Get it while its hot, these lads and ladies will have you melt of your seat, laugh until you squeal, or just plain gasp with their um.. charms.

Perth international Burlesque Festival. Do it.

Soooo!  We are weeks away from the opening of Fringe World Perth and I am really excited to be working on a family show again. With a stellar cast including longtime Fliptease artists comedy extraordinaire Adam O’Connor McMahon  (who is trotting off to NICA for a year after “Splat!” finishes its season), it’s very special time for the Fliptease family.

“Splat!” Fringe Kids Cabaret is a kid’s game show gone wrong.  There is circus, live music, physical comedy, an MC with a minor god complex. It pretty much spells trouble. I can’t wait. Find more info and buy tickets here

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Snippet- “If you’re happy and you know it squeeze your bum. If your upper body’s unstable on the tightwire squeeze you bum. If your hips turn when you walk and your straight jump is too piked plus your flic flac is a flop, squeeze your bum.

Also, when you squirm in your chair it means your brain is full. Sounds more scientific in french.”
Posted by Scott at 22:33
Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Scotts blog can be found in French and English here.

I am returning to Beijing from Macau as I write this. My lifestyle and career affords me many privileges and one of my favorites is the ability to visit good friends all around the world. Macau is China’s legal gambling territory. According to USA Today, Macau has been leading the gambling revenue stakes against Las Vegas since 2007. With this in mind, it should be no surprise that Macau is home to two of the largest custom-built theaters for circus and spectacle shows in China. I was lucky enough to see both, although I had originally intended to review them separately, I was struck by how differently the shows were produced and marketed to Chinese audiences as well as how it had ultimately affected the shows’ audiences. I wanted to understand why.

Cirque Du Soleil’s “Zaia” housed in the Venetian Hotel has now been running for 3 years. According to the Macau Times Daily the show had such low audience numbers for their 1800 seat venue that rumors of its closure started to appear in the local media (2010). This rumor was later dispelled by Jerry Nadal Senior Vice-President for resident shows of Cirque du Soleil. I also cited from observation of an audience size of approximately 40% on the day that I attended.
Dragone’s “House of Dancing Water” is housed in the City of Dreams hotel and has been running for just over 1 year. On both nights I attended, the show had sold out. Further talking with staff and crew I was told that not only was it the average audience size but when there had been a show cancellation and long show pauses it had caused major troubles to refund or rebook a fully sold out house.
Both multi-million dollar shows have custom made theatres, incredibly talented performers, spectacular rigging teams and great aesthetics. They are also well situated in high-end hotels and casinos with the support of professional marketing teams. Additionally, both Zaia and House of Dancing Water use thematic Chinese elements or performance pieces with in their productions. From a producing point of view Cirque de Soleil’s “Zaia” sticks to Soleil’s successful recipe of a young girl’s journey into a fantastic world and returning from it with a new appreciation of her world. In its design, construction and presentation, it’s very much what I would consider a “circus show” in the new circus genre.

House of Dancing Water is staged as a melodramatic love story with a hero, an anti-hero, and a damsel in distress. An archetypal story, one that a Chinese (and Western) audiences intuitively understand; especially when compared to main land China’s soap opera TV shows. Cirque de Solei’s Zaia, on the other hand, follows an unfamiliar European storyline, one that is not as accessible to Chinese audiences.

House of Dancing Water is billed as a “spectacle”, not as an acrobatics show. While Zaia is a “circus show” with acrobatic elements (including Chinese acrobats) on a marketing stand point for the Chinese audience members I spoke with in-line felt that combined with the reputation of the House of Dancing Water venue and that it wasn’t just an acrobatics show seemed to be a swaying point to attend Dragone’s show over Soleil’s.
House of Dancing Water is show cased in an extraordinarily unique venue. As mentioned before it also has the reputation of the most expensive shows in China, giving it a luxury status; an extremely important value in a developing Chinese culture. In addition, the emphasis on the appearance of home-grown (although the company is not Chinese owned, the show was built and developed in Macau) would, therefore, make it difficult for Cirque de Soleil to compete against it. Even with its glowing international reputation and its custom designed theater. This part of my observation is contrary to my previous opinions of Chinese audiences and their perceived love of luxury western products and services. Perhaps it is demonstrative of a new developing consumer?

In summary, each show, in its own right, is fantastic and I would thoroughly recommend seeing them both. It seems, however, that Dragone has the edge on the marketing mix and producing elements to create a sold out show for Chinese audiences. Both shows will certainly stay in my memory as incredible performances. This Circus Girl now understands that there is a whole lot more to achieving a full house and audience appeal in a foreign market. ?

It’s 8:30 pm and we are both exhausted from the training day, I can see he’s nervous about giving an interview especially to a Westerner. It’s a hot, sticky Beijing night. The Chinese acrobats and arts students are just leaving their night training sessions and classes.

“My Chinese name is Hou Kai. My English name Kai.”

Photograph by Faith Wassmann

I first met Hou Kai a year ago while training as a part of a professional development towards my own skills as an acrobat at the Beijing International Arts School, home of The China National Acrobatic Troupe. He’s a handsome young man, stylish and has an air of grace about him. Charismatic and unlike most of the young men here, not shy around a western girl. Hou Kai is one of two children in his family making him even more unusual in China’s one child policy.

“I started training with the Shaolin [monks] in martial arts when I was five years old. I changed to study acrobatics at seven.” It surprised me to hear that he liked training (most of the time), even though it was his parents that chose his path. In my experience and conversations many acrobats here at the school do not love what they do. Their path was chosen for them or in lieu of another sport; the training in China is extremely difficult by any world standard. Early mornings, long days and late nights, 6-7 days a week. It is also highly controlled. Your teacher (or Lao shi) owns your time, your pain and your progress. Although Hunan is his hometown, Hou Kai moved to Beijing at 10 years old where he specialized in Chinese pole and Acrobatics. It was at this time that he started performing with the China National Acrobatic Troupe. From as early as 11 he toured with the Troupe to the US, Turkey, Germany, Japan and Greece. When I asked him his favorite country he told me it was Greece, because of its history, philosophers, athletes and the sea. He traveled with both The China National Acrobatic Troupe and as part of smaller troupes, as a guest in foreign countries. It is very unusual but Hou Kai has a working passport and a personal passport as a result of one of the smaller shows (some countries require Chinese visitors to have a personal and a working passport), which means he can travel quite freely unlike his classmates.

At 15 Hou Kai blew out both his ACL’s – what would be a game ender for most acrobats in China. He remembers that day and how much he cried. He loved tumbling but needed an operation. This was the end of tumbling for him in the Troupe. The scar tissue in both legs is thick. For over 3 years he has dragged himself to the second floor of our training building at the school to retrain new acts so that he could perform. No teachers, no directors, no help. Just sheer will and a little inspiration. This is how I met him: 6:00 am classes, training and studying every morning until final class at 8:30 pm – including weekends. Finally, after all this time, he has started to tumble again. Although he tells me he has trouble on colder days. His regular program consists of bounce juggling, hat juggling and manipulation, and of course (one of the circus disciplines China is famous for) Diabolo. He also loves to dance. “I want to make my own style in my own way; I want to be someone like Michael Jackson.”

Hou Kai says he likes the spirit and for him (and many other Chinese) Michael Jackson represents freedom of the spirit, a miracle or inspiration. In broken English he tells me, “My parents ask me do you like Michael Jackson? Michael Jackson is not of your age. When I first saw Michael Jackson I am in the injury home [hospital], I don’t know what I can do [anymore]. I think it’s a power. I can do most things. I felt life. My Father Mother don’t like me to like this. I see his power. I think can do these most things.”

It has finally come for Hou Kai to leave the school after nearly 9 years. The current captain of the school does not like his program – or him for that matter – which means that Hou Kai is unable to work in the regular shows that the Troupe puts on for tourists. Fortunately, Hou Kai’s English is better than average which he says gives him freedom in a way. “Freedom” is a word that he has used often throughout our conversation.

He says he is leaving this month, and will continue to study and work on his programs. He doesn’t know where he’s going yet. He has not been to another city in 3 years because of his injury. He says he has no fear but he’s not sure, though he believes hard work will get him there. Finding work in China for a solo acrobat is a relentless task. “It’s important to always have a spirit for study and work hard.” Something, it appears, has already served him well.