TORUK — First Flight Soars Into Denver

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Cirque du Soleil’s New Show Entertained Crowds At The Pepsi Center

by Megan Carthel

 

From Montreal to America, July 20 marked the one-year anniversary of the new Cirque du Soleil show TORUK — The First

Flight, which is based on James Cameron’s 2009 movie Avatar. Avatar grossed $2.7 billion worldwide making it the

(http://glendalecherrycreek.com/chroniclecalendar/cirque-toruk-puppet-8-16/)largest grossing movie of all time.

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TORUK is a multimedia spectacle that

takes place thousands of years before

the events of Avatar and before any

humans visited Pandora. Led by a

storyteller character, the show follows

three young adults — Ralu, Entu, and

Tsyal — and tells the story of the �rst

�ight of the Toruk (the dragons they

rode in the movie).

One of the puppeteers who controls

Toruk during the show is Nick Barlow,

from Australia, who just �nished his

�rst year as a Cirque performer.

“It’s very exciting,” Barlow said, “It’s

de�nitely the biggest thing I’ve ever

been a part of. It’s so amazing to go

out every night with thousands of

(http://glendalecherrycreek.com/chron

iclecalendar/cirque-toruk-8-16/)

people there just really excited to see

the show.”

While Barlow certainly loves his job

and puppeteering, it wasn’t always his

intention to become a puppeteer.

While in school in Australia, he studied

theater and “fell” into puppetry — the

rest has been history ever since.

Before Cirque, he was a puppeteer on

the Australian tour of War Horse and

worked as a physical performer with

Polyglot Theatre.

“That wasn’t my intention, I just fell

into it and found that I loved it.

Especially the fact that you can play so

many di�erent things as a puppeteer,” Barlow said. “As an actor, you’re often typecast by your look and your age, so as a

puppeteer you can play a whole matter of stu�.”

(http://glendalecherrycreek.com/chroniclecalendar/photo-credit-jesse-faatz/)

In the show he handles �ve puppets including the Viperwolves; the Direhorses; his personal favorite, the Ostripeed, a pink

bird designed speci�cally for the show; and the main puppet, Toruk, which takes all six puppeteers to maneuver. The Toruk

puppet is the largest on set weighing in at 240 pounds with an aluminum frame and a carbon �ber covering. Luckily for the

puppeteers, the movement of the creature is automated, but they bring it to life. While six minds work at once, a puppet

becomes an animal on Pandora.

“We all have to kind of think and breathe as one to make that creature come alive,” Barlow said. “By now, we’re just in tune

with each other. We can feel when it’s going to go this way or that way or move together at the same time, which kind of

creates that idea that it’s one big idea, not just six di�erent thoughts going on.”

The puppeteers also have a crucial part of the show — playing Eywa, the spirit of the Na’vi. Dressed in black their character

represents the shadow of the Na’vi clan that brings life to the planet of Pandora — a symbolic metaphor for the job of a

puppeteer.

“As that spirit, we also have other jobs in the show of bringing life to other parts of the set,” Barlow said. “Or, being that spirit

presence in the space, which is ki

(http://glendalecherrycreek.com/chron

iclecalendar/cirque-pole-act-8-16/)nd

of part of the story — this connection

to the spirit world of Pandora.”

It takes a lot of time and energy to

bring the world of Pandora to life.

Each week the cast and crew travel to

a new city, setting up the stage on

Wednesdays. Shows run until Sunday,

with double features on the

weekends. Before each show,

performers stretch, warm up in their

traveling gym, and rehearse di�erent

parts and new moves.

“The show isn’t ever completely locked down,” Barlow said. “We’re always trying to make things better and add things here,

add things there, and tighten things up.”

(http://glendalecherrycreek.com/chroniclecalendar/cirque-

barlow-8-16/)

The performers all do their own makeup, which takes about

an hour. For puppeteers, sound checks and mics are an

additional preparation as they make all of the animal sounds

and noises audiences hear. Then after the last show Sunday

night, the crews pack up the stage and it’s immediately on the

road again with Monday and Tuesday o� in a new city.

“It’s hectic, but it’s interesting and you see a lot of America,”

Barlow said.

This is Barlow’s second time in the U.S. after touring with

another show, and his �rst time in Denver. During his days o�,

he was able to get a bike and ride along the Platte River,

exploring what he could. The Mile High City’s elevation and

thinner air a�ects the performers running around the stage

and some props that have to �y in the air.

The cast and crew travel, work and live together the entire

tour, creating a type of family for the performers away from

home, but Barlow still misses his own family in Australia.

“It’s a really close-knit group, which makes life on the road a

lot easier because it’s hard,” Barlow said. “I’ve got a real family

back home in Australia. That’s the hard part of touring is being

away from them.”

“The people who work for Cirque du Soleil are in general very like-minded individuals, the cast, crew, sta�, everyone,” said

Laura Silverman, Publicist, Cirque du Soleil, TORUK — The First Flight.  “They obviously have a passion for entertainment,

creativity, [and] travel. And this show speci�cally, everyone on the show, the cast and crew is really extraordinary.  Everyone

gets along really well and they all have the passion to put on the best show possible.”

To put on a great show, the venue and stage need to meet the needs of the artists.  Just as the world of Pandora is large, so is

the stage. Toruk — The First Flight stage is the largest ever to be used in a Cirque show. The entire arena is used as the stage,

giving all the performers a huge space to work with. In all, Toruk — The First Flight is a unique Cirque show unlike any other,

with a larger stage, a narrator and storyline a (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/chroniclecalendar/cirque-high-wire-8-16/)nd

more technological displays than acrobatic.

Cirque, which is known for acrobatics, has received mixed reviews from critics in the cities it has performed in since it

debuted in December 2015.  Recognizing that fans have come to expect acrobatics in cirque shows, there have been changes

over the last six months.

“We do the best we can to manage expectations in advance,” said Silverman.  “The show has evolved. All cirque shows are

constantly evolving because we tour with an artistic director and his job is to make sure that it’s relevant and looks the best

and we take what we learn from di�erent audiences.  So this show has more acrobatics in it now than it did six months ago.”

“We have 18 shows performing around the world right now,” said Silverman. “[This show] is the biggest departure from what

the company was built on.  But each show of those 18 is going to stand out from the others.”

(http://glendalecherrycreek.com/chroniclecalendar/cirque-�owers-8-16/)

TORUK — The First Flight had a

successful run in Denver, adding a

matinee performance on Friday, July

22.  “Denver has proven to be a really

great market for Cirque du Soleil and

we will continue to come here,” said

Silverman.

The show heads to four di�erent cities

in August: Chicago, Indianapolis,

Birmingham and Nashville.  For a

complete listing, visit

www.cirquedusoleil.com/toruk /tour-

dates

(https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/toruk

/tour-dates).

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