Backstage at Cirque du Soleil KOOZA

The night before the Washington, DC opening Cirque du Soleil KOOZA, I had the opportunity to visit the backstage warm-up and rehearsal area and meet one of the artists.

The atmosphere the afternoon before opening night was surprisingly relaxed. As when I entered the tent, a group of about 20 of artists involved with KOOZA, were all casually sitting on the floor chatting, laughing and joking around. The scene seemed similar to what you might find at any college dorm or student center with young people just hanging out and talking.

But all that changed a few minutes later when the practice session started. The acrobats and gymnasts got into “serious mode” as they started practicing human pyramids, perching on giant balls and bouncing on the trampoline.  The blanket toss reached heights unlike any bikini beach movie from the 1950s.  Double and triple flips were common, and seemed almost effortless. Three-person shoulder stands happened without much effort as well. Yet still, a couple of the guys clowned around when they saw me filming, by taking a Charles Atlas pose after catching one of the artists who dismounted from the shoulders of a man standing on a a rolling ball.

Before the practice, I was also able to chat with one of the ground and ball performers, Corine Latreille, a gymnast who calls Montreal home.

She’s been with Cirque du Soleil for just 2 years, but seemed to be much more experienced in her ability to also act as an ideal press ambassador for Cirque. 

Her background included 10 years as a world-class competitive gymnast, then a stint at the National Circus School in Montreal. There, she honed her skills at the renowned circus training school, that limits enrolment to just 100 gifted students. 

Corine is typical of the traveling Cirque performers, fit, fearless and in her 20s. The average age of an artist in KOOZA is 26.  Yet the youngest performer in the Washington, DC production of KOOZA is a mere 11 years old, while one of the clowns is in his 50s. 

The troupe is also a virtual United Nations with 16 languages being spoken by the 53 artists.

Corine gave me a brief look inside what it’s like to be a member of the one of the most respected circuses in the world today. Here’s just a couple of her more interesting answers.

READ MORE AND WATCH THE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO —> CLICK MORE…..

Question: How do people react when they learn you work in the circus?
Corine: Their first question is always, so…you do that high wire thingy?”

As we chatted, I learned about life on the road with Cirque du Soleil.  Performers are housed in 4-star hotels or upscale condos, and they travel with professional chefs that prepare their meals (after all they are high-energy athletes).  Besides 5-star food, performers are kept in top condition with two full time massage therapists and a sports medicine doctor available in each city. 

The circus also provides a traveling grammar school for performers with younger children.

Since several of the artists are married or are couples, dating and romance is not lost on the road.

She mentioned the toughest thing about touring was an occasional lack of personal time, as the performers are always around each other.  And with a competitive spirit, paired with undoubtedly some high levels of testosterone, one must assume that, like any work group, personality strong emotions can occur, especially if someone is responsible to catch you after a frightening 30 foot vault off of a teeterboard. But she described the KOOZA team as very positive and professional, like a family. 

The artists get just one day off a week. Corine mentioned that this was her first visit to Washington, DC, and that she had already visited the National Mall and the White House. She expressed that she loved visiting and experiencing new cities.

Question: Where do you see yourself in say, 10 years?
Corine: I plan to stay with Cirque du Soleil, still performing, but I hope to be performing at one of the permanent shows, such as Las Vegas, because… I really want to have a cat.”

I guess circus artists want the same things out of life as most of us, including ….the little things.

Before the production opened, I also chatted with KOOZA’s writer and producer, David Shiner. Read the post here. And if you missed my review of KOOZA, please check it out here.

KOOZA has been extended through December 14, 2008.

And a special thanks to the artists of KOOZA, for welcoming me to their practice session.

Images and video -  from personal collection – ©2008, Jon Rochetti _________________________________________________