Cirque Éloize Saloon
Sunday, February 11, 2018 3PM • Jackson Hall
About Saloon The Wild Wild West comes alive in Saloon, the newest acrobatic creation from contemporary circus troupe Cirque Éloize. Artistic director Jeannot Painchaud, director Emmanuel Guillaume and musical director Eloi Painchaud created Saloon by mixing country music (Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline) with festive folkinspired compositions. Live instrumentation (violins, banjo, mandolin, guitar and percussion) and vocals are a major asset when it comes to bringing this period of history alive. Walking through Saloon’s doors means entering a mythical atmosphere created by live music and the exhilarating pace of spectacular performances. Picture this: America is under construction. The West is booming. The railroad is being developed. In the middle of the desert, a town comes to life. A saloon opens its doors. A place to gather and share tales, it quickly becomes a theatre for stories of all kinds. In Cirque Éloize’s Saloon, the infectious energy of folk music sets the tone to an acrobatic comedy that sweeps the spectators away in a mad rush. Enigmatic, colorful characters come together and reveal themselves, resulting in a series of unexpected situations, unfolding to the rhythm of acrobatic prowess and original choreographies. Hold on to your 10-gallon hats!
About Cirque Éloize
LEARN MORE: Circa website Circa Carnival of the Animals video
A driving force in the circus art reinvention movement, Cirque Éloize has been creating award-winning entertainment content for nearly 25 years and ranks among the world’s leading contemporary circuses. Based in Montreal, Canada, Cirque Éloize has taken part in numerous international festivals and performed on both New York’s Broadway and London’s West End. Its productions are crafted for a wide range of audiences and have been embraced by over 50 cultures. They maintain their Montreal studios, located in the historic Dalhousie Train Station, as a place for dialogue and encounters for the circus community. Its doors are always open to passionate emerging artists. Today, the company employs more than 100 people and collaborates with over 400 people across the globe.
A list of artists and more about Saloon here.
(http://www.cirque-eloize.com/en/spectacle/saloon/)
A special thanks to Mondavi Center Arts Education for helping us welcome our youngest audience members.
About The “Wild West” (1865–1895) The “Wild West” was so named for the lawlessness and rowdy behavior that resulted from the untamed frontier territories west of the Mississippi River. The area included Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, California, New Mexico and Colorado. The Wild West (also know as “Old West”) was famous for cowboys, native Indians, lawmen, gunslingers, pioneers, prospectors, gamblers, scouts, outlaws, gangs and gunfighters. Famous people of the Wild West included Wyatt Earp, “Wild Bill” Hickok, “Billy the Kid”, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Frank and Jesse James and the Clanton gang. The most notorious event was the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Wild West Fun Facts
http://www.american-historama.org/1881-1913-maturation-era/wild-west.htm
• The term “cowboy” was once used to refer
to an outlaw, rustler, bandit, desperado or horse thief. A newcomer in the Old West was called a tenderfoot or greenhorn.
• A “Boom Town” was a town that quickly
prospered, usually because of the discovery of nearby gold. Boom Towns often turned into ghost towns after the gold strike ended.
• Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show ran for over
30 years. One thousand Native Americans performed in the show including Chief Sitting Bull, as well as legendary sharp-shooter Annie Oakley!
THINK ABOUT IT: ❶ Have you ever tried to juggle or do any other type of acrobatics? Would you like to try them out?
❷ How did the actors, costumes, music and theatrical props work together to create each scene?
❸ What did you like best about the performance and why? Was it what you expected?
• Jesse James (1847–1882) was an American outlaw who specialized in robbing banks and trains.
• Mail carrying was introduced with the Pony Express relay mail service. Pony Express riders rode in relay across their routes delivering mail across 2,000 miles in 10 days.
LEARN MORE:
• Martha Jane Canary Burke, aka Calamity
Saloon video
Jane (c. 1852–1903) was a famous markswoman and Pony Express rider.
Cirque Éloize website