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Performing Arts

Five Tips to Survive the Countdown to Showtime

by Julie

As many of you know, my partners and I recently completed and executed our second annual fund raising cirque show. In the circus, dance, and theater worlds the countdown to showtime can be both an exciting and stressful time. On the one hand you have all of the magic and beauty of the creative process, [...]

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Whhhooo R U?

by Julie

She often can be found lounging on a leaf mid-afternoon, or weaving her silken cocoon (at her leisure of course), which will eventually transform her into a gorgeous butterfly. This creature doesn’t just perform the same old tricks… Not a chance. Our Caterpillar is a master hand-balancer and aerialist who specializes in the “wow” factor! [...]

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Sometimes Life is Heavy…

by Julie
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This week I had the pleasure of watching one of Toronto’s hottest contemporary Dance Companies, Desiraeda Dance Theatre, perform their newest creation WEIGHT. The show is a passionate, hard-hitting, raw dance production which explores the depths of human relationships and all of its complexities. Exquisite choreography by the fabulous Niki Wozniak and stunning dancers combined [...]

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“So, what do you do?”

by Julie
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When meeting someone for the first time, one of the first questions we are usually asked is: “So, what do you do for living?” Some people have a quick and easy answer: “I’m an accountant” or “I’m a corporate lawyer.”  Others, like me, struggle to choose the right words to articulate our work (because “circus [...]

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Cirque du Soleil, Totem

by Julie
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Step right up… The latest and greatest creation from Cirque du Soleil is named “Totem” and I can’t wait to check it out live! Below I’ve included the official trailer as well as CDS behind the scenes videos. I hope you enjoy watching as much as I did! Totem Videos I don’t know about you [...]

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Racing Against Time, Video Two

by Julie
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“Things that are done, it is needless to speak about – things that are past, it is needless to blame.”  Confucius The second documentary highlighted in my Circus Blog Video Series focuses on idea execution to deadline. Personally, I find it hard enough to get ideas out the door, but throw in a pressing deadline [...]

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Another Powerful Word – “Yes”

by Julie
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Following my post titled Our Most Powerful Word  – “No” I felt strongly that a counter post was warranted.  So, in the spirit of fairness, balance, democracy and equality – here it is. The benefits of saying “yes” are many. Short of being a “yes man” or a “yes woman,” it is great to be [...]

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Olympic Aerials!

by Julie
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Each Olympic Opening ceremonies have their “high” points. For me, it was when circus performers maneuvered snowboards and skis in harnesses high above the crowds at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games opening extravaganza. As it turns out, those aerialists were direct from the National Circus School in Montreal. Read on for more details and enjoy! [...]

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Performance Under Pressure

by Julie
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Image via Wikipedia In the spirit of the Olympics I thought I’d re-blog this awesome post published by the team at Speaker Spotlight about performing under pressure: Performing Under Pressure at the Winter Games Circus artists, and generally those of us in the performing arts, often must execute while under tremendous amounts of pressure. As [...]

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Got An Idea?

by Julie
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Image via Wikipedia Further to my “Don’t be Afraid to Fail” post ~ Have you ever heard the saying: “Ideas belong to those who implement them?” If you’ve got an idea you need to do one thing and one thing only… GET GOING! In other words, IMPLEMENT! If you look back in history, no one [...]

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Circus Event to Follow Grammys 2010

by Julie

Further to my post on Pink’s cirque performance at the Grammy Awards, I came across this event coverage of a Grammy after party which was, you guessed it, entirely circus-themed. Thanks to the amazing folks at Biz Bash for the excellent coverage: Grammy After Party Enjoy! // Related articles by Zemanta World-Class Event Expert Colin [...]

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Cirque du Soleil ~Behind the Scenes, Varekai

by Julie

Image via Wikipedia I came across this BBC news coverage today on one of Cirque du Soleil‘s tent shows, Varekai: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8481523.stm It’s always fun to check out the behind-the-scenes prep which the artists undergo prior to performance. As always, the underlying discipline and true love for the art of circus shines through. Enjoy! Related articles [...]

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Our Most Powerful Word -”No!”

by Julie
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Just say “no”! If my 28 years on this earth has taught me anything at all, it is to learn how to say: “stop,” “enough,” it’s finished” …in other words “no.” Why is this such a difficult task? And why can some of us confidently and directly say “absolutely not” while others beat around the [...]

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Don’t be Afraid to Fail!

by Julie

If at first you don’t succeed, try try again! One of my all time favorite bloggers posted this amazing article today: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/01/unrealized-projects.html Seth’s words remind us that not only is it alright to fail…but to fail often! At the end of the day, it is better to just go for it, and see what happens. [...]

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Top Ten Touring Tactics

by Julie

Cover of Bon Voyage! Bon Voyage! Going on tour with your cirque act or show can be an exciting endeavor. Before you book – be sure to read through my list below consisting of action items in order to ensure that your circus tour is tops. Julie’s Top Ten Touring Tactics 1) Define Your Terms [...]

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Rethink Rehearsals

by Julie
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Practice makes perfect… How relevant and how true this statement is for performance artists! The difference between a good performance and a great performance is the amount of time you’ve spent preparing your piece in rehearsal. Rehearsing is a critical component to successful execution. Without it, you run the risk of looking amateurish and unprepared [...]

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