By Sugandha Rawal
New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS) A Cirque du Soleil show is all about celebrating diversity by creating a new universe, and "Bazzar" -- the show with which they are making their debut in India -- promises to bring all these elements to the stage in India, says the show's costume designer James Lavoie.
Lavoie hopes his creations strikes a chord with the Indian audience.
"The show is called 'Bazzar' -- the lab of infinite creativity. I used to think that circus artistes have superpowers. Each artiste comes with their own superpower. So, when you make a Cirque show, you get 30/40/50 individual artists together in a tent, all bringing their own individual energy to create something," Lavoie said in an interview while giving IANS a special preview of the costumes in Montreal.
"The thought was why don't we make a show which tries to encapsulate the amazing dynamic energy that is in the creation room of a circus show and put it on the stage. So, that is where it all started," he said while narrating the origin of "Bazzar".
"We ended up with a show with something incredibly eclectic. It is cohesive but it is really about 30 individual artistes who work super well together as a family, but each bringing their own energy to it," said Lavoie, who has designed over 50 productions in Canada and abroad.
No set rules to play by, no notebook to refer to, no rules to comply by and no time period to look back to -- Lavoie felt liberated without any restrictions while drafting the story through his creations.
"It is exciting for me because it meant that I was not limited to trying to work within one time period, I was not limited to recreate certain realities. It is not a show which is set in a very specific location as the show takes place in more a psychological space. That is incredibly liberating."
He says it gives you the power to "dream".
"We create our own universe at Cirque du Soleil. We create our own cultures. Those universes refer to many different things at the same time... We go everywhere. We look at art, at music videos, we might look at pop stuff, might look at the history, might look at different geographical areas and cultural references."
Was India a place where they wandered off while searching for inspiration for the costume?
"I looked at India. I wouldn't say there is a direct inspiration in the costumes. But I hope that there things that Indian audiences will react well to it.
"It would be wrong to try and draw an inspiration from a limited space. We wanted the costumes to feel like a celebration of eclectic-ness, of diversity. Cirque du Soleil artistes are individual and eclectic people, coming from all over the world with different skills," he said.
The globally popular live entertainment company Cirque du Soleil is known for reinventing the culture of circus with themed, theatre-style acts -- without animals -- featuring multi-talented performers such as acrobats, gymnasts, mimes and musicians.
For the India foray, they have partnered with BookMyShow.
"Bazzar", its 43rd original production with an Indian artiste Rajesh Mudki, will have its world premiere in India with shows in Delhi and Mumbai later this year, before heading to other countries. They are opening their "Bazzar" for a sneak peek at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week's Winter/Festive edition in Mumbai.
They have gone back to the roots to enter India as "Bazzar" is more of a compact show -- just like the way it started, but staying true to the essence of a 'Cirque' show.
There are 60 artistes bringing the show alive. So, it brings along various restrictions and challenges like creating costumes which can sustain the long journey and everyday wear and tear.
"The easiest thing to do in a circus show is to put everyone in a bodysuit but that is not what we are about. We want to push boundaries."
Lavoie, who is in India for the special preview, worked on the costumes with over 35 people for nearly nine months.
"The same amount of time it takes to make a baby, but we made 30," he quipped.
(Sugandha Rawal was recently in Montreal at the invitation of BookMyShow. She can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)
