His pants are tattered. He has no shoes, no shirt. But the beads that adorn his bare chest flash and glitter in the light of the flames that he twirls, faster and faster.
This is the Fire Knife dancer, one of the acts featured in Cirque du Soleil’s “Alegría: In a New Light,” which opened a one-month run at Portland’s Expo Center Thursday night, where it continues until July 17.
“Alegría” is one of the French-Canadian circus troupe’s most-iconic productions. Francis Jalbert, the show’s senior tour publicist, says the production, which was originally staged in 1994, established Cirque’s name internationally, reaching 14 million people in 250 cities before it was retired in 2013. One of those city’s was Portland, where it ran for more than a month in 2003.
For the show’s 25th anniversary in 2019, “Alegría” was pulled out of mothballs and “recreated to touch a new generation,” Jalbert says.
“The show is very quick because audiences’ attention spans have changed. The acrobatics have been updated. The set uses technology that was not available in the ‘90s.”
The redesign also required new costumes. According to Cirque du Soleil, it took 20,000 hours of work to put together the 96 costumes of the show. From research and development to the finished product, 300 hours of work went into just one costume: that of the lead character, Mr. Fleur.
Costumes are designed, developed, and built at Cirque’s headquarters in Montreal, then sent to the show’s current location.
“The team here is actually doing maintenance, repairs, alterations,” says Sophie Bedard, head of wardrobe for “Alegría,” in a lilting French accent. “We are high wear and tear.”
Bedard says costumes typically have a lifespan of just six months. The costumes deteriorate quickly because “there’s friction with the stage, there’s a lot of movement. It’s not just a play.”
“These aren’t finished,” Bedard says, gesturing to the racks of vibrant garments that fill the artistic tent for the show. To come to life, a costume “always needs an artist inside.”
Lucie Colebeck is one of those artists. A British native and lifelong gymnast, Colebeck tumbles on the Powertrack, Cirque’s criss-crossing trampoline track.
Colebeck, a silver medalist in 2013 and 2015 World Championships in gymnastics, isn’t intimidated by “Alegría’s” daring stunts. The enormous crowds don’t bother her either.
“I thrive on the audience; it makes me perform better,” she says.
The challenge, she says, “is doing the acting on top of it.”
“Even if you make a mistake,” she smiles, “you have to just sell it and make sure it’s a good performance.”
Cirque’s return to Portland has been long in the making. The company last performed in Portland in 2017, when it presented its steam punk-themed “Curios.” Engagements planned for 2020 and 2021 were canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, Cirque fans had to turn to online videos of its productions to get their fix of the avant-garde circus acts. But Colebeck says there’s no substitute for a live performance: “There’s just no feeling like it.”
Michael Smith, the show’s artistic director, agrees. “You can watch anything online, but you’re watching it alone.”
“In a live show, the audience becomes part of the performance,” he says. “The audience creates their own energy, which inspires the artists. It’s an interactive exchange, and that’s what we missed.”
Smith says that the COVID-19 pandemic has made “Alegría’s” message even more relevant. “We’ve all been through this terrible isolation,” he says. “‘Alegría’ means joy, and I think we all need some joy right now. So we’re spreading it.”
Smith says that through all the Cirque shows he’s worked on, he’s never experienced an atmosphere like this one. He says it’s because Alegría was Cirque du Soleil’s first show to come back after the pandemic.
When “Alegría” resumed touring last November, “we were going back home,” says Colebeck. “Even though we’d been home, we were going back to our home under the big top.”
“And six months in, we still feel it,” Smith says. “It’s magic. It’s gorgeous. We finish our day with 2500 people standing on their feet cheering, and people crying tears of joy.”
“And I don’t, not for a second, take it for granted.”
“Alegría: In a New Light” continues through July 17; Portland Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Dr.; tickets from $39; https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/alegria.
— Zella Hanson, zhanson@oregonian.com
