I attended 3 shows (green dots in the map below):
The tent was packed for all 3 shows, with only a few empty seats at the 4:00 show. As best I can remember, the performers garnered a standing ovation from just about everyone after all 3 shows. This contrasts with the 3 shows I saw in Long Beach earlier this year where relatively few people stood up. However, the applause levels throughout the shows were virtually identical in both cities, with the Diabolos act always getting the most enthusiastic cheers.
Complimentary Haagen-Dazs was served to all attendees at one of the Long Beach shows, but not in Cincinnati where it was needed--there was no air-conditioning for the 4:00 Friday show due to an equipment malfunction that was remedied for the 8:00 show. It was so hot & humid that I broke down & bought a $4 bottle of water! You wouldn't know it was uncomfortable in the tent based on the performers--they all did terrific even under these circumstances.
At the beginning of the 4:00 show, because of my seating location, I was able to say hello to & get high-5s from Rabbit & Boum-Boum, & at the beginning of the 8:00 show, I covertly complimented Toto (the clown). Naturally, all 3 performers kept mum & stayed in character. It was *really* fun to be able to interact with them in this small way!
John (played by Mark Ward as usual) did some knitting prior to both 8:00 shows, but immediately began ushering for the 4:00 show.
I sensed that Tori was performing as Zoe at the Thursday show because she doesn't sustain her notes as long as Letitia does & Audrey did. For example, "Seisouso" sounded like "Se i sou so" instead of "Seeeiiisouuusoooooo". Nonetheless, she hit all the right notes & made all the right gestures. Letitia performed both shows on Friday. Both girls look/sound similar, so I hope my report here is correct.
Nothing unusual happened during the opening scene at any of the shows, although the red-haired "Spoiled Brat" character now appears in the back along with John & Target. I don't believe she did that in Long Beach, & don't recall seeing her appear then in the video.
The German Wheel & Marelle/Hopscotch acts were flawless, & the new/improved Boum-Boum does a fantastic break-dance during the German Wheel! The confrontation between John & The Father at the beginning of Marelle is very funny now--I don't recall them emphasizing this at Long Beach or in the video, but it's very cute! Steven Ragatz, who plays The Father & resembles Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump, has the perfect facial expression for this situation! It received loud laughter from the Cincinnati audience. Friday night's show was in competition with a Reds baseball game next door, & there were 4 home runs because of the fireworks launched over the Ohio river. One was perfectly synchronized with the increasingly loud toy drummers who run out near the end of Marelle! After the show, I complimented Jim (the band leader) on how well he coordinated the fireworks next door!
Diabolos performed flawlessly for 2 of the 3 shows. On Thursday night, one of the girls dropped her sticks while getting into position about a minute into the act, & appeared to have a difficult time recovering. This contrasts with 2 significant spool drops I witnessed in Long Beach, after which the girls repeated the stunt successfully. In other words, if you drop one, it's easier (though maybe more embarrassing at first) to repeat it, but if you drop something in between stunts while you're transitioning, there's nothing to repeat, so you're more prone to panic. At least that's how I interpreted what I saw. As in Long Beach, because of the location of my seat in the front row on the side on Thursday night, I again marveled at how high up the spools are tossed. It's an entirely different perspective than when sitting elsewhere! It's incomprehensible how accurately the girls can flick their spools so high (20-30 feet?) in such a way that they can land within inches of their intended destination. Also, near the end one of the girls tosses her spool, then skips her rope twice, catches her spool, tosses it again, then skips rope 3 times, etc., each time progressively jumping rope more/faster until she does it 5 times! It's phenomenal! On the video, it only shows her doing it twice.
I had been wondering how the Diabolos girls attached their spools to the cords dangling from the ceiling at the end of their act. At the final show, I finally was able to see it (because it happens so fast). They grab the weight at the end of the cord, wrap it around the spool once in the blink of an eye while simultaneously releasing their sticks, & hold onto the weight so that the spinning spool begins to climb the cord. At least I think that's how it works. At one of the Long Beach shows, one of the girls encountered a glitch, & her spool never went up.
Nothing unusual about Boum-Boum's closing of the Carrousel song with thunder. The new performer is a man, & he's got the slinky moves down perfectly! He's terrific! The lady who performed this character in Long Beach was also good, but came off as more of a scaredy-cat, especially when someone from the audience screamed back at her! If someone were to try that with the new Boum-Boum, he'd probably run into the audience & have a serious stare-down (as he does during the pre-show routine)! After he screamed in Cincinnati, someone near me said the only logical thing you can say afterwards: "What the hell was that?!!"
Toto did his Car-Date routine very well for all 3 shows. Nothing unusual, & very entertaining (all 3 victims were very pretty & very resistant). Nothing unusual about the Airwalk afterwards either. I love that scene & that tango tune so much!
The Aerial Silk Contortion was performed flawlessly, & the performer (Anna) seemed to be much smoother/graceful than when she performed in Long Beach. The only suggestion I have is that the large tattoo on the right side of her back is too loud of a statement, & detracts from the visual spectacle (merely my opinion; by contrast, Olga's tattoo that surrounds her thigh seems appropriate for her Handbalancing character). One minor glitch occurred during the 4:00 show, not with Anna, but with one of the attendants who accompany The Mother. Her dress encountered a minor snag when transitioning from dark to red.
John began his 2nd Hula Hoop stunt faster now than when I saw him in Long Beach. He used to study the angle/position before giving it the push; now he just walks right up to the front of the stage & pushes it almost immediately. Now he also makes a deliberate adjustment to his position after the first time it encircles him.
Skipping Ropes, like Diabolos, performed flawlessly for 2 of the 3 shows. During the 8:00 Friday show, Norihisa (the male soloist) got totally tangled on his fastest stunt. I felt really bad for him because of the fast nature of all that's going on, he doesn't really have a chance to repeat it. He did, however, make up for it when he did his equally-fast stunt jumping within the lateral ropes near the end of the act. Something else new not on the video is Zoe & The Mother sharing 2 ropes, jumping in harmony, & they do it rather well. At the end of the Thursday show, the "Goofball" character did the concluding scene (which makes John blow his whistle) as in the video; at the end of the Friday shows, it was Norihisa. They apparently take turns because I saw them take turns doing this in 2 of the 3 Long Beach shows as well.
All 3 girls performed for Aerial Hoops at all 3 shows, with the difference being that Philippa Hayball transitioned from Target to perform at the 8:00 Friday show. It was amazing to watch her transform back into Target to catch the balloon after Les Egares die, although I could tell that she merely put the Target suit over her Hoops suit because it looked a little lumpy/bulgy (she has a terrific figure that shows off well when she's wearing just the Target suit). She missed Zoe's balloon at the hot/humid 4:00 show, but caught it during both 8:00 shows. I had been wondering what would happen when she missed it, but nothing at all unusual happened. From my vantage point at the Friday night show, the 3 Aerial Hoops girls were so perfectly synchronized during their final dangle-by-the-feet stunt, it was as if I were watching a highly-edited or animated video! It was unbelievable!
During the final act prior to intermission, Mark & Toto did a very cute little dance together while Les Egares were getting into position to release their soul balloons. At all 3 shows, Toto occasionally interacted with the lady he had gone on the car date with. After the intermission, he did it again as he rode around the rotating stage. It was a very cute contrast to the Death/Transformation scene.
In Long Beach, Olga had not yet rejoined the tour for her Handbalancing, so I was on pins & needles going to Cincinnati wondering if she'd be there or not for my 3 shows (she had skipped a show the previous weekend due to a minor ailment). I thought I'd have to wait till the intermission to see if her canes would get set up or not, but as it turns out, I met a very friendly CdS staff person when I went to my seat Thursday night, & I found out that it was going to be a "basic" show. That's what they call it when all the main acts perform without The Father juggling. If the incredible Quidam show was referred to as simply "basic", I wondered what they call it when there's a substitution. I was told that there's no name; they just say "Juggling for X" (with X being the omitted act). For example, my Thursday & Friday afternoon shows were "basic", but the Friday night show was "Juggling for Cloud Swing".
Anyway, immediately after the close of the first act, the technician brought out Olga's canes & set them up: one group of 7 center-stage, & a group of 3 near the edge of the stage. What a relief!
After the intermission & Les Egares had been transformed (their colorful Skipping Ropes costumes change to tattered gray), Olga made her appearance from the shadows, & it was stunning! All 3 of her performances I saw were flawless with a minimal amount of shaking (less than on the video). The one move where she does a quick 180-degree spin was exceptionally awesome! The only strange thing was her final movement on the canes before doing her aerial strap exit. I've heard other people comment that she looks like she's unable to do the final movement, but I think that's just the way it is. At least that's the way it looked for all 3 shows, & if it were not planned, I don't understand why she would keep attempting it show after show. Another movement in the middle of her act is a more obvious, calculated move to look like she has fallen to the floor, & I think the one at the end is in the same vein, but I could be wrong. I guess somebody would have to ask her.
A note about Olga's song: This is probably my favorite piece of music from the video, & it's slightly different nowadays in that the one on the video has a scratchy sound during the quiet section before it erupts & the singer wails. Now it is more fluid for an overall rounded tone. It goes better with her performance when I'm watching her, but if I were just listening to the music, I'd prefer the edgier version from the video. I love dancing to it like John does on the video, but I don't recall seeing him do it during the Cincinnati shows.
A note about Olga's background performers: The "Spinster" character did an alternate movement during each of the shows after spinning for a while--sort of a bobbing forward & backward, possibly to regain her equilibrium--very cute! Also it was fun to watch the "Banquine Dolls" doing their arm gestures as if to manipulate Olga magnetically. Only brief excerpts of them are shown on the video, but they're awesome to watch in harmony with Olga throughout her act! Another minor difference now is that all the skateboard surfers at the beginning of the act were men at the Cincinnati shows, but ladies in the video.
John's Darts routine was flawless all 6 times I've seen it performed. It's the only one I haven't seen him make a mistake during, & in my opinion it's the most difficult trick to get the 2nd one to always hit his shoulder. One other interesting note is that from my vantage point on Friday afternoon, I could see the technician standing behind the giant bullseye board manually spinning it via a long crank handle. Speaking of not-so-hidden technicians, each time someone was transported back to the "garage" above the musicians via the overhead conveyor, some mysterious long arms reached out & grabbed the performer & sucked them into the void! This may be due to the overall swiftness of the new/improved show now that Olga's back since I don't recall seeing the arms appear in the Long Beach shows!
The Spanish Webs were performed flawlessly all 3 shows, although my favorite stunt was slightly different all 3 times. That's the one where the man & lady in the center manipulate each other high above the stage; at one point she's dangling by one arm, & after a few maneuvers, she drops upside down so that they're clasping each other by the ankles. It's an incredibly dangerous stunt, & I hold my breath each time I see it! Another neat tidbit I discovered from my vantage point at the 4:00 Friday show was the location of Zoe & what she does when she sings this song. Watch the video--she's nowhere to be found, but you can clearly hear her singing with the male vocalist. I think I'll keep this one a secret for now! There's always something fun to discover at a Quidam performance!
The "Brat" character did her traditional run to front/center & stuck her tongue out at the crowd, no doubt invoking another "What the hell was that?!!" in some people's minds!
John's "Gopher" dance with the Coat Rack was much more physical in Cincinnati than in Long Beach. On the video, John Gilkey also did some juggling, but Mark Ward didn't do that in Long Beach. Now he demonstrates his athletic ability via a handspring, somersault, & more interaction with Zoe. She starts off bored & ends up very happy/impressed! It's a significant improvement! One big difference was that he successfully tossed his hat onto the coatrack all 3 times in Long Beach, but missed all 3 times in Cincinnati. Was it because of his strenuous new routine, or was it planned? After he misses, he pulls out an even larger hat from his pocket & forcefully places it over the top of the coatrack!
At the Long Beach shows, I was slightly disappointed in Quidam's performance during "Gopher", in that he simply walked out across the stage & did nothing. In the video, Mark Ward played this role, & really got into the song by slapping his gloves on his side to the beat. Now in Cincinnati, Quidam is once again groovin' to music! Very cool!
All 3 shows I attended in Long Beach were "Juggling for Statue". All 3 shows in Cincinnati included Statue, & I was ecstatic! From my vantage points at the first 2 shows, I could see how the performers disrobed from their Les Chiennes Blanches uniforms prior to emerging from the huddle. The performers, Jerome & Asa, were flawless & spectacular! Asa is breathtakingly beautiful (generally I don't find muscular, bodybuilding females attractive, but Asa maintains her feminine curves in spite of her superhuman strength)!
Asa notwithstanding, I had been dying to see the 3 spirits close-up, & I was not disappointed! They were terrific! But one in particular, the one on my side of the stage was wicked-wild! A beautiful lady, albeit with a ghastly look of shock on her face that she somehow managed to maintain throughout her floating ordeal (which lasts over 5 minutes). What makes her so unforgettably eerie are the 2 streaming red tissues clipped to her face, giving the impression of a 20-foot long nosebleed! Both she & the bald spirit opposite her have small light bulbs clipped over their heads to give them an extra spooky glow. And both are suspended from the shoulders by large chains, although the male's chains are more visible. Such brief clips are shown of them during the video, that I had assumed they both dropped confetti over the audience, but only the male does. It's thin white tissue paper cut into rectangles about 1 1/2" x 3/4". The one spirit shown clearly on the video is the central one, an extremely-pregnant young lady.
On the stage, another ghost appears wearing a white sheet over its entire body, a black hat, & black dots for its eyes & nose, vaguely resembling a Halloween outfit (albeit a cross between a Halloween ghost & a traditional snowman with coal for his eyes & nose). This one appears in the video also tossing confetti, but I had thought it was one of the floating spirits. Also on the video & in Cincinnati was a clown wearing yellow tights & a ballerina's tutu. Obviously, someone with the show thinks this is an interesting addition, but to me he just seemed totally out of context & detracted from the ghastly drama unfolding everywhere else. (Maybe a more appropriate setting for his appearance would be Aerial Hoops, which have more of a graceful ballet theme.)
In Long Beach, Toto performed the Silent Movie act once while Ambrose was absent, but he performed all 3 shows for him in Cincinnati, & he was fabulous! All 3 performances were kept under 15 minutes (actually about 12-13 minutes, whereas in Long Beach with the loss of 2 acts, it was dragged out for a grueling 15-20 minutes). During the Friday afternoon show, the first lady he chose refused to come up on stage. Then the alternate lady he chose refused to jiggle, so he had to get a third victim! At each of the Friday shows, he ended up swapping characters--the director/stud in the afternoon, & the director/geek in the evening. As the afternoon director was an elderly gentleman of robust proportions, it was hysterical to see how much better he was at making out with the floozy than the not-so-bright stud! That particular performance should've been filmed for an updated video of Quidam!
Cloud Swing performed Thursday night & Friday afternoon. She did terrific Thursday night, but had a mishap Friday afternoon. I did not actually see it occur because I was studying the "Blue Girl Group" (a.k.a., "Veiled Women" characters) performing their noose manipulations right next to me on the ramp. An usher I befriended during the 8:00 show told me that the mishap was obvious though, but when I enquired about her well-being after the show, one of the other performers told me she was not injured--just wanted to take a break.
On Thursday night & Friday afternoon, the "What is right & what is wrong ... karma ... karma" recording played twice as usual, but then began a 3rd time so that it ended with "What is right." Who am I to say whether this extra phrase was right or wrong!
Anyway, something I didn't notice in Long Beach was the "Brat" character acting up on the ramp opposite the "Blue Girl Group". She was a total show unto herself! They've gotta get this onto an updated video! Be sure to watch for her if you go to a show. It's as if she's totally jealous of all the attention Donna (the swinger) & the other ladies are getting, so she just paces back & forth, throwing her hands up in a fit, sometimes brushing her hair! It's as if she's thinking, "Why are they getting all the attention??! What's so great about them??! I should be getting all the attention!!! Nobody cares about me! Me! Me! Me!" It's hysterical!
As mentioned earlier, The Father (Steven) performed Juggling/Manipulation instead of Cloud Swing, & as much as I love the "Brat" & the "Noose Maidens", "Rivage" is my all-time favorite Quidam song, & the band just totally rocked the house! The volume was cranked, & Alain (pronounced just like the traditional "Allen") growled like there was no tomorrow! It was killer! I saw/heard it 3 times in Long Beach, but this Cincinnati performance had a fantastic edge to it! Way to go guys! Andre, who sang in Long Beach, was also terrific, but Alain is even more visually dramatic throughout the entire show.
As for the act, Steven started off terrific with all his manipulations of his hat, umbrella, & briefcase, but then dropped a ball 2 times in a row while doing what seemed like a relatively simple stunt with 3 balls & his hat (the hat containing one ball). Later, he flawlessly performed the far more difficult stunt of juggling 5 balls & tossing them off to Target one by one. She caught the first in her cage, but missed the second. Overall, it's a fun act, but I would much rather see the band move out to center stage & just rock the house. Keeping them in the shadows for 2 hours is a waste of awesome talent, in my opinion.
What can one say about the pinnacle of CdS acts, Banquine, that hasn't already been said? I had heard rumors about the Royal version performed for VIPs, but doubted I'd ever be fortunate enough to see it in person. I totally lucked out, because the first show (Thursday night) was attended by Guy Laliberte (Cds Founder & CEO), Franco Dragone (Director), Marie-Helene Gagnon (Artistic Coordinator), & others. I didn't see Guy or Franco because I didn't know they were there; I saw Marie-Helene after the show, but didn't speak to her because she was meeting with friends. I didn't know until Friday when several ushers & staff people told me about the event. Apparently they attend one performance in each city, & this was the lucky night.
Banquine began as usual, but in the middle they break into 4 groups of 3 opposing each other. As soon as I saw this formation, I knew I was witnessing the Royal performance, & from my front-row-side seat only a few feet away from 1 group, I spontaneously said aloud, "OH MY GOD!" In that short span of time they had set up, & 2 porters tossed their 3rd member to the opposite pair with timing so impeccable that all 4 flyers crossed each other in mid-air!!!! 3 of the flyers were men, & 1 was a lady-doll (Anna). You can see a photo of this in the latest issue of the souvenir program, but as you know, photos can easily be faked nowadays with computers. What you can't comprehend from the photo is how smoothly & rapidly the performers get into position from the previous stunt, & just do it with the greatest of ease! If it were me, I'd be sayin', "Hey, can we talk about this for a few minutes ... maybe Konstantin should move to the right just a little bit...!!!" They didn't even turn the music down or call out any signals as they do in Skipping Ropes or for the final Banquine stunt. It was rapid-fire; it was intense; it flawless; it was Royal!!!!
Apart from that special stunt, another maneuver just after the spectacular formation with 2 groups of men where 2 perform handstands, a 3rd stands on their necks, & a 4th does a 1-armed handstand on the head of the 3rd, then there are 2 variations. For both 8:00 shows, 3 men did 1-armed handstands linking their free hands, & 1 of the dolls (Veronica) balances herself upon their hands in the center of the ring. Behind this formation are 2 other groups of 4 men linked together bending over backwards. During the 4:00 show, instead of forming the ring-of-3-with-doll-atop, a group of 4 formed what can best be described as a blossoming flower of 1-armed handstands.
All the stunts in all 3 Banquine performances were executed flawlessly (at 1 show in Long Beach, the final stunt where the white-man is tossed onto a 3-man tower shook precariously & almost fell over, inciting a few gasps & screams). One difference that I noticed from the video & the Long Beach shows was that in Cincinnati only 1 doll was tossed out like a trampoline at the very beginning instead of both dolls. Another difference I didn't notice in Long Beach was that there seems to be a lot of powder/dust on the performers that puffs out when they catch each other. And unlike the video & Long Beach, in Cincinnati the first male flyer who leaps 4 times, then does extra flips the 5th time was one of the regular gray men instead of the white one.
Overall, somebody's been doing a terrific job of improving the show over the past 5 months or so! I am so glad I went to Cincinnati, & I'd highly recommend that anyone who has considered seeing it, make the trip if/when it tours near you! My advice for those who ask where the best seats are is to just plan on spending a Friday or Saturday or Sunday on the grounds (you save $ on parking by going to 2 shows in a row) & sit in 2 locations--one as close to either side of the stage as possible (in 103 or 104) & another in 201 or 202 opposite your other selection (e.g. 201 & 104, or 202 & 103), which is actually less expensive than buying a single Tapis Rouge VIP seat. There's simply too much going on to be able to absorb it all from 1 seat at 1 show; besides, one of the acts & its accompanying song is always omitted. I've studied the video dozens of times & attended 6 shows--I still haven't seen every artistic thing there is to see, & the show constantly evolves anyway.
Another thing that I mentioned in my Long Beach reviews earlier this year, but want to re-emphasize here: I mention the mistakes not to embarrass any of the performers, but to highlight the fact that these are real people & the show is not a dream (like fake movie stunts). Many of the stunts are life-threatening if a serious mishap were to occur. CdS performers are incredible not just for their artistry, but for their attention to detail, dedication to excellence, & ability to conquer the seemingly impossible! For every human mistake at a show, there are a million feats of talent.
For those who wonder how to meet the performers, I totally lucked out by unexpectedly being in the right place at the right time (& don't ask me where/when that right place/time is) after the 8:00 Friday show (my 6th show) & met 6 of them (representing Aerial Hoops, Skipping Ropes/Banquine, & the band), & got all 3 of my tickets autographed. I also made eye-contact with Olga & said hello to her, but she kept walking (for whatever reason; I was still on cloud 9 & didn't mind because I had not expected to meet anyone to begin with). I had met Mark Ward ("John") after my 3rd Long Beach show the same way--total luck because he happened to come out soon after the show to meet some friends of his where I coincidently was chatting with an usher.
My advice is this: If you're a fan, make it obvious. Attend more than one show, & walk around to say hello to as many ushers as possible, & as many staff members as possible. Normally the ushers give instructions to attendees on where to go for their seats, or they say something along the lines of, "We hope you enjoy the show." When I presented my ticket to the ushers at the entrance for the hot/humid 4:00 Friday show, they both said, "This guy knows what he's doing! He doesn't need any help from us!"
Most important of all, don't be rude or forceful. Some of the ushers or staff or performers may be having an exceptionally bad or busy day. Bear in mind that these people are focusing on doing their job, & it's not their job to get/give you an autograph. Finally, just be grateful that you are there to enjoy the show in person--the vast majority of people on this planet don't even know Quidam exists! I feel sorry for them!