It’s not easy being blue

Everyone knows that James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster Avatar grossed billions of dollars worldwide. But did you know the film was partly inspired by the high-flying spectacle of Cirque du Soleil?

Janie Mallet, publicist for the upcoming Cirque show Toruk: The First Flight — designed as a theatrical prequel to Avatar, and having its Asian premiere right here in Manila on June 23 at SM Mall of Asia Arena — confirms the collaboration with director Cameron goes back five years: “(James has) often said he’s admired Cirque du Soleil, and Cirque had inspired him for the Na’vi characters, so there’s a lot of connection between the two worlds. This show is like the baby of that connection.”

It all makes sense now: the alien blues and lush, colorful landscapes of Cirque shows must have somehow paved the way to Pandora.

Add to that the fact that Cameron worked together with Cirque on a special 2012 film called Worlds Away, and you can see the relationship has now come full circle. Set to run for two weeks in Manila, Toruk: The First Flight tells the story of the first Na’vi boy to fly the dragon-like creature Toruk. Developed over half a decade between Cameron and Cirque directors Michael Limieux and Victor Pilon, the story promises even greater challenges for the Canada-based production company, which last touched down here in 2012 for the well-received Varekai.

Toruk promises to be as immersive as the CGI-packed Avatar, with 20,000 feet of floor space, 27 semitrailer trucks worth of sets, props, lighting, trees, puppets, and projections of lava, water and desert plains that are bigger than five IMAX screens combined.

Meeting with cast and crewmembers of Toruk at the Conrad Hotel’s C Lounge, you immediately start to get that Cirque vibe: cast member Daniel Crispin is fully attired in blue latex, for one thing. An Australian martial arts competitor, Crispin joins his first Cirque show playing principal character Entu. He notes his training involved not just physical stunts but Na’vi language classes. They had to learn to walk, talk, and even squat like the imaginary natives of Pandora. “We had Julene Renee, who was in the original film, training us how to move and talk. She’d come in and tell us, ‘No, it’s more, accentuate the (clicks his tongue),” he says.

Besides squatting, which is the preferred Na’vi way of sitting, Crispin had to adapt to the culture — “There are weird rules, like all Na’vi are left-handed.” (Fun fact: James Cameron is left-handed.) He reckons his “ability to manipulate weapons” was partly why he was hired, but Crispin notes there are sometimes dangers involved. Every Cirque show is literally a high-wire act, and as they say, the show must go on.

“One show, when I’m supposed to use the bow and arrow, I grabbed it but caught it by the string,” he recalls. “It whipped around and split my lip open on my tooth —so the first 30 seconds of the show, I’m pouring out blood everywhere.” They couldn’t stop the show and he was still on mic, so he mimed to a stage assistant that he was bleeding; a gauze was quickly applied, and he quickly got back into the action. When things like that happen, he’s instructed to stand still offstage with his arms outstretched while the assistants go to work: “It’s like a Formula One pit crew out there!” he marvels.

PULLING THE STRINGS

In addition to live acrobatics and state-of-the-art lighting effects, Toruk: The First Flight also features the most puppetry ever in a Cirque show. Fil-Am Rob Laqui, a dancer and puppeteer for Toruk, has worked on large-scale puppet productions like War Horse. It’s a big step for Cirque, adding six puppeteers onstage to bring to life dragons and other creatures of Pandora. “It’s been cool to show the company what’s possible with puppetry, to exceed those expectations,” he says. “That’s part of what Cirque does, so it was a good match.” Making those large beasts seem not only fluid and lifelike, but relatable, is a challenge he enjoys. “I like the intent of expression being funneled through an object. It takes pressure off you as a performer, puts it into the thing. The motivation of an animal is easily understood by audiences.”

Don’t look for him onstage, though: “With puppetry, if I’m doing my job right, I’m invisible.” Prepare to suspend your disbelief.

Another Filipino in the production is head coach Michael Ocampo, born in Ontario, Canada. A Cirque veteran of 24 years, he went from 10 years as an acrobat to training other performers for each new production. Toruk is one of the most challenging yet, he says. “Normally, you create the show around the acrobatics, but with Toruk it’s based on a story and movie, there are 40 projectors, puppets and all the Na’vi characters. So you have to find the blend and make the acrobatics support the story.”

I mention the closing of century-old Barnum & Bailey’s Circus the past week, and ask how Cirque du Soleil manages to keep the circus concept fresh into the 21st century. “I think Cirque is able to take contemporary performance art — acrobatics, dance, puppetry, movement, nowadays things like Parkour — and make it more than just the traditional circus act, where someone just comes out and goes, ‘Ta-da!’” he says. “I love that it’s molding, changing and evolving the circus into something new.”

But like any circus, there are a million technical details to finalize before the show goes on. Amazingly, according to Cirque publicist Mallet, Toruk: The First Flight can be set up to open within the space of a single day. “It’s a production that can roll into town and be up and running in less than a day,” something she chalks up to the fine-tuned machinery that is Cirque du Soleil. “We usually build the stage within 12 hours — one day to build the setup, make sure everything is okay, check the lights, do the sound checks, then next day is the premiere.” But since this is the first stop in Asia, the cast will have the luxury of two rehearsal days before Toruk begins its 15-show run at MOA Arena.

Mallet said one thing that initially drew Cameron to the Avatar idea was the blend of high-tech filmmaking with very human emotions at the core. “The Na’vis were CGI and at the same time there’s something that connects deep to emotions as human beings,” she says, mentioning that “when James came to our rehearsals, he told us we made him cry at one point during a key point of the story.”

That’s been Cameron’s genius in films like Titanic and Avatar: defying the industry odds to deliver a high-tech project that actually brings tears to audiences. You could say the same magic exists in Cirque du Soleil shows.

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Cirque du Soleil’s Toruk: The First Flight will run at Mall of Asia Arena from June 23 to July 2. Tickets can be purchased at www.smtickets.com and www.cirquedusoleil.com/toruk. Photos by GEREMY PINTOLO