Victor Huusko Is Flying High In “Corteo”

Cirque du Soleil returns to Golden 1 Center in Sacramento this August 3-6 with “Corteo,” one of their most popular, classic productions.

I had the pleasure of speaking by phone with one of the handsome acrobats in the show, Victor Huusko, who is thrilled to be touring the globe with the Canadian company, which is the largest contemporary circus producer in the world.

Originally from a small town outside Helsinki, Huusko is a charming chap who already has his dream job, with Cirque du Soleil, at the tender age of 26. Read on for our interview.

Where is Corteo currently, Victor?

I’m in St. Paul, Minnesota right now, and then we travel around the U.S. and Canada with the show for the next year and a half, followed by a short stint in Mexico. We were in Croatia and Europe last year.

How long have you been with Cirque du Soleil?

About a year and a half, but I was with other circuses before that.

So Corteo is a reboot of a classic Cirque show, correct?

That’s right. It was a big top show, and now they have put it in an arena format, with new stuff added, so even if you’ve seen it before, you probably haven’t seen this revamped version. In my opinion, it is the best or one of the very best of the Cirque du Soleil touring shows.

Corteo is your first show for them. What was it like getting hired by Cirque du Soleil?

It was a shock getting in here, but it’s amazing. There is a lot of competition, so it was a big, big surprise for me, even though I had quite a bit of experience before Cirque. They are the very top in my line of work.

How did your interest in the circus arts begin? Did you want to be an acrobat from a young age?

No, I didn’t really know about it until a friend of mine asked me to go with her to apply to train at a circus school in Finland when I was 16 or 17. It wasn’t even my idea, but I got accepted, and here I am ten years later, with Cirque du Soleil.

Were you an athletic, daredevil kind of kid before that?

No. I was afraid of heights as a child so my parents couldn’t believe it at first when I told them I wanted to move far from home to go to circus school.

Does that get hard? All the travel and being away from your family and

by Chris Narloch

friends for so long?

It’s bittersweet. I love to travel, and I get back to see my family and friends for two or three weeks a year, but I do miss them in between. Luckily, there is FaceTime and so many ways to connect nowadays so that helps a lot.

Is Cirque du Soleil supportive and inclusive when it comes to people who are different or queer or whatever?

Yes. I feel that no matter where you are from or who you are, there is respect for people from other countries and lifestyles. You might have different beliefs, but you always have each other’s back. It’s like a family in that way. You can learn more about “Corteo” at: www.cirquedusoleil.com/usa/sacramento/ corteo/buy-tickets