We entered the behind the scenes of OVO, the show of Cirque du Soleil which brings the life of insects to the stage. Contortionists, tightrope walkers, trapeze artists frantically follow one another on stage dressed as crickets, cockroaches, spiders and a thousand other insects. And we asked ourselves: how it is built the most famous acrobatic and circus show in the world? We interviewed the artistic direction, the professionals, the artists and the musicians to discover the work behind the circus.
Where did the idea for OVO come from?
The soul of OVO is rooted in the liveliness of Brazil. Director Deborah Colker’s original idea was to transform creatures that usually generate fear into magical and athletic figures. He wanted to make insects “cool” through the acrobatics they are capable of doing, bringing them on stage thanks to the artists.
The show consists of 53 artistseach with a unique ability. The construction of the show follows a natural logic: i crickets, born to jump, they become trampoline acrobats; the ants, a symbol of cooperation, they transform into jugglers who use their feet to rotate objects, just as they would carry leaves in a colony. At the center of everything, three clowns guide the narrative: Master Flipo, the Ladybug and the Traveler, a stranger who arrives with a giant egg on his back (the EVO), starting a story of discovery and love.
The construction of props
Every object that we see on stage is created specifically for the show. The props, such as the iconic corn on the cob or the kiwis that the ants play with, are not simple decorations: they are heavy and balanced technical tools, built tailor-made for the individual artist. There carpentry, in fact, it deals with creating objects starting from the needs of the interpreters, always keeping faith with the shapes and colors of the world of insects.
The band live
Music in OVO is a living organism: the sound engineers coordinate a live band Of seven musicians (percussion, bass, guitar, violin, accordion and wind instruments) supported by recorded sequences, but the real heart is the real-time interaction. The musicians are on stage, covered by nets so as not to be visible to the public, but with a complete view of the stage so as to be able to manage the movements of the artists live.
A very interesting aspect of sound management of this type of shows is the so-called time alignment. To ensure that the sound reaches those sitting in the front row and those at the back at the same time, delay management in the speakers is used, avoiding phase cancellation problems.
The artists of Cirque du Soleil
The transition from professional sport to circus is a common path for many Cirque du Soleil talents. Nansy Damianova, former Olympic gymnast in Beijing 2008plays a beetle in the Aerial Cradle issue. Here, the challenge is flight: launched by powerful “male beetles”, the athletes cover distances of six meters between platforms suspended in mid-air.
Kilian Mongey, from French national tumbling teamdescribes the emotion of the audience’s reaction as the driving force behind everything. His cricket costume includes 10-pound mechanical legs that must move fluidly during the dance. It is a delicate balance between aesthetics and freedom of movement, the result of symbiotic work with the wardrobe department.
More than 1400 costumes for the show
Managing OVO’s costumes is a monumental logistical challenge. With 53 performers and an average of 2-4 costumes each (plus backups), the tour delivers around 1400 costumes.
“We set up a complete tailor shop in every city,” wardrobe manager Cayenne Adler explained to us. The needs are specific for each discipline and for each part of the show. In fact, costumes must have different physical characteristics depending on what will be done on stage. For example, the Chinese pole artists wear an ultra-resistant denim suit and padding to protect their skin from burns during their number, while for the rest of the show, when they only have to perform the choreography, they wear a flexible and versatile suit. In short, the design remains the same, but the material used is much softer.
A caravan on the move: the 21 trucks to transport the circus city
Moving OVO requires a fleet of 21 trucks loads of equipment, sets and even a full gym. The stage is a puzzle that is assembled in 8-12 hours and dismantled in less than 4 every time the show he moves from city to cityaround the world. Each arena is a different challenge: sometimes you need to put up external curtains for the kitchen or create dressing rooms from scratch to ensure privacy, while always maintaining impeccable organization.
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