TOTEM: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S NEW FEAST FOR THE SENSES

By Rafa Carvajal
Photos Credit: OSA Images 

2012 is coming to an end and we are getting ready to welcome a new year full of wonderful new beginnings and opportunities to come. I love Cirque du Soleil and have seen many of its astonishing shows, so I am excited to welcome 2013 by going to see TOTEM, Cirque du Soleil’s new show, premiering January 10. This show is unlike any other show Cirque du Soleil has produced in the past, and you can go see it under the blue and yellow Big Top at its new Miami location next to Sun Life Stadium.

TOTEM traces the riveting journey of the human species. The word “totem” contains the idea of the order of species, as we carry in our bodies the potential of all species – from the original amphibian state all the way to our desire to fly like the thunderbird at the top of the totem pole. The characters in TOTEM magically evolve on a stage, as a feast to the senses, evoking a giant turtle, which is the symbol of origin for many ancient civilizations. The show is inspired by many founding myths. It magically illustrates the evolutionary progress of species through a spectacularly visual and acrobatic language, while exploring the ties that bind Man to other species, his dreams and his infinite potential.

TOTEM, its artists from 53 countries around the world, amazing acts and characters, elaborate costumes, magical set designs, cutting edge projections, and beautiful music represent the best of the best of Cirque du Soleil – which started as a group of 20 street performers in 1984. This Québec-based company now has 5,000 employees, including more than 1,300 artists from over 50 different countries, who have delighted and awed more than 100 million spectators on six continents. They will bring TOTEM to Miami in January 2013 for your viewing pleasure.

Here are just a few highlights of what you can expect. For the “Bars (Carapace)” act, a giant turtle at centre stage will represent the originsof life on Earth, and will be whisked away revealing an energetic and colorful community of amphibians and fish that lives beneath its carapace. Artists embodying frogs will launch themselves into the air from a power track and leap from one bar to the next, criss-crossing in mid-air within inches of each other. For “the Russian Bars” act, ten artists will perform feats of strength, balance and acrobatic movements wearing colorful costumes inspired in part by the lost civilizations of South America. These jumpers will be launched high into the air and fly weightlessly across “the sky” like cosmonauts, leaping from one bar to the next with stupefying agility representing the human race’s desire to escape the Earth’s gravity to explore space – the final frontier.

The artist the Tracker, an environmentally conscious friend of the animals, will guide and assist the Scientist in his explorations. He will be angered by the thoughtless, polluting actions of a clown, and transform into a Toreador right before your very eyes. The Scientist is a Darwinesque explorer who visits the different worlds of TOTEM, while dazzling the audience with his amazing physics experiments in his laboratory, aided by his assistants and a monkey.

The performers will be wearing brilliant costumes designed by Kym Barrett, TOTEM costume designer, that are rooted in documentary-based reality which required research into real animals, plants and birds, as well as studying traditional cultural and tribal designs. Kym utilized advanced printing techniques, fluorescent pigments, mirror fragments and crystals to “paint” on canvases as varied as Lycra and leather – producing results that constantly interact with and adapt to the show’s ever-changing lighting. Her techniques masterfully enhance the sensory feast generated by the show’s many characters. TOTEM’s impressive set designs are fantastically intensified by a world of multipletransformations through high-tech projections. Powerful images are projected on a marsh lined with reeds near an island (the stage). Set designer Carl Fillion gave the set curves and non-linear forms to mimic the natural world, and tilted it slightly forward so the image marsh can act both as a stage entrance and as a projection surface. Carl utilizes the magic of moving images to create a virtual swamp, a river source, a marsh, a lake, an ocean, a volcanic island, a pond and a starry sky – all captured from nature and shot for TOTEM in various parts of the world that included Iceland, Hawaii and Guatemala.

I sat down with Tim Smith, Artistic Director of TOTEM, to get a look behind the scenes of Cirque du Soleil’s inspiring new creation about the fascinating journey of the human species.

Describe TOTEM to our readers.

For Cirque du Soleil, it’s quite a feast for the senses in general, all of the shows – TOTEM not being an exception for sure. Director Robert Lepage, an international director that collaborated with Cirque du Soleil on this product, explores the concept and themes of man and civilization in general. Also its need to progress forward, particularly with the technology that we have today and our interest in progressing upward to flight, and into space. It takes us from our most primitive being to space, all throughout the show.

What was the inspiration for this particular show?

I think Robert in several of his pieces has an interest in species, people and how we progress forward as a group. When Cirque du Soleil was interested in exploring this native feel of the show, it was inspiration for both parties.

How was a show like TOTEM conceived and brought to reality?

As with any new Cirque du Soleil creation, every show is different and conceived differently; TOTEM was exactly the same in that manner. They come up with a general theme and subject that is interesting to Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil and to his creative collaborator. They then hire a director to bring the production to the finish line. The subjects for each new production come about when Guy is interested in exploring a particular subject matter and then he finds the collaborative team to create the production for the company.

How do you think TOTEM is different/better than previous Cirque du Soleil shows that our readers have seen here in South Florida, Orlando, or Vegas?

Cirque du Soleil continues to top itself – which is amazing! If people are wondering, “why should we go see TOTEM,” remember that each show is completely different. There’s state-of-the-art technology in our show that has never been seen before in other shows, there are acts from all over the world that have not been seen by the public eye, and that is what Cirque du Soleil does best is really scour the earth to bring these type of art forms to the stage. This has become synonymous with the high quality that Cirque du Soleil provides, and TOTEM does that as well. We have amazing visuals and amazing artists from all over the world doing things right in front of your eyes that you’ve never seen before, even in another Cirque du Soleil show.

Tell our readers about TOTEM and how its projections complement the show.

They are amazing! Robert brought a fantastic team to the table and he has a real eye and interest in technology. The stage at certain points in the show turns to ice, fire, rock, and water, and all of those projections are also interactive – so when you step on them it reacts. That’s amazing that we can then go anywhere in the world, and that Robert has created this for TOTEM through these projections, which essentially becomes the foundation of our set. That gives you a little background to all of the acts as they are being performed, and it’s astonishing to see how it works with the transitions as we move through the show and what the projections can do for us and the audiences experience.

How do the projections work together with the music and how is it selected or composed for the show?

Every show’s music is original World Music performed live by musicians and singers, and with the projections and the way the show flows, as with any other theatrical piece, the show moves with the music and the projections. As the music gets more dramatic, so will the pictures on the stage. If there is a lighter type of feel, the pictures on the stage, the set and the tone will be the same. This was important to Guy Laliberté as well, particularly with TOTEM. The sound for TOTEM is a real native sound. We have an artist, his name is Clifton Divough, a singer in the show, who also collaborated with the composers to bring a real traditional Native American tone to some of the music in the show which equals a really earthy, grounded, excited evening in the theater.

How do the performers train for their particular routines in the show and what’s the breakdown between practicing and rehearsing vs. showtime?

Ninety-nine percent of the people that come to see a Cirque du Soleil show, especially TOTEM, say, “I’ve never seen anything like that before, and where do you find those people?” These people are amazing artists; they are not actors or dancers, they are ARTISTS. These amazing, disciplined artists are performing perfection right in front of your eyes and it’s due to the skill set that is needed for the show, therefore the concentration has to be equal to the level of high quality that your audiences comment on. They are constantly working out, constantly honing their skills, honing their bodies, and keeping the excellence that they hold for themselves high, and that translates directly onto the skill sets that they use in their performance. These people are incredibly disciplined. The performers train all day – at certain times during certain acts, obviously. We have trainings all day, and then show call is around 6:30 p.m. for an 8:00 p.m. show, for example, and, of course, they get a break and warm up for that particular show.

If our readers could get a behind the scenes look at TOTEM, what do you think would surprise them the most?

I think the diversity of the actual environment that we travel with. It’s a huge production. There are 74 trucks and we bring a whole world and environment to Miami, not just what the audience gets to experience when they buy a ticket and come to the tent. Behind the scenes we have our own kitchen, and our own school for the kids. There are 19 countries and 11 languages represented, working on site. We work in that environment day in and day out. I think what is most exciting is the collaboration from that many different cultures and types of people in one working environment. The most exciting thing that Cirque du Soleil brings to its employees is the diversity, the education, and collaboration from all over the world daily.

Why do you think audiences continue to flock to Cirque du Soleil shows in droves?

I think it’s due to the opulent style of Cirque du Soleil that has become synonymous with the shows. What’s great about Cirque du Soleil is that they are the only people in the business doing what they are doing. When you have that type of specialized entertainment, I feel people are always looking for something – especially in this economy, when people are desensitized from so many things. When you can provide a visual and an emotional experience that people have never seen or felt before, that is really a testament to how special Cirque du Soleil is and the product that they provide. I think people come to the shows because it gives people a chance to dream and to see people and human beings do things that they’ve never seen before, right in front of their eyes. This translates to their own lives, goals, and what they would like to achieve.

Is there anything else you would like to share with Wire Magazine readers, particularly those who love Broadway and have never seen a Cirque du Soleil show?

Cirque du Soleil is a whole new environment; but it’s still a very live musical and spectacle experience. If you really give it a chance, you’ll get an opportunity to witness something that is not your normal fare. With theater there is always a certain model that is expected, bringing people from Plot A to Plot B and really driving the emotion through the scene and song. With Cirque du Soleil, they give the audience the crayon. I could be sitting next to you and you could have a totally different experience and story going on in your head while seeing these avant-garde images. It is like living art in that it allows the audience to do their own dreaming and thinking. I think it is an extension of theater and is an exciting opportunity to feel and use your mind, something you don’t get to do when you watch a play or musical. It’s exciting to do those things, but what I like about Cirque du Soleil is the newness and uniqueness I get every time I go and see a show.