Entries Tagged 'circus' ↓

Former Utah star Kristina Baskett is performing in Le Reve in Vegas.

Here she models for a Triathlete photo shoot in Jamaica.

Click PLAY or watch her interview on YouTube.

via Greg Marsden

Well deserved!

CONGRATULATIONS.

Click through to watch their winning performance.

_____

The group have come away with a prize of £100,000 ($144,500 USD / $175,500 AUD / €120,000) and a performance at the Royal Variety Performance.

Question?

Is this good for Acrobatic Gymnastics worldwide?

Certainly.

These kids may turn “pro”. But hundreds or thousands of others will be inspired to take up the formerly little known sport. My own gym, Altadore, just started Acrobatic Gymnastics this year.

Watch some of that troupe compete in the British Men’s 4 Championships 2010.

(via Full Twist)

… Spelbound was one of the most popular acts discovered during the Britain’s Got Talent 2010 auditions. Now, after an incredible performance, the talented gymnasts have become the first act voted through to this Saturday’s live final. …

Click PLAY or watch their most recent set on YouTube.

… Simon Cowell was also impressed telling Spelbound: “I have never seen anything like this in this country… I agree with the guys, this is what this show is all about it’s finding undiscovered talent and that’s what you are. Absolutely super.”

Spelbound first act through to Britain’s Got Talent final

(via GymNiceTic)

I keep hearing that Acrobatic Gymnastics is dying, their best athletes departing for the circus too soon. But this success should rejuvenate the sport, at least in the U.K.

Here’s the official press release from Gymnastics Canada:

Two-time Olympian Nathan Gafuik of Calgary and Kristina Vaculik of Whitby, Ont., won the men’s and women’s all around titles on Thursday at the Canadian gymnastics championships.

Gafuik, the men’s all around gold medal winner at the Pacific Rim Championships in Australia last month, kept up the momentum with a solid effort on all six apparatus to claim his first senior Canadian title.

“I didn’t have amazing routines on any event, nothing that really stood out,” said Gafuik who placed in the top three in all events and topped the field on pommel horse, vault and high bar for a winning score of 89.550 points. …

In the women’s all around, Vaculik capped her remarkable comeback from a career threatening injury with a top-three finish in all four routines for a winning score of 55.950 points. …

Madeleine Gardiner of Cambridge, Ont., was a close second at 55.100 and Dominique Pegg of Sarnia, Ont., placed third at 54.800.

Vaculik, who did not compete at last year’s Canadian championships, has been chalking up medals at home and abroad since returning to competition in December following a year-long rehab after surgery to correct a debilitating elbow ailment. …

read more – Gymnastics Canada – Gafuik and Vaculik win all around titles at Canadian Gymnastics Championships

From the Facebook album: 2010 Canadian Gymnastics Championships by Grace Chiu GraceClick.ca

Marceline Goldstein from Cirque du Soleil awarded prize money to the AA Gold Medalists and their coaches. Nathan’s coach, Tony Smith, promised to take his wife Lisa out to a nice dinner with the winnings. At least that’s the way I heard it.

Update: Gymnastics Examiner highlights with photos by Grace Chiu – Kristina Vaculik, Sabrina Gill, Nathan Gafuik win Canadian national titles

We’ve had an enquiry from journalist Fariha Karim wanting to do a photo story on Cirque in Bangladesh.

But I’m not aware of troupes or schools in that Nation.

Email if you know of any: farihak.bd-AT-gmail.com

Follow on Facebook. Or on twitter (CdnGymChamps). … If you post to twitter about Championships, add the hash tag #CdnGymChamps.

Web Broadcast: Saturday, May 28 Pacific Time Zone 2:30 – 6:00 pm: WAG, MAG and TG senior Finals – Barabus.TRU.ca/gymnastics (Link not live except during broadcasts.)

I’m assisting with the “open” Cirque audition Sunday morning. Anyone can attend. Simply meet us at the competition training gym at 9AM sharp. Athletes under age-18 need be accompanied by parents or have permission.

It’s “open” so that athletes can learn about the opportunity. Attend even if you want to know more. There’s no commitment. Best practice is to attend audition at least a year before you might want to join the company.

Of course Asian acrobats, male and female, have been doing Chinese Pole performances for hundreds, or thousands, of years.

But when the general public hears the term “pole dancing”, what jumps to mind is the female version seen in strip clubs. The new Cirque ELVIS show has a terrific pole dance act, based on the strip club version.

More recently, fitness pole dance classes have become popular. And competitions.

For example, Miss Pole Dance World 2009 was held in Jamaica. 2010 is in Zurich, Switzerland, Oct. 2nd.

Karry Summers, former Level 10 national gymnastics champion from New Zealand, tells me that me that men are actually much better than women on pole as it’s so upper body strength dependent.

(Karry, by the way, has launched a Pole Fitness program in Christchurch. Click through to see details on her public Facebook page – Altitude Pole.)

Click PLAY or watch a Dominic Lacasse pole dance highlights video from Japan on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tinuhVcueQI

related – interview with male pole dancer Tavon Hargett

Fred is a 1996 Olympic gymnast from France. And was listed in the 2001 Guiness World Record Book for Rope Climb. He’s beast strong.

He’s currently performing in the newest Cirque show in Vegas, Viva ELVIS.

I edit Fred’s website. We recently did some minor updates. No major changes as we all like the look and feel.

Check it out – FrederickNicolas.com

by site editor Rick McCharles

Artistic and Trampoline sports.

Monday, 24 May – Sunday, 30 May, 2010
Kamloops, B.C.

I’ll be there. Can you make it to Kamloops, British Columbia? It’s a terrific tourist town.

There’s not much yet on the official competition home page.

An easier way to follow the event is on Facebook. Or on twitter (CdnGymChamps).

On the Sunday following the competition I’ll be assisting with an “open” audition for Cirque du Soleil. Anyone can try out. If interested, email me Rick_McCharles {AT} hotmail.com

Never loved Elvis? … neither did I.

But would we love Cirque doing Elvis?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

My summary:

• band = AWESOME
• vocalists = very, very good
• lighting = excellent, but nothing new

The highlight for me was the video editing. I cannot imagine the amount of time and genius it took to put that together. Who thought of using slow motion while Elvis straps on the guitar?

The 2,000-seat custom built theatre at the new Aria Resort & Casino at CityCenter in Las Vegas is stunning. Yet the show looks somehow too spare in that huge space.

It’s intended, I assume, to provide clean, traditional visuals, taking us back to a simpler era. That didn’t work for me.

There’s no such thing as a bad Cirque show, … but for me, and most acrobatic coaches, I feel, Elvis has too much dance, not enough acrobatics. For any gymnastics coach coming to Vegas first time, I’d recommend these shows over Elvis:

• LOVE
• Mystère
• O
• KÀ

Many Vegas shows have great song and dance, Jersey Boys, for example. But nobody can do acrobatics better than Cirque.

Like any new show, ELVIS is still evolving. No doubt it will be improving over the coming months. (The “Army Gymnastics” act in this show is perfect. Don’t change a thing.)

Viva ELVIS home page.

=== UPDATE:

Click PLAY or watch some additional video clips from ELVIS on YouTube. Look for “aerial parkour” on the giant guitar and a new wall tramp set piece.

From Cirque Casting:

Thank you for your questions about the casting for the Cirque du Soleil and The Estate of Michael Jackson shows!

We are currently in the early creation stages; therefore we don’t have specific information to communicate at this point. More details will be available in the coming months; in the meantime, we invite you to apply online and your profile might be presented to our creative teams if it meets their needs!

Sounds like there was a mad rush of interest in working for that particular show. I’m not at all surprised.

Click through to the link at the top of the page if you deserve to work with the King of Pop.

Dan Kendig last night brought his team and coaching staff to La Nouba in Orlando, en route to NCAA Championships in Gainesville.

Huskers Head to 2010 NCAA Championships

La Nouba Head Coach Mathew Sparks took the team on a backstage tour, the girls getting to speak with a number of the performers.

Nebraska Assistant Coach Tim Garrison told me this was the first time he had seen Cirque live. La Nouba is one of the most acrobatic of all Cirque performances.

First The Beatles. Then Elvis. You had to guess that Cirque would get Michael Jackson.

The magic of Cirque du Soleil and the genius of the King of Pop will be combined in the creation, development, and production of Michael Jackson projects based on the music and songs of Michael Jackson.

An arena-touring show is expected to debut in late Fall 2011 and a Las Vegas permanent show is expected to open in late 2012.

Cirque

The possibilities are fantastic, of course.

Click PLAY or watch an odd preview on YouTube.

More jobs for more acrobats.