The Audition

Toward the end of my adventures I received an e-mail informing me that I was invited to audition for Cirque du Soleil. This didn't come as a total surprise as I had applied for the audition knowing that it would be taking place while I would be home for another project. What was a surprise was the date of the audition. By the time I got home, I would have only four days to prepare. And this was after a month without any training whatsoever.

Yikes.

As you can imagine, when I got home I worked my acrobatic little butt off. I managed to run my act, an act that is completely different from the one I do in my show I might add, nine times. I should also mention that during the four days I had to prepare, I also had rehearsals for that other project I'm involved in. And I got sick.

Like I said, I worked my butt off.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived for the audition to discover that, even though it had been announced on Facebook, only three of the auditioners (myself included) were professionals. I say 'professionals' because the other people auditioning were students who would be graduating from either the Montreal or Quebec schools a little later this spring.

I know I'm good at what I do, and I have quite a few years of performance under my belt, something these kids don't. So in that respect, I felt pretty good. But I also just came off a month long break whereas these kids are all in the best shape of their lives. Hm...

The good news is, I nailed my act. I absolutely rocked it. The school kids all seemed pretty impressed too. One of the perks of having a discipline that virtually no one does, I suppose. That and I'm awesome.

The acro testing went well, as did the acting and dance. Conditioning probably went well in the grand scheme of things, but next to these soon-to-be graduates, I looked like a grade A weakling. Sure, I busted out nine chin-ups and nine leg-ups. I even managed to climb the rope a third of the way up without using my legs. That was something I had never attempted and I expected to be unable to even get off the mat. But these kids? We're talking 12 and 15 chin-ups! Or so many leg lifts that they were just told to stop... And don't even get me started on the flexibility portion. I swear, every one of them was a contortionist. Even the boys. It took me three years just to get my belly to touch my legs in pike sit so you can imagine how well I did there.

The audition lasted EIGHT HOURS.

That night, when I got home, I could barely walk. I can't remember the last time I was that exhausted. It took 48 hours before I began to feel even remotely normal again.

I'd like to say it was all worth it. After all, I did get accepted into their talent bank and will supposedly be considered for special events. But the entire bubble I had built around myself over the course of the day was unceremoniously popped by the woman in charge of casting when she told me flat out "Cirque isn't really into German wheel, even though I try to push it for new creations. They prefer something more dynamic, like cyr wheel."

I wanted to cry. I've always felt threatened by cyr wheel and here is the biggest circus company in the world confirming all my cyr wheel fears. I felt, and feel, so frustrated. I drove myself into the ground for that audition only to be told there's no love for the German wheel. Also, how the hell is German wheel not dynamic?

Who knows? It's not like I was really expecting them to offer me a contract at that very moment. But sometimes hopes and dreams have a way of getting ahead of reality. At least now I have a foot in the door, right?