Life is a wandering circus in 'Nomade' vision quest

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Cirque Éloize 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30- Feb. 1 and 2 p.m. Feb. 2 Hawai'i Theatre $17-$35 528-0506 Also: 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theatre, Kahului; $10, $20, $35, $50, half-price for 12 and younger; (808) 242-7469

In a show titled "Nomade," the Montreal-based troupe of 18 is blending fantasy and reality in a visual, ethereal and musical divertissement of life 'neath the skies as well as on the road.

"Imagine sleeping under the skies," said Jeannot Painchaud, co-founder and artistic director of the circus, in a telephone interview. "You dream of this, looking at the night sky, where you can relate to everyone everywhere, your grandma, your father. The sky pulls you together."

The vision or dreams resulting from a gaze upward is the thrust of "Nomade," said Painchaud, but dream-like as some of the show's sequences may be, he said the bottom line is dreams that derive from within the soul.

"It's universal," he said of this kind of visionary exploration.

The show, of course, is hinged to what circus fans know and adore: a burst of acrobatic elements, clowning, jugglers and contortionists side by side, and yes, costumes and moods that look and feel like they've emerged from a Federico Fellini film.

"For the first time, everyone sings," said Painchaud, "and we have a lot of instruments — accordion, violin, clarinet and more, with songs from Quebec, Italy, other parts of Europe. Our cast, too, is from everywhere — Africa, Poland, France, and, of course, Quebec. We're all part of the same planet."

Among the new wrinkles: traditional circus elements such as the teeter-board and Russian bar. And yes, even trapeze acts and a unicyclist.

"It's a little bigger show than last time," he said. Cirque Éloize last brought its "Excentricus" production to Honolulu and Maui in October 2000. "But you will notice a resurgence of vaudeville. Besides acrobats, our performers play actors and dancers in what really is a strong new movement in Quebec and France, where we create dramatic situations to touch the heart, reinventing the circus somewhat."

Cirque Éloize derives its name from flashes of heat lightning (Éloize) common on the horizon of the Magdalen Islands off the coast of Quebec, Painchaud's home, where the troupe was founded, inspired by the visual dynamics of Cirque du Soleil, the pioneer in this genre of eye-filling circus.

In essence, the cast is playing a group of circus troupers, literally journeying from one place to another, with their onstage fantasy fused with their off-stage reality.

"It's all an integration of different art forms," said Painchaud. "Our reward is when we touch people with laughter, and, in some instances, with tears. We make people dream about things they can do themselves, which is why it's universal."