Most teenagers idolize rock stars and Hollywood luminaries. Denys Tolstov idolized the spandex-clad, death-defying performers of Cirque du Soleil.
“When I was in circus school, it was a dream to be in a Cirque show,” said the 27-year-old performer, who began his training at age 8 in Ukraine. “I had posters and CDs of Cirque music in my room.”
Luckily, Tolstov caught the eye of Cirque du Soleil’s casting scouts during an exchange program with a circus school in Brussels in 2001. He trained for two months at the nouveau circus company’s home base in Montreal and, after waiting a year to turn 18, premiered in one of Cirque’s signature works, the unabashed celebration of brightness that is “Alegría.”
That was more than 3,000 performances and nearly a decade ago for Tolstov, and he still loves the show.
“You don’t stay on one level. Even in my skill (hand balancing and juggling) there is always something to do — new tricks, new choreography and ways to be more perfect on stage,” he said. “That’s what makes it interesting for me.”
Area residents will have a chance to see the show’s progression when it plays Colorado Springs’ World Arena through Sunday. It moves to Broomfield’s 1stBank Center Tuesday- Jan. 23 and finishes at Loveland’s Budweiser Events Center Jan. 25-30.
Anyone who caught “Alegría” when it played Denver in 2002 will notice changes and improvements, although it remains the same fanciful, colorful extravaganza that has set it apart from Cirque’s 21 other productions around the world.
“Other shows are more deep and introspective, so the ambiance is different,” said “Alegría” publicist Genevieve Laurendeau. “‘Alegría’ is very full of life and happy and energetic.” (The title translates to “joy” from Spanish.)
Cirque’s typical mix of dramatic music and European sensibilities is brought to flamboyant life by a cast of 55 performers and musicians from 17 countries during the 2 1/2-hour show, which eschews overt narrative for a more playful format.
From delicate choreography and contortionism to synchronized trapeze acts and the audacious “fire-knife dance” (a tribal ritual performed to a conga drumbeat), the show doesn’t skimp on old-school spectacle. A cast of elaborately costumed characters and live jazz-pop musicians round it out to create Cirque’s typical dreamlike milieu.
“There’s a reason it’s been a successful show for 16 years,” said artistic director Tim Smith, a Broadway veteran who joined “Alegría” nine months ago. “It’s a feast for the eyes. It’s opulent. But the reason the performers can be inspired to stay with it for so long is because the mandate of the company is creation.
“Cirque shows constantly evolve and are constantly challenged to create new images and to inspire the artists daily.”
It also helps when Cirque makes international touring as painless as possible for its performers. The company always buys them two seats on an airplane or bus and gives each their own hotel room at every tour stop, in addition to a multitude of other perks.
“They pay for me to go back to Kiev (Ukraine’s capital) to see my parents,” Tolstov said of the two weeks he gets off for every 10 weeks of touring.
What really keeps him coming back after nine years is the immediate gratification he feels after each show.
“That’s the best moment: when I go home afterward and I feel like I did my job,” he said. “It’s really nice to be tired after that.”
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
“CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S “ALEGRIA.”
Nouveau circus show. Through Sunday at Colorado Springs World Arena, 3185 Venetucci Blvd.; Wednesday-Jan. 23 at Broomfield’s 1stBank Center, 11450 Broomfield Lane; Jan. 26-30 at Loveland’s Budweiser Events Center, 5290 Arena Circle. Today-Jan. 30. Various times. $28-$94.
