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Nouvelle Expérience
''Nouvelle Expérience'' was Cirque du Soleil's fourth touring circus show, which premiered in 1990. Before the show's conception, Cirque du Soleil attempted to revive one of its previous shows, ''Le Cirque Réinventé''. The attempt was abandoned after a weak critical reception. Laliberté and Ste-Croix instead created a new show based on the plans that had originally been drawn up by Caron before his departure. Originally intended to be called ''Eclipse'', they renamed the show ''Nouvelle Expérience'' and launched it in 1990. Franco Dragone agreed to return—albeit reluctantly—but only if he had full creative control of the show's environment. One of the first things he did was to remove the curtain that separated the artist from the audience, so that they would both feel part of a larger show. Whereas in a traditional circus the artist could go past the curtain and drop his role, Dragone had created an environment where the artist had to remain in character for the full le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cirque Du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 June 1984 by former street performers Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix. Originating as a performing troupe called ''Les Échassiers'' (; "The Stilt Walkers"), they toured Quebec in various forms between 1979 and 1983. Their initial financial hardship was relieved in 1983 by a government grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to perform as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier's voyage to Canada. Their first official production ''Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil'' was a success in 1984, and after securing a second year of funding, Laliberté hired Guy Caron from the National Circus School to recreate it as a "proper circus". Its theatrical, character-driven approach and the absence of performing animals help ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contortion
Contortion (sometimes contortionism) is a performance art in which performers called contortionists showcase their skills of extreme physical flexibility. Contortion acts often accompany acrobatics, Circus (performing art), circus acts, street performers and other live performing arts. Contortion acts are typically performed in front of a live audience. An act will showcase one or more artists performing a choreographed set of moves or poses, often to music, which require extreme flexibility (anatomy), flexibility. The physical flexibility required to perform such acts greatly exceeds that of the general population. It is the dramatic feats of seemingly inhuman flexibility that captivate audiences. Skills Many factors affect the flexibility of performers including age, genetics, stature, and adherence to rigorous physical training routines. Most contortionists are generally categorized as "frontbenders" or "backbenders", depending on the direction in which their spine (anatomy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chair (acrobatics)
The use of chairs as props in acrobatics falls into three broad categories: balancing, vaulting and contortion. Balancing In chair balancing, one or more acrobats balance on one or more chairs. The chair(s) may be balanced on other objects and/or on just one or two legs while the acrobat(s) themselves may also perform balancing acts on the chair. The chairs used in balance may have notches cut out or extra pieces of material added to allow them to be stacked at otherwise unstable angles. Chair balancing acts have been featured in the Cirque du Soleil shows '' Nouvelle Experience'', ''La Nouba'', ''Dralion'', '' Koozå'', ''Kurios'', and ''Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...''. Vaulting In chair vaulting, the acrobat jumps or tumbles over a chair. Someti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cradle (circus Act)
The cradle (also known as aerial cradle or casting cradle) is a type of aerial circus act in which a performer hangs by his or her knees from a large rectangular frame and swings, tosses, and catches another performer. The aerialist being swung is referred to as a flyer, while the one doing the tossing and catching is referred to as a catcher or caster. The flyer usually starts and ends standing on the frame above the catcher. The flyer swings holding on to the catcher's hands, performs releases at the top of the swing, and is re-caught in mid-air. The frame can be static or swinging. A variant called the Russian cradle or Korean cradle has the catcher/caster standing, secured by a safety belt. This type of aerial performance has been used in many circuses, both in "big tops" and on stage, including by Cirque du Soleil and the Moscow State Circus The title Moscow State Circus is used for a variety of circuses. Most commonly, it refers to one of the two circus buildings in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trampoline
A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled spring (device), springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes. The fabric that users bounce on (commonly known as the "bounce mat" or "trampoline bed") is not elastic itself; the elasticity is provided by the springs that connect it to the frame, which store potential energy. History Early trampoline-like devices A game similar to trampolining was developed by the Inuit, who would toss blanket dancers into the air on a walrus skin one at a time (see Nalukataq) during a spring celebration of whale harvest. There is also some evidence of people in Europe having been tossed into the air by a number of people holding a blanket. Mak in the Wakefield Mystery Play ''The Second Shepherds' Play'', and Sancho Panza in ''Don Quixote' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russian Bar
The Russian bar (or Russian barre) is a circus act which combines the gymnastic skills of the balance beam, the rebound tempo skills of trampoline, and the swing handstand skills of the uneven bars and the parallel bars. The bar itself is a flexible vaulting pole around long, typically made of fiberglass; three vaulting poles may also be fastened together to create a flexible beam. The act involves two bases balancing the bar on their shoulders, and one flyer standing on the bar, with the flyer bouncing and performing aerial tricks and landing on the bar. This genre of circus act was first created by the Russian artist Alexander Moiseev, who brought his act twice to the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo, winning the Gold and Silver Clown. Technique Two "porters" or bases (bottom people) hold the Russian bar horizontally between them on their shoulders, each supporting one end of the bar; they control the bar and the movements of the "flyer" (top mounter), who stands a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Couch Juggling
A Risley or Risley act (also antipode or antipodism) is any circus acrobalance posture where the base is lying down on their back, supporting one or more flyers with their hands, feet and/or other parts of the body; spinning a person or object using only one's feet. The act is named after Richard Risley Carlisle (1814–1874) who developed this kind of act in the United States. , ''Merriam-Webster.com''. Risleys can be separated into three general categories of skills: * Skills that are based with the hands * Skills that are based with the feet * Other See also * * '' |
Flying Trapeze
The flying trapeze is a specific form of the trapeze in which a performer jumps from a platform with the trapeze so that gravity makes the trapeze swing. The performance was invented in 1859 by a Frenchman named Jules Léotard, who connected a bar to some ventilator cords above the swimming pool in his father's gymnasium in Toulouse, France. After practicing tricks above the pool, Leotard performed his act in the Cirque Napoleon (now known as the Cirque d'hiver). The traditional flier's costume, the leotard, is named after him. Trapeze acts In a traditional flying trapeze act, flyers mount a narrow board (usually by climbing a tall ladder) and take off from the board on the fly bar. The flyer must wait for a call from the catcher to make sure he or she leaves at the correct time. Otherwise, the catcher will not be close enough to the flyer to make a successful catch. The flier then performs one of many aerial tricks and is caught by the catcher, who is swinging from a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aerial Straps
Straps, also known as aerial straps, are a type of aerial apparatus on which various feats of strength and flexibility may be performed, often in the context of a circus performance. It is a cotton or nylon web apparatus that looks like two suspended ribbons. Wrapping the strap ends around hands and wrists, the performer performs holds, twists, rolls and manoeuvres, requiring extreme strength and precision similar to men’s rings in gymnastics. Straps are available in various configurations, including those with various types of loops at the ends and those without loops. A straps act usually includes held poses and postures done on the straps, dance moves performed on the floor away from the straps, partner acrobatics done on and off the straps, as well as having the straps pulled up and let down during the act. . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tightrope Walking
Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope walking and slacklining. Types Tightwire is the skill of maintaining balance while walking along a tensioned wire between two points. It can be done either using a balancing tool (umbrella, fan, balance pole, etc.) or "freehand", using only one's body to maintain balance. Typically, tightwire performances either include dance or object manipulation. Object manipulation acts include a variety of props in their acts, such as clubs, rings, hats, or canes. Tightwire performers have even used wheelbarrows with passengers, ladders, and animals in their act. The technique to maintain balance is to keep the performer's centre of mass above their support point—usually their feet. Highwire is a form of tightwire walking but performed at much gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, and may be performed solo, double, triple or as a group act. The name of the apparatus reflects the trapezoid shape made by the horizontal bar, ropes and ceiling support. History The art of trapeze performance is reported to have been developed by Jules Léotard, a young French acrobat and aerialist, in Toulouse in the mid-1800s. He is said to have used his father's swimming pool to practice. However, the name "trapeze" can be found in books dating as far back as twenty years earlier, before Léotard was born. One such example is George Roland’s “An Introductory Course of Modern Gymnastic Exercises”, published in 1832. Roland proposes the idea that the trapeze might owe its origin to Colonel Amoros, but ultimately deems the question o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Korean Plank
The teeterboard or Korean plank is an acrobatic apparatus that resembles a playground seesaw. The strongest teeterboards are made of oak (usually 9 feet in length). The board is divided in the middle by a fulcrum made of welded steel. At each end of the board is a square padded area, where a performer stands on an incline before being catapulted into the air. The well-trained flyer performs various aerial somersaults, landing on padded mats, a human pyramid, a specialized landing chair, stilts, or even a Russian bar. The teeterboard is operated by a team of flyers, catchers, spotters and pushers. Some members of the team perform more than one acrobatic role. In the early 1960s the finest teeterboard acts, trained in the Eastern Bloc countries, performed with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Korean-style teeterboard called Neolttwigi is a form of teeterboard where two performers jump vertically in place, landing back on the apparatus instead of dismounting onto a land ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
