Interview: Cirque Eloize's Jeannot Painchaud Reveals the Secrets of CIRKOPOLIS

The New York City premiere of CIRKOPOLIS begins performances tonight, December 18th at NYU Skirball Center. From the architect of the astonishing acrobatics at the 2006 Olympic Games closing ceremonies (Cirque Éloize's Artistic Director Jeannot Painchaud) and the world-renowned choreographer of Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity and LOVE (Dave St-Pierre) comes a magnificent circus spectacle that lives between dream and reality, underscored by a continuous stream of original music, and brought to vivid life by 3-D projections.

With CIRKOPOLIS, Cirque Éloize takes their breathtaking blend of circus arts, theater, and dance to a highly-stylized metropolis setting, where twelve acrobats and multidisciplinary artists rebel against monotony, reinvent themselves and challenge the limits of the factory-city as only they can. In a world where fantasy provokes reality, the veil of anonymity and solitude is lifted and replaced by bursts of color.

Co-director Jeannot Painchaud took the time to chat with BroadwayWorld about the show's origins, his collaboration with Dave St. Pierre, and more, and you can check out the full interview below!

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What was your inspiration for this show specifically?

Well, as you know we have been working on different shows doing contemporary circus for about 20 years. In Cirkopolis, we're trying to go to different places with a different concept and different creative partners. The previous show that we did, ID, was very urban. In this, we are starting out by questioning identity but from the main character.

For this one we wanted to start with one guy in his office. It was specifically influenced by the movie 'Metropolis', the movie 'Brazil,' and books from [Franz] Kafka. As it starts, he is at work, there is no personality, until things get crazy and the main character escapes from that world to be himself. That's the starting point. Very quickly though, everything becomes choreographic because it's a show with a lot of dance and physical stuff. There are a lot of acrobatics. It starts with this guy at work doing paper work and his environment starts to change. It goes from reality to something very surreal.

I understand that video projection is a big part of the show...

Yes! There is a big wall in the back that shows that city as a machine and everyone is oppressed by that. You could compare it to 'Modern Times' with Charlie Chaplin, where city gets crazy. There's no real clown character in this, but our main character brings a lot of poetry into that world. There's also a lot of poetry and French songs that emerge from the machine.

This piece seems to seamlessly integrate circus, dance and theatre. Was that always your intention?

It's very theatrical but at the same time it is very simple. It's very visual. You follow the character through this weird city, and then very quickly you get seduced by the humanity of the character. I'm all about being yourself, and this show is just another way of approaching that.

How long does it take to put this kind of show together? What kind of preparation is involved?

Once the idea is there, it moves to casting, then to rehearsals, and that's a yearlong process. We spend about six months in rehearsals. The artists usually have all of the skills, but we construct every act and try to bring a new approach to it. We cast them for their talents but also for their personality. We like to put that on stage- the eye contact, the presence... it's always very important in our work.

You worked closely with Dave St. Pierre on this project. What was that collaboration like?

We co-directed the show together. What he brings is a raw energy that was needed to express the vibe of this city. We're into bringing out this really strong energy. You have to be ready to work with Dave St. Pierre as an artist, because his work is very demanding. It's highly physical at the same time, and the poetry that emerges from that is all about the humanity.

I wanted him because of the way that he works with groups, and the rest I kind of discovered by working with him. His craziness is good for me because when I work with different creators, I bring people on board so that we can share a certain vision as we learn more and more about each other. You keep a space for something new and something challenging, and I think it's essential to push yourself in every show to not always do the same thing.

What do you think makes Cirkopolis stand out from other circus productions?

I think that the balance in this between acrobatics and sensitivity is really great. The group of artists I really amazing. They have known each other for a long time. More than half of them went to school together and some of them worked together for years, so that group energy was needed to create a group separate from the main character.

The Cyr Wheel, which is something you see at many circuses- we have the best girl in the world right now. Angelica [Bongiovonni] earned a medal last year at the Mondial du Cirque de Demain Festival in Paris. She is the best girl in the world doing that right now. But that's not all- it really is a circus with theatre. We have a juggling act, trapeze, all of it!

What are you most excited about in bringing this show to New York?

New York is New York! We've brought shows there a couple of times already. As an artist, you want to come to New York. You want a New York audience to see and appreciate your work and we are ready for that with Cirkopolis. Because it takes place in this big city and in this world of Kafka, it's typically something that people from a city like New York will be able to identify with.

Positioned at the heart of the renewal of circus arts, Cirque Éloize has been creating moving performances filled with magic since 1993. Continually striving for artistic perfection, it is one of the leaders in contemporary circus arts. Based on the multidisciplinary talents of its artists, Cirque Éloize expresses its innovative nature through theatricality and humanity, and combines circus arts with music, dance and theatre in a path-breaking and original manner. With ten original productions to its credit, Cirque Éloize has presented more than 4,000 performances in over 440 cities and 40 countries. Cirque Éloize has taken part in numerous prestigious international festivals and seduced Broadway with its show Rain. In addition to its touring shows, Cirque Éloize develops custom made concepts for international special events. To date, more than 1,300 events have taken place. In 2004, Cirque Éloize's head office and creative studio moved to the Dalhousie Station, a historic building in the heart of Old-Montréal. In order to maintain this site as a place for dialogue and encounters for the circus community, Cirque Éloize invites up-and-coming artists to visit. Today, the company employs more than 100 people and is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year.

CIRKOPOLIS is presented by NYU SKIRBALL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS as part of their 10th Anniversary Season.

Tickets for CIRKOPOLIS range from $40 to $80 and may be purchased online at www.nyuskirball.org, by phone at212.352.3101 or 866.811.4111, or in person at the NYU Skirball Center Box Office. The box office is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12:00 to 6:00 P.M. The NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is located at 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square, New York, New York 10012. For more information, please visit www.nyuskirball.org.

Photo Credit: Valerie Remise