Cirque du Soleil’s high-flying act in Dickie’s Arena this weekend is all about bugs
Cowtown is about to be invaded by insects.
Cirque du Soleil: OVO is making its way to Dickie’s Arena this weekend with the opening show set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are still available for the shows over the weekend and range from $54 to $80 and family packages are available.
This show is all about insects, from ants and beetles, to spiders and dragonfly’s, and exploring a living ecosystem that happens below people’s feet. This is the first time a Cirque du Soleil show has been in Fort Worth since “Varekai” came to the Convention Center in 2017.
The Star-Telegram took a behind-the-scenes tour before Thursday’s show as performers and crew geared up for the event. Dickie’s Arena is plenty spacious but still offers that intimate feeling between performers and audience, said Janie Mallet, senior tour publicist at Cirque du Soleil.
“It’s a real live performance,” Mallet said.
A big haul
The Cirque du Soleil crew arrived at Dickie’s Arena on Wednesday with 20 tractor-trailers full of gear.
It takes around 12 hours to fully unload the trailers and set everything up, Mallet said. The show is in a new city every week and always arrives the day before performances start.
To help with the massive unloading, the show hired around 100 local stagehands to get the sound, stage and equipment in place. A massive wall is the background of the show, surrounded by trampolines, a rock climbing wall and multiple props needed for the performers.
When the last show ends on Sunday night, the same 100 stagehands will break everything down, which is a much quicker process and usually takes between three to four hours, Mallet said.
Since the show starts Thursday, everything and everyone is working and rehearsing. The sound and lights are checked, as acrobats fly through the air practicing their choreographed moves before the crowds fill the arena.
Performers will spend a few hours practicing and stretching on show days. Each performance is recorded, and like in any sport, the cast reviews footage to see if anything needs to be tweaked, added or changed, Mallet said.
Once practice is over and it’s showtime, performer’s squeeze into their bug costumes apply their own makeup. Each costume is made specifically for a performer in Montreal, Canada. A traveling costume team is always on hand to repair any nicks or tears, Mallet noted.
‘Fun for the whole family’
There are 100 people involved in the Cirque du Soleil: OVO show and over half are performers.
In total, there are 52 cast members representing 25 different nationalities. Another 48 people work behind-the-scenes operating equipment, mending costumes or as added support for the performers.
Camille Santerre has been with the OVO show since 2016 and is the gold and blue-greenish Japanese beetle in the show.
Originally from Montreal, Santerre said her favorite thing about the show is learning something new everyday and being able to collaborate with her peers. And, of course, performing.
“Flying is amazing too,” she said with a laugh.
Santerre is part of the flying act called the Russian cradle that sees her and other performers flip and fly through the air. She doesn’t get too nervous. After year’s of performing, she said she trusts her team completely, especially the people who catch her mid-flight.
The whole crew is one big family who work, train, eat and live together on the road. Santerre is especially excited about the Fort Worth shows — hoping to wow audiences with the bug-centric story and leave them with a spectacle.
“It’s fun for the whole family,” she added.
Making the Fort Worth show special
Fort Worth is the last stop of the North American tour for the OVO show and they hope to go out with a bang.
The contortionists, acrobats and performers taking over Dickie’s Arena are sure to wow the audience, Mallet said.
Everyone works hard and it takes a village to perform a show of this size, including the laundry department who did 46 loads of laundry on Wednesday alone ahead of Thursday’s show. Over a 1,000 costumes are used in every show and the production’s six washing machines are being put to work every night.
The OVO show has been touring since 2016. The production took a break at the height of COVID-19, Mallet said, with the cast using the hiatus to work on new and improved tricks for their eventual return.
Being able to cap off the North American tour in Fort Worth is special and the crew want these last shows to leave a lasting impression.
“It’ll be like version 3.0 of OVO in Fort Worth tonight,” Mallet said.
