“Okay, guys, get ready. Keep the legs on the ground. Two, three, push! Let's go!"
Giant metal posts scrape the asphalt in a parking lot near Ball Arena in Denver, as a blue-and-white striped circus tent rises towards the sky.
“We call this the ‘Big Push,’” said Kevin Albert, senior publicist for Cirque du Soleil’s “Echo.” “We're pushing up our big top and making a big statement that we arrived in town.”
He said Cirque du Soleil has been raising its big tops this way for all 40 years of the company’s history.
“There's a lot of technology that exists now,” he said, “but to raise up the big top, we're still doing it with elbow grease. It's still done by hand.”
Many things about “Echo” harken back to Cirque du Soleil’s roots.
“‘Echo’ reminds me of the way we were working in 1989,” said Senior Tour Director Sylvain Guimond, who has been with Cirque for decades.
A girl, a dog, and a magic cube
The story tells the tale of a young girl, named Future, and her dog.
“As she's going on a journey, she starts discovering and experimenting on stage with a huge cube,” Albert explained. “And she's going to realize very quickly that the cubes represent the world — and that every action she does has a consequence on what's going on around her.”
Albert said the show touches on themes of evolution, discovery and modernity.
Louana Seclet, a French trapeze artist who plays Future, said, “the show is pretty related about what we are living right now. It's a metaphor of our planet and us living on the planet and how we take care of it and how we can take advantage of it and destroy it.”
Henrik Veres, the juggling artist who plays Future’s dog, said the show “suggests our environment's fragility.”
Seclet said there are many ways to read the show.
“A kid going to watch the show can really see it as maybe a fairy tale,” Select said, “and an adult can watch the show and see it as a George Orwell book.”
Circus — a generational art
“I love everything about circus,” Seclet said. “The fact that we are touring, the big top, the smell of the big top, the smell of the popcorn, the proximity with the people, the fact to swing under the tent, the fact that we have trucks, and that we move, that we are living with a team that is a family.”
“Traveling. I love it and sometimes hate it,” Veres said. “I get to see the true world. I've almost never been stationary in my life. Every few months or few weeks I've been in a different city, different country since I was a kid.”
Veres is a sixth-generation circus performer.
“I was born and raised in a circus family,” he said.
He had a lot to learn from people with different skills, including tightrope-walkers and handstand artists. He said he tried many of his family members’ specialties, but didn’t excel at any of them.
Then, he found juggling.
“I really picked up on it very fast,” he said. “I was mostly self-taught because nobody around in my circus family was doing juggling.”
He said they now joke that maybe an unknown ancestor also excelled at the art.
For Seclet, it’s easier to trace her aptitude for trapeze.
“I'm doing Washington trapeze,” she said, “which is an old discipline that was invented by (Kaye) Washington. He was a gymnast and he wanted to do gymnastic tricks on trapeze.”
So, legend has it, he invented a heavier trapeze that would swing less and allow for more gymnastic feats.
Seclet said her father saw an old video of a Russian artist on a Washington trapeze, and he decided to learn the art.
“He (invented) himself some way to go on the tricks, or a new way to go on the trapeze,” she said. “And when I was 14, I decided to learn his discipline with him. So we practiced together and then I trained for many years with him and finished my form with the École National Circus in Montreal. And here I am.”
She said her family’s connection to the circus only goes back three generations, but she hopes that her lineage will someday be like Veres’.
Big top: portal to a different world
“The Big Top gives you the environment to be very close to the action,” Albert said, “and feel like you're just submerged in the show and in the story.”
“For two hours, people don't have to think about the problems that they had before they came into the tent,” Guimond said. “And when they get out, then they go back to their lives. But for two hours, we take them on the journey and hopefully it alleviates a little bit of the seriousness of life.”
“Echo” is in Denver from Saturday, July 12, through Sunday, August 17
Things to do in Colorado this weekend
Friday, July 11 (First Friday)
- B-Side Music Friday at the MCA in Denver — Live music and happy hour at the MCA Denver’s rooftop garden. Enjoy an intimate performance by experimental jazz rap group iies. (pronounced “eyes”) and R&B artist Lady Los. Rooftop doors open at 6:30 p.m. but attendees can come earlier to explore the museum. Tickets start at $22.28.
Saturday, July 12
- Crosscurrents in Denver — A day of music and fun on the South Platte River, featuring headliners Poolside Thomas Jack, with Indigo Waves, The High Lines, Goloilox, Crl Crrll and more. Free and open to the public from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Confluence Park.
- City Park Jazz in Denver — Featuring Better Sensory Perception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Sunday, July 13
- Evenings Al Fresco at the Denver Botanic Gardens — An outdoor concert with Symphony of the Rockies and other Colorado musicians. Tickets are still available for the 7:30 p.m. concert, $22 for members, $32 for non-members.
- Summer Craft Fair in Palisade — An assortment of handcrafted jewelry, body products, candles, items for the home and more, plus food, wine and local tattoo artists. Noon to 6 p.m. at Carboy Winery.
All weekend
- U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum Festival in Colorado Springs — A four-day festival, from July 10 through 13, celebrating Team USA’s achievements. The program includes several events and free admission to the museum with athlete meet-and-greets on Saturday and Sunday.
- Colorado Black Arts Festival in Denver — A three-day celebration of African American arts, culture and community, featuring live music, visual art, cultural storytelling and delicious food that reflects the rich traditions of the African diaspora. Free and open to the public Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- High Mountain Hay Fever Festival in Westcliffe — A bluegrass music festival featuring headliner Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, July 10-13 at Bluff and Summit Park.
- Indie Week on Colfax in Denver — Celebrate local and independent businesses, enjoy pop-up events and take advantage of specials and promotions at a variety of local shops and restaurants from July 14 through 20.
Next week
- Dazzle Tribute Week in Denver — A seven-night festival honoring icons like Natalie Cole, Norah Jones, Etta James, Jeff Beck, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, and even the sounds of Cowboy Bebop and Yacht Rock. Tickets and showtimes here.
Ongoing in July
- “Month of Video” in Denver — An entirely free lineup of video exhibitions and screening events showcasing video-based art. Programming includes projection art, video games, live video performance and experimental work. View the full lineup of events and exhibitions.
- “Flyin’ West” at the Ent Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs — A play bringing to life the untold stories of the women who built their own futures on the plains of Kansas. On stage July 10-27 with tickets starting at $20.75.
- “Young Frankenstein” in Breckenridge — The comedy genius, Mel Brooks, has adapted his beloved comedy film for the stage. At the Breckenridge Backstage Theatre from June 25 through Aug. 10. Tickets range from $35 to $50.
- “The Future is Present, The Harbinger is Home” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver — The exhibition features over sixty works spanning sculpture, painting, drawing, video, and large-scale installations that explore the role of New Orleans and other climate-vulnerable regions of the world. On view through Aug. 24. Museum admission ranges from free to $14.
- Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls — This multi-week, multi-disciplinary festival includes performances, exhibitions, classes, camps, conversations and parties. Ticket prices and event locations vary. The festival runs through July 12.
- “Some Like it Hot” at the Buell Theatre in Denver — This musical comedy, set in Chicago during Prohibition, tells the story of two musicians forced to flee the Windy City after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters hot on their heels, they catch a cross-country train for the life-chasing, life-changing trip of a lifetime. On stage July 8 through 20. Tickets start at $47.20.
- Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder — “The Tempest” and “Richard II” are on stage at the Roe Green Theatre through Aug. 10. Tickets start at $36.
Some groups mentioned in the Colorado Arts Spotlight may be financial supporters of CPR News. Financial supporters have no editorial influence.
How we pick our events: The Colorado Arts Spotlight highlights events around the state to give readers a sense of the breadth of Colorado’s arts and cultural happenings, it is not — and can not possibly be — a comprehensive list of all weekly events. Entries are not endorsements or reviews. Each week’s list is published on Thursday and is not updated.
