Behind the Curtains - ALEGRIA 2

Since 1984, Cirque du Soleil has combined scintillating artistry, exciting acrobatics, dance and music to bring the world's best circus show to audiences all over the world. It began with a small group of people and a simple dream to amuse audiences and see the world while doing it. As the years passed on, their audiences became bigger, their shows became bigger and still, their dream to amuse and delight remained as passionate as ever. The newest addition to their amazing collection of shows is Alegria 2 - a fantasy world where men can fly, dance with fire and defy the laws of gravity in acrobatic stunts that will dazzle and astound.

Alegria means "jubilation" in Spanish and thus, is a celebration of life, love and power. As soon as you walk into the dimly lit Grand Chapiteau, which has over 2,800 seats around a center stage, the yellow glow lamps that seem to be floating and the air of excitement of not knowing what to expect fills the air and transports you into a different reality where talented artists and stirring music await you.

MORE THAN WHAT MEETS THE EYE
But there's more to this circus than what meets the eye. Behind the curtains, these artists have families who travel along side them, living their own lives as well. Meet 14 year old Arthur MATULA, whose father plays the character of one of nostalgic old birds and 8 year old Natalia PLOTNIKOVA, whose father is part of the New Russian Bars act. Intelligent, mature and wonderfully sweet children, they give us a glimpse of what life is like as a child traveling in a circus.

Arthur is your average 14 year old, who likes playing soccer and chats with friends on the internet. He speaks Polish, English, French, Russian and is currently studying Japanese. Natalia likes playing basketball and loves Math, maybe not your average girl but still the sweetest little girl who can speak fluent Russian, English and a little bit of French. These children are highly intelligent and having traveled all over the world can be a significant factor. They've traveled with their families from the United States, Europe and Australia to Mexico and now Japan. Having to cope with missing their grandparents and families back home has made these children mature for their age, and yet that has become part of their lives that they have learned to deal with.

For Arthur and Natalia, school starts at 9:30 in the morning and ends around 3:30 in the afternoon. They have Math, English, Science, Library, History and PE, just like in any other school. "It is just like a normal school," Arthur stresses, "The only thing different is we only have four classmates at most in one class!" Traveling with the circus means that in every few months, their school packs up its books, materials and resources in boxes and prepares to move on again to a different part of the country. Yes, there's still homework between all the moving and they get right on to class after they've settled down.

Their school is inside the Bigtop' grounds, located just behind the Grand Chapiteau. They have three classrooms for lessons, and just like any regular classroom, has a blackboard, colorful cut out pictures pasted on the walls and various textbooks on the shelves. The school follows the Quebec curriculum, and parents can choose between English or French as the primary language.

Patricia, one of the teachers in the school, explains, "We follow the Quebec curriculum and our school is recognized by the Canadian government. After these children finish school here, they earn their diploma and can go to a regular university."

Currently, there are 10 children attending the school - 5 of whom are artists themselves and 5 children of the artists. From the view point of Arthur and Natalia, having few children in the school has its good points and bad points. "I like it because you can have the teacher all for yourself, so if you don't understand something, she can explain it to you." Arthur shares. What don't they like about their school? "Well, there's no soccer team," Arthur says and Natalia adds," There's also no basketball team!"

Since there are only 10 children in the whole school, they don't have clubs or school bands. "It would be nice to know other kids my age," Arthur muses, "But then I know it's also hard to keep friends because we keep moving around a lot." Nevertheless, they sometimes go to fieldtrips with their teachers and have interactions with other schools. "We've had some interactions between schools and our children had the chance to meet other children as well." Patricia explains. Moving around though does limit the chance of finding close friends aside from the ones living in the circus with them.

Having adapted to their situation, these children manage quite well and Patricia says, "These children have been on tour more than I have! Some have been on tour since they were born or almost all their lives! They're very used to it, and it's nice to have a short holiday (when they move from one city to another) between studies. It creates a nice atmosphere where we talk about how your weekend went, but there's always going to be homework (even while moving.)"

THE SHOW CONTINUES
The Japan tour has been a success, as seen in the fully booked seats and grand reception by the Japanese audience. Maria SILAEVA, the captivating artist combining gymnastics, contortion and ballet, finds the Japanese audience wonderful to perform to as they seem to be more gentle and more careful not to disturb the artists by being more subtle in their reactions.

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