Backstage of TOTEM by Cirque du Soleil

Miami, FL – February 16, 2013 – A Cirque du Soleil touring show is something of an incredible traveling microcosm. The entire production team and cast’s lives revolve around this huge blue and yellow striped tent that becomes their world. There’s a lot more than meets the eye, as each Cirque show takes about two to three years to create and execute. The production itself then tours tons of cities around the world for years and sets up their little home-away-from-home in each city for a month or so. There are 52 performers, and some bring their whole families, putting their kids in circus school while on the road. It really has a modern day ‘run away and join the circus’ feel to it. They have three chefs who prepare 250 meals three times a day for everyone on site.

TOTEM has already been touring for two and a half years and will continue for 15 years total. The performers have one-year contracts that they can either renew or not, but this current production of TOTEM has more than 80 percent of the original cast. Some have not missed one single show since it started, which now totals over 1,000 shows. Get a glimpse into the intricate and interesting world of a Cirque du Soleil performer with our exclusive behind-the-scenes photos and interview with one of the performers. TOTEM is in Miami at Sunlife Stadium for another week, so be sure to check it out before they hit the road again.

It takes eight days to set up and two and a half to take down. They travel with 64 semi trucks and 165 people from 18 countries, speaking 11 languages.

Performers are put through an 18-hour training with make-up artists on how to do it themselves. Each one does his or her own make-up before each and every show. It takes about an hour and a half to do, more or less, once they’ve got it down.

‘Show Call’ is the hour and a half before each show when performers are required to show up and start getting ready.

There are duplicate costumes for each performer because they’re worn and washed daily, making them last about six months. They use the Fila Skele-Toes toe shoes for footwear on stage, which are custom painted and decorated for each look. They’re repainted daily due to basic wear and tear.

Each costume is custom made to fit each performer’s body at the design house in Montreal and has a value of about $5,000. Some use hand-sewn beads and shells, others have sequins and Swarovski crystals.

There are seamstresses who travel with the show to take care of maintaining the costumes and making any necessary repairs or adjustments by hand. Everything at Cirque is very detail-oriented.

The masks are created using a 3D replica of the performer’s face so it fits and won’t fall off during the routines. It takes 50 hours to custom create each individual mask, with hairs sewn in one by one to the scalp, and the eyes, nose, and tongue openings adjusted to fit each performer’s face perfectly, almost like a second skin.

21 year-old Sarah Tessier from TOTEM’s fixed duo trapeze act talks to World Red Eye about what it’s like being a part of TOTEM.

WRE: You started with Cirque in the summer, how do you like it so far?

Sarah Tessier: “It’s really good. I really like it and enjoy it. We’re touring, visiting different cities everywhere… We get time to get used to the city, and it becomes like home. Then we move on to somewhere else. The cast and crew are very welcoming and everyone is super nice. It’s a really good show.”

WRE: Do you think you’ll renew your contract after your first year finishes?

SJ: “For sure. It’s really nice, and I like being here, so definitely.”

WRE: Where do you go home to when you’re not traveling?

SJ: “To Montreal. I’ll be back there in two weeks when we’re in between cities. Right now we have apartments here in Pembroke Pines and Sunny Isles; it’s about 25 minutes away, and we take a shuttle. In Atlanta we were in walking distance to the grounds which was nice.”

WRE: It seems fun here, is it hard being away from home? It seems kind of like going to college but better…

SJ: “Yeah I like it here. It’s good to go back home- it makes you appreciate it more. But yeah, it’s kind of like going away to school because in Quebec we don’t go off to college, so I was ready to leave.” (laughs)

WRE: Your act is called ‘Love Birds’… How did you end up with that act? Are you guys actual love birds?

ST: “We’re replacing that act on the show, so we were assigned it. But no we’re not love birds. We had our own act, and we took it and changed it for the act in the show. We became partners at [The National Circus] school in Montreal and have been for three and a half to four years now. It’s hard sometimes being in such an intense relationship, especially since we didn’t know each other when we started. It takes a while in the beginning to build the trust, get to know each other, and it’s a working relationship but we’re friends. We’re so close physically, but it’s normal for us; it’s not weird.”

WRE: Do you have any particular things you eat or do for fitness to stay in shape other than your everyday practices?

SJ: “Not so much. I mean you try to eat healthy, but we don’t have a specifc diet. I don’t eat so much, just often to make sure I have energy before my act. I do a little exercise but we don’t have much time either when we’re not practicing or performing. My partner does more, he lifts weights, but I do more stretching. Outside of the show I usually just sleep.”

WRE: How long does it take you to get ready for each show?

SJ: “I come in an hour before Show Call to do my hair which takes about 20 minutes, then my makeup which takes about an hour. Then I start to warm up… So it’s about two and a half hours total before the show starts. Our act is in the second half, so I spend the whole first act warming up.”

WRE: What’s your favorite thing about being in a traveling circus?

SJ: “The family that gets built. You’re always with the same people, so you’re traveling with them and they become like your family. It’s like a home to be here, so for sure the job is amazing but it wouldn’t be as nice if everything around it wasn’t so nice. That really makes it a good place to be- the people you’re surrounded by.”

“It’s not just a show, it’s an experience… You’re immersed in our environment. It’s a different reality.” – Francis Jalbert, Publicist for TOTEM