Friday 24 February 2012

Amaluna

Hello! I am terribly sorry I haven't updated this blog for a while, I will try and get back into the swing of things now that my life is becoming more and more eventful. The last few weeks have been very challenging, exciting and captivating. The year began with building a cluster of different scenes and all of a sudden, on the 23rd of February we were presenting our whole show to Guy Laliberte and being praised for the excellent foundation we have built as a cast. Now, after 12 hour days, challenging staging sessions and multiple presentations our show Amaluna is ready for the big top. As I type boxes and boxes are being transported to the Old Port in downtown Montreal, where we will stay and perform until July. We do not premier until April but we begin staging in the big top in two weeks! Already, in the Cirque headquarters we have been given a taste of show life, I have learnt to do my own make up, I wear my costume in run throughs and I sit backstage and watch the small screen to know when my next cue is. Doing these small things excites me so much, these are the things I have always wanted a taste of, and now it is my life for the next two years at least. I hope to keep this enthusiasm for the small delights as my touring life progresses, I do not want to lose the love that led me to work for Cirque du Soleil in the first place.

Many artists will tell you that the three month creation period at Cirque is tough, and I couldn't agree more. It is the love and passion for performing that keeps me going, without that I don't think I could get through the challenges put in front of us. Staging is difficult, physically repeating cues over and over again is taxing on the body, especially at 9pm at night when I have been training for 12 hours already. Mentally, you have to keep sharp, directors and choreographers are depending on you to concentrate and remember your roles, there is a lot of pressure to be on the ball and keep a very proactive attitude. But after doing your act in front of an audience all of the hard work seems more then worth it, the adrenaline and excitement is what we all do it for. I promise to keep this blog more up to date from now on!