I used to lay a rope along the ground and pretend to tightrope across it complete with the full wobbles and the fake scared for my life facials to boot. I can also remember a friend and I trying to tame her families lion (aka little sister) with a chair and a stockmans whip. She was completely un-tamable and we got seriously busted big time by her mum for being cruel to the pets.... I mean children.
Clearly I was an imaginative child... or a few screws loose.
I had a habit of walking around pretending I was the bionic woman and I would even do the slow motion movements with the chhhchhhchhhh sound effects. I also told everyone in year 1 that Luke Skywalker was my secret brother but they couldn't tell anyone as it was like a huge family secret.
I digress .... again .... what was that about loose screws?
In the school holidays our friends took our 7 year old son Sam to see Cirque Du Soleil and he raved and raved about how totally awesome it was. My youngest was all "meh whatever, what's for dinner?" whilst my oldest was completely and utterly devastated that his brother got to see it and he didn't.
You can imagine the major .... no like MAJOR major brownie points I earned with one said devastated son when I announced that he and I were invited as VIP guests to OVO by Cirque Du Soleil.
Did I milk it? Oh hell yeah!
Now taking my 11 year old Kai to see Cirque Du Soleil was enough of a treat in itself, but to throw some extra cream and a big fat cherry on top, we got to go as VIP guests and have access to the VIP Rouge Suite where we were wined and dined (well I was wined, he was loaded up with unlimited soft drink) AND meet with one of the Shows Performers.
So last week on a school night (helloooo there you rebels) we headed out to the Entertainment Quarters at Fox Studios, ready for a night of adventure.
Before the evening's festivities began, we had the opportunity to meet with one of the lead musicians and an incredibly talented and completely down to earth guy, Sebastian Savard.
Sebastian ran away and joined the circus back in 2002. OK he didn't really run away but he did join Cirque Du Soleil back in 2002 as a violinist on Quidam. He comes from a family of musicians and performers so performing is well and truly in his blood.
In 2003 whilst on tour in Japan, he met, fell in love and married his wife. Since I am such a nosybody, I had so many questions about life on tour and juggling family life and Sebastian seemed more than happy to humour me and answer my nosy questions.
Sebastian and his wife had their first child, a daughter (now 7) on tour in New Zealand in 2005 and his second child, a son (now 4) on tour in Portugal in 2008. The family always travel together and whilst they are oceans away from their blood relatives, they are part of the big yet very close Cirque Family.
There are 54 performers in the show from 16 different countries and between them there are 30 children aged between 2 months and 15 years.
I wanted to know all about schooling for the kids whilst they travel and Sebastian told me that Cirque Du Soleil has a school that travels with them especially for the children of the performers. There are currently 5 school age children in this troupe and they have 2 teachers that travel with the kids and they are taught all the normal stuff that kids their age are normally taught in school but they are taught in English and French.
My son was curious how Sebastian's kids feel about moving constantly and where they stay.
We were told they spend 2 -3 months in each location and they stay in apartments in the city of their performance. The kids turn every place they stay at into an adventure and they decorate their temporary homes with drawings and artworks and all the normal kid stuff.
They believe that home is wherever Mum and Dad are, they know no different, but know they are blessed with an incredible life. Their routines are just like those of any permanently home based family and the only difference is they get to experience new cultures and different places and they are taught from such an early age that "the world is theirs to take care off".
Sebastian's wife along with many of the other partners often work on tour in the box office and other roles within the production and they also do jobs like run Yoga classes and massages etc whilst the kids are at school.
Both my son and I were so curious and we could have grilled poor Sebastian for ages if it weren't for him being called away for a pre show sound check.
With the interview under our belt it was time to (as my son proudly put it) walk the red carpet and experience what it is like in the VIP Rouge Suite pre show.
After all that spoiling we almost forgot we still had the best bit of the night to come - the show. I honestly don't know who was more excited, me or Kai. The fact that I needed to pee many times in the 10 minutes before the show highly suggests I was the most excitable.
The show itself was seriously amazing. This particular story OVO is about a colourful eco system where insects work, eat, play, fight and look for love.
The almost inhuman contortions and acrobatics had us holding our breath all the while mesmerised by the whole experience that was the music, the sets and the costumes. I challenge anybody to see this show and not walk away either completely speechless or at the very least wanting to run away and join the circus.
Me - I'm personally very glad my husband didn't come with me. I mean imagine if he saw the way these woman can bend and contort..... the expectations of living up to that! You know what I mean!
OVO will be in Sydney until 25 November 2012 and will then continue on its national tour with
seasons in Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth.
Tickets start at $64 per child and $84 per adult and there are special deals for family passes. Or you can experience the show VIP Rouge style from $295 per child and $335 per adult.
For more information or to book your tickets visit the Cirque Du Soleil Site here.
Thank you so much to IP Publicity and Cirque Du Soleil for a truly magical Experience.
*Disclaimer: I was not paid to post this, but we were guests of Cirque Du Soleil for a night. All opinions are my own and completely unbiased .... possibly even seriously understated!
