American Matthew Richardson suspended in his whirling cyr wheel at the Cirque de Demain
© Meredith Mullins

The Cirque de Demain is in Town: The Best of the World’s Young Circus Performers

Jugglers. Contortionists. Acrobats. Who doesn’t love the circus arts—graceful whirlers, sure-footed balancers, and people who fly through the air?

Performers spinning, hanging, tumbling, climbing, somersaulting, diving, stretching, and moving their bodies in mind-bending ways.

The Circus of Tomorrow is in town—the 36th annual Paris Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain. There are no lions or tigers clawing the air, no elephants laboring to lift themselves toward the tent top, no cartoonish clowns emerging from tiny cars.

The beauty and grace of The Guangdong Troupe, bronze medalists from China
© Meredith Mullins

The Circus of Tomorrow is about young talent—a celebration of the innovative integration of strength, artistry, grace, and emotion.

The annual event shows dramatically how the personalities and creativity of these future stars influence the evolution of the circus around the world.

Loving Every Moment

This was my first Cirque de Demain, and I loved every moment. The international competition is held in Paris every January, specifically for performers under 26 years of age. These are the fit and the fearless, the circus performers of tomorrow.

Tempting the tightrope: François Bouvier from Canada
© Meredith Mullins

This year, 24 acts were selected as finalists from more than 1000 entries. The performers came from 15 countries (including first-time entries from Uruguay and Ethiopia) to compete in the four-day event.

“The judging will be difficult,” predicted jury president Line Giasson, the international casting director for the Cirque du Soleil. “The process is complex because of the enormity of talent. There is quality everywhere.”

Quality Everywhere

Mme Giasson was right. Every act was unique. Every performer was talented.

How do you judge a juggler of sculpted clay vs. those who bounce and balance on a seesaw-like Korean plank vs. those who perform the poetic main à main (hand-to-hand acrobatics). The jury had a difficult job.

Bronze medalists Biniyam and Remedan from Ethiopia, ambassadors of power and joy
© Meredith Mullins

The performers present their act twice and are judged by a 10-member jury, all prestigious directors from schools and circuses around the world. (Hopefully, they are also potential employers.)

Points are given for artistry (up to 20 points), technique (up to 20 points), and rapport with the audience (up to 10 points). The impact on audience is not rated by an applause meter or the number of whoops, whistles, and hollers from the packed house. As one juror, Valérie Fratellini, put it “It’s about how they touch my heart. How they make me feel.”

Can this be possible? Pan Yuexin from China says yes.
© Meredith Mullins

Fit, Focused, and Fearless

As I sat back and watched mesmerizing act after act, I found myself murmuring “Oh, I see” quite often. Even more often, I found myself saying “That can’t be possible. There is no way a body can do that.” My muscles cringed in sympathy.

Duo Gold Art from the Ukraine—mind-bending body power
© Meredith Mullins

Here are five revelations of the OIC kind:

• The circus arts are a beautiful medium, interweaving strength, grace, focus, originality, artistry, and risk. These arts cross cultures and need no translation. The language is universal.
• The performers are the definition of fitness and athleticism. I have never seen such beautifully chiseled muscles (abs to die for). Of course, you have to be strong to hold your body perpendicular to the floor, perfectly still, while balancing on one palm or to hold the weight of your partner on one extended leg.

Li Tong, from China, showing grace and strength under pressure
© Meredith Mullins

• The show is a tribute to the power of the human body when fit, well-trained, and focused. Although my back ached just watching the physical prowess and bizarre contortions, the show was an inspiration for staying healthy and strong.

Bonze medalists Duo Unity from Canada enjoying the freedom of the cyr wheel
© Meredith Mullins

• Yes, this was a competition. The performers were nervous. But, as Russian juggler Dmitry Ikin said, “There’s always stress. That’s normal for a juggler.” One moment of a wandering mind, and the rhythm is shattered. For the aerial acrobat, one slip-up forty feet above the floor, and bad things can happen. It’s good to be nervous.

• Even though this was a high-stakes competition, the performers were obviously enjoying themselves. The smiles were genuine. Even in moments that the audience couldn’t see, the connection between partners was very real. Of course, when you depend on your partner to catch you or hold you many feet above the ground, trust is essential.

And the Winners Are . . .

After three days of competition, the winners were announced Sunday at the final ceremony.

Swedish gold medalists Sons Company catapult each other fearlessly into space.
© Meredith Mullins

Gold Medal:

Sons Company (Anton Graaf and Elnar Kling Odencrants), Sweden, acrobatics on the Korean Plank

Jimmy Gonzalez, Spain, juggling (clay)

Gold Medal Winner Jimmy Gonzalez from Spain juggles clay pieces spontaneously created.
© Meredith Mullins

Silver Medal:

Lift, France, parallel lift

Wise Fools, Finland, triple trapeze

Duo Kiebre, Uruguay & Colombia, aerial straps

“For a juggler, stress is normal,” says bronze medalist Russian Dmitry Ikin
© Meredith Mullins

Bronze Medal:

Dmitry Ikin, Russia, juggling

Duo Catalexi (Catherine Audy and Alexis Trudel), Canada, aerial straps

Duo Unity (Francis Perreault and Léa Torán Jenner), Canada/Germany/France, cyr wheel

Remedan & Biniyam, Ethiopia, hand to hand acrobatics

Troupe de Guangdong, China, Balance

Silver medalists Duo Kiebre from Colombia and Uruguay—strong arms,
strong teeth, and strong hearts
© Meredith Mullins

Here’s to Tomorrow

The Cirque de Demain will be back again next January in Paris. I will be there, hopefully a fitter and more fearless person, thanks to the great role models (although I won’t be holding anyone up by my teeth).

My wish is that, in the meantime, these talented young circus performers all find a place to continue their passion. They deserve it.

Long live the circus arts! Vive le cirque!

Bonze medalists Duo Catalexi from Canada. Vive le cirque!
© Meredith Mullins

For more information about Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain.

Comment on this post, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

The Lido feathers wait for a Feathermaster.
© Meredith Mullins

Live Life to the Fullest with the Right Job

Paris seems to have more uniquely specialized jobs than most cities—from the Versailles Royal Molecatcher to the auctioneer who lights a candle every time someone offers a last bid at the Chambre des Notaires.

The French have a penchant for flair and living life to the fullest, even in the most functional of jobs.

There are also the jobs of utmost rarity. Consider the urban beekeeper who tends the hives on the roof of the Paris Opera House or the 40 “immortals” of the Académie Française, whose job it is to protect the usage, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language (who wouldn’t want to be an immortal?).

In that vein of rare professions comes the job position of Feathermaster at the Lido—the celebrated cabaret on the Champs Élysées in Paris.

The Lido Revue: the best feathers in Paris
(Photo Courtesy of The Lido © PICS)

Eye Roll, Please

When I first learned that there was a Feathermaster at the Lido, I admit to rolling my eyes a bit. However, one of many “Oh, I See” moments came when I toured backstage and saw nearly 600 costumes for the current show, most of which had feathers. Of course, there needs to be a feathermaster. Why would there not be?

One of the costume areas backstage at the Lido
© Meredith Mullins

“Since the beginning, in 1946, the Lido has always had unique costumes,” says Hervé Duperret, Directeur Général of the Lido. “The sequins, rhinestones, and feathers are really a signature of the spirit of cabaret,” he adds, especially on the grand headdresses and winglike extensions of the dancers’ outfits.

Fluffiness at its height
(Photo courtesy of the Lido © PICS)

The Feathers Need a Master

“Feathers are both fragile and resilient at the same time,” Duperret explains, with the pride of a parent. “They need to be maintained with care. We have more than 20 varieties of feathers on our costumes. Each has its own special treatment.” Taking care of them is the job of an expert feathermaster (plumassière in French). And the position is open.

The Lido has been without a feathermaster for several months now since the last plumassière left. While there were more than 400 plumassières in the Belle Époque between 1871–1914 (feathers were a way of life then), there are now just a handful of experts. It has been difficult to find a qualified replacement.

Splendor in white
© Meredith Mullins

In stellar showbiz tradition, however, the show must go on . . . and the feathers must continue to be nothing short of splendorous. The ten Lido seamstresses (couturières) have risen to the challenge.

With passion and extensive study of what the different feathers need, the couturières dust, brush, steam, wash and dry, reattach, replace, or generally cajole the feathers back to fluffy perfection for the Lido performances each evening. The ostrich, marabou, pheasant, hen, turkey and peacock plumes strut their stuff, as beautifully as ever—the ultimate in cabaret haute couture.

The art of feather haute couture
© Meredith Mullins

You might think 30-pound headdresses of jewels and feathers on a troupe of lithe and graceful semi-clad dancers would steal the show. But there are a lot of competing elements to the Bonheur (Happiness) extravaganza.

An ice skating rink and a golden temple rise from the depths. A motorized elephant transports an Indian princess. A white horse (real) side steps across the stage in the mist. In one scene, there are so many onstage fountains that you feel the humidity change even in the back row.

A practice simulation of the extraordinary fountain scene
© Meredith Mullins

Precision Onstage and Off

Imagine 23 set and costume changes during the 1.5 hour show. Backstage is organized chaos. Most transitions are completed in minutes. And all are orchestrated from a narrow area behind the stage called “the aircraft carrier”—six floors of “shelves” for props, sets, and costumes.

Dressing room ready for the one-minute costume changes
© Meredith Mullins

Precision backstage is as important as presence onstage and customer friendliness for the audience. Every one of the 350 employees is critical to the show’s success. All seem to enjoy the cabaret life.

Help Wanted: Feathermaster
© Meredith Mullins

Birds of a Feather

So, if you know a plumassière or if you are ready for a career change, keep this job opening in mind.

And keep another “Oh, I See” moment in mind whenever you are thinking about living life to the fullest:

We can’t all be one of the 40 “immortals,” but if we’re happy and needed in our work, whatever niche we may fit into, immortality is within reach.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.