Canada’s Cirque du Soleil has long been renowned for the artistry and athleticism of its performers. But its new show that debuted this month in Toronto features another kind of acrobat: trick bikers.
For Volta, a show inspired by action sports, four BMX riders and one trials rider learned to adapt their skills to the Cirque environment. It was no easy task. Pro freestylers are used to pulling off incredible jumps, but in far different conditions: a solo run, perhaps, with a countdown clock as the only outside factor to consider.
In this show, they have to do many of the same athletic feats on cue, set to music, and in coordination with other performers. A Red Bull documentary that premieres Friday evening follows the riders’ training as they blend jumps and stunts with the choreography required for the performance.
BMX freestylers aren’t exactly used to group practice. “Our discipline is borderline terrible,” laughs AJ Anaya, one of the performers, during the documentary. Beyond that, the riders had to change their perspective to become more than just athletes. (Learn what kind of cyclist you are with Rodale’s Bike Tribes.)
“When you’re coming from the world of sport, you’re in a different mindset,” says Rob Bollinger, Cirque’s acrobatic performance designer. “We worked with the athletes to transfer that mindset into a performing mindset—turning athletes into artists.”
Trevor Bodogh, the trials rider, collaborated with four-time UCI elite trials World Champion Kenny Belaey on a routine that includes a series of hydraulic platforms that rise, fall, and tilt as he performs his stunts.
The BMXers—Anaya, Ryan Guzman-Vlug, Kevin Fabregue, and Jeffrey Whaley—worked with Cirque’s directors to create a park routine using quarterpipe ramps for simultaneous choreographed jumps. As if that isn’t challenging enough, the ramps are transparent. (Good luck judging your takeoff on Plexiglass.)
Volta plays live in Toronto through November and then goes on the road, starting in Florida. An initial review in the Globe and Mail faulted the storyline but praised the bike routines. If you’re more interested in the backstory, “Inside the Big Top” debuts on Red Bull TV Friday, September 29 at 5 p.m. EST and is available after that for streaming.
{ SOURCE: Bicycling | https://goo.gl/Fqc2j9 }
