Bamboo taken to new heights
One man’s journey to circus started when he was 6 years old, as Tom Hunt reports.
Tuan Le was 6 years old and living in Saigon when his brother introduced him to juggling. That moment would change his life. It would send him around the world. It would also lead to a knowledge of bamboo that few possess.
By the age of 14, he had joined Berlin’s UfaFabrik as a juggler.
He would go on to become the only Vietnamese artist to sign a long-term contract with Cirque du Soleil as a solo artist and the first Asian artist to receive the Award Of Excellence from the International Jugglers’ Association.
It set him on a path to creating an Avatar-inspired production for the French Canadian circus mega-brand. And now he is preparing to come to Wellington as the the founder of Nouveau Cirque du Vietnam.
That show, A O Lang Pho ,is steeped in Vietnamese culture – right down to the bamboo that seems to make up the country.
Speaking from Saigon, Le can talk at length about bamboo – or ‘‘BAM-bo’’.
It is perhaps not surprising given the safety of many of the 20 performers he is bringing to New Zealand rely on the material’s strength. ‘‘If you go right into detail, we need to research – bamboo are like trees.’’
It is all about finding the right variety, the right strength, the right length – some pieces are up to 6 metres long.
‘‘For me, in the show, it is not just decorations, it is not just props [but] also creating a new circus technique with it. It is not just about look.’’
While bamboo provides much of the show’s scaffolding, the show itself is more about Vietnamese life, from countryside to urbanisation.
Le left Vietnam at the age of 12 and returned five years ago after seeing and working around the world. He wanted to create a show ‘‘about Vietnam ... about Vietnamese people’’.
What started with three people ‘‘with a wish’’ has become 200 people – in different productions travelling the world.
‘‘It’s not only a circus, it’s not only a dance, it’s not only choreography – it’s a mix of different skills using Vietnamese culture,’’ Le says.
The Vietnamese performers range from traditional circus performers through to to hip-hop dancers or parkour artists.
This means as new performers join the show, the performance is based around what their abilities are rather than shoe-horning them into existing roles. ‘‘They are not playing characters, they are playing themselves.’’
Publicity material sent by festival publicists is unsurprisingly glowing.
‘‘As dazzling as Cirque du Soleil, but certainly no facsimile,’’ The West Australian glowed, while Arts Hub Australia gushed: ‘‘It’s apparent to all that the Vietnamese circus tradition is in safe, assured and imaginative hands.’’
‘‘There is something special about hearing an audience full of adults oohing and ahhing with childish glee at a circus,’’ Perth Arts Live wrote. ‘‘A O Lang Pho is a show for everyone, and everyone should have the absolute pleasure of seeing it.’’
But, in reality, it is all but impossible to find a bad word said about it.
These days, Le no longer performs. He no longer has time to rehearse. He has shows to direct. He has bamboo to discuss.
"As dazzling as Cirque du Soleil, but certainly no facsimile." The West Australian