Circus artists get live music in annual Cirque des Voix show with Key Chorale
Joseph Caulkins can feel the heat from the flames of a fire twirler and hear the gasps of the audience when a hand balancer pulls off a tricky maneuver or Blake Wallenda makes it across the highwire.
But he can’t see what’s happening behind him while he’s busy conducting the Key Chorale chorus and a 40-piece orchestra during performances of the annual “Cirque des Voix: Circus of the Voices,” a collaboration with Circus Arts Conservatory.
The production, which traditionally follows the winter run of Circus Sarasota, will be presented this year in the Sailor Circus Academy arena.
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Caulkins, the chorus’ artistic director, said the music for this year’s program is mostly from movies.
“We have gravitated to film scores because they have the energy and drama, all the things that work well for the acts,” he said.
For example, Wallenda will do his highwire act to the “Star Trek Suite” by Michael Giacchino as well as Alan Silvestri music from “Avengers: End Game.” Matuni & Son, a fire twirling act that has become a favorite over years, will perform to John Williams music from “Star Wars: Episode 1 – Phantom Menace” and the “O Fortuna” section of Carl Orff’s popular “Carmina Burana.”
Other acts this year include the illusions of Raphael; Uranbileg Angarag performing a contortion and hand-balancing act; Samantha Pitard in a hair hang act (to Danny Elffman’s music from “Alice in Wonderland”); Aleksandr Deev performing on a Cyr wheel (a kind of giant hoop); and Sailor Circus Academy students doing a dance trapeze act.
In addition, the orchestra will perform the “Theme from Downton Abbey” by John Lunn and music from “Batman” and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.
Caulkins said he and Pedro Reis, a co-founder of the Circus Arts Conservatory, spend a few months figuring out the best music to use for the circus artists, who are accustomed to performing to the same pre-recorded music each night.
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“They have to take that act they have done countless times and think about how to reimagine it with this music,” Caulkins said. “Maybe we have to shorten a piece by 20 seconds or extend it a bit. They do a good job so that the high moments in their act work with the swell in the music.”
Caulkins said consistency is most important for the acts “to provide them as close to what they’ve been rehearsing with in a recording as possible, to set the right tempo.” A faster or slower tempo can throw the acts off.
The combination of the chorus, orchestra and circus acts adds a level of excitement for the audience, the circus artists and the singers and musicians.
“There’s an extra element that really captures everyone,” Caulkins said. “The acts are always so grateful to us for providing this beautiful music and we’re so excited to be performing for them.”
‘Cirque des Voix: Circus of the Voices’
Performances are at 8 p.m. March 10 and 1 p.m. March 11 and 12 at the Sailor Circus Arena, 2075 Bahia Vista St., Sarasota. Tickets are $35-$75. 941-355-9805; circusarts.org
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Key Chorale and Circus Sarasota acts create thrills in Cirque des Voix
