Forums > Social Chat > Cirque du Soliel

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
Cirque du Soleil ROCKS !!!!!!!!!!!!if you do a search you'll find a few other threads mentioning it. Go and see them if you can or rent a ideo, they are really quite impressive !!!!shine oncassandra

"I want brown bread... no, that is diesel oil..."
"So I was raised in Europe, where History comes from ..."
"NON !!! La Plume de mon oncle n est pas Bingibangibungi !!!"

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
You should check out their website. It has tons of info and also lists casting calls. Good luck to you!

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
YES! YES! YES! MOST DEFINATELY!!!!They are just the mutts nuts as we say here in England!!Went to see them with Alegria and was absolutely amazed and on saturday we are going to see them doing Quidam for our anniversary WOOHOO!! I SOOO CANT WAIT!!!Check out their site to find out where they are!!https://www.cirquedusoleil.comWOOHOO Just DO IT!!!!

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
I saw Allegria too! It was sooo breathtaking - Straight after watching it I decided to be an acrobat. Luckily I got over that idea( I don't thing that my body could handle any more exercise after all these parties anyway) You definitely have to see it( Quidam is in Battersea Power Station in London now). ENJOY!

Sol

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
By far the best "buy a ticket, go and see it" thing I've ever seen.Absolutely positively amazing.I even saw a documentary on them, it's even an amazing corporation...I've seen them three times, missed em when I was in Vegas two years ago and I'm still kicking myself...

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
There are alot of threads on them actually, and some were fairly recent.In fact, if you care to check out the Cirque on the cable station Bravo they are featuring Cirque Du Soliel all week at 8pm and again at midnight. Last night was Alegria, which has a fire staff dancer,Karl Sanft, though in the credits they list them as fire knives. (He had very unusual wicks and I believed used a form of white gas). He is incredible. Tonite is Dralion, Tomorrow is Saltimbanco along with the documentary NYC was mentioning and Thursday is Quidam. I have seen all of these as well as Mystere and La Nouba multiple times and am always held riveted. I enjoy the theatrics, the costumes, especially the music. They are all amazing, though fire is not that big a part of them at all in the scope of all their shows. The only one I have not yet seen is the water show "O" located in Las Vegas.Amazing stuff, rigorous lifestyle.And to let you know, the Cirque Du Soliel Corporation was started by a bunch of street performing buskers, including a few fire eaters/breathers, who wanted a more artisitc arena to present their skills. There is hope for us yet!------------------Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...https://www.pyromorph.com

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
*waits for Josh and/or Katinca to waltz into this thread and divulge the details of their recent twirl with fame*

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Posted: 20th Nov 2001
josh, katinca, i want to hear a story about a twirl with fame. sounds interesting. hope it was lots of fun

anyone got a light?

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
slack fucker didnt turn up.ok full story.Circ Alegria comes to town. We decided to go for an audition after hearing that they were interested in fire twirlers from another fire twirler. So we went round there and got a number to call. We call it and they say that to audition you need to go to Montreal. fair enough.A couple of days later, We decided to call the circ, and see if we could get in contact with the fire twirlers in there (there are two on the Alegria tour, they twirl staff, double staff and/or fire knives (oddly weighted staves with a big end and a little end). We are told that they are contractually bound not to fire twirl outside of the Circ, but we could still leave a message. We leave a message saying something like;The Adelaide Fire club would like hear about your experiences as professional circus performers making a living from twirling...no twirling required!no one calls...oh well.So then Kate and I are sitting on the grass outside my work and we see a guy walking across twirling a very short stave in a quite skilled manner...upon closer inspection, he's also wearing a circ T-shirt. We start chatting to him. It turns out that this dude is a stage hand with the Circ, and had been trained by the Fire twirlers while on tour. From what we saw, he had a very different style to us (more devil stick twirling style than dancing), and was very good. We told him about our fire meet, and he sounded very enthused to come, and said that he'd bring the fire twirlers etc etc...of course he didnt turn up...He described life in the circ as a non-stop party.So now the circ has left town, and we didnt end up seeing it. of the 4 fire twirlers that I know who have seen it, one was impressed by the speed, one was impressed by the polished act, and two thought that the twirling they saw in the show was a bit limited and a bit gimmicky (but very fast and polished).My opinion after all this;Join Circ, see the world...but dont do it to meet fellow twirlers in your travels...Josh

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
that is shite... i would hate to have a contract saying that i couldnt twirl outside of my job. that takes most of the fun out of it. metting new people...

anyone got a light?

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
To even get an audition from Cirque is a major accomplishment. Most the auditions are housed in Montreal, but there are a few roaming private auditions which go from city to city. We had one hear in Berkeley near the Circus school I will be attending in January/Feb. You can send portfolios to them, and if your lucky and your excellent at what you do, you might hear back. Even with that it mind, they have quite a load of portfolios coming in as it is.. It takes just a hell of a lot more then catching up with them to join. If only running away with the circus was as easy as it seemed.

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
Komis,From Josh and mines experience of dealing with them, I would not like to work with them.For one thing I would hate to travel the world and only be able to twirl at the circus and only for one set that I had worked on for so long and polished. This means no improvisation, no fun, no enjoyment, just work. But hey if that’s your things go for it. I think that the fire-twirlers in the Circ were pretty slack for not getting back in touch with us, especially when the guy we spoke to seemed so keen. From the friends that I know who saw the circ, they don't dance they just twirl fast. Where's the beauty in that?Josh and I should have really just gone down to the tent one night after the circus had finished, and lit up for a couple of sets. Then we could show them what fire-DANCING is all about.Fire-dancing: Is about the way you dance and move your body, not how fast you can spin a stick.I personally am very disappointed and I hope the next time the circus comes to town they might be better company.------------------ ~*~ Katinca ~*~

Love and Light

~*~ Katinca ~*~

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
yeah you tell em. its all in the DANCE!!

anyone got a light?

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
From what I can tell you talked to a stage hand? Not an actual performer..I too have seen Cirque du Soleil, and there fire acts are usually just over polished moves. At the same time, the fire acts aren't what makes the circus. They are actually a very small part in most the shows, whether it is considered dancing or not.Cirque du Soleil, especially the traveling shows aren't a part time job. Inbetween the times you are on the road & shows, you practice, practice, practice, and practice some more. I can't imagine them having the time to handle inquiries, or anyone have much time to venture out the big top.

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
I guess for me, this has again outlined the difference between those that firedance, and those that think its just another circus skill.I overheard a juggler at juggling club the other night say something interesting after watching a somewhat competent fire dancing set by an acquaintance (this is all paraphrased, I was only partially paying attention);Female Onlooker to Juggler:"So can you do what she's doing?""yep - I can do all those moves""oh cool""Hey can you teach me to firedance?""Fire *dance*? ...ummm....I just like doing the tricks..""oh ok..."And this is exactly what Im talking about...some people seem to only be interested in building a big library of moves and just pulling them in succession ala yo-yo style. for other ppl the moves are inconsequential, for them its just dancing with fire...I'm not making value judgements, but I prefer to watch the dancers.Josh

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
Hey Komis,You seem to know a lot about this topic, so just who are you then anyway?Are you telling us everything here? Or are we going to have to beat it out of you?> ------------------ ~*~ Katinca ~*~

Love and Light

~*~ Katinca ~*~

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
I agree with what you're saying about the contract etc Katinca (and Josh) but I'd compare their not contacting you to being in a famous band. I'd doubt that Slash (just someone I figure everyone'd know ) would just show up to jam with some dude cause he says he plays guitar and has friends who'd like to play with him too. There just be too much mediocrity and he wouldn't enjoy his time.I'm not saying these twirlers 'should' behave this way but they do travel the world and I'm sure (as twirling is pretty far spread these days) that they would get a lot of plucky people walking right up and asking them to come along to their groups twirl nights 'just for fun'. They'd probably have experiences where they'd meet some people who'd big noted themselves and instead are just a bunch of beginners. Again, wouldn't bother me but I'm sure that these dudes (or dudettes as the case may be) practise so much that a lot of the simple pleasure would be gone. The Fireflies in Sydney have intimated the same kind of thing about working so much, they tend to forget what it's like to just freeform and have fun. They are always working on something for a performance.If the twirlers in the Cirque have to work anything like the acrobats then I guess I can understand (but definately not support) the snobbery and lack of enthusiasm for going out to twirl again(?).Just thought I'd present this point of view as you both sounded a little miffed

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
Komis,I guess I am passionate about this because for me, if I was touring in a circus doing what I love doing and getting paid for it and traveling, I would want to find other fire twirlers around the world, meet them and talk to them, learn new moves, and hang out. Hey man, I spend my whole life getting and working in shitty jobs just so I can travel around the world out of my own pocket and meeting fire twirlers. I strive to be excellent at it, not be cause it’s my job or my routine but because it’s my passion and my personal fire in my heart. And I guess I would have thought that people who were employed by the circus would have this same passion. I was wrong, so that’s really why I am disappointed with the circus and the performers.I understand that the circus is not just about fire twirling; it’s about a circus performance as a whole. But for me, I was and still am only interested in the fire twirling side and the people behind it. ------------------ ~*~ Katinca ~*~

Love and Light

~*~ Katinca ~*~

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
I guess that's a really good point BEZERKER. But I think thats a pretty sad thing, when your hobby and passion becomes your job and you forget what it's like to really enjoy it anymore. It's just another day job then. Jeez now that's depressing.------------------ ~*~ Katinca ~*~

Love and Light

~*~ Katinca ~*~

Posted: 20th Nov 2001
It is sad Katinca.I think, though, that you or I would end up the same. Remember that there can be no mistakes, especially when some are paying over a hundered bucks a ticket! You'd have to practise EVERY day for hours (I would anyway to get it perfect) and in the end the passion would die a little. I love the way you and Josh approach your twirling and travelling but it'd be hard if that was your job and the pressure of keeping it resided in your 'perfection' of a routine.Anyway, horses for courses. It's not what I'd like to be doing for a living but it sure is cool shit to watch huh?

Posted: 21st Nov 2001
Katinca,Who am I? No one special. One of the few things I am well versed in is Circus arts, and such. I have to agree with everything Berzerker mentioned above, I couldn't have said it better. The Circus is a job. There isn't too many people out there that like to bring there work life outside of work. Whatever it maybe. I'm sure they have other hobbies and interests. Especially with dealing with Cirque, they're mad perfectionists. Its'nearly slavery. Sure they devour there free time from it all when they can.There are however other Circuses that catered to chaos and passion. Not as well set as Cirque, or constant.Bantu Mystic Family Circus for example, beautiful people.https://www.mysticfamilycircus.com

Posted: 21st Nov 2001
Overall I enjoyed the show - but speaking of dancing and fire, I thought of a few points.1) Where were the dancing bears, with the rings in the nose?2) No tigers thru rings of fire?3) No heffalumps squeezed into 3x3x3m cages?Sheesh what is this (just kidding bout the animals - don't lynch me!!)

Courage is the man who can stop after only one peanut

Posted: 21st Nov 2001
Okay...Perspective....You are hired to perform for Cirque, however, you are told....wear this, which is partially flamable, you are told to perform on this stage...don't toss too high or the overhead rigging goes kapluey, don't lose yourself in the dance because it would be extremely easy to lose your toy or yourself over the edge of the stage, no good since we shell out millions of bucks in insurance. Now, because of the venue and us wanting to bring people as close to us as possible you need to have a routine, polished, pretty and fully controlled. Fine, during rehearsals try new things, but you won't perform them until you can pull them off for a year straight without messing up once. And what is a year when you have a five year travelling contract with no days off, no sick days and no holidays because you need to perform....13 shows in 5 days? Wait, don't forget that you need to practice at least 8 hours a day. Tourism and public relations is to be kept to a minimum because we can't have you trading your moves that our show owns, now can we? We can't have you giving away our secrets. However, don't forget we cloth you, house you, feed you, cover all your medical expenses, all of your travel expenses and your insurance needs in that 5 years....and give you a pretty nice salary to do something you love for millions of people. What do you say?So, you sell your soul for 5 years, for an all expenses paid whirlwind. I'd think about it.Now, as to your putting them down. I know it was out of anger but I have also seen what the requirements are to get in and I would bet money on that in a freestyle competition these people could blow us all away. They had to be amazing to get in and they had to be toned down in order to present that polished and speedy 5 minute bit on stage.They get to do what they love as a job. Speaking from experience, it doesn't change the love for it but it does change the way the a person approached fire dancing and other fire dancers. This isn't good nor bad, but a matter of circumstance. A fire dancer walks up to me at faire and says "Hey I can do that too." That's really great but I am performing right then, and later I have to break down, clean up and reset, and then I like to fit in more practice. Yes I would love to meet with the person, talk a share, twirl a bit and learn stuff but fitting it in is hard in a normal schedule and why would I twirl someplace for free when I want people to pay to come to the faire? It isn't pretention, it is business. That is something that needs to be understood. Yes, you do this primarily for love and hobby, that is how the pro's started, but instead they do it for love and money, sometimes sacrifices and comprimises need to be made.*sigh* So what someone tells me where I can or can not spin, or dictates my costume. I can handle that because I get paid to do exactly what I love. How many people can really say that? ------------------Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...https://www.pyromorph.com

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 22nd Nov 2001
Kat, Komis is a friend of mine and you should ignore her saying that she is no one special. If I like her she must be someone special ( ) because, as you know, I hate almost everyone.------------------C@ntusDance beneath the stars, we sound system, we the collective, with a open heart, we the solution - should be respected!

Meh

Posted: 21st Nov 2001
Sheesh! This thread has covered almost everything except firesafety...And a little note to those who say dancing and/or fluidity is the main reason for fire...If that's the way you approach it, that's fine.But for an audience, for people who don't know the intricacies of what ou are doing, you need to "dumb it down" a little to entertain them.The Circ people are there to entertain and impress as many people as they can in the audience, not to cater to tiny minority groups like fire-twirlers and circus art people.Anyone who doesn't have this mindset is likely to have a boring show as far as the crwod is concerned, and circ wouldn't have the reputation they do if they did that.Save the other stuff for Renegades, or parctice or social events, but don't forget, you aren't been hired to gracefully waltz around a stage, you ar ebeing hired to ENTERTAIN your clients public. If you can do that with a watermelon and a whoopi cushoin, they'll ask you back. If you do a graceful beautiful show that only dancers and other firies can watch without getting bored, you won't get any more work nexdt time.We're all lumped into the "entertainers" pidgeon hole, and that is what we get paid for...------------------Charles (INFERNO)newdolbel@hotmail.comhttps://juggling.co.nz

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Posted: 21st Nov 2001
Good point Charles. I was chatting to a mate during the week, showing him a combo I'd come up with and asking him what he thought it would look like lit. He didn't think an audience would appreciate the hand movements and the complexity of the combo, and suggested that in order for an audience to appreciate the technical difficulty of some moves, we should really do a performance/set with some non fire heads so the audience focuses on the hand movements.Kind of like fireworks really - you don't appreciate the hard work that goes into producing a spectacular, and get bored half way through 'cause it's only fireworks over and over...

Posted: 21st Nov 2001
::applauding Charles::Well spake, my friend! Kudos!It all goes back to fire in circles, ladies and gentlemen, it's just fire in circles. In the scope of Cirque, I think it was amazing.And while you are looking at it from a meet others and teach me perspective, believe it or not, there are many out there who do not want the same...for it might just put them out of business.And in the end this *is* mainly concidered a circus art, not a dancing skill, to most people outside the fiery circle. You can not fault anyone for making a living promoting it as such then.

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 21st Nov 2001
I disagree Pele. Perhaps in your locality, and maybe 10 years ago it was mainly practiced as a circus art (among non-polynesians), but the VAST majority of people I know in person who twirl staves and poi are *dancing*.Perhaps its an Australian thing.Traditionally Poi was not a circus skill, neither was club twirling (indian clubs that is - strengthening exercise).Staff has been used in martial arts for reasons other than entertainment for a lot longer than its been used by polynesians for performance (and I wouldnt call a polynesian fire twirling performance a circus, although I might call it a dance).Again; I think this is due to the different paradigms people come to twirling with. For some, its just juggling with another implement, or even, at its most basest level, its just another method to get some people to go ooooh and ah. For others its about personal expression, and is a highly spiritual and meditational practice, even therapeutic.Perhaps I'm on the wrong board. but to reduce fire twirling to a 'circus art' after hearing how the 'art' has to be taken out of the 'circus art' so the uneducated audience can appreciate it grates a little on my paradigm Josh

Posted: 21st Nov 2001
Let me just point out a few things about this circ situation that Josh and I are little saddened at. We live in a small crap town. There is nothing to do here. All the clubs play fucked music and are over run with 17 year olds! No wait 16 year olds. You have the choice of about 3 or 4 clubs to go to on the weekend. All playing the same lame crap with pissed fucking wankers everywhere. Ok got the picture? Of course this is all my opinion some people may really like the atmosphere of our little town, but I don’t.Josh and I every Friday night put on a Fire meet just at the end of the “main hangout street” in Adelaide, this includes live drums jams, fire twirling, candles, blankets and even tea, Chai hopefully this week. We have had an overwhelming response from people for doing it too and are continuously getting more people coming along. Its great the atmosphere is a warm and pleasant one.Now, when Josh and I met the stage hand, he made it very clear that the people from the Circus were hard workers BUT Party Animals, as in after the circus has finished lets hit the town. The circus had been here for 3 weeks already, I would assume that all of the people in the Circus would have by now been to all our fucked clubs and probably screwed enough teenage girls so the number equals the girls age. I would think that if they were party animals they would have joined our little gathering, since it’s about the only thing different that goes on in Adelaide. But obviously they are not interested in that side of the fire-twirling culture. Which in my opinion is really sad. And I guess I find that a little annoying. But hey everyone views this “art” differently right?------------------ ~*~ Katinca ~*~

Love and Light

~*~ Katinca ~*~

Posted: 21st Nov 2001
Josh, I did not say historically, I said it is primarily concidered a circus art, referring to now. If you can count the mainly professional and very succesful fire performers,the venues they perform in are primirily circus or skill showcase areas. When was the last time you saw fire introduced to classical ballet, tap, hip-hop, hard shoe, break or formal dancing?The art of twirling is very different from the art of dance. Blending the two together is an amazing thing but it is a blend, not a singular entity. Much like multi-medium arts and performance art pieces which blend two seperate things to form a piece of art. And I have seen the polynesian "dancers" with and with out fire. I think the ones without fire did far more dance than the ones with, which were more combative in style.And if we really want to get into the historical effect, fire has been a strong implement in the traditional chinese circus for thousands of years. The circus has metomorphed into what we now know, where it was once only held for the royals, but it was there and very present, used in meteor's and staged mytho's re-enactments.Charles never said to sacrifice art for the audience. I believe he meant that you don't need to pirohuette across the stage doing behind the back five beats to be artful. Speed takes a honned skill all it's own and can be amazing to watch. Karl Sanft of Alegria is originally a Polynesian Dancer. He gets it moving so fast it seems to hover in the air before him. That is art, my friend, and pure unadulterated skill. He flows, he moves and he does it all with sheer joy on his face. So what if he does six moves fast? Watch the audience faces and they love it, they crave more, and he gives them what they want.The term "Art" is thrown around loosely and pretentiously way too much, and just because you do not perceive something to be art does not mean it isn't. And most of what we value as fire artists happens to be the melding of two, or more, arts together.....fire and dance, fire and painting, fire and sculpting.....each can be done seperately and be amazing, when blended it takes it to a whole new level. Neither "art" should be frowned upon without the other, imho.It is my understanding that you did not see the show for yourself, but if you did you would see they have amazing fire artists with phenominal presnetation and that is what true performing is all about, presentation, and CDS has that down pat!------------------Pele Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...https://www.pyromorph.com

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK