A thrilling show perfect for the season

MANILA, Philippines – Direct from Las Vegas, Le Grand Cirque (LGC) is coming to thrill audiences at the Araneta Coliseum from Dec. 25 to Jan. 2, 2017. (For tickets, call 911-5555.) Directed by Jay Lodge, the show features death-defying stunts and unbelievable acts calculated to take your breath away, performed by artists from Russia, China and UK.

In an interview, Lodge talked more about the circus.

Describe how circus has evolved through time.

“Circus has basically changed in several different ways. Circus started as sort of a carnival-style circus, primarily where the circus would tour from town to town, city to city. And now what’s happened, it’s quite remarkable actually. A lot of the acts are the same acts as originally started in circus-style productions but they’ve taken on a different kind of caliber these days where they are a little bit more risky, they are costumed differently, the music is more different, and they are a little bit scarier.

“And that’s basically how circus has evolved. It’s fundamentally the same kind of acts — aerial acts, trapeze acts, juggling acts — but they’ve constantly taken on a new twist, making it more interesting and more unique and more different to the market. Which is what make cirque-style productions constantly fun and exciting for the market; you’ll always see something new and something different.”

How long have you been in the circus business?

“We have been in the circus business and we’ve been producing a cirque show for about 15 years now. Our first cirque-style production went to the Sydney Opera House about 12 years ago; and broke all of the box-office records for the Sydney Opera House Australia. It took about $3M in 10 days, which really catapulted the show to the No. 1 markets throughout the world. We’re just delighted to actually be able to bring the show to the Philippines in December. It will be an honor for us to bring Le Grand Cirque to the market there.”

How did LGC start?

“We are basically a large production company. We have about 35 different productions from musical theater-style shows, plays, concerts... And we thought, about 15 years, there might be a market here for an amazing cirque-style production to go into some of the areas where we were already supplying some of four shows. And the offer came along for the Sydney Opera House in Australia, and we decided to produce the show for them. Since then, it’s gone from strength to strength and creating (shows) in over 15 countries all over the world.”

What’s it like to work with performers from all over the world?

“It’s very interesting. It’s great because we work with super talented people. We have a huge amount of respect for the artistry they have, and what they do for a living. It’s very interesting to learn about them and learn about the cultures and the backgrounds that they’re from. When you have a show which is made up of 10 to 15 different personalities around the world, it can be very interesting and very enlightening to learn about those things. It’s what makes the show different from any other usual theater-style show. It’s made up of people from all walks of life and all different nationalities. We’re very lucky to be in the industry we’re in.”

Have you ever worked with Filipino performers? How were they?

“I believe we’ve had some Filipino performers — I believe we’ve had some cirque-style performers in a show we produced about eight years ago. They were basically a human juggling act. They were fantastic; they were great people to work with. I remember them being very, very nice to work with, very professional.

“When we tour our show, when we put it in different markets, we’re always interested to see what other talent there is in those markets. When we’re in the Philippines, we’ll be eager to see what are the acrobatic acts there may be, and looking at eventually putting some of those acts into our cirque shows.”

This group, do you have Filipino performers in the entourage?

“There is none. There are some Filipino stage crew.”

What is a typical day of rehearsal for LGC?

“All the acrobats are working now, wherever they are in the world. They are rehearsing daily to perfect their acts for the show. We’re in constant dialogue via Skype and the Internet, going over and deciding musical choices, costume choices, the way the show is going to flow. It’s a huge operation that’s been underway for about the last four or five weeks. And when we get to the Araneta Center, we’ve got about four and a half days to blow the show in, stage the show, do the lighting, the sound; and then be ready for the opening of the show. We’re very excited for that week; it’s gonna be a fantastic week with an amazing product at the end of it.”

How big is the entourage?

“There are 35 performers on stage, and about eight or nine touring technical crew; so it’s a very large operation.”

Are injuries common? How do you deal with them or prevent them?

“Injuries are common as they are with every athletic-related production. We do everything we can to prevent them. This is obviously a high-risk production, these acrobats doing crazy things with their bodies, and doing things in the air that are not normal to the human being. All of our acrobats are trained professionals who have been in the business for a long time.

“But we take every measure that we possibly can to prevent any injuries to our performers. It’s important that they are well looked-after and it’s also very important that our guests who watch the show feel safe watching our performers do their craft — that’s first and foremost in any of our cirque-style productions. We’re very lucky in the 15 years we’ve had the show that we’ve not had any serious injuries at all to any of our performers in thousands of productions performing worldwide.”

Favorite routine in the show?

“For me, it’s the entire show. We make sure that there’s something in the show for anyone and everyone. We’d like to say that the show caters for everyone from two to 92, and beyond. From start to finish, it’s exciting, it’s adrenaline-filled. It’s a spectacle; it’s fantastic; it’s amazing. Every act is different, caters to everybody. I’m lucky enough to produce this show — I’m a little bit like a boy in the candy shop... where I’m lucky enough to pick any candy I want and that’s the way it is with our cirque shows.

“We have amazing talents; we’ve got about 200 different cirque acts in our books from all over the world. We’ve been fortunate enough to pick some of the best acts that we have through our engagement at the Araneta Coliseum. Everybody will have a fantastic time.”

What can the audience look forward to?

“They can look for the best two hours of that they’ve ever had in their lives watching a live theatrical performance. It’s gonna be sensational; they’re gonna have the best time that they can ever wish for. They’re gonna gave a wonderful time watching amazing, amazing talents do crazy, crazy things from all over the world!”