Press Kit - Cirque du Soleil

Press Kit
Show Overview
Written and Directed by Robert Lepage
TOTEMTM traces the fascinating journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly. The characters
evolve on a stage evoking a giant turtle, the symbol of origin for many ancient civilizations.
Inspired by many founding myths, TOTEM illustrates, through a visual and acrobatic language, the evolutionary progress of species.
Somewhere between science and legend TOTEM explores the ties that bind Man to other species, his dreams and his infinite potential.
TOTEM
The word “totem” contains the idea of the order of species. We carry in our bodies the potential of all species, all the way to our desire to fly—
like the thunderbird at the top of the totem pole.
The Acts
(in alphabetical order)
Bars (Carapace)
A giant turtle at centre stage represents the origins
of life on Earth. The creature’s shell is whisked away
to reveal an effervescent community of amphibians
and fish that lives beneath its carapace. They burst
into a playful parallel bars number, with artists
embodying frogs launching themselves into the air
from a power track and leaping from one bar to the
next, criss-crossing in mid-air with inches to spare.
Antipodism (Crystal Ladies)
Two Crystal Ladies emerge from the fiery bowels
of the earth to evoke the creation of the world and
the beauty of minerals. Wearing sparkling costumes
that mirror the Crystal Man, the artists spin squares
of glittering material on their hands and feet before
coming together to create a dazzling display of
coordinated highspeed motion.
Devil Sticks
The Tracker appears as a virile toreador spinning his
devil sticks to a sizzling flamenco-inspired beat.
Hoops Dancer
(Part 1) An Amerindian artist performs a narrative
dance, using hoops to create static and dynamic
shapes to evoke various animals and images in a ritual
that symbolizes the endless circle of life.
(Part 2) Surrounded by members of numerous tribes,
the dancer returns to create new figures with his
hoops, finishing with a globe that he raises high above
his head.
Fixed Trapeze Duo
Like two lovebirds, a young man and woman tease,
play and sulk in an innocent game of seduction and
eventually intertwine their bodies in a light-hearted
vertical dance of fresh, unusual movements and lifts.
Manipulation
The Scientist represents reason and the quest to
understand the universe in ways that can be
quantified, measured and put into boxes. His
“laboratory” features an orchestra of glass
containers filled with mysterious fluorescent fluids
as he steps into a transparent cone and juggles
with luminous balls that might represent planets
or molecules—or both—making them chase after
each other in spiral orbits.
Perches
Rings Trio
Ten businessmen trying to reach the highest peaks
execute a number that requires extreme strength
and flawless teamwork. The porters on the ground
hold long metal perches while the agile acrobats
climb almost to the cupola of the big top.
Roller Skates
Bollywood-inspired music accompanies two men as
they compete against each other on the rings—until
a woman arrives and shows them how it’s done.
Their graceful movements, sheer physical strength
and superb physiques take to the skies above a
summer beach.
In a scene that evokes a wedding ceremony, a pair
of roller skaters spins and whirls at heart-stopping
speeds atop a tiny platform—just 1.8 metres in
diameter—shaped like a drum.
Russian Bars
Unicycles and Bowls
Wearing colourful costumes inspired in part by the
lost civilizations of South America, ten artists perform
feats of strength, balance and acrobatic movements.
The jumpers are launched into the air and fly
weightlessly across the sky like cosmonauts, leaping
from one bar to the next with astonishing agility in a
thrilling evocation of the human desire to escape the
Earth’s gravity.
The abundance of fall is represented by the harvest
colours and details of the costumes as five unicyclists
juggle metal bowls in an astounding display of agility,
balance, synchronized control and physical grace,
tossing the bowls with their feet—sometimes over
their shoulders—and catching them on their heads
without using their hands.
The Main Characters
The Tracker
The Scientist
Environmentally conscious, a friend of the animals, he
guides and assists the Scientist in his explorations.
Angered by the thoughtless, polluting actions of a
clown, he transforms before our eyes into a Toreador.
A Darwinesque explorer who visits the different
worlds of the show. In his advanced laboratory, aided
by his assistants and a monkey, he dazzles us with his
amazing physics experiments.
The Amerindian Dancer
The Crystal Man
The young Amerindian dancer takes us into a magical
world, tracing the history of the evolution of species
with his rings.
He comes from space to spark life on Earth. Early in the
show, we see him animate the turtle’s skeleton and at
the end he closes the show by diving into a lagoon.
Costumes
Costume Closeups
Kym Barrett’s initial approach to the TOTEM costume designs was
rooted in documentary-based reality. This process entailed research
into real animals, plants and birds as well as traditional cultural and
tribal designs to source her fanciful, inventive concoctions.
• The Crystal Man—a recurring character—represents the life force.
Her other major preoccupation was the show’s theme of evolution,
which led her to emphasize the importance of the human body at
every opportunity. She points to the example of a forest populated
by butterflies and frogs, saying it was important to her to show the
human body as part of the overall visual mosaic of the scene.
• The Hoop Dancer’s costume is inspired by the traditional,
The third show theme reflected in the costumes is the cycle of the
seasons, which underscores the importance of nature to the show.
Neon-bright colours, vivid, shiny fabrics and playful details lend a
summer atmosphere to the Bollywood-inspired beach scene. To
suggest a time of harvest and the abundance of fall, the unicyclists’
costumes feature seed pods, flowers, trees and leaves. And the two rollerskaters are dressed in white and silver to help create a winter tableau.
To recreate such a broad range of textures, colours and markings
found in nature, Kym concentrated on the treatment of fabrics
rather than on the fabrics themselves: advanced printing
techniques, fluorescent pigments, mirror fragments and crystals
allowed her to “paint” on canvases as varied as Lycra and leather,
with results that constantly interact with and adapt to the show’s
ever-changing lighting.
His dazzling costume (literally) is entirely covered of small mirrors
and crystals. The glittering mobile mosaic is made up of about
4,500 reflective components on a stretch velvet leotard.
ceremonial clothing of a number of North American Indian tribes,
rather than an accurate portrayal of any one culture. It includes a
Hopi cross and a headdress, and features extensive use of leather.
• In the opening scene the marsh is populated by fish and frogs. Their
patterns and colours came from real fish and frogs—including the
most poisonous frog in the Amazon jungle—and are replicated
by the pixelation of the image in the screen printing process. The
textures of the fabrics are also a close match to the skin of fish and
frogs found in nature. The end result resembles a community of
human amphibians.
• Each unicyclist has her own look, but together they form an
integrated unit. The base costumes are printed in earth tones, with
small details sewn onto them—including bolts and screws as well
as feathers and insects. The line of the costumes and the stylized
tutus create flirty ballerina silhouettes.
• The costumes worn by the foot-juggling duo are based on Lycra
body stockings. Each is adorned with 3,500 crystals and the
2 headdresses are each encrusted with a further 1,000.
• The Cosmonauts are wearing two costumes in one: when they
first appear (under black light), their body-hugging Lycra suits glow
dramatically in the dark, but as soon as the stage lights kick in, their
look is completely transformed. Some of the printed motifs recall
Mayan drawings, and each artist is wearing an individual variation
on the theme.
Set Design and Projections
The Turtle - Support of the World
Set and Projection Closeups
At the heart of many founding myths that live on in a variety of
legends and oral traditions, the turtle represents the earth and
carries the entire weight of the world on its shell. This totemic animal
is also omnipresent in the scenic environment of TOTEM.
• The border of the stage recalls the plastron (underside) of a turtle.
The large oval framework on stage represents the skeletal
substructure of a huge turtle shell that serves both as a decorative
set element and as acrobatic equipment. At the start of the show
it is covered with a cloth printed with the shell markings of a forest
turtle, reproduced through macro photography. Depending on the
artistic needs, the skeleton is raised to the top of the tent or opened
at an angle like an enormous shell.
• Bordering the marsh upstage, the reeds conceal the artists and
An organic world of multiple
transformations
• Some of the projections on the marsh interact with the movements
The visual environment of TOTEM is an organic world, a marsh lined
with reeds near an island (the stage), on which images are projected.
Set Designer Carl Fillion gave it curves and non-linear forms to reflect
the natural world.
Tilted slightly forward, the image marsh acts both as a stage
entrance and as a projection surface. Through the magic of moving
images it becomes a virtual swamp, a river source, a marsh, a lake,
an ocean, a volcanic island, a pond and a starry sky.
The images in the projections are drawn from nature and were shot
for the production in various parts of the world, including Iceland,
Hawaii and Guatemala. Even the images of boiling lava were filmed
by Image Content Designer Pedro Pires.
The “Scorpion Bridge” serving as a mobile platform connects
the marsh to the scene features variable geometry, allowing it to
adapt to each tableau. In one of the clown numbers, for example,
it becomes the prow of a boat then rises to become a plane in
flight, and finally a rocket taking off. In another scene, the bridge
is configured to look like a vertical totem pole.
The concept of the Scorpion Bridge was loosely based on a
retractable pedestrian bridge in London. Built of steel and weighing
10,000 lbs, its 8 powerful mineral oil hydraulic motors allow it to rise,
descend, extend, retract and curl in on itself like a scorpion’s tail.
Its reflective surfaces, which shine like mirrors, are made of stainless
steel plates. The base of the bridge houses lighting equipment, a laser,
speakers and cameras. During the show, the bridge is monitored by an
operator using four infrared cameras.
The motifs on the surface of the stage itself are a collage of handdrawn images inspired by the patterns on the plastrons of several
turtle species.
some set elements before they enter, as well as serving as a
projection surface. To save weight and facilitate storage on tour,
the reeds are inflatable.
• During the rings trio number, the Scorpion Bridge turns into
an Indian carpet that unrolls on the beach in a reference to the
Bollywood aesthetic that inspired the overall look of this scene.
of the artists in real time. Infrared cameras positioned above the
stage and around the marsh detect their movement and produce
kinetic effects such as ripples, splashes and reflections in the water
and the flames.
• Photographs taken by Guy Laliberté during his 2009 Poetic Social
Mission aboard the International Space Station are integrated in
the show.
Acrobatic Equipment
• The turtle skeleton weighs 2,700 lbs (1,225 kg), includes
2 horizontal bars and is completely covered in a non-slip finish.
• The unicycles are 7 ft (2 m) tall but very light, which makes them
easier to manoeuvre down the ramp at the beginning of the act.
• The perch poles are made of duralumin, an alloy used in
aeronautics. The tallest pole is about 33 ft (10 m) high.
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.
guy lalibertÉ | Guide and Founder
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.
“Cirque du Soleil began with a very simple dream.
A group of young entertainers got together to
amuse audiences, see the world, and have fun
doing it.”
In October 2007, Guy Laliberté entered into a second lifetime commitment by creating ONE DROP
which fights 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.
Awards and distinctions
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.
The multidisciplinary artist Robert Lepage is equally talented as a theatre director, playwright,
actor and film director. Lauded by critics the world over, his modern and unusual work transcends
all boundaries between disciplines.
In 1975, Lepage entered the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec and, following a study
period in France, he took part in several productions in which he combined the roles of actor,
writer and director. In 1985, he created The Dragons’ Trilogy, a show that earned him international
recognition. He followed this with Vinci (1986), Polygraph (1987), Tectonic Plates (1988) and
Needles and Opium (1991). With A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1992, he became the first North
American to direct a Shakespeare play at the Royal National Theatre in London.
ROBERT LEPAGE | Writer and Director
From 1989 to 1993, Lepage was Artistic Director of the Théâtre français at the National Arts
Centre in Ottawa. In 1994, he founded his own company Ex Machina and directed The Seven
Streams of the River Ota (1994), Le Songe d’une nuit d’été (1995) and a solo production,
Elsinore (1995).
“What is it about the circus that so captivates us?
It’s a discipline in which the performers must
always go beyond. We witness the transfiguration
of the human being. In the short time they are in
the air, or performing acrobatic feats, circus artists
become more than men and women—they are
demigods, and we are transported into a world
of mythology.”
Also in 1994, Robert Lepage made his début in the world of cinema. He wrote and directed his
first feature film, Le Confessional, which was screened the following year at the Cannes Festival
Directors’ Fortnight. He went on to direct Polygraph in 1996, Nô in 1997, Possible Worlds in 2000
(his first feature film written in English) and finally, in 2003, a film adaptation of his play The Far
Side of the Moon.
La Caserne, a multidisciplinary production centre in Quebec City, opened in 1997 under Robert
Lepage’s leadership. There, he created and produced Geometry of Miracles (1998), Zulu Time
(1999), The Far Side of The Moon (2000), a new version of The Dragons’ Trilogy with a new cast
(2003) and The Busker’s Opera (2004). This was followed by The Andersen Project (2005), Lipsynch
(2007), The Blue Dragon (2008) and Eonnagata (2009).
Lepage made a grand entrance in the opera world when he staged the successful double bill of
Bluebeard’s Castle and Erwartung (1993). He followed this with La Damnation de Faust presented
for the first time in the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, Japan (1999), 1984 in London (2005), The
Rake’s Progress in Brussels (2007) and The Nightingale and Other Short Fables in Toronto (2009).
Robert Lepage created and directed Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Tour (1993) and his Growing Up
Tour (2002). As part of the festivities surrounding the 400th anniversary of Quebec City in 2008,
he created Le Moulin à imagesTM—the largest architectural projection ever produced—on the walls
of the Bunge, a massive grain silo. In 2009 he and his Ex Machina team created Aurora Borealis, a
permanent light show for the structure, inspired by the colours of the northern lights.
Winner of many prestigious awards, in 2009 Lepage received the Governor General’s Performing
Arts Award for his outstanding contribution to Canada’s cultural life throughout his career.
TOTEM is Robert Lepage’s second Cirque du Soleil show following KÀ (2004). “Inspired by the
foundation narratives of the first peoples, TOTEM explores the birth and evolution of the world,
the relentless curiosity of human beings and their constant desire to excel,” he says. “The word
TOTEM suggests that human beings carry in their bodies the full potential of all living species,
even the Thunderbird’s desire to fly to the top of the TOTEM.”
GILLES STE-CROIX | Artistic guide
When Gilles Ste-Croix first told his parents he wanted to go into show business they said
“Anything but that!” Ste-Croix grew up in rural Quebec, but he was determined not to stay there.
He became a hippie and a nomad, living in communes and making the obligatory ‘60s pilgrimage
to the West Coast where he lived in communes and audited some drama classes.
Ste-Croix did try to conform, even working in an architect’s office for a while, but he knew in his
heart that he wasn’t cut out for a conventional business career. At the same time, his search for a
vocation was not in any way aimless or vague. He says that from his teens he always had a strong
drive to succeed and an equally strong desire to entertain. However, his entrée into show business
came about in a most unusual and unpredictable way.
In the late 1970s, Gilles Ste-Croix was living in a commune in Victoriaville, Quebec, picking apples
to make money. One day he mused that the job would be a whole lot easier if he could attach the
ladder to his legs - and devised his first set of stilts.
A friend happened to mention the Bread and Puppet Theater in nearby Vermont, which used stiltwalking as the basis of many of its performances. Ste-Croix went to see the company and realized that
his apple-picking skills might actually be in demand in the wider world of entertainment.
In 1980, Gilles Ste-Croix and a band of street artists founded the Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul and
organized a street performance festival called the Fête foraine de Baie-Saint-Paul, which would
eventually lead to the founding of Cirque du Soleil with Guy Laliberté in 1984.
In 1984 and 1985, Gilles Ste-Croix designed and performed many stilt acts for Cirque du Soleil. In
1988, he became Cirque’s Artistic Director, as well as coordinating a talent search that extended
to the four corners of the globe. He was Director of Creation for all of Cirque du Soleil’s productions
from 1990 to 2000: Nouvelle Expérience, Saltimbanco, Alegría, Mystère, Quidam, La Nouba, “O”
and Dralion. In 1992, he directed Fascination, the first Cirque du Soleil show presented in arenas
in Japan. He also directed the groundbreaking 1997 dinner/cabaret show Pomp Duck and
Circumstance in Germany.
In 2000, while continuing to act as a consultant for Cirque du Soleil, Gilles Ste-Croix decided to
realize one of his greatest dreams: Driven by his passionate interest in horses, he founded his own
company to produce the 2003 show Cheval-Théâtre, which featured 30 horses and as many artistacrobats under canvas and toured ten cities in North America.
NEILSON VIGNOLA | Director of Creation
In December 2002, Gilles St-Croix returned to Cirque du Soleil as Vice-President of Creation, New
Project Development. In July 2006, he was nominated Senior Vice-President of Creative Content
and New Project Development. Gilles currently focuses on his role as Creative Guide, alongside
Guy Laliberté.
“At Cirque, the director of creation seeks to maintain
and protect the creative spirit. The degree of
freedom Cirque offers creators is enormous
and my role is to encourage them to stretch
their limits.”
Neilson Vignola graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1980. He began his
professional career working in various capacities at many leading Quebec theatre companies,
including the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and the Compagnie Jean Duceppe.
It was with a 1981 production of The Tales of Hoffman that Neilson took his first steps into the
world of opera as a Stage Manager. He received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and
the Ministry of Arts and Culture of Quebec and left for Europe in 1985, where he spent a year
observing the work of several opera directors. In 1986, he assisted the director Richard Dembo on
another production of The Tales of Hoffman, and Robert Altman on his production of The Rake’s
Progress. In 1989, he worked on a production of Aida staged in Tokyo and Toronto. From 1990 to
1993, he was Director of Production at the Opéra de Montréal. In 1996, he worked on a production
of Turandot mounted at the Montreal Olympic Stadium and in 1997, he directed La Cenerentola
at McGill University.
His longtime collaboration with TOTEM‘s Director Robert Lepage, working as his Assistant, began
with a production of The Damnation of Faust, which was staged in Japan (1999), Paris (2001) and
New York (2008). This was followed by a production of 1984 (the world premiere of which was
mounted in London in 2005) and The Rake’s Progress, which played in Brussels and Lyon in 2007.
Throughout his career, Neilson has also worked on festivals, musicals, dance productions and
tours. Between 1987 and 1997, La La La Human Step, the Quebec singer Diane Dufresne, Le Théâtre
Populaire du Québec, Le Festival International de Nouvelle Danse and other companies hired him
as Stage Manager, Production Director, Technical Director or Assistant Stage Director.
Neilson has worked steadily at Cirque du Soleil since his first assignment in 1998 as Technical
Director and then interim Tour Director of Saltimbanco. Following an assignment directing
the development of new touring show infrastructure in 2002, he joined KÀ as Director Robert
Lepage’s Assistant and Production Stage Manager, and in 2005 he filled the same positions on
DELIRIUM with Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon—which led to his first appointment as Director of
Creation on ZAIA in 2007, followed by TOTEM.
“For me, the ultimate satisfaction is to deliver a show that will conquer and provoke emotions in
the audience,” says Neilson. “Our approach to TOTEM was to create a Big Top show in which not
only human beings, but humanity itself would be at the very heart of our purpose.”
CARL FILLION | Set and Props Designer
Carl Fillion has a degree in set design from the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec, where
he taught technical drawing from 1992 to 2002. His training also included studies in architectural
design and structure.
Carl has worked with many prominent companies and directors around the world and has a long
list of theatre, multimedia and opera credits to his name, including sets for La Celestina staged
by Fernando de Rojas’s Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, The Burial at Thebes at the Abbey
Theatre in Dublin and the opera Simon Boccanegra at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
TOTEM is Carl Fillion’s first design for a Cirque du Soleil production, and he set himself the
challenge of making all its forms organic, full of curves and irregular shapes, to reflect the forms
found in nature—while serving the technically demanding needs of the show’s performances.
Carl’s long association with Director Robert Lepage began in 1994 with the groundbreaking
show Les Sept branches de la rivière Ota, and he has continued to create set designs for more
than a dozen major theatre and opera production mounted by Lepage’s company since that first
collaboration.
“TOTEM is about evolution, so it was appropriate that the sets went through their own evolution,”
says Carl. “I don’t have a single one-size-fits-all approach that I apply to every production. It
depends on the genre – theatre, opera, and now circus – and it also very much depends on who
the director is. But I do always like to work with space, constantly transforming it and filling it
with movement.”
“I like to transform the scenic environment
by creating elements that move and turn,
on stage, in full view of the audience. My main
visual signature as a designer can be found in
the way I sculpt the space and keep it in motion.”
KYM BARRETT | Costume Designer
Kym Barrett, who has created some of the most influential clothing seen in recent years, had a
nomadic childhood, living for a while on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean before attending
a boarding school in her native Australia.
“Costumes are a way of reinforcing the story
that’s being told, and that’s how I primarily
see them. I trained as a milliner, and I like
the sculptural aspects of fabric.”
She went on to attend the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney, where her association
with Baz Luhrmann led her to the United States and Mexico to work on his
1996 film Romeo + Juliet.
The costumes she created for Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in that film attracted a great
deal of attention and led to her meeting the Wachowski brothers, who hired her in 1999 to design
the costumes for The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions—costumes that
inspired fashion designers, other costume designers and consumers around the world.
Her other film credits include Three Kings (1999), starring George Clooney, the Hughes
twins’ From Hell (2001), starring Johnny Depp, and the Wachowskis’ Speed Racer (2008).
For her work on screen, Kym was nominated in 2001 by the Costume Designers Guild of
America’s Best Costume Award for The Matrix, and won the Guild’s Award for Best Commercial
Costume Design in 2002. The same year, she was nominated for a Best Costume Design Golden
Satellite Award for her work on From Hell and in 2007, she was nominated for excellence in
costume design for the fantasy film Eragon.
For TOTEM, Kym’s designs reflect many facets of the creation and evolution of life and the
development of civilizations on earth. Her work also encompasses the cycle of the seasons.
“Although TOTEM is quite fantastical, there’s also a sense of reality,” says Kym. “The costumes
were inspired in part by documentary film. I wanted them to have a kind of documentary patina,
even though we were inventing our own reality.”
and
BOB & BILL | Composers
Musical Directors
Composers, Arrangers and Orchestrators Guy Dubuc and Marc Lessard, who work professionally as
“Bob & Bill,” are well known for their ability to blur the lines between genres and styles and have vast
experience in the entertainment and media worlds.
In 2003, the two partners composed the music for Splinter Cell (Pandora Tomorrow), a best-selling
Ubisoft video game for which they also created the sound effects. In 2004, Bob & Bill supplied the
music direction and arrangements for Cirque du Soleil’s mega show Midnight Sun celebrating the
25th anniversary of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
They have produced several record 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. Three-time nominees for a Quebec music industry ADISQ
award, Bob & Bill also created the music for several films and television series. In 2008, they
released their own first album, Crime Report, a work combining electronic and organic sounds.
Bob & Bill have been working steadily with Cirque du Soleil since 2007, creating the musical
arrangements for many special events, including Cirque’s production for the 400th anniversary
of Quebec City. In 2009, they composed the music for Director Robert Lepage’s production
Pageant de Canotgraphie.
Cultures and genres collide in the music and lyrics they have written and arranged for TOTEM in
a fitting reflection of the show’s own themes. “Each acrobatic number has its own respiration, its
own rhythm, and its own arc,” say Bob & Bill. “The music has to take that into account – not only
in the interests of the audience, but in the interests of the artists too.”
ÉTIENNE BOUCHER | Lighting Designer
“We set fire to all genres to create a musical, visual,
atmospheric fusion.”
“As early as the first run-through, ideas are
bumping into each other and fusing together
at a crazy speed. Everything takes shape in my
head. I then synthesize and refine my concept
during rehearsals.”
Since leaving the National Theatre School of Canada in 1999, Étienne Boucher has been much in
demand for his lighting designs as much for theatre and dance as for musicals and opera. He has
participated in nearly a hundred productions.
“I like to fill the whole space between the projector and the artist with light,” says Étienne. “It
allows me to colour the air, which in turn lets me pick out the details of the set design and sculpt
the artists.”
Etienne’s precise, chiselled designs—at times expressionistic, at times poetic—form pictures of
light that fuel the narrative of the productions he works on. Concerned with the meaning of both
colour and light, he is regarded in his milieu more as an illuminator than a lighting designer.
He has regularly worked in partnership with Directors such as René Richard Cyr, Brigitte Haentjens
and Martin Faucher, and since 2004 he has worked closely with TOTEM Director Robert Lepage
at the latter’s company, Ex Machina. Their association began with La Celestina (Spain), and
continued with Lipsynch (on international tour), The Rake’s Progress (presented in co-production in
Brussels, Lyon, San Francisco, London, Madrid and Milan) and Le Rossignol et autres fables (Toronto
and the Aix‑en‑Provence Festival in 2010).
Over the years, Étienne Boucher has won many accolades, garnering several award nominations at
the Soirée des Masques (Quebec), winning two Masques in 2007 for lighting productions of Du vent
entre les dents and La Dame aux camélias.
“In TOTEM, I wanted to play with the colours of the projections on the marsh to create a third
dimension by extending those effects onto the stage,” says Étienne Boucher. “The light I have
created for this show is a reflection borrowed from nature. My greens and blues were inspired by
ice, and the reds and yellows were definitely inspired by fire.”
Content
PEDRO PIRES | Projection
Designer
Pedro Pires grew up in Quebec City, where he soon discovered his ability to reproduce and
animate characters and monsters. These experiments allowed him to develop his own techniques
of molding and special effects.
“I usually create realistic images but I like to play
with textures and colours to give them a certain
sense of poetry.”
In 1990, at age 21, he entered Laval University to study Fine Arts. Following that, he received a
Special Make-Up Effects Certificate from the renowned New York artist Dick Smith and completed
a Computer Graphic Design Certificate at the Centre NAD – National Animation and Design
Centre – in Montréal.
His film debut was in 1995 with The Sound of the Carceri, a documentary by director François
Girard, in which he recreated the fictitious prisons of Piranesi around the cellist Yo-Yo Ma, in 3D.
This work won him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Visual Effects and a Gemini Award for Best
Visual Effects, in 1998. He worked with François Girard again on the artistic direction of the visual
effects in the film The Red Violin.
In 2001, he took on the visual conception for the film Possible Worlds, which marked the beginning of
a long artistic collaboration with the Playwright, Director and Film-maker Robert Lepage.
In 2007, he set up his own film production company, Pedro Pires Inc., dedicated to the creation
of original content using digital technology. In 2008, his company produced the short film Danse
Macabre, a multidisciplinary collaboration with Anne Bruce Falconer and Robert Lepage, where
he acts simultaneously as Scriptwriter, Director, Photographer and Editor. This film has been
screened at many festivals since 2009 and has to date won 27 international prizes.
TOTEM marks his first collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. “In TOTEM, the screen for the projections
is a kind of virtual marsh at the rear of the stage,” notes Pedro Pires. “All the images are drawn
from nature, even when they seem quite abstract. They evolve through the show in a long mix or
a morph to create an ever-changing tableau that interacts with the artists and lives in harmony
with the stage lighting.”
JACQUES BOUCHER | Sound Designer
For more than 25 years Jacques Boucher has been exploring myriad ways to connect with
the emotions of audiences in Quebec and elsewhere through his sound designs.
“I am guided by instinct. Once I immerse myself
in the emotion of a scene, I amplify that emotion
to create moods.”
A graduate of the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, where he studied the bass, Jacques
played with rock bands while pursuing his studies in classical music. Intrigued by the power of
sound vibrations, he quickly became interested in the entire universe of sound, and he points out
that sound is a powerful vehicle for emotions.
He began his professional career with the Quebec company Le Bruit bleu for which he created
large-scale sound installations. This experience led him to the Capitol Theatre in Quebec, where
he held the position of Chief Sound Engineer for ten years.
Jacques also worked as a Sound Engineer 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.
The next high point in Jacques’ career came in 2008 when he was invited to handle the sound for
almost every event presented during the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of Quebec City. As
Chief Designer and Sound Engineer, he created the sound design for the Quebec Symphony
Orchestra’s performance of the Symphonie des milles by Gustav Mahler, Le Moulin à imagesTM by
Robert Lepage, for which he designed the sound system spanning 1.2 kilometers, and the tribute
show presented by Cirque du Soleil.
Jacques is also hired as Sound Designer and Chief Sound Engineer for some Cirque du Soleil special
events, including Les Chemins invisibles which was created especially for Quebec City in 2009.
“For TOTEM I created a multi-source sound environment to produce an all-enveloping ambiance,”
says Jacques Boucher. “Given the theme of the show, which deals with the evolution of man,
I wanted to pay homage to the human ability to perceive sounds according to their sources, a
function that has enabled man to survive for millennia.”
NATHALIE J. SIMARD | Make-up Designer
JEFFREY HALL | Choreographer
“To create beautiful pieces, it has to come straight
from the heart. If you are passionate, your artwork
will speak for itself.”
“Circus choreography is physical theatre
centered around the artists’ skills while driven
by the emotions of theme.”
Nathalie J. Simard has been practicing the art of makeup for over 20 years. She studied visual arts
and took several theatre and makeup workshops, but is largely self-taught, having learned her
craft on the streets of Quebec City. There, she explored the many facets of makeup in depth and
developed a distinctive style that is all her own, using the body and face of her subjects as her canvas.
An innovator since the 1980s, Nathalie became well known for transforming children and adults
alike with her distinctive designs at festivals and outdoor events throughout Quebec. Constantly
on the lookout for new sources of inspiration, she then took her talents to other stages across
Canada, Asia, Europe and the United States.
Her creations have been seen by tens of thousands of people in several major events such as the
International Children’s Festivals network across Canada and the International Buskers Festivals
held in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Nathalie has worked on theatre productions for Marie Dumais and photography projects with
David Cannon. She also worked with characters for the EOS Circus in Quebec City, and created
hundreds of makeup designs for the Festival d’été de Québec and the Winter Carnival. For ten
years, she has designed characters for productions by the Quebec Creator Olivier Dufour, including
his show Le Chemin qui marche (one of the main events of Quebec City’s 400th anniversary
celebrations), and Festival Montréal en lumière.
Early in 2000, Nathalie founded Kromatik, a company that specializes in makeup for street art.
Working with a team of artists as dedicated as herself, she developed a technique of makeup and
animation that set new standards in the field. Combining speed, creativity and originality, she can
produce a collective work in minutes.
TOTEM marks Nathalie’s first collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. “The show deals with humanity
in all its diversity and richness,” she says. “I used the patterns and iconography of a vast array of
different cultures to create the different characters. I am just as inspired by all the artists, their
energy and their performance to create characters that are a really good fit.”
Known for blending his spectacular athleticism with his artistic eclecticism, Jeff Hall has
inventively brought humour, dialogue and physical performance together on stage. He was
Canadian Freestyle Frisbee Champion in 1989 and 1990, and the sport led him to the performing
arts when he took a dance class to improve his frisbee technique while at university. He
obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Dance at Concordia University (Montréal) and a
Matriculation in Classical Music at McGill.
Jeff has performed with many independent choreographers. He created the groundbreaking
Duodenum with Pierre-Paul Savoie and eventually found his way to the Fondation Jean-Pierre
Perreault, where he performed in the productions JOE and Piazza. He toured extensively
with the Montreal company Carbone 14 from 1990-1995, performing in both the show and
the film Café des Aveugles, and the show Le Dortoir as well as its award-winning film adaptation
by François Girard.
As Co-artistic Director of PPS Danse from 1992 to 1998, Jeff co-created Bagne, as well as the
multimedia production Pôles, working with visual artists Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon. This
work has been presented in important venues across Canada and around the world, and he and
Pierre-Paul Savoie received the prestigious 1996 Jacqueline Lemieux Price for its choreography.
Jeff was reunited with Carbone 14 as a Performer in the 2001 creation Silences et Cris by Gilles
Maheu. He then became Gilles’ Assistant in La Bibliothèque, Carbone 14’s 2002 creation. That
same year, he assisted Director Robert Lepage working on the remounting of La Trilogie des
Dragons, and Marie Brassard on her La Noirceur, both presented at the Festival Théâtre des
Amériques in 2003. Since then, he has completed a film directing program at Institut national
de l’image et du son (INIS).
Jeff started his relationship with Cirque du Soleil in 2005 as an Artistic Coach for The Beatles LOVE.
His next major Cirque assignment was as Acrobatic Choreographer for ZAIA.
In 2009, Jeff choreographed and danced in the film Falling, directed by Philip Spozer and Marlene
Miller, and choreographed Du haut des airs presented in 2010 by Cirque de Demain (France).
“In each and every number in TOTEM there is an evolutionary factor, which is the thread that runs
through the show,” he says. “Our decision to illustrate that thread through dance styles as diverse
as hip-hop and Bollywood came very naturally and organically. We researched Hindu dance,
American Indian dance, African dance, coupled with theories of animism and TOTEMism.”
FLORENCE POT | Acrobatic
Performance Designer
A gymnast at the age of six, Florence Pot completed her university degree in physical education
in France and went on to specialize in sports psychology. She decided to move to Montréal in 1991
primarily to continue her academic career.
She studied for her master’s degree in sports psychology at the University of Montreal while
working as a coach at the club Gymnix de Montréal. She returned to France two years later
to choreograph performances for the French Gymnastics Federation.
Motivated by a lack of professional challenges in France and a strong desire to work at Cirque
du Soleil, Florence came back to Canada in 1997 to renew her network of contacts at Cirque
and work in a variety of capacities, including helping four Canadian gymnasts prepare for the
Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.
In 2001, she accepted a position scouting acrobatic talent for Cirque’s casting department, and
in 2003 she became the company’s chief scout. In 2006, she accepted the invitation to become
Acrobatic Performance Designer on ZED (Cirque’s resident show in Tokyo) because she wanted
to get closer to the creation process and be part of it from start to finish. She is reprising the same
role on TOTEM.
“With TOTEM, the theme of evolution extended into the acrobatic acts in the show,” says Florence
Pot, “which we selected to reflect the evolution of human motor functions.”
Equipment
PIERRE MASSE | Acrobatic
and Rigging Designer
“I don’t make any distinction between the
acrobatic and the artistic. Acrobatics is as much
an art as the visual arts.”
“My job is to support the artistry and creativity
of the show by allowing the performers to express
themselves as fully and freely as possible. At the
same time I have to make sure they don’t face
any unnecessary risks.”
Pierre Masse, who grew up in a show business family, has worked behind the scenes in just about
every genre of the performing arts for the past 25 years. He was involved in major productions
with the Opéra de Montréal and the Grands Ballets Canadiens as well as a production of Les
Misérables.
Pierre was appointed Head Carpenter and Automation Specialist for Celine Dion’s Falling Into You
world tour from 1995 to 1997, and stayed on as Head Carpenter and Stage Manager for her Let’s Talk
About Love world tour from 1997 to 2000. He followed that with his appointment as Senior Project
Manager, Automation, on A New Day, her long-running Las Vegas show.
Pierre first worked for Cirque du Soleil in 1996 as an Automation Consultant for the show
Quidam. Soon after that he became involved in the development of other Cirque projects and
went on to work on the Cirque shows Varekai, Zumanity, KÀ and CRISS ANGEL Believe. TOTEM is
his first show as Acrobatic Equipment and Rigging Designer.
“I’m absolutely fascinated by every single piece of equipment we create for our shows,” says Pierre
Masse. “But as far as I’m concerned, the most sophisticated piece of engineering on the stage is
the human body. It never ceases to amaze me to see what the artists are capable of doing.”
Fast Facts
TOTEM:
• TOTEM world-premiered in Montreal on April 22, 2010. During its
first year, the show visited Montréal and Québec City in Canada
before transferring to Amsterdam, Holland. 2011 commenced with
a season in the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London, England
before returning to North America for the remainder of 2011.
TOTEM begins the 2012 season in the Royal Albert Hall in London,
before returning back to the United States to continue its North
American Tour.
• TOTEM marks Robert Lepage’s second collaboration with Cirque
du Soleil, following KÀ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which is
approaching its eight year anniversary.
• TOTEM “hybrid show” is the first Cirque du Soleil Big Top show to be
created in such a way that it can be adapted to the reality of arenas
and other venues from the very outset.
Cast and Crew:
• The cast of TOTEM comprises 53 artists from 18 countries—
Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Mongolia, The People’s Republic of
China, Russian Federation, Spain, Ukraine, The United Kingdom
and The United States of America.
• The crew is composed of 13 employees in the ARTISTIC SUPPORT
team, 10 in PUBLIC SERVICES, 15 in TOUR SERVICES and
35 employees in the TECHNICAL department. The employees
represent 10 countries—Australia, Canada, France, The
Netherlands, New Zealand, The People’s Republic of China,
Russian Federation, Switzerland, The United Kingdom and
The United States of America.
• Although English is the official language of the tour, you will often
also hear French being spoken on-site in addition to many other
languages including Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, Russian, Italian,
Dutch and Portuguese.
• There are 120 touring employees with 50 official accompanying
members (spouses and family). So a total of 170 on the road!
• A total of 23 children are on tour between the ages of 6 months
and 17 years old. Currently, the youngest tour member is 6 months
and the eldest is 61!
• The tour relies on local suppliers for many essentials such 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.
However, due to the use of electricity generators; the structure
is fully self-sustainable with the exception of connecting water/
sewerage and telecommunications in each city.
• During an engagement in a city, over 150 people are hired in each
market for a variety of jobs, including ushers, box office ticket
sellers, corporate hospitality hosts, food and beverage attendants,
merchandising sales staff, kitchen attendants and prep-cooks,
janitors and a receptionist. We also employ over 100 local laborers
to assist with the site set-up and tear down.
• The kitchen employs one touring kitchen manager and
three touring cooks.
• The school on-site has three full-time teachers and seven
students—one minor performer (Nikita Moiseev – Russian Bars)
and six children of touring artists. The Chinese unicycle performers
are also minors and partake in school onsite as taught by the
Chinese interpreter.
• Two performance medicine therapists travel with the tour.
Village on Wheels
Cirque du Soleil’s mobile village includes the Grand Chapiteau (Big Top), one large entrance tent, artistic tent, box office, kitchen, school, 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.
A marvel on its own, Cirque du Soleil has four other such “villages on wheels” currently touring: Corteo, KOOZA, OVO and Varekai.
The Site
•
•
•
A
total of 65 trailers are needed to transport the 1,200 tons
of equipment that TOTEM carries around. A few of these
trailers are used during the season as storage spaces, kitchen
and workshops.
The Tapis Rouge Tent
•
F our 500 kva generators provide electricity to the Grand
Chapiteau and the entire set-up.
•
T
he Grand Chapiteau, the artistic tent and the Tapis Rouge
tent are entirely climate controlled.
The Grand Chapiteau
•
T
he seating capacity of the Grand Chapiteau
is approximately 2,600.
•
C
onceived by a team of Canadian engineers, the canvas
was produced by a French company who specializes in sails
and big tops: Les Voileries du Sud-Ouest.
•
T
he canvas for the tent and its 11 tunnels weigh
approximately 11 500 pounds.
• The Grand Chapiteau is 66 feet high and has a diameter
of 167 feet.
•
The Entrance Tent
T
he site takes 8 days to set up and 3 days to deconstruct.
T
he 4 masts stand at 80 feet above the ground.
•
A
large entrance tent holds the merchandise, food
and beverage counters.
T
he Tapis Rouge tent hosts up to 250 guests and is available
for private functions.
The Artistic Tent
•
T
he artistic tent includes a wardrobe area, dressing rooms,
a fully equipped training area and a physiotherapy room.
The Kitchen
• The kitchen is the heart of the village – not only does it serve
between 200-250 meals per day, six days a week it is also
the meeting place for cast and crew alike.
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 5,000 employees, including
more than 1,300 artists from close to 50 different countries.
Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to more than
100 million spectators in more than 300 cities in over forty countries
on six continents. Cirque du Soleil International Headquarters are in
Montreal, Canada.
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 BaieSaint-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.
th
In 1984, Québec City was celebrating the 450 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
business has 5,000 employees worldwide, including more
than 1,300 artists.
• At the Montréal International Headquarters alone, there
are close to 2,000 employees.
• More than 100 types of occupations can be found at Cirque.
• The company’s employees and artists represent close
to 50 nationalities and speak 25 different languages.
• More than 100 million spectators have seen a
Cirque du Soleil show since 1984.
• Close to 15 million people will see a Cirque du Soleil
show in 2012.
• Cirque du Soleil hasn’t received any grants from the public
or private sectors since 1992.
TOURING SHOWS IN ARENAS
In 2011, Cirque du Soleil
will present twenty-one
different shows around
the world:
Europe
Europe
TOURING SHOWS
UNDER THE BIG TOP
North America
North America
North America/Europe
South America
Europe
Japan
North America/Australia
North America
resident shows
North America
Treasure Island
in Las Vegas
Bellagio
in Las Vegas
New York-New York
Hotel & Casino
in Las Vegas
Walt Disney World® Resort
in Orlando, Florida
MGM Grand
in Las Vegas
The Mirage
in Las Vegas
Luxor
in Las Vegas
ARIA Resort & Casino
at CityCenter,
in Las Vegas
Russia/North America
Kodak Theatre
in Los Angeles
TM
Cirque du Soleil, Sun Logo, Saltimbanco, Alegría, Dralion, Quidam, Varekai, Corteo, KOOZA, OVO, TOTEM, Amaluna, Mystère, “O”, Zumanity – the Sensual Side of Cirque du Soleil, La Nouba, KÀ, Zarkana, IRIS – A Journey Through the World of Cinema 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. Viva ELVIS is a trademark owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. and used under license. © The Cirque EPE Partnership. Elvis name and likeness used under license. Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour 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.
ON STAGE OR BACKSTAGE
IT’S YOUR TURN TO BE PART OF THE SHOW
/jobs