CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S LUZIA
Take a trapeze, then add water
Cirque du Soleil’s Grand Chapiteau or Big Top has taken up residence at Stampede Park until Sept. 17.
For the next month it will be the home of Luzia, a tribute to Mexican art, culture, traditions, sounds and colours.
Luzia, which was created in Montreal in the fall of 2016, is the 38th Cirque creation since 1984 and it is the 17th show to travel in one of the specially created tent theatres.
It will come as no surprise to fans of Cirque that one or more of the routines in Luzia will involve a trapeze. The trapeze in all its different forms — bars, hoops, ribbons and ropes — has been a staple of these Canadian spectacles since Day 1 and of circuses in general for more than 170 years.
The trapeze was created in the mid-1800s by a young French acrobat named Jules Leotard. He rigged his apparatus above the family swimming pool so if his practise routines misfired, the water would cushion Leotard’s fall.
In a burst of exquisite harmony, Luzia brings this bond between the trapeze and water full circle.
In one of the more awe-inspiring routines in the show, an acrobat descends from the ceiling on a trapeze inside a curtain of water cascading from the ceiling.
Acrobat Kelly Mcdonald explains that artists and audience members alike are fascinated by the trapeze and its possibilities.
“For the artist, being on a trapeze is like dancing in the air,” she says. “You have the rope and the bar and there are so many possible combinations. It is such a versatile apparatus. It allows you to swing, twirl, do flips. It really is as if you are flying. That’s the feeling I always get up there.”
She says when a performer works with a trapeze “it is always changing and evolving. You keep creating new routines.
“I’ve been a gymnast my whole life and I am used to perfecting a routine, but being in a show like Luzia, you are always looking for ways to give the audience more magic. That means you must stay creative and not simply repeat yourself.”
Mcdonald says a Cirque show is a love affair between the performers and the audiences.
“As a performer you feed off the energy of the audience and every audience is different. Cities are different. Countries are different and individual audiences are different.
“You feel that difference and it motivates you.
“You can feel when a routine brings an audience to its feet or has them cheering. You can also sense them gasping when they get nervous. There are times you actually have this sense that the audience’s hands are getting sweaty because they feel they are up there with you and that anything could happen.”
Mcdonald is the first to admit the addition of water to a trapeze routine makes things tricky.
“The costumes have to be specially designed to incorporate the water effect. The ropes are specially designed to function in the water and you have a wooden bar not a metal one to work with.”
Water is used in several other routines in Luzia including pole climbing and dancing and with cyr wheels, the gigantic hoops acrobats perform inside.
“In each case, things you are used to working with suddenly become slippery so you have to be very careful.
“Everything has to be timed. You have to calculate when to open your eyes and when to breathe. You don’t want to get water in your eyes, mouth or nose. You want to be in control of the water. You don’t want it to control you.”
Mcdonald says one of the most important things in any of the water routines in Luzia is “to convince the audience it’s absolutely normal to be inside a curtain of water when in fact it’s as far from normal as possible. You want the audience to enjoy the visual spectacle the routine is meant to create.
“You don’t want the audience to be frightened or unsettled.”
Michael Gill is the head of lighting and special effects for Luzia and he readily admits water is a challenge.
“It’s a complex element to work with but the results can be stunning,” he says “With the addition of lighting and projections, we can make the water even more awe-inspiring.”
Gill says the shared reaction audiences have the first time the water effect is used “is what makes us here at Luzia love our job. It gives us goosebumps to see and feel how we can move an audience to wonderment.
“Any trapeze act can be stunning and elegant. What we aim to do in Luzia is make it even more elegant by adding the water.”
The water routines in Luzia require 12,000 litres of water.
“We have a special water truck and a very strong pump that allows us to transport the water to the top of the tent.
“There is a pool on stage for certain routines and drains that return the water to the truck to be recycled because we use water effects in both acts of the show. These water effects are a pretty big part of Luzia.”
Gill says the biggest challenge with the water “is maintaining an ideal temperature.
“The performers’ bodies are hot because of the energy they expend. We don’t want to drench them in cold water. It would be a shock to their systems.”
Gills says the costume department “spent a great deal of research on what materials to use to keep the performers comfortable and safe.”
Tickets for Luzia are on sale at cirquedusoleil.com/canada/calgary/shows.
Any trapeze act can be stunning and elegant. What we aim to do in Luzia is make it even more elegant by adding the water.