Super circus

JAMES Clowney had the perfect name when it came to joining the greatest show on earth, Cirque du Soleil, which is returning to the region with a show called Saltimbanco.

“Besides being born with this name I’ve been at circus school since I was seven years of age. I started off doing it for fun and grew to like it, then love it and now I can’t do anything else but this,” explains the 38-year-old New Yorker who plays the role of Ringmaster in the show, although behind-the-scenes he’s Cirque’s acrobat captain.

He’s regarded as a gentle giant of the Canadian touring show after 12 years with the world-renowned circus which has been seen by 100m people over the last 26 years.

But Clowney claims that he doesn’t stay with Cirque just because of its reputation. “For me it’s the energy that the show brings. It’s fun to play in the show and the reaction from the audience is great and this is also the makings of a good job, if I can call it that. I really couldn’t find anything I’d like to do more than this, being on stage and performing.

I’ve found something I love and I can’t find a reason not to continue,”

he says.

Most of the artists require vigorous training with a show which involves movement, dance and acrobatics and “that’s training within itself, but, on occasion people do exercise to keep in shape and to keep their endurance. Me, myself, I’m a character so I don’t have to have such intensive training as the rest of the guys do. But I do cardio work just to keep myself going,” he says modestly, ignoring the fact that he was involved in the dangerous Russian swing routine for years.

“I’m still doing it, helping out and coaching my fellow artists,” Clowney adds.

He calls the giant swing amazing and a part of the show that people really want to see.

“People are flying in the air up to 12 or 15 metres and landing on this little, square platform and doing all sorts of tricks, twists and turns in the air. It’s fun and adds to the clowning that we do on stage. Many of the things we do are dangerous in one way or another. That again, is what people come to see.

“They want to see the things that seem inhuman although I can’t really say that one thing is more dangerous than another. Any part of what we are doing has its dangers, but we train to make sure that we’re safe at all times. If you don’t know what you’re doing, then walking to the swing can be just as dangerous,”

he explains.

Did he always know he was cut out to be a circus performer?

“You don’t know until you achieve these things. At first it’s just something that you aspire to and it’s the trainers who see it’s in you and if they push you, then you can become better. I can’t imagine the first person who decided to make a giant metal swing and have someone push it before they jump off and do crazy tricks so that the audience will be thrilled. Because of it we have an awesome swing act to this day. I have to thank that person, although I think they must been crazy,” he jokes.

Clowney says that his years with Cirque have only cost him the odd nick and sprain, but safety training ensures that all the acrobats look after each other.

That’s not entirely true, the big American actually broke his femur and ankle catching another troupe member who missed the landing area from the Russian swing and was in danger of falling 40 feet.

Clowney had to take six months out of touring in 2006. His fellow acrobat walked away unharmed.

“You know, it was very little (injury) to help a friend of mine out.

It was really worth it,” was his reaction.

So what is special to Cirque, which tours up to 20 shows worldwide at any one time?

“The idea of Cirque is to bring a more theatrical feel to circus. It’s not new circus, but it’s wrapped in a different package if I can say so. We have all the aspects of a traditional circus show except for the fact that we don’t have animals in our show and our musicians and singers are live and, with the colour and lights, it brings so much more to the spectacle of the performance. We feel that the audience can be blown away with our unique combination,”

he says. The performer was actually working for another circus when he joined cirque and admitted he’d been amazed at how much work the company put into every detail.

“Other shows have people coming out to do their acts, but Cirque is different because there are lots of ambient acts and movement. These things surround the headline act and no matter how many times you come back you will see something different. I don’t think the idea is to challenge the audience, I think the intention is more to ensure that there is something for everyone. No matter where you look on stage you’ll be entertained,” Clowney says.

He’s been the ringmaster for the past nine years and his character is the authority figure in the baroque village created in Saltimbanco. “He knows what he’s talking about, he knows what he’s doing... but no one cares,” he jokes.

As acrobat captain he’s aware that the other members of the troupe trust him completely.

“We’ve got a lot of new guys who have come to this show, so with that you have to have someone who knows the show and knows what is going on and can translate that in a way they can understand that. So I was happy to take on that role.

“Once you decide to join this life, you go where they go and do what they do. We’ve been going around the world for 12 years and still hitting places we’ve never been to before.

I’m looking forward to seeing places like Newcastle because I enjoy travelling. For me it’s going to be difficult to settle down. Call me and ask me when it’s time to do that,”

Clowney adds.

■ Saltimbanco – from the Italian "saltare in banco", which literally means "to jump on a bench"– explores the urban experience in all its myriad forms: the people who live there, their idiosyncrasies and likenesses, families and groups, the hustle and bustle of the street and the towering heights of skyscrapers.

Between whirlwind and lull, prowess and poetry, Saltimbanco takes spectators on an allegorical and acrobatic journey into the heart of the city.

The show runs at MetroRadio Arena Newcastle, June 30-July 4. Tickets: £40. Box Office: 0844-576-5483 livenation.co.uk cirquedusoleil.com