Performers and crew from the recent Cirque du Soleil ECHO visited High Point Elementary School in Sandy Springs to share a few tricks and life lessons with the students.
The School Governance Council (SGC) brought the performers to the school as part of its mission to host speakers and experiences with International Baccalaureate themes, as High Point is an IB school and a Title I school, said Dhaval Desa, a member of the SGC.
The performers and crewmember identified themselves only by their first names.
Sarah told the students that she was in charge of all the people who put on the show, and the stage on which it is performed. Watching shows in the past inspired her, making her want to know how they did it and how she could help them, which became her career.
When the backstage crew arrives in a new city, they show up in an empty parking lot, Sarah said. They have five days to turn that parking lot into a space for performances, plus dressing rooms, bathrooms, and a kitchen. It takes 200 people working together to accomplish that.
Penelope, a contortionist in the show, showcased her flexibility, which she said took lots of practice and daily stretching.
Henrik, a fifth-generation performer, shared his talent for juggling, tossing balls high into the air inside the school’s gym in cascading patterns. He said it’s not easy when you get onstage for the first time and people are looking at you. They want to see something impressive and there’s always the chance of a mistake, Henrik said. He just thinks about what he’s doing and has fun in the moment.
The training they do is just like practicing basketball or playing football, Henrik said. He spends hours and hours repeating the same things so he gets better every day.
Penelope said she must stretch every day, even when she doesn’t want to do it. But she does it anyway because that’s the only way to get better.
The biggest risk Henrik said he’d taken was when he was asked to finish his routine by climbing on top of a small, high box.
“I didn’t know that I was afraid of heights. But actually, to climb up there and to finish my juggling number there was pretty challenging because you have to look out and you have to focus on the juggling, but the box is really tiny,” he said.
Penelope said her biggest risk was two years ago when she performed at a festival in Russia and held herself in the air with her teeth.
Teamwork is necessary, including backstage. Sarah said after working together for long periods all day the crews become friends and like family members, getting closer to each other.
“You always have to listen to each other because sometimes we have bad days. Sometimes we have good days,” she said.
Henrik said sharing where was the coolest place he’s ever visited was a tough question because he spent most of his life since birth traveling.
“The first 14 years, I have never lived in a house. I’ve always lived in a caravan,” Henrik said.
