Following Saltimbanco’s success in 2007, this year’s performance features a whole new show where not one act will be the same

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By Josh O’Kane

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Running away with the circus isn’t the easy life, says Boris Verkhovsky, if you’re running away with Cirque du Soleil.

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Verkhovsky is the acrobatic performance and coaching director for the troupe. He explains that it’s no easy feat to come and be a performer with Cirque du Soleil, which is performing its show Alegría in Saint John from June 10 to 14.

“The average training for newcomers is approximately six months,” he says. Many performers are former professional athletes — gymnasts or sport acrobats — who traded in their sporting life to become performing artists.

“With a lot of our performers, they’re athletes for a long time until they make the decision that they are now an artist, or want to become one,” explains Verkhovsky.

The professional acrobatic performers of Cirque du Soleil make a commitment to continually be at their peak performance, meaning that there’s no time to party.

“A lot of youngsters come to us and want work for one of the biggest companies in the world in the field of entertainment,” he says. “If you want to, you could find a party every night. And if that’s the lifestyle you choose, it’s easy to accommodate it. But that lifestyle has consequences, and you cannot sustain that lifestyle and perform at the level and frequency that we ask.”

The performers’ dedication shines through, though — Alegría has put smiles on the faces of over 10 million people worldwide. Saint John is the second stop on the show’s tour, which starts in Halifax, and according to Verkhovsky could be on the road from two to five years. The show features a creative team off 55 people, including musicians, singers, characters and acrobats.

Alegría, which was first performed in 1994, centres around a kingdom without a king. A power struggle ensues after the death of the king, leaving the young and energetic Bronx to clash with the aging Birds, the old aristocrats of the king’s court. Meanwhile, the court jester, Fleur, tries to act as if he’s running the show in the kingdom — but he finds out it’s not as easy as it looks.

“Being a bit of a clown and a backseat driver is one thing, but when it all lands on you, it’s not that easy to rule,” says Verkhovsky.

Alegria is a Spanish word meaning happiness, joy and jubilation.

“That’s the feeling that most people will go away with,” says Verkhovsky. “A smile on their face and happiness. Alegría is a combination of different conflicts, but at the end, it’s a jubilation and a lot of happiness.”

Enthusiastic Cirque du Soleil fans in the port city need not worry about seeing the same thing twice if they attended Saltimbanco in 2007 — not one act is the same between the two performances.

“It’s actually the next touring show that was created after Saltimbanco, so every act is different.

The theme of the show is different, and as a result, it has a very different feel to it.”

Verkhovsky explains that Alegría is much more theatrically focused than Saltimbanco, which leads to the very different performance.

“It’s gone from that very in-your-face rock and roll-style music to more subdued, very lyrical, almost nostalgic music, with almost a folkloric element to it.

“The costumes are also quite elaborate – more theatre-like, elaborate large costumes,” he says.

“There is a lot of colour, but in comparison to Saltimbanco, I would say the predominant colours are white and gold… It carries a lot of the simplicity of a typical theatre production.”

Verkhovsky was born and raised in the USSR and raised as an elite athlete. He says that when the circus came to town, his coach would close the doors to the gymnasium to prevent athletes from being lured to join it.

“There was a feeling that they would steal elite athletes,” he says.

Things change, though — Verkhovsky would later join Cirque du Soleil. Working at a gymnasium in Calgary later in his life, he was brought on as a consultant by Cirque du Soleil to examine coaching and learning processes. When he recommended to the troupe to bring on a head coach, the company turned around and asked him to full the position.

Verkhovsky didn’t change the atmosphere of Cirque du Soleil’s performances from art to sport — he simply brought on the sport coaching mentality. Performers very much still take on their work as an art, he says: the show is always a work in progress, as each new performer brings in his or her own expertise.

“The director does not like mimes in his show.

He wants emotion,” says Verkhovsky. “If you want emotion, you have to allow certain degrees of freedom. Every artist that comes in learns their role, but they also bring their expertise, specialty and uniqueness to the role and performance.

“Sometimes it’s not about being bigger, stronger, better,” he says. “It’s about being allowed to be different.”

Alegría comes to Saint John’s Harbour Station from June 10-14. Tickets can be purchased by calling 506-657-1234 or 1-800-267-2800. For more information, visit http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/ alegria.