Mother of God...

Forget trampo-wall. In fact, forget everything you've ever witnessed in circus. Hell, forget about even being in the circus because nothing you do will ever be as mind-boggling insane as this.

 

The Next Chapter

When I look back at the last five years, I barely recognize myself. I spent the better part of my twenties with this company, and as I prepare to leave them I'm staring down thirty. I've had an extremely difficult journey with them. I've experienced loss, humiliation, and heartache the likes of which I never could have imagined.

But during that time, I also traveled to 22 countries. I fell in love for the first time. I became the first Canadian to compete at the German Wheel World Championships and I obtained my coaching certification from the IRV. I'm also very proud to say that I received more good press than anyone else in the troupe.


Good and bad, it's almost over. I can't stop imagining a giant book about to slam shut. The good news is, a new book is on the way. I've just signed on to a tour in Switzerland that will last the better part of 2013. I can tell you that as someone who does a discipline that can be a pretty hard sell, this comes as a huge sigh of relief.

I can only hope better things lie ahead. Based on feedback from friends who have worked for this company before, I have nothing to worry about. And based on what I've heard about the show concept, it looks like my days of overly intellectual, image heavy, takes-itself-a-bit-too-seriously French contemporary circus are about to come to an end.

And I, for one, couldn't be happier about that.

Look out, Switzerland, here I come!

A View of Circus Island

 Good lord... you can see the hot pink triangle!

And I can see my caravan!

Trapeze Trap

Looks like a good haul...

Kip to Handstand

I would like to say that if I were to try this, I would land on my face. I say "would like to" because while I can definitely kip up to my feet, I'm pretty sure that if I tried to do what this guy is doing, I wouldn't have the rotation to fall on my face, and just land on my butt. Seriously though, is this actually possible? Because, damn!

Dancing with the Stars

I may have been skeptical going in, but I’ve got to say, I had an absolute blast filming Dansent avec les stars. I worked with French pop singer Lorie, and her partner (and fellow Montrealer) Christian.

When it comes to things like this, most people try to have nothing to do with. Seeing as we filmed after that day’s show, I expected to find myself in an empty Chapiteau. But apparently I forgot to factor in the appeal of a star, even if she isn’t the brightest star in the celebrity sky.

I’m not going to lie, I felt pretty self-conscious speaking on camera with the whole troupe watching. I was suddenly extremely aware of how French is not my first language.

We started with me seated on stage and then panned over to Lorie and Christian coming down the bleachers towards me. Lorie had no idea what she was there to do, though I’m sure being at a circus couldn’t have filled her with much confidence. She was told she would be doing German wheel. She had no idea what it was. That’s when I volunteered to give her a demonstration.

The poor thing. I thought she was going to pass out when she saw me come on stage with my wheel. I mean, yeah, I did come in free hand. That would throw anybody off. And then I went into spirals, with more freehand, and a coin spin in full split. At least I didn’t show off with a triple...

As much as the entire thing was about getting interesting images for television, she was actually there for a reason. Apparently she was having trouble with the Viennese waltz. She would get dizzy from the spinning and find herself off balance. Wheel was somehow supposed to help with this.

Now I can see how on paper wheel spinning and waltz spinning might seem like the same thing. But in reality, I wasn’t entirely sure what the heck I was supposed to do with this girl. Especially since I found out only a few minutes before she arrived. I walked her through the same three exercises I would have put any beginner through and went into a great deal of detail about having your weight aligned over your feet, knowing where your body is in space and in relation to everything around you, and the general tips for balance and spatial orientation that would apply to just about anything dancey or acrobatic.

When she first stepped on, I thought we were going to be in trouble. But after a rocky start, she actually did quite well. I had loads of fun helping her and I think she really enjoyed the experience. Then I had both her and her partner try a coin spin, mostly because I knew there was no way they would be able to do it and it would make for some funny footage for the show. Poor Christian. He landed butt facing the camera. You know that’s going to make on to the show.

Unfortunately, I’ll have a show the night it airs. But then, I don’t have a television or internet access here, so it’s not like that changes very much. I just hope I’ll be able to find it online when I get back to Canada. After all, how many people can say they got to teach German wheel to a French pop singer as a consultant on the French version of Dancing with the Stars?

You Know You're in Montreal When...

I've not been feeling terribly well since returning from France so I went to the walk-in clinic today and what were they playing on the waiting room television?

Alegria.

Only in Montreal...