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Book Review: Circque du Soleil: The Spark
Thanks to Discovery TV, many of us have seen some of the incredible performances of Cirque du Soleil without having been able to go to an actual performance. The artistry and combination of phenomenal physical athleticism with music, lights, and unbelievable costumes and make-up are mesmerizing. So when about a month ago I read a review of Cirque du Soleil The Spark: Igniting the Creative Fire that Lives Within Us All (note: hotlink is to the amazon.com link for the book) in USA today which compared it favorably to Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit (ditto–link is to amazon.com–it’s now out in paperback, a good sign!), I sought out the book.
The Spark itself is a short hardback (135 pages, $20); both times I saw it I wasn’t in the right frame of mind (was rushed) to decide if I really wanted to buy the book, so I ordered it up on interlibrary loan. Having read both The Spark and The Creative Habit in the past month, I would have to say: not. However, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy this book, just that I’m glad I bought The Creative Habit and got The Spark on inter-library loan. The book is “Created by Lyn Heward and written by John U. Bacon” according to the cover; Heward is former President and COO of Cirque’s Creative Content Division and currently an executive producer for a variety of special projects. Bacon is a veteran journalist.
The premise of the book is that a sports agent has begun to work / live in a rut, when he literally walks into the back door of a Cirque performance area in Las Vegas, accidentally meets the Creative Director of Cirque, and eventually ends up spending a month learning how Cirque works by training with the athlete-performers and support staff, and finding once again a creative spark that re-energizes his life. Sigh. It appears from the blurb on the last page that this is just what journalist John Bacon did (though whether he sought out Heward or she sought him out, more likely, is up for grabs), and the fictionalized account in this book appears to be the collaboration between Heward and Bacon.
As a fairly creative person, there wasn’t really much of anything new in here in terms of how to find creativity, how to spark it, and maintain the spark (or break through the doldrums). BUT, it was a fascinating glimpse into how Cirque puts together its shows, keeps them and the artists fresh after umpteen performances, and generally does its thing. For that reason alone, I’m glad I read the book.
I loved the descriptions of the Cirque headquarters in Montreal and wish there were pictures (of course…I’m a visual person!), as well as of the performers in training and working. My question: who is going to do the documentary, and when / where will it be aired? I know that some of these things have been covered in TV shows (on Bravo? Discover? I know I’ve seen them somewhere), but not in the same way as this book. Glad I didn’t spend my scarce $20, but also glad I read the book.
July 9th, 2006 at 9:29 am
Yeah for libraries! One of our societies great resources.
July 9th, 2006 at 10:22 am
There was a docu-drama on Cirq. about two years ago (Bravo). Newbee performers came to the Montreal headquarters and trained and were asked to leave etc. Life there and at Cirq in general seemed awfully dull and spirit breaking. None of the performers seemed happy. They all seemed bored and verbally wished to be “somewhere else”.
I haven’t been able to watch the performances with the same joy as before.