Recently, we were both given the journalistic opportunity to see Cirque du Soleil and interview some of the performers. We also got a sneak peek backstage, and reviewed the show. We were shown costumes, acrobatics, and specifics of the creation of the show. It was an exciting and engaging experience for us.
We met two cast members before the show. There was Jesse Harris. Who was originally born in Flagstaff, Arizona. When he was 17, he moved to Montreal to go to the International Circus School there. He is a multidisciplinary artist. His primary talent, which he does here on this show, OVO, is called the Chinese Pole.
There was also Dani Maloney who is originally from Corrie, Pennsylvania. She went to Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia to get her BFA in dance and choreography. From there, she toured as a dancer and as a circus artist for pretty much her whole life. She is the Red Spider, and for the show does dance and acrobatic choreography on a rock wall. She is a roaming character and moving dancer for the rest of the show. We were also accompanied by Jenny Mallet, who is from Canada. She is the senior publicist on tour.
Both were asked what inspired them to be circus performers, here were their answers:
“So I started off as a dancer. I started dancing when I was three. My older sister did it, so like every younger sister. If your older sister does it, you try it.” stated Maloney. She recalled her first time seeing Cirque De Solei, at her aerobics studio when she was a kid “They used to play Cirque du Soleil on little tapes while we had lunch breaks… I didn’t have much exposure and it was like Cirque du Soleil was like the first thing I saw. a real job for a performer, so instantly, ever since I was rolling around on tumbling mats as a kid, I was like, I’m gonna do that one day.” She also remembered telling her parents the following: “I want to be a lizard in the circus when I grow up”. Maloney started performing in Cirque de Solei this October.
“When I was younger, my mom would take me to see a Cirque du Soleil show every year for my birthday,” stated Harris. “And so for me growing up, it was always something I enjoyed. I started doing competitive gymnastics when I was about 14.” When Harris got into École Nationale de Cirque, the international circus school in Montreal for a summer camp, he realized that being a performer was something someone could do as a job. “I fell in love and haven’t looked back.”
Harris shared, “We’re really lucky to do this as a job. I’m very aware of how privileged we are to get to do something that’s so enjoyable and that we all genuinely really love to do.” Harris said “And of course, there are challenges that come with the job. Like last week, we did 10 shows within six days. That’s a lot of physical activity in a very short period of time.”
When asked about travel and missing home, Harris stated, “I don’t really have an issue leaving my home for several months at a time, because I know that I’ll be back there eventually, and I know in the meantime I get to go to new places and see cool things and meet new people. But definitely, for some artists, it is difficult to travel.”
“Some people travel with pillows and travel with whatever you can find. Or your favorite snack. Or your coffee. Set up. Everybody kind of finds something that makes it comfortable for them.” Maloney added.
The performers were also asked what they like to do in their downtime of traveling and performing around the world. “Yesterday I took a bus to Boston and went and visited what’s called the Wonder Museum…Sometimes we get to see and do a lot. Sometimes we don’t get to see or do so much. But overall…It’s kind of up to you,” Harris stated.
Maloney had a different activity she enjoyed. “I really prioritize my self-care, making sure that I take time to stretch, cool down, warm up, all of that fun stuff. And then if you only have one day off a week, sometimes it’s really beneficial just to take the day to decompress. But we had about two days off here, which was great. Got to explore, go to the gym, walk around. So it’s cool. You get a little taste of every single place that you’re in. And I think, again, it’s artist preference and also what the workload is, how much you’re able to take on.”
Overall, the show was excellent. The colors were vibrant, the costumes were colorful and fun and the performances were mesmerizing. The show had the theme of bugs, with all the sets being things like anthills, flowers, and giant blades of grass. All the costumes the performers wore were all things such as ants, grasshoppers, and spiders. It seemed as though you were shrunken down to see the bugs that live between blades of grass.
A vague story happened between the acrobatic performances. A newcomer to the colony brings an egg dubbed “Ovo”, and he wants to ask out the ladybug from the colony but keeps getting too scared.
I do like the vagueness, and it kind of makes it so it’s more up to interpretation. I like how there wasn’t any dialogue to this, they just made weird bug sounds. Which I think is good for a show like this which has to be shown worldwide. These segments also had very good comedy, that definitely made me laugh a few times.
But the most entertaining part of the show was the acrobatics. These were the main segments of the show. And the movements, the sets, and the overall performance were so mesmerizing. Time flew by while watching this. After it went into intermission I was shocked it had already been halfway done! An hour had passed and it felt as though only 20 minutes had. And the music to go along with the performance I think had a lot to do with its quality. Because the music was incredible. The vibes were perfect, the music was catchy and went along with the performances perfectly. All the sets were so interesting, and they used a lot throughout the show. Every time a set came on stage I found myself questioning what insane and intricate moves the performers were gonna do with it.
The show displayed a lot of creativity as well. The creative liberty taken with the costumes sets and general acrobatics was so cool to watch. There was no part of this where I found myself bored or checking the time. There was always something so cool to see on stage the whole run time.
But, as a whole, this was such an awesome show and I would totally recommend it if you have any interest in performing arts. I applaud the performers and technicians because they did such a great job on this show. I would want to see them perform again in the future.
