The dreamlike world of Saltimbanco

MANILA, Philippines - Heights, clowns, audience participation — the circus is a buffet of phobias that we happily agreed to sample, arriving in full buffet gear (trapeze-shaped dresses to fit the Russian Swing, of course) at the Asia World Arena in Hong Kong to watch Cirque du Soleil’s Saltimbanco. Almost everyone in our animated group, a rambunctious circus from MNL-HKG, had already seen a Cirque du Soleil show. Some saw Varekai when Manila Hotel brought it in early last year; others were lucky enough to have seen the last run of Zaia in Macau. I was one of the few Cirque virgins in the bunch. Everything I thought I knew about the circus, I learned from Circus Charlie, that addictive Family Computer game from the ‘80s — oh, and America’s Next Top Model Cycle 7. Will there be a bearded lady? But I’m already used to those! What about Siamese twins? Or clowns? Will it be seven feet tall, like the creepy one from Amusement? I did not know what to expect, but turns out, this was ideal.

Don’t Think, Just Watch

Dance with a twist: A contortion artist balances on canes, morphing into astounding shapes we never thought humanly possible.

Saltimbanco is a 20-year-old Cirque du Soleil production that used to be done in tents, called “big top” shows, until it started touring arenas in 2007. It’s a classic Cirque show inspired by the urban fabric of the metropolis and its inhabitants: the Baron, Eddie the Jester, the Dreamer, the Ringmaster, the Child, the Cavaliers, La Belle, Vers Multicolores, Vers Masqués and the Baroques.

“But don’t try to follow the story too much,” said Cirque du Soleil creative director Neelanthi Vadivel. “This is a show that’s very organic and has evolved through the years, always in the spirit of improvement while maintaining the original concept. Saltimbanco really embodies Cirque’s values. It’s very similar to the circus world where there are many multi-cultural people with very diverse backgrounds. This show was created in that spirit. It’s about people moving together to the city. There’s no story line, just about the society of Saltimbanco and how it has evolved,” she said.

The Italian word saltimbanco literally means “to jump on a bench,” which I would say is reflected only in the Russian Swing act, where performers are catapulted 12 meters into the air — sans harness, sans safety net — from a swinging wooden bench. The performer does aerial acrobatics, maybe a flip or two, before he falls into his spot, like an upright Tetris block, atop a three-tiered human pyramid.

We had the privilege of seeing them rehearse this stunt before the show. Garbed in gym clothes and without their stage makeup, they really looked like they could hurt themselves even with their harnesses strapped on. Maybe it was just my imagination, but under unforgiving arena lights, you could see every exposed sharp edge that they could possibly fall on — beams, poles, thick metal wires… Don’t hit your head on the spotlight! I remember thinking, as one performer flew into the air. It felt like the set of Final Destination.

He’s the king of the world: A performer’s perfect 10 landing after a 12-foot leap from the Russian swing

Perhaps noticing the look of concern on my mug, Cirque du Soleil publicist Maxim Charbonneau shared that many Cirque performers are long-time athletes, professional dancers, gymnasts, Olympians even, and many have been doing the stunts for years. “When it comes to acrobatics, I’ve got a team of very talented coaches. Average age is 25, but that being said, I have an acrobat here that’s been doing it for 54 years,” Neelanthi added. During the actual show, the harnesses come off and they are given three chances to get each stunt right. They’re only human, after all. That is, until the arena lights go out and the heady kaleidoscope of color, music and gravity-defying stunts takes over.

Two Hours On Edge

With makeup, masks and psychedelic Spandex on, the men and women we saw at rehearsals looked invincible. Regardless, every act kept us on the edge of our seats (the actual seats were also half the size of normal seats, so we literally were on the edge the whole time). Some standouts:

Chinese poles — Four poles, each 24 feet long, were secured onto the stage to symbolize skyscrapers. On these skyscrapers, multi-colored beings did stunts, like climbing the poles using only their hands, or sliding down head-first and using their feet as breaks.

Clown — The jester acts let you breathe and dry your palms after more extreme acts. I won’t give anything away but it’s safe to say the “audience participation” part goes here. I can’t wait to see how a Filipino audience would react. Should be a riot.

Up in the air: The stage allows for 30 feet of vertical space for aerial acrobatics.

Hand-to-Hand — One of Saltimbanco’s newer acts wherein two men do “hand-to-hand” stunts, showing power and uncanny balance. Accompanied by saxophone-y music.

Russian Swing — Since we’ve seen them rehearse, we were all a little attached to this act. Baroque characters invade the stage and leap from a Russian swing onto the shoulders of their partner or on top of a human pyramid.

Solo Trapeze — An ethereal, melancholic sequence that contrasts the soft and feminine with intensity and pure muscle. Here, a lone woman rises into the air on a trapeze and makes us think she’s going to fall over and over and over again. But she never does.

A Circus Life

“This show has grown like a child,” said Maxim. “He’s a very different child now. It’s 20 years old.” In these 20 years, the Cirque family has lived, eaten and traveled together. Very much like the city of Saltimbanco, the circus has evolved, the business, too, in particular. Maxim shares that this year, close to 15 million people will see Cirque du Soleil and you can count yourself as one of them.

Welcome to the city: Saltimbanco is a dreamlike world, home to an eclectic cast of characters.

On Aug. 9 to 19, Cirque du Soleil will be performing their signature production, Saltimbanco, in Manila at the Mall of Asia Arena. Fifty-one performers and musicians from 20 different countries (a side note: the band’s guitar player is Filipino) will be coming to the country to share Cirque du Soleil’s timeless opus.

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Tickets are available at www.cirquedusoleil.com/saltimbanco, www.hoopla.ph, www.smtickets.com, or through 320-1111 or 470-2222. Tickets can also be purchased at the Manila Hotel concierge and at the box office (starting Aug. 9). Tickets are priced from P1,200 for general admission to P10,500 for VIP seats. For more information, you may call Hoopla at 302-9111, 302-9112 or 302-9113.