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Entertainment
The treasure of ‘KOOZA': Choreographer Luc Tremblay
Fifty-three performing artists from 14 different countries, including an award-winning juggler and trapeze artists, will bring their unmatched talents to the trademark blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau on the grounds of the Pepsi Center when Cirque du Soleil returns to Denver with KOOZA, opening August 20 for a limited engagement. Master choreographer and KOOZA Senior Artistic Director Luc Tremblay was in town recently to check things out, and I was able to sit down with him to find out about his history with the arts and the upcoming show.
Matt Kailey: How did you first become involved with choreography?
Luc Tremblay: It’s funny, because I started myself to dance quite late. I was 18 years old. But prior to that, I did a lot of music – I studied music, piano. I wanted to become a composer. But for some reason, life brought me to discover dance. I fell in love with dance and with movement in general. And then, very quickly, I got involved, took classes and became a professional three years later. … You don’t necessarily select things. Sometimes it is the thing that selects you. And I had some talent for it.
MK: How did your parents feel about you going into this field?
LT: There is always the fear for a parent to see his child struggle. And of course, in the arts, unless you become like a big TV star, you’re not there to make money. You’re there to basically follow your passion. And that takes courage. And you have to explain that to your parents. In the end, if they really love you, they will respect your choice. That’s what happened with me. Actually, I come from a family of seven children, and five of us are in the arts.
MK: You’ve produced over 40 works all over the world. Do you have an absolute favorite?
LT: There’s a work that I created in 1991 called Mirage that was inspired by the life of Gandhi, and it was a symbolic work that I think is probably the best work I ever created. You always like the last one you did, but that one, I think, is probably something that people will remember the most in my own personal career.
MK: How did you get involved with Cirque du Soleil?
LT: I had seen Cirque du Soleil at the beginning, as a spectator, and I always thought, ‘This company’s so original, so interesting, so different. I’d like to work with them one day.’ And I had been directing a dance company for 10 years, then left to change my career. I went and taught in a dance program … in Toronto for two years. And then after that, I was invited at Cirque to lead, choreographically, a research project, and that’s how I started, and that was almost 10 years ago.
MK: You’ve taught and coached dancers and performers. Can anybody learn this?
LT: I think that if somebody really wants to have a career in the arts, that person can learn and can become a professional. You have to be driven by your passion. But if you don’t have the passion and you have no talent on top of that, then it’s very difficult to transform you to performer. Some people have innate talent. You don’t do a lot with them. … But if you have talent and passion, then you can become a star.
MK: What’s your favorite thing about your job with Cirque du Soleil?
LT: At the moment, I see myself as kind of a guide for my team that is on tour. I have 12 people. I have one artistic director under me that is following the tour all the time, so I’m there to support their work. But what I like the most in my job, when I have to recast an artist that we replace, is to try to find the best talent. Also, lately, I’ve given myself the opportunity to work creatively within the show. … When I have opportunities like that, that nourishes me. Otherwise, I’m always very proud when I see a good show.
MK: What is KOOZA about?
LT: KOOZA comes from a Sanskrit word that means ‘treasure’ or ‘box.’ And the idea is the circus coming from the box. There is an innocent character who flies a kite. He represents the good, childish person that is in all of us. He has been presented with a gift, which is a box. And out of that box appears a trickster – kind of like a jack-in-the-box trick. That trickster starts to play tricks with him, but also is bringing him into a journey throughout the show where he has to encounter funny characters, scary characters. He’s always trying to put him into two sides of the coin – two sides of nature. So there is an evolution in the character throughout the show. But what happens is that the trickster has opened the imagination of the innocent. And this is what the show is about. It’s a simple story, but it’s a touching one. It’s one that is driven by emotion. … There is a lot of variety. The core of KOOZA is humor, clowning, and high-level acrobatics – something that is quite unique that’s returned to the tradition of, but of course with a contemporary envelope.
MK: What’s next for you?
LT: This year, we’re opening three new shows. We’ve opened one in the spring in Montreal, which is going to be the next touring show that will come to Denver, probably in a couple of years. We’re opening a show in Las Vegas based on the life of Elvis Presley. ... And then, with David Shiner, the creator of KOOZA, we’re opening a new production that’s going to run in theaters, and it’s based on the traditional vaudeville.
MK: What else would you like to say?
LT: This is the 25th anniversary of the company. We started from very modest origins – street performers in a small village five hours ride from Montreal, back in the country. And when the first show was created in ’84, we had 70 employees ... Now, 25 years later, we have 19 shows running in the world, over 1,000 artists, and 3,000 employees on top of that. ... And it’s still very exciting to be working for that company – definitely.
For more information, or to get tickets to KOOZA, go to www.cirquedusoleil.com