai, Part 2 (2003-2004) o) Issue #175, AUG 2018 - Varekai, Part 3 (2005) ======================================================================= COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER ======================================================================= Fascination! Newsletter Volume 18, Number 5 (Issue #172) - May 2018 "Fascination! Newsletter" is a concept by Ricky Russo. Copyright (C) 2001-2018 Ricky Russo, published by Vortex/RGR Productions, a subsidiary of Communicore Enterprises. No portion of this newsletter can be reproduced, published in any form or forum, quoted or translated without the consent of the "Fascination! Newsletter." By sending us correspondence, you give us permission (unless otherwise noted) to use the submission as we see fit, without remuneration. All submissions become the property of the "Fascination! Newsletter." "Fascination! Newsletter" is not affiliated in any way with Cirque du Soleil. Cirque du Soleil and all its creations are Copyright (C) and are registered trademarks (TM) of Cirque du Soleil, Inc., All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement intended. { May.09.2018 } =======================================================================