PREVIEW
Saloon
Cirque Éloize
Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 7:30 p.m.
Arden Theatre
5 St. Anne Street
Tickets: $68 adults, $45 children plus service charges. Call 780-459-1542 or visit www.ticketmaster.ca
Saddle up. Cirque Éloize is coming St. Albert with a relatively new show, Saloon. But the cirque is no ordinary company.
Although little known in Alberta, Cirque Éloize are stars of the Quebec circus scene with a 25-year history that has taken them across 60 countries.
An early driver of the circus art reinvention movement, it proudly boasts 11 shows that have been seen by more than three million spectators.
In celebration of its landmark anniversary, Saloon will be showcased at the Arden Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 2.
Inspired by the rich legacy of North America’s early roots, this 85-minute Wild West production showcases the cirque’s signature blend of circus arts and theatrical drama. Saloon blends history with fantasy, and folklore with pop culture.
“We have tried to find a balance between acrobatics, comedy, music, theatre and touching poetry,” said Jeannot Painchaud, co-founder and artistic director.
Although there is no linear story, the western theme suggests a time when railroads opened up the country. In the middle of a desert, a small town flourishes complete with assorted characters: gamblers, saloon girls, bartenders, cowboys, a villain and the local sheriff.
The only things missing are swinging saloon doors. Instead nine acrobats will hang from wagon wheel chandeliers, jump on seesaw Korean planks, dangle horizontally from a Chinese pole and manoeuvre a Cyr wheel.
Directed by Emmanuel Guillaume, this 85-minute lasso-throwing world builds vignette upon vignette as athletic feats outdo each other.
To accompany the tricks, music director Éloi Painchaud, a multi-instrumentalist and composer, created a foot-stomping soundtrack. It mixes legendary country music from Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline with Cajun sounds and a smattering of modern, pulsing techno beats.
The seed for Cirque Éloize was planted during the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s 1534 arrival at the Gaspé. In 1984, Jeannot Painchaud was 18 and living on the Magdalen Islands, a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
“I had gone to see the tall ships. I had a secret desire to cross the Atlantic. That day I saw a parade with Cirque du Soleil’s acrobats and jugglers and my life changed,” said Painchaud.
But it was a visit to the National Circus School of Montreal that produced a revelation.
“I felt at home. I loved to work physically. Circus was a great mix of defying death danger and a way to push the limit of the body. I’ve never done anything else since I entered the circus.”
After training and touring for several years, Painchaud returned to his roots and discovered Daniel Cyr, inventor of the Cyr wheel.
“We eventually found five others and made a group of seven. We created a show for the island in 1991. We had such energy. It was very powerful. The simple pleasure of our desire was the first spark.”
By 1993, Cirque Éloize was formed, a cross between theatre and circus. Like Cirque du Soleil it reinvented circus arts. Unlike Cirque du Soleil, it had no Big Top.
“It was an economic decision. We had no money, no organization. We had to create a show in theatres, something we continue today.”
Cirque Éloize aims to create a contagious, spirited vibrancy with never a dull moment.
Painchaud concludes by saying, “If you want to have fun and enjoy a great moment of escape, this is the playground to be.”
