Big Top Baroque
There are no prancing poodles, no elephants lumbering in a slow waltz and no smiling lady taking her chances with a lion who looks like he’d love to have her for dinner. Yet in spite – or perhaps because – of being quite unlike any other circus, Cirque du Soleil has come to be recognised as one of the world’s greatest theatrical spectacles.
This is what its founders had in mind from the start, informs ringmaster James Clowney. “Right from the beginning, they wanted to create an experience with a far greater accent on the theatrical; on the movement, the lighting and the production,” he explains. “The result is a show that envelops you completely. It’s just like watching an opera; you become completely involved in the story.”
Small wonder, then, that the company has grown in such scope and scale. The figures alone are as dazzling as the acts for which Cirque du Soleil has become known: When it was first established in 1984, it had just 73 employees. Today, that number has grown to a whopping 5,000, a quarter of whom are the artists who make a myth of gravity. They have bedazzled and beguiled more than 100 million spectators around the world, and last year alone wowed audiences with 20 different shows across the globe.
What is it that holds spectators in the grips of fascination? “Our shows are an entirely three dimensional experience,” Clowney answers. A sensory seduction of epic proportions, the Cirque du Soleil stage becomes a wonderland of dancers, acrobatics and performers, with jaw-dropping action taking place wherever you look. This is not entertainment for people who cringe at the thought of multi-tasking, since with multiple acts performed all at once, it’s difficult to settle your eyes on one spot. And when you combine such visual richness with molten-bodied artists, light shows that would turn Guy Fawkes an envious green and fantastical costumes, the result is pure dynamite.
Sourcing these acts is a job in itself, Clowney admits. The show’s talent scouts are constantly on the lookout, finding new artists among street performers, cheerleaders and even Olympic gymnasts.
Performers will spend around five hours each day preparing for their acts, taking just two days off a week from their gruelling schedule. “We average a different venue each week, starting on Wednesday and moving on by Sunday,” Clowney says.
Needless to say, each move is a logistical feat. “Our staff work with the precision of Swiss watches,” Clowney quips. There is seriousness in his words, however. While it takes 12 hours to prepare the stage for the fantasy that will unfold during the week’s performance, like Cinderella being unceremoniously booted from her carriage, the entire structure is dismantled in just two hours.
Does all this moving around unsettle Clowney and his crew? Not really, he answers, and any homesickness is mitigated by the thrill of the new, the pleasure of encountering foreign cultures and the privilege of sharing their art with a new audience.
No matter how different the cultures that view their performances, they all share one thing in common: Whether they are on their feet within minutes of the curtain’s rise, or maintain a respectful hush until the end of each artist’s performance, they are awe-struck by the show. “We take into account their reactions – putting on a bigger show if we feel that’s needed, for instance – so every performance is different.”
That may indeed be so, but the shows themselves are carefully choreographed with minute attention to detail, to ensure that wherever you are in the world, your Cirque du Soleil experience will be the visual equivalent of an exclamation mark and as explosive as walking into someone’s imagination. Take Saltimbanco, the show which South Africans will be treated to when the company visits the country in March. Cirque du Soleil’s longest running show, the spectacle was first staged in 1992. What makes this salute to urban life so special is the astonishing way this theme is interpreted by the acrobats, dancers and even clowns who take audience members on a dream journey into a baroque fantasy world. “I will be surprised if you’re left without your mouth gaping open,” Clowney promises.
While we are being thrilled and delighted, the Cirque du Soleil crew back at Montreal headquarters (including a team of acrobatic directors and choreographers) are adding the finishing touches to the three shows that will be launched in 2012. “It can take longer than three years to create a show with the company’s signature zest,” Clowney explains.
You can be sure that the outcome won’t be the standard “roll up, roll up” fare. But who wants standard when you can have magic?
Catch Cirque du Soleil in Johannesburg at the Coca Cola Dome from 9th to 19th March 2011, and in Cape Town at the Grand West Casino from 23rd to 27th March 2011. Tickets are available through Computicket.
Story by Lisa Witepski
