I will never forget the 1st time I performed at a cirque du soleil premier. I was in my early 20’s & bright eyed as they come. I was part of a group in SF called Mystic Family Circus & we were tagged by CdS’s unknown little sister company called Cirque du Bakuza to come to Vegas & help with the premier of Ka at MGM Grand.
There was an Art boat & 360 video & a huge stage where someone wailed on an electric guitar singing about the tsunami (too soon after it had happened) The guests were overstimulated disinterested VIP’s. Our dance performance would make me cringe if I saw it today. But overall it was a thoroughly extraordinary experience. Weird, grand, & totally surreal.
The next premier was for Corteo in San Francisco & also with Mystic Family Circus, & involved me walking on stilts with nearly 100 performers all costumed in white in a dream-like funeral procession of a clown.
The 3rd SF premier in 2014 I was tagged by a DJ friend of mine Cyril, who’s known for his electro-swing & it was for Kurios so they wanted steampunk inspired Stilt Walkers. I had an absolute blast making the costumes & performing with Oceana on stilts & ground at this one & I loved this show the most.
Slinky Anectodre- A random intuitive addition to my props was an old school silver slinky. This little metal miracle ended up being the perfect prop on both stilts & ground… connecting me to guests in playful visual way, & even ended up being the enabler for a surprise pop-up round of Limbo that I initiated on the dance floor.
It wasn’t until 2017 that I crossed over from being a performer to my company Catalyst Arts being hired to produce a whole bunch of entertainment for the premier.
For the US premier of Luzia we brought roving ground characters & festive stilt walkers & acrobats for the after party. We did an off-site activation & dancers in the VIP & the San Jose premier as well. It was a dream come true.
The next year we were asked back for Volta & we had greeters & roller skaters & unicyclists & added some flair in the VIP.
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