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Cirque du Soleil: There's magic in the air

Tribune photo by CHRIS URSO

Frog-limber acrobats make it look easy as they work a routine on Chinese Poles during their Lakeland appearance in April.

By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 25, 2009

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Alternating between comical skits and awesome acrobatic feats, Cirque du Soleil's "Saltimbanco" is a visual feast.

And it's being served at the St. Pete Times Forum through July 5.

Dozens of performance artists in colorful costumes cavort on an elevated stage designed to represent a cheerful, magical urban city.

"We create an exciting imaginary place where almost anything can happen," says Richard Dagenais, senior artistic advisor for this incarnation of one of the troupe's most popular shows.

It's a place where a five-piece jazz/pop/rock band accompanies the action while two singers wail away, often with ethereal tunes sung in gibberish that sounds like French.

In this "city," a character called The Ringmaster is dressed in bright yellow tights. He struts about, overseeing acts that include a dozen acrobats who climb up 24-foot-tall "Chinese Poles" and spring back and forth like tree frogs.

There also are amazing jugglers, nimble bungee jumpers, jaw-dropping trapeze acts, a stunt bicyclist and a pair of boleadora twirlers who crack and pop an Argentinean percussion device made of a weight attached to the end of a cord.

And there's a Russian Swing that catapults performers 30 feet in the air to flip and twist before landing.

In keeping with Cirque's combining of surreal art concepts with traditional circus acts, "Saltimbanco" (roughly translated as "jump up on a bench") has a theme.

Dagenais says the show "explores the concept of the evolution of urbanization."

He calls it a light-hearted look at what happens in a big city where clown-like characters are symbols for the various types of people and emotions.

"This is one of our classic shows that originated in 1992 and has since traveled the world," he says. "It was only performed under our traveling big top. But now it has been transformed for arenas, making it accessible to more people."

The show unfolds as an allegory with characters seemingly inspired by Dr. Seuss.

The Baron, a peacock of a ruler in a top hat and cape, acts as guide through the city where clownlike residents include the poor "Baroque" street people and the "Vers Masques" (the "masses" or "masked worms"), long-nosed characters who are merely watchers in life, not players.

Comedy is served by Eddie the Jester, a cutup in short pants and red cap, and The Dreamer, a whimsical possumlike character with a pot belly and long tail. Among the other characters is La Belle, an ever-present soulful town crier who "reflects all human emotion."

This somewhat bizarre artistic concept sets the stage to introduce a variety of skilled circus acts.

French for "Circus of the Sun," Cirque du Soleil was created by street performers in Montreal in the early 1980s. It has grown into a massive operation of more than 3,500 employees with permanent shows in Las Vegas and Orlando and numerous traveling shows.

"Being a part of Cirque is something that I wanted ever since I saw it years ago," says Emerson Neves, a former world aqua champion springboard diver from Brazil.

Neves, who performs in several "Saltimbanco" acts including the Chinese Poles and Russian Swing, says he auditioned several times before being accepted into the international cast.

"There is a lot of training involved and it is physically demanding," he says. "But it also is very rewarding. It's a creative way to use your athletic skills."

SHOW PREVIEW

Cirque Du Soleil: Saltimbanco

SCHEDULE:
• 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
• 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday
• 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
• 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. July 3 and 4
• 1 and 2 p.m. July 5

WHERE: St. Pete Times Forum

COST: $40, $60, $75, and $110. Tickets are 20 percent off for children 12 and under. Tickets may be purchased online only by visiting ticketmaster.com. Telephone orders may be placed through Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000, or through the Forum's box office at 813-301-2500.

ON THE WEB: www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/saltimbanco/defaul...

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.