Cirque du Soleil and CIM Group presented the world premiere of IRIS,
a new resident production created exclusively for the Kodak Theater
at the Hollywood & Highland Center, home of the Academy Awards, on
September 25th. Proudly presented by Sun Life Financial, IRIS is
written and directed by French stage and film director, artisitc
director, dancer and choreographer Philippe Decouflé. Let’s take
a journey into the world of cinema with IRIS…
ABOUT THE SHOW
A poetic phantasmagoria inspired by the world of cinema, IRIS presents
an imaginary journey through the evolution of cinema – from the
foundations of the art form to the bustle of the soundstage – through
optical effects and film genres. IRIS transposes into a language of
dance and acrobatics all of cinema’s splendor, inventiveness and,
above all, its sense of wonder.
When the two young heroes – Buster and Scarlett – find themselves
plunged into the joyful chaos of a film set, their escapades transport
the spectator into a kaleidoscope of movement, moods and images
supported by an orchestral score.
Buster is a melancholy composer in search of true love. Somewhere
between reality and make-believe, he spots the girl of his dreams:
Scarlett, a naïve actress who longs to become a movie star. But will
Buster and Scarlett find each other in the real world?
IRIS conjures up a place between motion and picture, light and sound,
that shifts constantly between reality and make-believe, to explore
the limitless possibilities of cinema. By combining dance, acrobatics,
live video, film footage and interactive projections, the show
illustrates both the mechanics of cinema and its extraordinary power
to deceive the eye.
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Cooperation with others is essential to Philippe Decouflé’s process.
In 1983 he gathered together a group of artists and artisans who have
been with him ever since as members of his dance company DCA, which
has created scores of playful and fantastic productions that represent
a veritable revival in contemporary dance. In 1992 Philippe created
the magnificent opening and closing ceremonies of the Albertville
Olympic Games. Watched by two billion viewers, this work earned him an
international reputation. Philippe Decouflé also created the show
Désirs that has been running at the Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris since
2009. IRIS is his first show with Cirque du Soleil.
Along with Philippe Decouflé, the creative team consists of the
following distinctive talents:
o) Guy Laliberté — Artistic Guide
o) Gilles Ste-Croix — Artistic Guide
o) Philippe Decouflé — Writer and Director
o) Danny Elfman — Composer
o) Jean-François Bouchard — Director of Creation
o) Pascale Henrot — Associate Director of Creation
o) Jean Rabasse — Set Designer
o) Philippe Guillotel — Costume Designer
o) Daphné Mauger — Choreographer
o) Patrice Besombes — Lighting Designer
o) Anne-Séguin Poirier — Props Designer
o) Olivier Simola — Projection Designer
o) Christophe Waksmann — Projection Designer
o) François Bergeron — Sound Designer
o) Boris Verkhovsky — Acrobatic Performance Designer
o) Shana Carroll — Acrobatic Performance Designer
o) Pierre Masse — Acrobatic Rigging and Equipment Designer
o) Nathalie Gagné — Makeup Designer
THE ACTS
Through visual language, acrobatics and choreography, all interwoven
with the narrative of the show, IRIS brings the splendor,
inventiveness and sense of wonder of cinema to the stage.
Aerial Straps Duo
In an atmosphere of light and shade, two acrobats soar through the air
suspended from single or double straps. They take off high above the
stage and land with grace and fluidity, delivering a performance that
makes one think of an aerial hand-to-hand number.
Shadows and Contortion
In an evocation of shadow stories played out on prehistoric cave walls
– the very beginnings of what eventually would become cinema – four
contortionists adopt striking poses and undulate like dancing flames.
The flexibility of their movements is amazing as they are transformed
into living sculptures.
Hand to Hand
Two porters launch their partners into the air to perform stunning
feats requiring absolute mastery and control. Generated live by their
every move, the kaleidoscopic projections above the acrobats decompose
motion to add a poetic dimension to their number.
Filmstrip
In a choreography that calls for high-speed precision, performers
advance from one frame of film to the next to create the illusion of
continuous movement.
Kiriki (Icarian Games)
The principle of Icarian games – one of the oldest circus arts
disciplines – calls for a porter lying on his back spinning an acrobat
with his feet. This dazzling number features eight acrobats who
literally blur the lines between reality and the impossible as they
push the act far beyond its traditional boundaries with cool daring.
Movie Set
Controlled chaos reigns over a succession of highly visual numbers and
audacious plunges as a bold allusion to various aspects of filmmaking.
The choreography brings the circus disciplines of teeterboard, Spanish
web, Russian bars, aerial silk to floor gymnastics and original
choreography.
Trapeze and Broom Manipulation
An artist on stage manipulates his broom while above him, a trapeze
artist – the embodiment of his dream – performs with fantastic
artistry. Their interaction turns into a gentle complicity.
Trampoline (The Rooftops)
In a tribute to gangster movies and to the work of stunt actors,
trampolinists deliver a number packed with thrills on the roofs of
buildings, multiplying their astounding leaps, flips and glides in a
non-stop action movie atmosphere.
Hand Balancing
Playing the part of the show’s heroine Scarlett, a young woman
balancing on canes performs a number infused with romanticism,
subtlety and sinuous strength that captures the already conquered
heart of Buster. Before it’s over, they will share a tender kiss.
Aerial Ball
In an aerial bungee ballet that pays tribute to 3D movies, women in
costumes studded with crystal dive and soar in unison from the ceiling
above the audience in a thrilling, swirling flight.
COSTUMES
Cut! Print! Sew!
In a brilliant tribute to cinema, the costumes in IRIS are the result
of a visual exploration of a broad range of themes connected with the
invention of cinema: the taking of pictures and the recording and
transmitting of sound and light.
Designer Philippe Guillotel conducted extensive research into the
history of cinema to devise concepts which some 250 artisans brought
to life in the costume workshop at Cirque du Soleil. It took him three
years of intensive research to complete the project.
He searched the Musée des arts et métiers in Paris – where you can
find everything from the first chronophotographic gun to the earliest
sound projector – from top to bottom. He also screened innumerable
films including the works of Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin and
Georges Méliès, as well as the first films made with Thomas Edison’s
pioneering cinema inventions.
The costumes he designed let IRIS follow the major stages in the
evolution of color in film, from black and white and sepia, through
Technicolor and colorization to the deliberately saturated colors of
films like Dick Tracy.
Giving Substance to the Machinery of Cinema
The symbiosis between the costumes and the technical inventions of
cinema is particularly striking in the half-human/half machine
‘hybrid’ characters. One of these creatures wears a skirt reminiscent
of the praxinoscope, one of the first animation devices. Based on the
stroboscopic effect, this costume illustrates the decomposition of
movement. The circular structure of the skirt reveals – through slots
as it rotates – two boxers in action.
Philippe Guillotel created unusual costumes for a wide range of hybrid
characters:
o) Two “camera men” whose costumes include a camera mounted on
their head or chest.
o) A ” sound man” wearing a large carbon fiber cone.
o) A “screen man” whose costume conceals a 135 sq. ft. screen
that comes out of his stomach.
o) A character whose costume is inspired by the first sound
equipment used to detect the sound of bombs in war.
Some of these costumes have a useful function in the show, such as the
two hybrids fitted with cameras that capture the action on stage.
“I’m a devoted fan of Jules Verne’s universe with all its mechanical
gears and rivets,” says Philippe Guillotel. “When I see an old wood
and brass camera I immediately want to make a costume. And I want
everyone who sees the IRIS costumes to immediately think of one word:
cinema.”
Material Benefits
Philippe Guillotel usually singles out five or six materials per show
which he uses in every possible way. For IRIS, these included soft
Lycra which can be made to look woolly or glossy, silk stretch nylon,
which drapes well and can be printed with reflective designs, and
natural cottons and linens.
For Philippe, the fabric is less important than the body of the
artist. “You can imagine the best costume of the world, but if the
dancer or acrobat doesn’t wear it well, the effect will be lost,” he
says. “The IRIS dancers have magnificent bodies, and it is this beauty
that I have tried to emphasize.”
That is certainly the case with the acrobats whose costumes were
inspired by corsets that were fashionable in the early 20th century,
plus a little nod to Roman times. Even though he used a lot of leather
for the corsets, Philippe relied mainly on modern fabrics and high-
tech materials such as carbon fiber for their protrusions – for
reasons of flexibility, comfort and lightness.
Focus on Costumes
o) The influence of Dick Tracy is front and center in the number
that pays tribute to gangster movies. The artists who leap up
and down the buildings from trampolines hidden in the stage
floor are wearing bright red, yellow and blue tartan suits.
o) In the Aerial Ballet number the costumes of the bungee-
jumping “diamond women” are studded with nearly one million
Swarovski crystals. In the air, the artists themselves are
not as visible as the brilliance of the stones, which give
their bodies a smooth and bright look.
o) The costumes worn the by the Icarian Games “Kiriki”
characters are an evocation of costumes in the films of
Georges Méliès.
o) The hybrid Furniture Characters are artists whose costumes
make them look exactly like pieces of living room furniture:
two chairs, a lamp, a table and a moose head on the wall. At
one point, as part of a movie, they all come to life and
unfold in a matter of seconds.
o) Some costumes pay tribute to various professions and crafts
associated with cinema, including screenwriters, makeup
artists, cinematographers, carpenters, decorators, painters,
electricians and lighting designers.
SET, PROJECTIONS AND MUSIC
To create the cinematic world of IRIS a great many elements have to
come together, play off each other and create a coherent environment
of sights and sounds on the 9,600 sq. ft. stage of the majestic Kodak
Theatre.
Set
The set design by Jean Rabasse provides the physical framework for the
action and effects of the show. The sets’ infrastructure occupies a
space that spans 122 ft. from the high grid to the bottom of the pit,
and conceals a lift with a capacity of 20,000 lbs that rises and
descends 34 ft. below the stage at a rate of one foot per second.
His first decision was to avoid direct references to specific films,
actors or directors, and to take a playful, universally accessible
approach to creating a world of cinema. The set also had to provide a
meeting place for acrobatics, circus arts, dance and projections. And
it had to do so in such a way that cinema techniques and live
performances could blend together.
What Jean wanted to express was a love, not just of cinema, but of the
whole process of film-making, from the technicians to the sound stage,
to the nuts and bolts of the machinery and equipment The set suggests
a fairground attraction inspired by Coney Island where movies were
screened to an audience for the first time.
Cinema Emerges from the Shadows
Jean Rabasse’s concepts go beyond simple references to the
paraphernalia of the film set. They complement performances by artists
whose goal is to connect with the emotions of the audience. For Jean,
the shadows on prehistoric cave walls were the beginnings of what
would eventually be called cinema. The stories they told engaged the
intelligence and the emotions as much as they appealed to the eyes.
And so it is with IRIS. The show starts with shadows before bursting
into color.
The elements of positive and negative are essential components of
film; they are also the names of the two giant figures flanking the
stage. Above, the motto “In Motion We Trust” sums up not only the
theme of moving pictures, but also the constant action of the show.
The second act plunges into a rapid-fire succession of familiar film
genres, and the set transforms just as rapidly to supply each number
with a backdrop that supports the story elements through distinctive
visual references such as costumes, hairstyles and the outlines of
figures silhouetted in windows – as well as providing all the
structures and anchor points needed for each act.
The Color Palette
Some sequences, such as the Rooftops trampoline number vibrate with
bright saturated colors and the sharp contrasts of shadows and
silhouettes. However, The show’s overall color palette leans more
toward earth tones – muted oranges and yellows. It has to be, to
ensure that the vitally important projections are clearly visible from
every seat in the vast Kodak Theatre.
Props
The result of extensive research and an exploration of the effects of
scale, some of the IRIS props have taken on a life of their own.
Resembling the contents of a cabinet of curiosities, they are
variations on the themes of sound, optics, light and smoke. These
little devices represent the beginnings of cinema and the mechanical
inventions that made its development as an art form possible. Light
sources and ingenious machines, as well as panels, ladders, beams and
chairs, take on personality traits, transforming them into characters
that give life to the artists who operate them.
Projections
Projection Designers Olivier Simola and Christophe Waksmann used a
wide variety of unconventional materials in their concepts, including
stretch plastic and micro-perforated tulle.
The stage, the set elements and, in one comic sequence, even the
artists’ bodies and costumes are used as projection surfaces. The
content of the projections is largely driven by movements of the live
performers, and much of the time it is impossible to tell what is real
and what is artificial.
Early in the show, real-time projections of acrobats’ performances
capture their movements as trails of still images – in very much the
same way that frames of film create the persistence of vision effect
that we see as motion pictures. The result is a living decomposition
of movement that takes on a luminous life of its own as an ever-
changing abstract kaleidoscope above the action.
The IRIS projections are widely varied in both technical approach and
content. Early in the show, a performer appears in a costume
reminiscent of the praxinoscope, one of the first animation devices.
Based on the stroboscopic effect, this costume illustrates the
decomposition of movement. The circular structure of the skirt reveals
– through slots as it rotates – two boxers in action.
The virtual traveling scene seamlessly mixes live performance captured
on camera with a succession of projected make-believe sets and props
that take the artists from the streets of LA to outer space. And the
Pursuit Race sequence recreates the menacing atmosphere of a classic
1940s Hollywood gangster flick as a set-up for the Rooftops number
that is the closest the show comes to presenting an actual film to the
IRIS audience.
To achieve all this, and more, Olivier and Christophe used eight large
15,000-lumen video projectors for the main projections, six for the
rear projections and four installed high above the stage to throw
images onto set elements on either side of the stage.
Music
Danny Elfman’s music for IRIS is primarily orchestral, combining both
large and small ensembles throughout the show. Its melodies contain
references to many genres of film – at times grandiose and stirring,
at times playful and light, sometimes surrealistic, frequently action-
packed and often humorous and surprising.
The choice of the orchestral approach reflects the fact that over 95
per cent of film music since the 1930s has been scored for full
orchestras, and this imparts to the Cirque du Soleil show a sonic
connection between circus and film, via strings, brass, harps, flutes,
clarinets, bassoons and so on, as opposed to the sounds of a jazz or
rock ensemble.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets range from $43 to $133 (VIP tickets are available at $253).
Tickets can be purchased on line at www.cirquedusoleil.com/IRIS or by
calling 1-877-943-IRIS.
For parties of 12 or more, contact Cirque du Soleil group sales by
calling 877-504-7164.
For Preferred Seating and other American Express(R) Cardmember benefits,
please visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/amex.
Sponsors
Sun Life Financial is the presenting sponsor of IRIS. Infiniti and
American Express are the official sponsors of this new production.
About Cirque du Soleil
From a group of 20 street performers at its beginnings in 1984, Cirque
du Soleil is now a major Quebec-based organization providing high-
quality artistic entertainment. The company has 5,000 employees,
including more than 1,500 performing artists from close to 50
different countries. Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight
to more than 100 million spectators in nearly 300 cities on six
continents.
For more information, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com.
To find out more about the One Drop Foundation, visit www.onedrop.org.
About KODAK Theatre
Kodak Theatre is the crown jewel of the Hollywood & Highland Center, a
retail, dining and entertainment venue located in the heart of
historic Hollywood. The theatre opened in November 2001 and soon
became known to more than one billion people across the globe as the
first permanent home of the Academy Awards(R). Kodak Theatre was
designed by the internationally-renowned Rockwell Group to be as
glamorous as its onstage artists and celebrity guests, yet capable of
serving the enormous technical needs of a live worldwide television
broadcast on Oscar(R) night.
For more information visit: http://www.kodaktheatre.com
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services
organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth
accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate
customers. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners
today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the
United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the
Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. In the United
States and elsewhere, insurance products are offered by members of the
Sun Life Financial group that are insurance companies. Sun Life
Financial Inc., the holding company for the Sun Life Financial group
of companies, is a public company. It is not an insurance company and
does not offer insurance products for sale in the United States or
elsewhere, and does not guarantee the obligations of its insurance
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states and may vary depending on state laws and regulations. As of
June 30, 2011, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total
assets under management of $492 billion. For more information, please
visit www.sunlife.com. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto
(TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
