Alegria!

I know this isn't funny, but this parody from This Hour Has 22 Minutes certainly is.

A better article about the layoffs can be found here (in French).

UPDATE:

Uh oh... it looks like Viktor Kee is not amused... his thoughts on the video:

"The worst thing I ever seen on TV, so poorly done with lack of creativity and imagination. In fact it is so badly done I almost feel sorry for those who had to actually do that. Shame on this TV channel and its directors who even came up with this "idea" (if you can even call it that way).
 
It's a good thing someone is standing up to those bullies over at the CBC. I mean, we musn't hurt the feelings of Cirque du Soleil. Poor little dears.

Some people just can't take a joke.

(Though personally, I think Mr. Kee's reaction makes it even funnier...)

I Cheated

Okay, so that last post... well... it was written well before it appeared on this blog. You see, my new contract may mean a new adventure, but in this day and age of circus, the greatest adventure of all is finding an internet connection. At the time that that last post was written, and this one too for that matter, I had no idea what the internet situation in Switzerland was going to be like. So I scheduled a bunch of posts and basically hoped there would be enough of them to last until I can get online again.

The bad news is, if you're reading this, I probably don't have the internet yet.

The good news is, there are still a couple of weeks of posts scheduled.

Hopefully things will get back on track soon, and thanks for visiting Kicking Sawdust!

New Adventures

After five years of back and forth between home and France, I've moved on to a new contract, a new company, and new country. In just over 24 hours I will be leaving home for 10 months, and heading toward the unknown.

And I, for one, am terrified.

You'd think that by now I'd be used to it. That packing up and taking off would be second nature. Or that I could charm just about anyone anywhere, no problem. New friends, new fit, old hat.

But the truth is, I'm terribly shy and am prone to raging bouts of insecurity. I'm awkward in groups and think sometimes I come off as stuck up, or anti-social. But really, I just don't always know how to find my place with new people. I'm much better one on one, and in a circus troupe, that's not always easy.

I keep thinking back to my camp days. It was very easy to get caught up in the session that just finished, but when a new session began and all the campers changed, we were always reminded that this new group didn't know those inside jokes, or share those memories. It was a new week, and we had to make room for new adventures, new jokes, and new stories.

I'm trying to go forward like that. Instead of thinking how hard my last contract was, and how I'm so scared that it will be like that again, that I'll feel alone, and out of place, and that it will all be the same, I try to remind myself that I have a fresh start, and a chance to have new adventures, make new jokes, and create new stories. The greater challenge will be to let go of the habits I picked up on my old job, and be open to new ways of creating, and a new (and undoubtedly very different) way of how things are run.

So far, I've heard tremendously good things about this company. That, and that it's really hard and a lot of work. But otherwise, just great.

All my equipment left before me. I guess the only thing left to do is join it, and find out just how hard and great it is for myself.

To Switzerland!

Cirque de Demain: The Results!

GOLD:

-Trio Anneaux
 -Lewie West
-Sarah Tessier et Guilhem Cauchois
-Ba Jianguo

SILVER:

-Angelica Bongiovonni

BRONZE:

-Duo XY
-Eric Bates
-Papin Khachatryan
-Robert Muraine

Congratulations to all the winners!

Gold Medal Winners

The winners of this year's Festival du Cirque de Demain have yet to be announced, but I can tell you the names of the gold medal winners!

They are:

Duo trapeze: Guillhem and Sarah Trio

Chinese Hoops: Maya, Mika and Ian

Straps: Lewie West

Top/Diabolo: Ba Jianguo

Now, I'm super happy for the winners and everything, but seriously?  Four gold medals? Pretty soon you'll be able to find one in your box of Wheaties...

UPDATE:

A silver medal for Angelica Bongiovonni on Cyr wheel.

Laureate Gala

The list for the laureate gala has been announced and the show will begin at 15h. Who will the big winners be? We'll soon find out!

Click to enlarge

Cirque de Demain 2013

The 34th Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain is happening as we speak. As usual, I have a number of friends competing and wish them all good luck! You can find the list of those competing on the official website!

Sadly, ARTE is not broadcasting the festival online this year. The best I have been able to find is this video talking a little bit about the festival with highlights of the artists practicing.

Cirque de Demain is notoriously political, so I can't help but feel that the likelihood of the acts being highlighted in this video winning medals is pretty high. I suppose we'll find out tomorrow!

To all the artists competing: May your landings be stuck, your juggling accessories go undropped, and all other flips and twists be executed to perfection!

Merde!

Family Business

A wonderful video about the Wallenda family, tradition, and the joy of working (even at 76 years old!). Sadly, the video cuts out at the end. Follow the link to read the accompanying article.

This One's For You...

Daayum!

Tower of Greatness

Stowaway

Hm... looks like someone wants to run away and join the circus...

Cannonball!

Safe Travels!

Well, my babies are all packed up and ready to head for the hills. And by hills I mean Alps because this kid is going on tour in Switzerland!

The shipping company doesn't want "personal items" in the crate, which I think is lame because if I'm paying to ship the damn thing, I should be able to put whatever the heck I want in it! As such, I have used very broad definitions when it comes to things like equipment, materials, and accessories... Of course a kettle is classified as physio equipment! How will I boil the water for my therapeutic hot water bottle otherwise?

Get ready, Switzerland! I'm on my way!

The Triumphant Return

A few years ago I wrote about Riri, one of the circus dogs, and how he disappeared, was thought dead, and then triumphantly returned. Well, on the second to last day in Paris, the second to last day of the tour, Voyou, the sweetest of all the circus dogs went missing.

His owners were devastated, but I knew he would come back. I mean, this is Voyou we're talking about. He had to come back! Right?

Well, when I left the circus, there was still no news. And for two weeks after that, still nothing. Finally I wrote to one of my friends from the troupe to ask if he had heard anything. And that is when I heard the best story ever.

It turns out Voyou fell into the Seine river and was rescued by a boat! And not just any boat, but one of those iconic Parisian barges! I swear, the trouble that dog has gotten into...

Best come back ever, Voyou. Well played.

The Foot Monsters

I'm really bad at throwing things away. I can also be very stubborn and tend to be proud of curious things. When you combine those qualities, things like this tend to happen:

Those would be my show shoes. They are partly held together by duct tape. Many chunks were hacked off or out in order to keep them looking and feeling shoe like.

They should have been replaced years ago. But they were still kind of okay. And you couldn't tell from the audience. And I liked them. They were good for acro and nicely broken in. I kept thinking, the tour is almost over. They just need to last until June.

Then the tour got extended. But that was okay. I wasn't about to buy another pair for just a few more shows in the fall.

Then it got extended again.

By the end, they didn't have toes so much as gaping holes. When insulted, the holes became mouths and started to talk back. Eventually, the shoes developed their own personalities.

Sadly they, like so many other accessories, did not survive the post tour clean up.

May they rest in pieces.

Retirement

I have a confession to make. Some of you may find it pretty gross, but I stand by what I did. I may not know what started it, but once I realized what was going on, I was committed.

These are the socks I wore for my act during the show.

 
Every performance, every run through, these were the only socks I ever wore.

And I never washed 'em once.

It's probably fair to say that by the end, it didn't matter what I did. They knew what they had to do...

The Real Circus Island

This fall I performed on what I liked to call Circus Island. But Mexico's Circo Frandan definitely has us beat!

Photo credit: Manny Casilino

The End

I don't know how many times I've sat down to write this, stared at the screen, and then closed the tab telling myself I'd come back to it another day. But I'm starting a new contract very soon and it doesn't seem right to begin a new adventure without tying off the loose ends of the last one.

The end just happened. Things were frustratingly ordinary the last few days. Equally frustrating was that the musicians would be playing at the party and so a good part of the troupe was busy with rehearsals for the last three days. And seeing as I was slated to make a cake for the party, that took up most of my Saturday. As a result, there was very little time to get in a last cup of tea the people I would miss most.

The second to last show was almost a disaster. And I am incredibly grateful that the near-disaster did not occur the day of the final show. It poured before the show. Rain like I have never seen. The tent has a tendency to leak around the masts, but that night, a giant puddle took up the middle of the stage. There was no way I could safely do my act. There were many backstage huddles, meetings and general "how the heck are we going to deal with this?" moments. In the end, luck was on our side, and though we had to delay a bit, the rain did stop and we were able to wipe up most of the water. There were still some puddles, but with caution and stupidity, I was able to bust out a good act.

And then, the last show...

It was a good show, I can say that. Just before going on stage, we all held hands and I thought to myself "This is the last time all of us will ever be together in the same place..." I am grateful that it didn't zip by in a flash. I felt I was able to appreciate it, savour it. My act went brilliantly. There were moments, here and there, that almost felt magical, but maybe that's just because I was hoping there would be. I think I did my best plongeon of the entire tour on trampo-wall that night. It was a really, really good show.

And then it was over. Just like that. The tear down seemed the same, if not a little more thorough. I kept waiting for some big, climactic moment worthy of the end, but none came. We had a party. We sang and danced together one last time. There were lots of hugs, lots of tears, and then I walked away.

I stepped into the cold, empty big top. A few lights were left on, but mostly it was dark. I wanted one last chance to walk that stage, those wings, to sit in the stands. And then I walked away.

I wanted to feel something. I wanted the Universe to make some kind of grand gesture to mirror the tension in my heart. But nothing happened. The sun rose, I got into a cab, and watched the big yellow tent vanish into the distance one last time.

In my mind, it's still there, set up on Circus Island. I keep thinking that I'm going back. That when I get on a plane in a few days, I will be going to France. That I will see my best friend again. That things will feel safe and familiar.

It always amazes me how in those big Life moments, the seconds pass so quickly that before you can even comprehend what just happened, you're already on the other side of the planet, waking up in your own bed, and entire chapter of your life is over forever.

I had an extremely challenging journey with my company. But it changed me, and I am a stronger, better person for it. I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to go back. Right now, everything hurts too much. Perhaps one day. Or perhaps I'll just hold on to that last image on Circus Island...

Anniversary

It's my blog's anniversary! To celebrate, here's a little birthday song!

Bring It, 2013

Hello everyone and...

The end of 2012 brought with it the end of my show and as such, the end of a pretty big chapter of my life. I really do intend to write about that day, but right now, it still feels a little too hard. It's amazing how something can become a part of you. It's even more amazing how you can want nothing more than to walk away from that thing, to get out, but then when you do, you wish you had it back.

But that was 2012 and 2013 is all about new beginnings and new adventures! In less than a week I leave for Switzerland where I will be creating a new show, in a new style, with new people. Crazy! I am excited and terrified.

Come on, 2013, let's make this a good year!