Cirque du Soleil
- A Brief Visit To a Tower of Babel

By André Lavoie
Translated by Andrée McNamara Tait

They have almond-shaped eyes or skin the colour of café au lait, a Slavic soul or a fiery Latin-American spirit. However, with their extravagant costumes, colourful makeup, and heart-stopping exploits set to pulsating music from the four corners of the globe, the 600 artists of Cirque du Soleil do not hail only from China, the Ukraine, or even Quebec. On stage or under the famous blue and yellow big top, they make up a most dazzling Tower of Babel which, even after 20 years, is in no danger of falling down.

Cirque du Soleil is renowned for its many daring innovations, such as not using animals in its shows. Yet, it remains true to the great tradition of circus arts in the way that it welcomes artists from around the world. Since no country can claim a monopoly on the best acrobats, trapeze artists, or tightrope walkers, circus owners have always cast a wide net: what did it matter if the bearded lady or the fire-breather spoke in a language no one could understand!

Michel Laprise conducting auditions in Edinburgh – © Solange Grimard

While in most traditional circuses, each performer does his own number and then exits stage left, Cirque du Soleil requires a greater group effort to ensure a seamless show. It also takes enormous creativity to blend acts featuring aerial hoops and African rhythms, Georgian dance and synchronized swimming... Because even though the artists express themselves using a common language – the body – or sing using an invented language – as composed by René Dupéré – behind the scenes, they form a world of nations onto themselves (40 countries and 25 different languages).

Translation has therefore become a discipline in itself within the Cirque: there were no fewer than 8 translators on hand during the staging of Varekai. Still, achieving the amazing osmosis that directors strive for can sometimes be an arduous process. Nevertheless, it is always stimulating – not to mention dizzying, even for those who are not flying through the air on a trapeze.

“The differences are fascinating, but the resulting mixture is even more so,” says Michael Mackenzie, scriptwriter and story editor for Robert Lepage during the creation of Kà. Born in England and having worked in Europe and the United-States before settling in Montreal where he also teaches playwriting at NTS, Mackenzie is familiar with the joys of attending meetings and rehearsals held in several languages. Working within a “big machine” like the Cirque, however, was a first for him.

“The considerable means at our disposal do not affect the artists’ freedom,” continues Mackenzie, and since the shows are based more on the body than on the verbal aspect, “differences are smoothed over.” People can be recruited from anywhere: the writer still remembers the radiant presence of Teuda Bara, a 60-year-old Brazilian woman whom Lepage had discovered performing on the streets in London. “She is truly a force of nature,” he says, “always funny, always motivated, taking younger performers under her wing. And yet, she speaks only Portuguese, has spent her life on the streets of large cities in Brazil, and comes from a fairly poor background...”

Not everyone fits into the Cirque with the same level of euphoria. Twin sisters Svetlana and Tatyana Shenchihina, two young athletes from the Ukraine, were sixteen when they joined the Cirque in 1997 for O. They can still remember their fears. “We couldn’t speak English or French and didn’t know a thing about Cirque du Soleil,” explains Svetlana. “But instead of staying with other Russians, we looked for opportunities to speak English so we could integrate ourselves better.” “We’d been going to an Olympic school since the age of 13,” continues Tatyana. “When we arrived, we were asked to do things which we thought were completely ridiculous. Since we’d been trained for athletic competitions, without much consideration for the artistic aspect, it was a total shock. And now, we often see that same look of surprise on the faces of new recruits!”

The Shenchihina twins, like so many others, developed a Cirque du Soleil version of sign language, although expressing their emotions this way was often frustrating. Craig Reid (Technical Production, 2001) shares their opinion. A technician who participated in the creation and North-American tour of Varekai, he was originally in charge of lighting and is now head of security for the artists and technicians during the shows. According to him, the key to the Cirque’s success resides in patience as much as in organization. “True, it’s sometimes complicated, but everything has to be very well planned,” he says. “Realizing that the process is slower helps everyone to avoid unpleasant surprises, although you often have to be very diplomatic. I remember a Russian artist who spoke neither French nor English and whose wife translated everything. She was away during a tour and we wanted him to use a new, safer harness. Not only did he not understand us, but he refused to listen!”

From dreams to reality

To be part of an “entertainment multinational” is a dream come true for many artists. Michel Laprise (Interprétation, 1991), Artistic Talent Scout at the Cirque for the past five years — “At first, I was only going to stay on for six months” — tries not to discourage them, but, in fact, to encourage them to go beyond the ideas received. “When I ask artists for their impression of Cirque, they answer: ‘magic, poetry, emotions, etc.’ But I always add: ‘work!’” To prove it, he does not hesitate to keep them off balance. Because Cirque’s shows are enriched by the culture of its members. “I prefer group auditions,” continues Laprise. “In Paris, I gather together artists from across Europe and the West, and I reproduce Cirque’s working conditions. They must demonstrate a certain amount of autonomy, show me how they use the freedom I’m offering them. Will they give me what they think I’m looking for or what they feel like giving me?”

Zumanity – © Tomasz Rossa

Michel Laprise realizes how phenomenal Cirque’s growth has been, but remains categorical: not only is Guy Laliberté’s credo (Evoke, Provoke, Invoke) still intact, but its Quebec specificity, in this huge celebration of artistic expression from around the world, has not been altered over the years. “The ambiance at the Cirque is due to the fact that we are Quebecers,” he says, “welcoming people who are able to work as a team. There’s a hierarchy within the organization but no class system: everyone is on a first-name basis, no matter what position they hold. Expectations are high, but we are open: we may not give artists multiple chances to prove themselves, but we don’t stop at one, either.”

“The differences are fascinating, but the resulting mixture is even more so.”

Of course, once they’re established within the big Cirque du Soleil family, the artists’ dreams give way to reality – the reality of acts with demanding physical requirements, the routine of shows and tours. Craig Reid admits that touring, even with the same team, “is a blessing and a curse,” and you quickly realize that communication is not only about language, but about “openness and sharing”. An opinion echoed by Michel Laprise. “My aim is not only to find talent, but to understand the artist’s journey. I must not only know if a person is a good singer or actor, but also determine if it’s the right moment for him or her to be part of Cirque du Soleil. Because people don’t just come to sing or move about on our stages, but to express themselves as artists.” Creativity and authenticity, no matter what their colour or accent, can exist without translation.

The first Cirque du Soleil show took place on June 16, 1984 in Gaspé, as part of the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s arrival in Quebec. Founded by artists, including Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix, who were part of a group called Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul (the Baie-Saint-Paul stilt walkers), what was meant to last only one summer ended up transforming itself into a veritable entertainment multinational. In 1984, the Cirque had 73 employees; 21 years later, there are 3,000 employees, including over 600 artists. 1,300 employees work at the Cirque headquarters, located in Montreal.

Over the years, Cirque du Soleil has created over 15 shows, five of which are currently touring over three continents (Varekai, Dralion, Quidam, Alegria, and Saltimbanco). Five other shows were created for permanent theatres: one in Orlando, Florida (La Nouba) and four in Las Vegas (O, Mystère, Zumanity, and the latest, Kà).

Over the years the paths of the School and the Cirque du Soleil have crossed many times. A great number of the Cirque’s regular creative collaborators are NTS alumni, notably costume designer Dominique Lemieux (Set and Costume Design, 1986), scenographers Michel Crête (1984) and Stéphane Roy (1988) and director Dominic Champagne (Écriture dramatique, 1987). Alumni are also swelling the ranks of Cirque’s creative and technical teams; they rarely bask in the spotlight but perform miracles, such as the production manager for Kà, Stéphane Mongeau (Production, 1988).

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