The Arena

Our time in Switzerland was so brief that even though I left three days ago, I still have people asking me if I'm there. Most of my time was spent in the arena, or else watching the planes take off. Performing in an arena was a first for my circus, and certainly an interesting experience.

 Geneva Arena, conveniently located at the airport!

The set up was tricky as there were no bridges, no stage, no nothing. Absolutely everything had to be set up, and quite a lot of the material had to be brought in or rented on site. Aerial points were rigged with high tension cables strung from one end of the arena to the other, and the was barely enough cable to do it. It was a lot of work, but I think everyone was pleasantly surprised (and relieved) at how smoothly things went.

That, of course, was a trap. When it comes to live performance, the gods of show business can't content themselves with smooth sailing. So they decided to throw a wrench into the works. Specifically, this guy:

Heh heh heh...

Initially, our sound tech was overjoyed to find himself in a space outfitted for rock concerts. But when the sound console failed and accidentally erased all the levels... well... that was less joyful. I don't know how many hours he spent fixing things, but I do know the musicians spent six hours doing sound checks and levels instead of the usual two.

 Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's how it went down.

Being a concert hall, we were all given awesome security clearance bracelets! One for each day! As ridiculous as this kind of stuff is, I'm always really excited about it and it makes me feel terribly important. And yes, I have saved all my accreditation from gigs past.

Excuse my paint covered hands, this was after a show.

As for the space? Well, there was definitely space. I don't think we've ever had so much room backstage. Or all around the stage for that matter. And while that was quite nice, the stage itself was so poorly constructed that every step sounded like a herd of elephants. And any acrobatics sounded like we were under heavy artillery fire by herd of elephants. 'What about for German wheel', you ask? The creaking sounds the stage made while I did wheel were so extreme that my initial reaction was that my wheel was literally coming apart. While that freaked me out quite a lot in the beginning, it was the later fear that the floor would collapse under the collective weight of the troupe and equipment that was most worrisome.

Aaaaaany moment now... 

But the biggest challenge?

The audience.

It's not that they were unresponsive. It's that we didn't think we'd have one. We're pretty much an unknown entity in Switzerland, so unlike in France, we can't rely on name recognition alone to fill seats. While we had initially planned on eight or ten shows, that number was cut down to three. And a few weeks before we opened, we were told to invite as many people as possible to make sure we'd have a public.

Yikes.

In the end, those worries proved unnecessary. The seats got filled, the audience loved it, and there are even whispers of a possible return across the border.

I just hope we make it in time for this...

Geneva!

Ladies and gentleman, for the first time ever, my circus is performing in Switzerland!

However, our grand Swiss debut is hardly the bells and whistles affair we would have liked for it to have been. The reason for this is that we're performing in an arena...

at the airport...

I know the above picture isn't that great, but it really shows just how close the arena (the building on the right) is to the airport (just opposite that barrier, note the plane taking off).

I have a feeling this is going to be interesting...

Back to the Bakery

Ok. I promise this is going to be my final cake related post... for a while anyway.

After seeing what fun, circus inspired cakes were being made on Ace of Cakes and Food Network Challenge, I couldn't help but wonder what other circus cakes were out there.

I would love to say there are many gorgeous, mature, elegant circus cakes with a healthy dose of fun, but I can't. The vast majority are geared toward children and are based on a handful of cheesy stereotypes. If it's a circus cake, it probably has some combination of animals, a striped tent, a clown, some foil sparklers or stars.

I knew I should have majored in shiny crap!

Don't get me wrong, when circus themed cakes for kids aren't covered in flotsam*, they can be absolutely adorable. The thing is, these cutesy kid's cakes aren't so much about circus as they are about the idea of something childish that kids should like.

Elephant, tent, clown, stars... yup. All there.

The world of circus I know is about creating art, expressing emotion and executing death defying feats! It's about poetry, magic, and maybe a little sex appeal thrown in for good measure. There's more to the circus than clowns and elephants.

"I didn't even try to try."

Maybe you think that I'm overreacting. But the world of circus as I have come to know it is a really beautiful place. Ask anyone in my profession and they'll tell you it's just as much about art as it is spectacle. So it's a good thing there are a few pastry chefs out there who understand that not only is circus about art, but so is cake.

This first cake was created by Fatma Özmen. As far as specialty cakes go, it isn't terribly exciting. In fact, it's not so much about the cake as it is the molded characters. They really are quite fun and very well executed. I actually recognize characters from La Nouba and O.

Fatima's Flickr stream can be found here.

Here is yet another Cirque du Soleil inspired cake, this time celebrating the show Ovo. It was made by Michelle Lanza of Sweet Sugar. Never having seen Ovo, I can't really say if this cake represents the show well or not. To my knowledge, the show is about bugs, and there is nary an insect to be found. And can that really be considered a bad thing?

I find this cake to be very elegant and it definitely conveys a feeling of dreams and magic. I love the figures and find they have a wonderful and unique style to them, and the lettering for Cirque du Soleil cascading down the cake is absolutely marvelous. Not only does this cake give a sense of height, but it also suggests ascending toward something more. Love it.

Visit Michel's Flickr stream here.

This next cake makes me think of San Fransico. Many of the artists I know from there have a very particular style. When they came to Montreal to study, they brought that style with them. Edgy, gritty, maybe even a little dirty. For me this cake is a cross between that gritty style of circus that you see more and more of, and vaudeville. I've got to say though, it really amazes me that the fire breather and burlesque dancer keep company with a birthday clown. Sigh...

By Magnolia Bake and Cake

And lastly, my favourite cake of all...

Image found on Cakelove.

I know what you must be thinking... this cake has nothing to do with contemporary circus and there's an elephant! So what gives? Why the blind eye?

It all comes back conveying emotion.

The circus cakes meant for the kids, with their bright primary colours and cartoonish characters, make me go "awww!". But that 'aw' has no connection to me. The cakes are cute and bring to mind cute little children doing cute little children things. But if I stop for a moment, I realize that whatever reactions I may be having to the cake, none of them are related to the circus or my experience with the circus. It's a cute cake that represents what I feel is an adult's view of what a childlike innocence and relation to the circus should be.

But the above cake? It's all about nostalgia and romance... It's retro form and colours make me think of the golden era of American circus. Who hasn't dreamed of running away with the circus, with its bright lights and the beautiful costumes? Women covered in sequins and feathers one minute, and flying through the air the next, every bit as powerful and as skilled as their male counterparts. The men, dashing and daring, showing just the right mix of bravado and vulnerability to make the ladies in the audience want them, and the men want to be them. The adventure! The applause! The dream!

Was it actually like that? Probably not. But that cake sure makes me think so.

My quest for the perfect circus cake will continue! Even if it means I have to (attempt) to make it myself!

* Fun fact: This cake can be yours for the low, low price of $125!

Backstage Cakes!

In my quest for more circus themed treats, I stumbled upon this blog entry.

I'm not sure if it's the circus artist in me or the wanna-be pastry chef in me that would have liked to learn a little more about the creative process involved in the design and construction of the cake, but I must say the photos detailing the evolution of the decorations are absolutely wonderful.

For more detailed pictures, check out the Dessert Works blog!

For my money, I think the Charm City Cakes Kooza confection was more impressive overall. But I must say the ladies over at Dessert Works really did a great job with their modeling chocolate replicas of the various artists in the show. My favourites are the the foot jugglers, the black and white hand-balancer, and the antipodists.

Stay tuned for more circus goodies, both baked and performed!

I Noticed

The more observant among you may have noticed that so far this month, there hasn't been a single* post about the tour or working on the show. There's a very good reason for that. You see, we've been on break for the past three weeks! But starting tomorrow, we hit the ground running in Geneva!

There is a very good chance that there will some serious wrenches in the works of our circus. To begin with, the venue we're performing in is located within the airport. And if that isn't curious enough, it would seem it's more of an arena than a theatre, and therefore has no bridges (for lighting etc...) and no where for any points for the aerials.

The optimist in me says "should be interesting". The pessimist says "no comment".

I guess I'll find out tomorrow...

In the meantime, enjoy some more posts about cake!





* Well, maybe this one, but it hardly counts.

Circus Takes the Cake!

Without question, circus is my number one passion. But those who know me, and especially those who have been on tour with me, know that cake making comes in at a close second. At my circus I have become the official pastry chef and birthday-cake-maker-extraordinaire. There's nothing I love more than a tall, elaborate cake. Except a delicious, tall, elaborate cake. And that's just the kind I make.

Putting my money where my mouth is.

So imagine my delight when I discovered that Food Network Challenge had a Cirque du Soleil themed episode! So far, I have been unsuccessful in finding the episode online (season 8, episode 10). I have, however, managed to locate a photo of the cake that came in second:

Lauren Bozich and Marianne Carroll of White Flower Cake Shoppe

For this challenge, the cakes were all inspired by the show La Nouba. While the judges may have awarded the above ladies second place, any cake that has freakin' German wheel cake toppers is a win in my book! Not that I'm biased or anything...

Of course once my two passions met, they began to conspire. The search for the Food Network Challenge episode led to the discovery of a Cirque du Soleil episode of Cupcake Wars. Personally, I don't really care for this show as I find the final result tends to leave a lot to be desired...

 Is that seriously the best you could do? Yikes...

And that led to the discovery of an episode of Ace of Cakes where the main cake featured was for Kooza.

Oh, Duff... you wonderful, wonderful man.

Now I'm trapped in a quest to find all the very best circus confections the internet has to offer. And let me tell you, I'm not the only one who likes both circus and cake.

If you'd like to watch the Cupcake Wars episode featuring Cirque du Soleil, go here.

If you'd like to watch the Ace of Cakes episode featuring a cake celebrating Kooza, go here.

And if you find the episode of Food Network Challenge featuring La Nouba, please let me know!

The quest for circus cakes continues...

How Small Is My Wheel?

Small enough to fit in this elevator!

See?

But wait! There's more!

Not only is my wheel the only wheel small enough to fit inside ENC's regular elevator (in your face, freight elevator!), but it also fits...

...with the cleaning cart!

My wheel: 190cm of pure awesomeness.

Circus Milk

For strong and acrobatic bones.

Japan

Friends of mine were on tour in Japan when the earthquake struck. The first news I had of the disaster was actually a cryptic (though not for long) Facebook status simply confirming they were all ok.

The company in question, having considerable clout, managed to get them out on a direct flight from Tokyo to Macau just three days later.

Upon arrival, they were greeted with a friendly radiation screening...



Quel vie de cirque, indeed.

What He Said II

A few months ago I shared with you some insights from a friend of mine who was performing in Australia.

Well, now he's performing in Berlin and has this to say:

"Bad audiences are like assholes. End of analogy."

And that, ladies and gentleman, is called hitting the nail on the head.

Impro Cirque - 6th Edition

Last night, Impro Cirque was at it again with another hilarious performance! And this time, I brought a camera!

 Nicolas Fortin, MC extraordinaire

The night's match featured:

Red Team:

• Tom "Le Chelou" Cholot
• Soizick "Suzy" Hebert
• Ugo "The End" Laffolay
• Samuel "2Catch" Roy
• Anna "Kitch" Kichtchenko

Blue Team:

• Raphael "Muffin Top" Cruz
• Roch "Rocco" Jutras
• Hugo "On the Side" Ouellet-Cote
• Nicolas "Throw" Boivin-Gravel
• Alexandra "La Petite" Royer

Artists gettin' ready to rumble

With each edition, the popularity of Impro Cirque continues to grow. There were so many people there that by the time everyone was seated, it was a half hour past the scheduled start of the show. Moreover, many were forced to sit on the floor! But it didn't matter. The energy at Impro Cirque is nothing short of electric, and the level of enthusiasm is beyond contagious.

I had some seriously high expectations going in. And while I would like to say I was not disappointed, I must admit, there were some low points.

To begin with, the crowd. I know it's a strange point to make, but the crowd was a little too rowdy at times and often disruptive. I don't know how to explain it... it felt like those who have attended multiple, if not all the past representations of L'IC, turned it into their own inside joke and the resulting behaviour excluded those less familiar and disrupted the flow.

For example, if ever you disagree with the referee, you throw clown noses at him. This is extremely satisfying and usually pretty funny. But only when appropriate. When people start throwing clown noses every time the ref addresses the public, well... now you're just being the 'cool' kids in class and disrupting things for disruption's sake.

Also, and I hate to say this, there were a couple of improvs that were just plain bad. They were confused and the artists seemed to have a really hard time working together and being able to pick up on the propositions being made. This was especially sad when the theme was old school Batman and Robin trying to catch the evil Chinese cook (discipline: spinning plates, see photo below). That had mad potential. The improv was so confused that the ref actually stopped the artists and made them start over... aiee...

This was a disaster.

However, whatever low points there may have been, the high points were, without question, outstanding.

The opening improvisation was themed Greek gods and the discipline was straps. Both Hugo and Ugo are amazing on straps. There's a guy who does straps in my show, and while I love him to bits, he's got nothing on these two. Hot damn, I forgot how high the level is on straps in Montreal!

Ugo is a beast.

Now, there were some people from whom I expected brilliance, notably Raph and Tom, and they did not disappoint. But the real standout performance/discovery of the night was Alexandra Royer. Her hoop act was well constructed, she had great presence, and some great skills (Crocodile on a hoop? Bad. Ass.). But what sealed the deal for me was her portrayal of a mermaid. That moment will forever be a classic of Impro Cirque.

I don't care if the picture is blurry, it was awesome.

Going in, I had very high expectations for the Red team, but they pretty consistently got their asses handed to them by the Blue team. Fortunately, by throwing the final vote in favour of the Red team, the final score resulted in a tie. And who doesn't love a tie breaker?

 138 to 140

Caucus!

The final improv of the night was contact dance with the theme of heartbeats. Contact dance is something I love to do but, when done poorly, it can be a total bore to watch. Fortunately, this was not the case last night. It was actually quite beautiful, especially when you could really see the artists inhabit the theme.

At this point, my camera died. Here is a pic of 

an African dance themed three-high instead.

In the end, there could be only one winner. The final score was...

Congratulations Blue team! You deserved it!

And before I bring this bad boy to a close, I really need to give some shouts to co-founder (along with Nicolas Fortin) Philippe Trepanier. He is also the referee and is bloody brilliant at it. Ever the white clown, he is utterly hilarious. I also have huge amounts of respect for him and how he manages to balance the comedy with the actual structure and technical requirements of improv theatre. Hats off to you, friend!

Don't make me go circus on your ass.

Happy 5000th!

A friend of mine is on tour with Quidam and today will be their 5000th show!

 She is in this act, but not in this photo.

5000th!

Isn't that amazing?

Quidam was the first circus show I ever saw. And when I saw it, it had just premiered in Montreal. Of those 5000 shows, I was there when the performances scarcely numbered in the double digits!

It was also the first time I saw a German wheel in action. Of the many incredible acts in that show, German wheel and tissu (now that's a funny story, I should tell it some time) are the only two that my 10-year-old self chose to remember. If that isn't latching on to destiny, I don't know what is.

This is all your fault.

Happy Anniversary, Quidam!

The Song For Phil Daoust

From now on, this is how I will deal with all negative feedback.

(Just a heads up: the following video contains language that some may find offensive, humour that some may not find particularly humorous, and is defnitely NSFW unless you have headphones. Also, the song is pretty catchy and there's a good chance it will get stuck in your head.)



Who says art isn't therapeutic?

The Diving Fool

Today I would like to share with you a little bit of history and a little bit of comedy.

Larry Griswold is considered the co-creator of the modern trampoline along with George Nissen. He was a college level gymnast who also enjoyed performing vaudeville... could there be a more delicious combination?

Aside from being an exceptional performer and innovator, he also made huge contributions to the world of acrobatics. Of course there was the creation of the trampoline (how awesome would it be to say that you helped invent the trampoline?) but Griswald also published Trampoline Tumbling, the first textbook ever written on the sport of trampoline! This 120 page book contained detailed diagrams showing each phase of the many skills that could be executed on the trampoline. I've seen books like that for hand-to-hand, tissu, trapeze and tumbling. And I can tell you, books like that are invaluable.

But to truly understand how incredible this man is, and just how much he contributed to the circus canon (pun not initially intended but then considered awesome), you need to see him perform. Skill, timing, precision,creativity, personality... it's all there. This man is one of the greats.

So without further ado, Larry Griswald: The Diving Fool!

L'Impro Cirque is Coming to Town!

Remember L'Impro Cirque? Of course you do!

If you'd like to create some memories based on an actual presentation of the show instead of a YouTube video and my ramblings, then you're in luck! Especially if you happen to be in Montreal next weekend!

Saturday March 12th will be the 6th edition of L'Impro Cirque. The show starts at 8pm and takes place at Gare Dalhousie studio du Cirque Éloize (417 rue Berri, Montréal). For more info, check out their Facebook page!

There are some seriously talented artists participating in this round including Soizick Hébert and Raphael Cruz!

So get your butt off the couch and check out L'Impro Cirque!

Circus City

There are a lot of things I love about Montreal. If you've never been, I highly recommend a visit. True, Montreal is my home. But speaking as a circus artist, I can't help but feel particularly at home here. Why? I think the best example I can give is that when you arrive from an international flight, the giant television screen next to the baggage claim plays a really long video of local (and internationally renowned) company les 7 doigts de la main.

That is how this city chooses to promote itself. Amazing acrobatics performed by a cutting edge, home grown circus.

Montreal: Circus City

Final Score

Me: 3

Floor: 1