Press Kit - Cirque du Soleil

DIRECTED BY DIANE PAULUS
Press Kit
Show Overview
Written and Directed by Diane Paulus
Show
Amaluna’s Tony Award-winning Show Director, Diane Paulus,
drew from a series of classical influences when creating the
concept of the show; including tales from Greek and Norse
mythology, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Shakespeare’s The
Tempest.
Amaluna invites the audience to a mysterious island governed
by Goddesses and guided by the cycles of the moon. Their
queen, Prospera, directs her daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony
in a rite that honours femininity, renewal, rebirth and balance
which marks the passing of these insights and values from one
generation to the next.
The cast of Amaluna comprise a majority of female, including a
100% female band.“Amaluna is a tribute to the work and voice
of women,” explains Director of Creation Fernand Rainville. “The
show is a reflection on balance from a woman’s perspective,“ he
adds. Show Director Diane Paulus says: “I didn’t want to build a
‘women’s agenda’ show. I wanted to create a show with women
at the center of it, something that had a hidden story that
featured women as the heroines.”
In the wake of a storm caused by Prospera, a group of young
men lands on the island, triggering an epic, emotional story of
love between Prospera’s daughter and a brave young suitor. But
theirs is a love that will be put to the test. The couple must face
numerous demanding trials and overcome daunting setbacks
before they can achieve mutual trust, faith and harmony.
The name
Amaluna is a fusion of the words ama, which refers to “mother”
in many languages, and luna, which means “moon,” a symbol of
femininity that evokes both the mother-daughter relationship
and the idea of goddess and protector of the planet. Amaluna is
also the name of the mysterious island where the story unfolds.
1
The Acts
Hoop diving
Aerial straps
Peacock Dance
Combining force and agility, the lizards
jump through hoops, which will always get
higher and higher.
The artists fly out over the audience on
straps, suspended from the Carousel, a
rotating set element high above them. This
spectacular demonstration of flight in four
dimensions is calling for precision timing, in
addition to the skills and physical strength
it takes to move at high velocity through
360 degrees.
Romeo wanders into the Enchanted Forest
where he witnesses the bewitching dance
of the Peacock Goddess in her dazzling
white dress – a performance that represents
the purity of love.
Clown act
Cerceau and Waterbowl
Uneven Bars
Romeo’s manservant Papulya arrives with
the young men and promptly falls
headover-heels in love with Maïnha,
Miranda’s childhood nurse. The feeling is
mutual, and pretty soon they are starting a
family.
The Moon Goddess appears to Miranda
riding a Cerceau, bestowing her blessing
with a haunting song. Romeo watches
as Miranda plays in the waterbowl,
discovering her own physicality and
expressing her sinuous sexuality as she
performs a challenging hand-balancing
routine before diving and snaking through
the water. He joins her in the water, where
they innocently play and tentatively kiss
for the first time.
The captured young men help the Amazons
– the fierce feminine force of the island –
to present a fast-paced theatrical version
of the classic gymnastic routine.
2
Teeterboard
Balance Goddess
1000 arms and sticks
Fenced in, the young men launch themselves
high into the air, twisting and turning in
a playful high-speed attempt to escape
– at first from gravity then from their prison.
They pull off several seemingly impossible
feats, like landing in a handstand on another
performer’s upturned palms or running
across a mini-stage inclined at a steep angle.
Prospera brings Romeo and Miranda to
witness the Balance Goddess creating a
world in equilibrium with a mobile made
of thirteen palm leaf ribs. An ode to balance,
her movements are slow, deliberate and
almost meditative as she concentrates all
her attention on this literally breathtaking
structure. And then she removes the
smallest piece, everything disintegrates
and the young couple’s trials begin.
Inspired by an Indonesian ritual dance, an
ominous company of dancers dressed in
black and silver performs a choreography
that creates an indelible image of one
woman with a thousand arms. The Peacock
Goddess reappears in an ominous guise and
steals Miranda away while a forest of sticks
inspired by Vietnamese circus tradition
springs up to create a portal to the
Underworld through which Romeo must
pass.
Chinese Pole
Juggling
Icarian games
Romeo tries to reunite with Miranda
by climbing up a pole in an exhibition of
sheer muscular strength and inventive,
supple routine.
Cali captures Romeo and imprisons him
in the water bowl. To celebrate his victory
over his rival, he performs a juggling act
with balls that drop in ever greater numbers
from the sky above.
A classic circus arts number involving
strength, precision timing and sheer
acrobatic skill, as performers lie on their
back and flip, twirl and spin another
performer on their feet.
3
The Main Characters
Prospera
Miranda
Romeo
Prospera is a shaman with magical powers,
but she is very much driven by human
emotions. The welfare of her daughter is
her most important concern. She knows
she must let Miranda find love and make
her own way in the world, but she can use
her powers to influence the way this comes
about, and she will always be a protective
force in her daughter’s life.
Miranda is a girl on the brink of womanhood.
She’s a romantic, full of fun, enthusiasms,
dreams and mischief, who revels in the
stimulating world of Amaluna with all
of its rich traditions, culture and splendid
flora and fauna.
Prospera has a hand in conjuring up the
storm that leads to the arrival of a group
of young men, and she influences the
events that bring their leader, the dashing
Prince Romeo, and Miranda together.
He is as hungry for true love as she is,
but he doesn’t yet know how difficult the
path ahead will be.
Cali
Moon Goddess
Half-lizard, half-human, all jealous, Cali has
known Miranda all her life and although
she thinks of him only as a pet, he is in love
with her. And he’s determined to prevent
Romeo from winning her.
The Moon Goddess has a strong female
presence in Amaluna. She uses her
powers sometimes to help and sometimes
to hinder the young lovers in their
challenge-filled quest for happiness.
4
Costumes
Amaluna costume designer Mérédith Caron has brought a
company of fabulous and eclectic characters to life through the
magic of her creations. She imagined the world of the show –
the mysterious island of Amaluna – as existing somewhere in
the Mediterranean as a true meeting place between East and
West, a distant land where ancient and modern times overlap
and blend harmoniously, and several different eras and cultures
have seemingly melded into the same location.
Her complex multidimensional costumes evoke a world of day
and night that is unquestionably contemporary, yet overlaid
with the spirit of the Elizabethan period and containing subtle
references to the Orient and Scandinavia. “It’s the encounter of
humanity, the glorification of the beauty of the human being,”
she explains.
The Amaluna costumes are a symbiosis between theatre and
acrobatics. For Mérédith, the character and the costume are
inseparable. “One calls out to the other. It is a communion, a
symbiotic relationship,” she says. “But above all, it is the artist
that I dress.”
To dress the artists, Mérédith has created “progressive”
costumes with multiple configurations. Some of them put on
a parade uniform for the more theatrical moments in the show,
and performance costumes when they perform their act. Many
of the garments are equipped with pads and other removable
parts – the wearers might, for example, remove the sleeves
and keep their doublets on, or remove the doublets altogether
and perform in their shirts.
Women with the right stuff
Amaluna recreates a fabulous female mythology on stage.
Inspired by Asia Minor, the corseted costumes of the Amazon
warriors are augmented with ponytails and high-heeled
black and red leather boots in a look that is more fantasy than
historical reality.
The world of Amaluna is also populated by a layer of unruly
half-human, half-animal characters, freely inspired by the
world of Shakespeare’s Tempest. Lizards, peacocks and fairies
rub shoulders with each other.
Denim – A contemporary material
and emblem of adolescence
The choice of materials is as important to Mérédith Caron as
the lines of the garments. She has given denim doublets worn
by the Boys who land on the island of Amaluna a distinctly
Renaissance look: The sleeves are slashed to reveal the lining,
and the garments are embellished with an 18th century velvet
flocking to create the impression of a contemporary jean jacket.
Queen Prospera’s daughter Miranda, who is about to move into
adulthood in this remote environment, wears linen, cambric
and distressed velvet – a selection that is highly reminiscent of
the Italian Renaissance. Her costume expresses her enthusiasm
and thirst for discovery.
5
Raw talent and musicianship
The musicians in Queen Prospera’s entourage are creatures
of the night who wear costumes that underline their strong
personalities and their rock star aura with a really current look.
Mérédith was inspired by the clothing styles of major figures
in the worlds of music, fashion and film such as k.d. lang ,
Roy Orbison, John Galliano, Tim Burton and even a rock version
of the Village People. “You might well see girls in these kinds
of clothes among the heterogeneous fauna of a bar in avantgarde Berlin, for example,” says Mérédith, “hence the link
between the costumes, the music and the decidedly rock
sensibility of a show that celebrates beauty in all its guises.”
Close-ups on the costumes
• Queen Prospera wears a large golden mantle composed of
four rectangles on which are printed in sublimation the cover
image of GAIA, the book of photographs taken in space by
Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté. It shows a majestic
cloud system captured at a distance of 350 km above the
earth’s surface.
• The peacock costumes are made up of 14 layers of heatpleated materials trimmed in leather and stretch metallic
fabric. The tails open out to a “fan” of eight feet with
hydraulic pistons that compensate for their weight. Made
in the same proportion to the performers’ bodies as the
bird’s fans have to theirs, the tails are attached to the artists
with belts that hide the mechanisms under embroidered
feathers. The skeleton and leaves of the fans are made of the
same Fiberglass material used in the manufacture of fishing
rods, and screen-printed metallic paper is glued to the leaves
to recreate the iridescent look of peacock plumage.
• F or the Valkyries’ costumes in the Aerial Straps act, Mérédith
Caron was inspired by the oceans, above and below the surface.
Shades of blue and green evoking Scandinavia mix with shades
of sky and sea to compose a soothing palette of sophistication.
• The white dress worn by the artist performing the Peacock
Dance comprises a bustier and a skirt. The bustier is made
of stretch nylon tulle covered with white beaded lace and
Swarovski crystals. The skirt is made of 65 yards of white
non-stretch nylon tulle covered with silver lace and Swarovski
crystals. The dress has a total of 6,500 Swarovski crystals and
325 silver lace additions. The tail features 12 two-meter
pleated polyester voile panels with sunray pleats (bias-cut
knife pleats, narrower at the top than at the bottom, producing
a flared effect), printed with white peacock feather designs.
• There are over 130 costumes in Amaluna, made up of nearly
1000 different items.
6
Music
Composers Bob & Bill’s mission was to create a unique,
raw sound for Amaluna, and to surprise by means of the
unexpected.
Guitars are very present and the overall sound is resolutely
contemporary. Bass, drums, cello, vocals, keyboards, percussion
support the guitars in delivering a direct music without
embellishment. “We wanted to unleash the power in the raw
state that artists and musicians bring to the stage,” explain
Bob & Bill. The musicians share the stage with acrobats at
times, which combines perfectly with the energy of the score.
Amaluna is the first Cirque du Soleil show with an all-female
group of musicians. “We wanted to reflect the guts and intense
attitude of these musicians through the music itself,” they add.
Bob & Bill are known for their ability to blur the lines between
genres and styles to create an intricately woven visual style.
“We created a sound for the show that would follow the
emotional line of the acrobatic numbers,” they say. “Each act
has its own respiration and rhythm, its own arc – and the music
should reflect this. The music is an extension of the soul of a
character and an expression in sound of the show’s narrative.”
7
Set Design
The peacock feather decoration that occupies much of the
middle of the Amaluna stage is a significant emblematic motif
that is echoed in some of Mérédith Caron’s iridescent costumes.
The peacock images in the show are inspired by the magnificent
bird that accompanies Hera, the Greek goddess of women,
marriage and fertility. Legend tells us that the protective “eyes”
in its tail watch over women in all the stages of their lives.
Amaluna director Diane Paulus is known for productions that
go beyond the boundaries of a conventional theatrical setting
to involve the audience in immersive environments.
Scott Pask’s set creates a mysterious, verdant, enchanted island
whose most important feature is a carefully crafted forest of
bamboo-like branches that both frame and surround the action.
Taking his cues from the natural world, especially from forests
and plant life, Scott has created an environment that is both
immersive and open, with plenty of space for dramatic rituals
and ceremonies as well as acrobatic performances.
Light and Tone
Scott, who initially trained as an architect, regards the entire
space as more of an art installation than a stage set, and he
has used light to activate it and take the audience to other
places and evoke different emotional responses. During the
intense drama of the storm, for example, the lighting casts the
shadows of the branchlike canopy onto the surface of the Big
Top to create a momentary feeling of heightened danger.
An Island Forest
The trees thrust upward from the circumference of the
Amaluna stage and the Big Top’s tent poles to form an airy
canopy. Upstage, the vegetation grows closer to the ground,
forming a tunnel-like grotto.
The Water-bowl is a piece of acrobatic equipment that
doubles as a dramatic set element. It resembles a giant, clear
gemstone set in a ring of stylized organic shapes that resemble
a vortex captured in time. As it interacts with the lighting,
this “jewel” changes its appearance and aura, much like a real
precious stone.
The branches and limbs of the canopy are unmistakably
engineered constructions, and the visual references to bamboo
are quite evident. It was important to Scott that the forest
should be seen to be hand-crafted, however there was no
attempt to disguise its components as anything actually found
in nature – nothing has been given a patina to look like wood,
for example. Yet the feeling of being in a real forest is palpable.
8
Wheels within Wheels
Some Facts about Set Elements
There are relatively few moving parts in the set design, and
that was a deliberate choice intended to add a certain elegance
to the performances by concentrating the audience’s attention
on the human performance. There are no visual effects in the
Amaluna set, and the automated mechanical elements are
designed to be inconspicuous – almost invisible – even though
they are in plain view.
The Canopy:
• T
here are 174 branches in 534 sections – 90 in the canopy
and 84 upstage – making a total of 1.7 km or 1.05 miles.
• T
here are three models of branches in the canopy and
35 in the upstage.
The Carousel and the Grid:
• The
25-ft diameter Carousel weighs 6,000 lbs.
Circular sections of the stage revolve to ensure that the entire
audience can see each act from every angle, and that movement
is matched by a circular scenic element above the stage:
the Carousel – a custom-made ring that houses downwardfacing lighting clusters as well as anchor points for flying
acrobatic performers.
• T
he Grid weighs 8,600 lbs and includes three acrobatic
winches, each able to lift loads up to 400 lbs at 10 feet
per second.
• T
he acrobatic winch in the centre of the Carousel can lift up
to 1,000 lbs at 10 feet per second.
At times stationary, at times moving, the Carousel can revolve in
sync with the stage, or counter-rotate in the opposite direction
to give both the artists and the lighting maximum flexibility
and range of vertical and horizontal motion. It also allows aerial
performers to fly out over the heads of the audience, which
emphasizes the immersive concept of the set.
The Water-bowl:
• T
he Water-bowl is 5’5” tall, 7’3” in diameter, and weighs
5,500 lbs when filled with water.
The Chandeliers:
• T
he six Chandeliers are made of aluminum tubes bent and
positioned to create the effect of a mobile with a span of
14.5 ft.
9
Creators’ Biographies
Guy Laliberté was born in Québec City in 1959. An accordionist, stilt-walker and fire-eater, he
founded Quebec’s first internationally-renowned circus with the support of a small group of
accomplices. A bold visionary, Guy Laliberté recognized and cultivated the talents of the street
performers from the Fête foraine de Baie-Saint-Paul and created Cirque du Soleil in 1984.
Guy Laliberté was the first to orchestrate the marriage of cultures and artistic and acrobatic
disciplines that is the hallmark of Cirque du Soleil. Since 1984, he has guided the creative team
through the creation of every show and contributed to elevating the circus arts to the level of
the great artistic disciplines.
Cirque du Soleil has become an international organization, as much in terms of its makeup as in
the scope of its activities and influence. Guy Laliberté now heads an organization with activities
on five continents.
In October 2007, Guy Laliberté entered into a second lifetime commitment by creating the
ONE DROP Foundation to fight poverty around the world by providing sustainable access to safe
water. This new dream stems from the knowledge that the right to water is key to the survival
of individuals and communities all over the world and from the values which have been at the
heart of Cirque du Soleil since its inception: the belief that life gives back what you have given
and even the smallest gesture will make a difference.
GUY LALIBERTÉ
GUIDE AND FOUNDER
In September 2009, Guy Laliberté became the first Canadian private space explorer. His mission
was dedicated to raising awareness on water issues facing humankind on planet earth. Under
the theme Moving Stars and Earth for Water, this first Poetic Social Mission in space aimed at
touching people through an artistic approach: a special 120-minute webcast program featuring
various artistic performances unfolding in 14 cities on five continents, including the International
Space Station.
Main Awards and Distinctions
In 2011, Guy Laliberté was inducted into the Order of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.
In 2010, Guy was awarded his very own star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In the same year, the Quebec government honoured Guy by promoting him from Chevalier
(a distinction granted six years earlier) to Officier as a member of the Ordre de la Pléiade.
Université Laval (Québec) awarded an honorary doctorate to Guy Laliberté in 2008. The year
before, Guy Laliberté took the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for all three levels:
Quebec, Canada and international. In 2004, he received the Order of Canada, the highest
distinction in the country, from the Governor General of Canada. The same year, he was
recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2003,
he was honoured by the Condé Nast group as part of the Never Follow Program, a tribute to
creators and innovators. In 2001, he was named a Great Montrealer by the Académie des
Grands Montréalais. In 1997, Guy Laliberté received the Ordre National du Québec, the highest
distinction awarded by the Government of Quebec.
10
A prolific actor and director, Fernand Rainville has been active on the Quebec cultural scene for
over 25 years. He made his mark in the theatre world by directing over a hundred creative and
repertory theatre plays, both contemporary and classical, as well as large-scale variety shows
such as the bilingual production of Les Misérables (1990-1991), Légendes fantastiques (which ran
from 1998 to 2007 and earned him the Quebec Tourism Prize) and Saka, an equestrian show
performed under a big top between 2007 and 2009.
In television, Fernand has worked as Artistic Director for the show Le plaisir croît avec l’usage,
which aired on Télé-Québec between 2001 and 2003.
He was also responsible for the artistic direction of the opening ceremonies of the Outgames at
Montreal’s Olympic Stadium in 2006. Fernand has been working with Cirque du Soleil on a
regular basis since 2005. He was co-director for the opening ceremony of the Montreal 2005 – XI
FINA World Championships, Director of the Cirque du Soleil pre-game show at the 2007 Miami
Superbowl, as well as Director of Creation and Director of Wintuk, a show that ran seasonally for
four years at Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theatre in New York. For ONE DROP, Fernand
directed the multimedia experience AQUA and, during Guy Laliberté’s journey into space in 2009,
he assumed the role of Content Producer and Artistic Director for the Poetic Social Mission event,
a show on water-related issues that was broadcast on television and the Internet.
FERNAND RAINVILLE
DIRECTOR OF CREATION
Diane Paulus serves as the Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard
University and is the 2013 recipient of the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical. Diane’s
recent accomplishments on Broadway includes A.R.T.’s 2013 Tony Award-winning revival of
Pippin, A.R.T.’s 2012 Tony Award-winning revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and The Public
Theater’s 2009 Tony winning revival of HAIR. Her recent work with A.R.T. includes The Donkey
Show, a disco adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Prometheus Bound, a new musical
inspired by Aeschylus’s ancient Greek tragedy, written by Tony Award-winner Steven Sater
(Spring Awakening) with music composed by Grammy Award-winner Serj Tankian; Tod
Machover’s Death and the Powers: The Robots’ Opera, finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Music;
Best of Both Worlds and Johnny Baseball. As an opera director, Diane’s credits include The Magic
Flute, Il mondo della luna, Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, and the Monteverdi trilogy
L’incoronazione di Poppea, Il ritorno d¹Ulisse in patria and Orfeo. Other work includes Kiss Me, Kate
(Glimmerglass Opera) and Lost Highway (ENO co-production with the Young Vic). Diane is a
Professor of the Practice in Theater in Harvard University’s English Department and was one of
Boston Magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Bostonians in 2012. She was awarded the 2012 Founders
Award for Excellence in Directing from the Drama League and is the recipient of an Honorary
Doctorate from Boston Conservatory. This is Diane Paulus’ first collaboration with Cirque du
Soleil.
DIANE PAULUS
DIRECTOR
11
Award winning Scenic Designer, Scott Pask has designed a diverse range of productions, both
on Broadway and in London. His works for theatre, opera and dance include The Pillowman, with
Billy Crudup and Jeff Goldblum (Tony Award for Best Scenic Design); A Behanding in Spokane,
starring Christopher Walken, and A Steady Rain, with Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman.
A long time collaborator of Diane Paulus, Scott has worked on many projects with her, most
notably the award winning revival of HAIR on Broadway and in London, as well as The Donkey
Show. His numerous Broadway Scenic design credits also include Promises Promises, Pal Joey,
Speed The Plow, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Vertical Hour, Urinetown, Take Me Out, NINE
with Antonio Banderas, La Cage Aux Folles, and The Coast of Utopia for which he won the Tony,
Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Hewes Awards for Best Scenic Design.
Most recently he designed the new hit musical The Book Of Mormon and won one of the
production’s nine Tony awards for his design. He has also designed Peter Grimes at the
Metropolitan Opera. His work has been exhibited at The Prague Quadrennial, The Bruce Museum
of Science and Art, The Leslie Lohman Gallery, The Met Gallery, and is in the permanent collection
of the McNay Art Museum.
Amaluna is Scott Pask’s first collaboration with Cirque du Soleil.
SCOTT PASK
SET AND PROPS DESIGNER
Mérédith Caron has made her mark in theatre, cinema, opera and circus, not just in Quebec but
the world over. With more than 175 collaborations under her belt, Mérédith is one of Canada’s
top costume designers. She has worked with some outstanding directors, including Pierre
Bernard, Serge Denoncourt, Robert Lepage, Martine Beaulne, René Richard Cyr, André Brassard,
Daniele Finzi Pasca and Richard Monette at the prestigious Stratford Festival in Ontario.
During her collaborations, Mérédith Caron has received many prestigious awards in Quebec,
including a Gémeau, seven Gascon-Roux and two Masque awards. She has been teaching art
history and costume design at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal for nearly
20 years. She worked with Cirque du Soleil for the first time in 1988, when she designed costumes
for a project under development. Amaluna is now her third project with Cirque du Soleil after
CRISS ANGEL and Believe.
MÉRÉDITH CARON
COSTUME DESIGNER
12
Composers and arrangers Guy Dubuc and Marc Lessard (aka Bob & Bill) are well known for their
ability to blur the lines between genres and styles. In 2003, they composed the music for Splinter
Cell (Pandora Tomorrow), a best-selling Ubisoft video game. They have also produced several
albums, including Monica Freire’s Bahiatronica and Pink Floyd Redux, a collection of remixed
songs from the British cult band, as well as the soundtrack album for the Cirque du Soleil show
KOOZA.
In 2004, Bob & Bill supplied the musical direction and arrangements for the Cirque du Soleil show
Midnight Sun, as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Montreal International Jazz
Festival and the 20th anniversary of Cirque du Soleil. Three-time nominees for a Quebec music
industry ADISQ award, the two sidekicks also created the music for several films and television
series, and composed the music for Director Robert Lepage’s production Pageant de
Canotgraphie.
In 2008, the duo launched their first album, Crime Report, a work combining electronic and
organic sounds. Bob & Bill worked many times with Cirque du Soleil to create the musical
arrangements for several special events. In 2009, they composed the music for TOTEM, directed
by Robert Lepage. Two years later, they composed the music for the third chapter of Les Chemins
invisibles (Le Royaume de Tôle) an urban cabaret performed in Quebec City in the summer of
2011. Amaluna is therefore their third show as composers for Cirque du Soleil.
BOB ET BILL
COMPOSERS
For over 25 years, Jacques Boucher has been creating sound environments for a number of
productions from Quebec and beyond. Jacques also worked as a sound technician for various
Quebec artists, including Richard Séguin, Laurence Jalbert, Diane Dufresne and Bruno Pelletier.
He went on to develop an expertise in sound design for musicals such as Dracula (2006) and
large-scale events, including the mega-show 2000 voix chantent le monde, presented in Quebec
City in 2000, with over 2,300 singers on stage.
In 2008, Jacques was asked to handle the sound for almost every event presented as part of the
celebrations for the 400th anniversary of Quebec City. As Sound Designer and Head of Sound, he
designed sound for the Quebec Symphony Orchestra’s performance of the Symphonie des mille
by Gustav Mahler, The Image Mill by Robert Lepage, for which he designed the impressive sound
system spanning 1.2 km, and the special show presented by Cirque du Soleil. Jacques also works
as Sound Designer and Head of Sound for some Cirque du Soleil special events. After TOTEM, this
is the designer’s second Cirque du Soleil show.
JACQUES BOUCHER
SOUND DESIGNER
13
Matthieu Larivée came up with the ingenious lighting designs for several shows and artistic
events in Quebec and throughout Canada. His multidimensional approach and overall vision
of the show has allowed him to participate in large-scale projects such as the show Le Petit Roy,
directed by Serge Postigo, and Beladi - A night at the Pyramids, a unique show featuring singer
Chantal Chamandy and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, performed in front of the Egyptian
pyramids, which allowed Matthieu to emphasize the beauty of such majestic monuments.
This international project earned him the MELDA (Middle East Lighting Design Awards) Award
in 2007 and recognition from his peers at the 2008 Parnelli Awards in Las Vegas.
At the 2010 Gala de l’ADISQ, Matthieu was nominated as “Lighting Designer of the Year” for
MusicMan, starring Gregory Charles, and again in 2011 for Roch Voisine’s Americana. Matthieu
never hesitates to push the boundaries of his art, incorporating video technology and scenic
effects into his projects. For over ten years now, Matthieu Larivée and his Lüz Studio team have
been responsible for the visual look of numerous concerts and events, including Canadian Music
Week (2010 and 2011), Guy Laliberté’s Poetic Social Mission (an event that took place in 2009
during his eleven-day journey into space on board the International Space Station), the Concerts
OSM éclatés, as well as the graphic design for the opening night of the Formula 1 Canadian
Grand Prix in 2010. Matthieu has also worked with famous artists such as pianist Michel Legrand
and singer Natasha St-Pier. Amaluna marks Matthieu’s second time taking part in a Cirque du
Soleil show after Wintuk.
MATTHIEU LARRIVÉE
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Karole Armitage, director of Armitage Gone! Dance Company based in New York, was rigorously
trained in classical ballet. Through her unique and acute knowledge of the aesthetic values of
Balanchine and Cunningham, she is seen by some critics as the true choreographic heir to the
two masters of twentieth-century American dance. Known as the “Punk Ballerina,” Armitage is
renowned for pushing the boundaries to create works that blend dance, music and art.
Following the premiere of the Watteau Duets, Mikhail Baryshnikov invited her to create a work
for the American Ballet Theatre, and Rudolph Nureyev commissioned a work for the Paris Opera
Ballet. She has collaborated with contemporary composers and worked with artists such as Jeff
Koons, Brice Marden and David Salle. She choreographed two Broadway productions (Passing
Strange and Hair, which awarded her a Tony nomination), videos for Madonna and Michael
Jackson and several films.
She has set new works on companies that include the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, Les Ballets de
Monte Carlo, Ballet Naccional de Cuba and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Her company
tours an extensive repertoire and creates site-specific works for festivals and venues worldwide.
She has directed operas from the baroque and contemporary repertoire for prestigious houses of
Europe, including Teatro Di San Carlo in Naples, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Lyric Opera in
Athens and Het Muzik Theatre in Amsterdam. She also choreographed The Cunning Little Vixen
for the New York Philharmonic. Armitage was awarded France’s most prestigious award in 2009,
Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. This is her first collaboration with Cirque du Soleil.
KAROLE ARMITAGE
CHOREOGRAPHER
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Rob Bollinger was a competitive trampolinist at the age of 9 and partnered with his father
on the invention of the double mini trampoline as his family owned a trampoline club in Illinois,
where he grew up. He studied Business at Indiana University on a scholarship as a competitive
springboard diver. He won two national diving championships and qualified for the 1980 and
1984 Olympics trials. He did not make the team on either occasion, and at first turned away
from the world of competitive sports. Rob tried his hand at a variety of jobs in aeronautics
and insurance, but always found the pull of acrobatics too strong to resist, so he went to work
in diving shows in theme parks, which led him all over Europe.
On his return to the United States he put his talents as a diver and trampolinist to work in film
and television as a professional stunt man, notably for Universal Studios. Rob joined Cirque du
Soleil in 1993 during the creation of the first resident show Mystère as a coach and artist in the
show’s original house troupe. In 1997 he joined “O”, first as a coach, then as artistic coordinator
and eventually he was appointed the production’s artistic director. He also added the artistic
direction of Mystère to his responsibilities. This is Rob’s second Cirque du Soleil production as
Acrobatic Performance Designer after ZAIA.
ROB BOLLINGER
ACROBATIC
PERFORMANCE DESIGNER
In 1984, after some eye-opening encounters at Zingaro Circus (France), Fred left a career drilling
for oil to tap into circus arts. Among the first to graduate from the National Centre for Circus
Arts in Châlons-sur-Marne (France) as a flying trapeze porter, Fred was approached to become
a trapeze artist in the Cirque du Soleil show Nouvelle Expérience. Forced to leave the stage
following an injury, he became assistant to the show’s director and artistic director. He went
on to assume the role of Tour Artistic Coordinator. After a short stint in Europe, he returned
to Cirque du Soleil, taking his first steps in acrobatic equipment design for the shows Alegría
and Mystère.
Working as Head Rigger and training circus technicians at Cirque du Soleil International
Headquarters in Montreal, he then took up these duties on several touring shows between
1997 and 2006. With the help of his circus friends, Fred co-founded the Nickel Chrome group
in Martigues in the South of France. As a member of this organization, which supports circus
projects, he acts as Tent Master/Head Rigger, Artistic Director, Designer or Trainer for circus
projects and companies all over the world. Working with Nickel Chrome and Théâtre Europe,
he was also involved in the creation and development of the Janvier dans les Étoiles festival
in La Seyne-sur-Mer, France. This is Fred Gérard second collaboration with Cirque du Soleil show
as Acrobatic Equipment and Rigging Designer, after OVO.
FRED GÉRARD
ACROBATIC EQUIPMENT
AND RIGGING DESIGNER
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Patricia Ruel has contributed to the success of a myriad of plays, television shows and special
events, both in Quebec and abroad. Her track record includes over 50 productions as Props
Designer and a dozen as Set Designer. Patricia has received two Théâtre Denise-Pelletier awards
for her sets for Révizor, directed by Reynald Robinson, in 2003, and Edmond Dantès, directed
by Robert Bellefeuille, in 2004.
In 2011, she received a Gémeau award in the “Best Set Design: all variety categories, magazines,
public affairs, sports” category for the end-of-year special Bye Bye 2010, aired on SRC. She has
worked with various theatre directors, including Robert Lepage, Dominic Champagne and
Fernand Rainville. She has also worked on several projects for Cirque du Soleil, including KÀ, The
Beatles LOVE and Viva ELVIS as Props Designer and Wintuk and Banana Shpeel as Set Designer.
PATRICIA RUEL
PROPS DESIGNER
Eleni Uranis joined Cirque du Soleil in 1989 as Assistant to Costume Designer Dominique
Lemieux. She then worked on various shows, where she was responsible for materials research,
fittings and artistic quality control. She then designed costumes for the show Pomp Duck and
Circumstance, performed in Hamburg (Germany) from 1997 to 1999. In 2002, she worked
alongside world-renowned designer Thierry Mugler to design the costumes for Zumanity.
In 2004, Eleni Uranis’ career took a sharp turn when she joined the Cirque du Soleil make-up
workshop, where she would see her ideas brought to life by the artists of Dralion. Between
2004 and 2006, Eleni Uranis assisted Make-up Designer Nathalie Gagné with several shows
and, in 2005, she designed the make-up for Reflections in Blue, the show Cirque produced
for the opening ceremonies of the XI FINA World Aquatic Championships. With Amaluna,
Eleni is designing the make-up for her sixth Cirque du Soleil production after Dralion, Wintuk,
ZED, Banana Shpeel and Zarkana.
ELENI URANIS
MAKE-UP DESIGNER
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Village on Wheels
Cirque du Soleil’s mobile village includes the Big Top, one large entrance tent, artistic tent, kitchen, offices, warehouses
and more. Completely self-sufficient for electrical power, the site relies only on a local water supply and telecommunication facilities
to support its infrastructure.
The Site
The Entrance Tent
• T he site takes 5 days to set up and 3 days to deconstruct
• A large entrance tent holds the box office, merchandise,
and includes the installation of the Big Top, the VIP Rouge
tent, entrance and artistic tents, box office, administrative
offices, and a kitchen and dining area for the cast and crew.
food and beverage counters.
The VIP Rouge Tent
• T he VIP Rouge tent hosts up to 120 guests and is
• A total of 65 trucks transport close to 2,000 tons of
available for private functions.
equipment that Amaluna carries around. A few of these
trucks are used as storage spaces and workshops.
The Artistic Tent
• 6 generators (350 kilowatts) provide electricity
• T he artistic tent includes a wardrobe area, dressing
to the Big Top and the entire set-up.
rooms, a fully equipped training area and a physiotherapy room.
• T he Big Top, the artistic tent and the VIP Rouge tent are
climate controlled.
The Big Top
The Kitchen
• C onceived by a team of Canadian engineers, the canvas
• T he kitchen is the heart of the village – not only does it
was produced by a French company who specializes in
sails and big tops: Les Voileries du Sud-Ouest.
serve between 200-250 meals per day, six days a week it
is also the meeting place for cast and crew alike.
• T he canvas for the tent and its 11 tunnels weigh
approximately 5227.3 kg.
• T he Big Top stands 19 meters high, 51 meters in diameter
and is supported by four masts, each 25 meters tall.
• T he Big Top seats more than 2,600 people and requires a
team of approximately 85 people to raise it.
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Fast Facts
AMALUNA • The tour relies on local suppliers for many essentials such
• Amaluna had its World Premiere in Montréal on April 19, 2012
as food, bio-diesel fuel, dry ice, machinery, food & beverages
for patrons, banks, delivery services, recycling, and waste
management – thereby injecting significant money into
the local economy.
and since then has been performing in Canada and the United
States before heading to Europe to Premiere in Madrid in 2015.
• Amaluna marks Diane Paulus’ first collaboration with Cirque
du Soleil, a renowned theatre director from New York.
• During an engagement in a city, over 150 people are hired
• The cast of Amaluna comprise a majority of female, including
locally for a variety of jobs including box office ticket sellers,
corporate hospitality hosts, ushers, food and beverage
attendants, merchandising sales staff, kitchen attendants and
prep-cooks, janitors and a receptionist. We also employ over
100 local stagehands to assist with the site set-up and tear
down.
a 100% female band.
Cast and Crew
• The cast of Amaluna comprises 46 artists. An additional 68
employees travel with the show to serve the functions of
artistic management, customer service, tour services and
technicians for the show and the site setup.
• The kitchen employs one touring kitchen manager and 3
cooks.
• All 114 of the cast and crew represent total of 19 nationalities;
• Two performance medicine people (one performance
Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Japan,
Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, the United
States and Vietnam.
medicine supervisor and one therapist) travel with the tour.
• Although you will generally hear French and English spoken
on-site, many other languages are spoken: Chinese, Spanish,
Russian, Japanese and more.
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CIRQUE DU SOLEIL AT A GLANCE
From a group of 20 street performers at its beginnings in 1984, Cirque du Soleil is a
major Québec-based organization providing high-quality artistic entertainment. The
company has close to 4,000 employees, including 1,300 artists from more than 50
different countries.
Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to close to 155 million spectators in
more than 300 cities in over forty countries on six continents. For more information
about Cirque du Soleil , visit www.cirquedusoleil.com.
THE MISSION
The mission of Cirque du Soleil is to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and
evoke the emotions of people around the world.
THE CREATION OF CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
It all started in Baie-Saint-Paul, a small town near Québec City in Canada. There,
in the early eighties, a band of colourful characters roamed the streets, striding on
stilts, juggling, dancing, breathing fire, and playing music. They were Les Échassiers
de Baie-Saint-Paul (the Baie-Saint-Paul Stiltwalkers), a street theatre group founded
by Gilles Ste-Croix. Already, the townsfolk were impressed and intrigued by the young
performers – including Guy Laliberté who founded Cirque du Soleil .
The troupe went on to found Le Club des talons hauts (the High Heels Club), and
then, in 1982, organized La Fête foraine de Baie-Saint-Paul , a cultural event in which
street performers from all over met to exchange ideas and enliven the streets of the
town for a few days. La Fête foraine was repeated in 1983 and 1984. Le Club des
talons hauts attracted notice, and Guy Laliberté, Gilles Ste-Croix and their cronies
began to cherish a crazy dream: to create a Québec circus and take the troupe
travelling around the world.
In 1984, Québec City was celebrating the 450th anniversary of Canada’s discovery by
Jacques Cartier, and they needed a show that would carry the festivities out across the
province. Guy Laliberté presented a proposal for a show called Cirque du Soleil (Circus of
the Sun), and succeeded in convincing the organizers. And Cirque du Soleil hasn’t
stopped since!
A Few statistics
• In 1984, 73 people worked for Cirque du Soleil. Today, the company hires close to
4,000 employees worldwide, including 1,300 artists.
• At the Montreal International Headquarters alone, there are close to 1,500
employees.
• More than 100 types of occupations can be found at Cirque.
• The company’s employees and artists represent more than 50 nationalities and
speak 25 different languages.
• More than 155 million spectators have seen a Cirque du Soleil show since 1984.
• Close to 15 million have seen a Cirque du Soleil show in 2014.
• Cirque du Soleil hasn’t received any grants from the public or private sectors since
1992.
In 2015, Cirque du Soleil will present
19 different shows around the world.
TOURING SHOWS IN ARENAS
Europe/Middle East/Asia
North America/Europe
North America
TOURING SHOWS UNDER THE BIG TOP
North America/Europe
South America
Asia
Australia/Asia
Europe/North America
North America
RESIDENT SHOWS
Mexico
Luxor
in Las Vegas
MGM Grand
in Las Vegas
Walt Disney World® Resort
in Orlando, Florida
The Mirage
in Las Vegas
Mandalay Bay
in Las Vegas
Treasure Island
in Las Vegas
Bellagio
in Las Vegas
ARIA Resort & Casino
in Las Vegas
New York-New York
Hotel & Casino
in Las Vegas
Amaluna, Corteo, JOYÀ, KÀ, KOOZA, KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities, La Nouba, Mystère, “O”, OVO, Quidam, TOTEM, TORUK – The First Flight, Varekai, Zarkana, Zumanity – the Sensual Side of Cirque du Soleil, Cirque du
Soleil, Sun Logo, are trademarks owned by Cirque du Soleil and used under license. The trademark LOVE is owned by The Cirque Apple Creation Partnership and used under license. The Beatles is a trademark owned by
Apple Corps Limited. The trademarks CRISS ANGEL and Believe are owned by Criss Angel and used under license. Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour is a trademark owned by Cirque Jackson I.P., LLC.
Trademarks used under license. Michael Jackson ONE is a trademark owned by Cirque Jackson I.P., LLC. Trademarks used under license. The Michael Jackson name, image, likeness and associated trademarks and logos are
owned by Triumph International, Inc. and used under license. © 2010 Cirque Jackson I.P., LLC.