Family life’s far from dull on the road with Cirque
LIFE with the circus certainly has its moments say husband and wife team Jerome Le Baut and Anna Vicente, who perform the act known as Statue in Quidam.
The couple, who have two children – six-year-old Theo and three-year-old Milan – admit that travelling the globe with Cirque du Soleil does afford the youngsters some amazing opportunities.
“Theo loves Narnia so thinks England is like it,” says 36-year-old Anna, who grew up in Montreal, Canada. “We took him to the Tower of London and now he thinks he is Prince Caspian.”
As part of a travelling family, the children are easily absorbed into the Cirque way of life having their own school, although the classes are small with Quidam.
“There are about seven children and two teachers,” says Anna. “They do enjoy it but it can be hard always moving around with children.
“Theo will sometimes ask why we can’t have a house or big toys or a pet. At the moment he really wants a lizard but it isn’t possible. Actually he is very into dinosaurs and would like a dinosaur, but a lizard is the next best thing.”
The couple have been part of the Cirque organisation for about ten years. Jerome, now 39 and brought up near Lyon in France, was competing as a sports acrobat before he joined the company.
“I was a still a student but part of the national sports acrobatic team when Cirque came and asked us if any of us were coming towards the end of our sports acrobatic careers and were considering changing direction.”
After auditions in Paris two years later, Jerome joined the show Saltimbanco, the first Cirque show to visit Birmingham four years ago, before moving on to Quidam.
Initially he was working with another partner, while Anna was busy having children, but once Milan was big enough Anna began training.
“I had been working as an athletic therapist and I had a gymnastic background but it did take some work,” she laughs. “I was doing a lot of Pilates and a lot of stretching exercises.”
Two years ago they paired up for the Statue, an incredibly finely tuned balancing act. In contrast to much of the show, Jerome and Anna slow the pace down as they lift and counter-balance each other.
Jerome admits it is just as difficult as it looks.
“When you do anything in slow motion it is hard. Just think about when you try to run or walk in slow motion and everything has to be exact,” he says. “If you forget just one thing then it all stops.”
They also need to work hard to ensure it does not take a toll on their bodies.
“We do a lot of stretching but we don’t tend to rehearse all day as we need all our energy for the show,” says Jerome. “We don’t tend to go to physiotherapists or massage. We both have a lot of experience and we can tell as soon as there is the slightest problem and we know what to do to sort it out.”
But Jerome does relax by taking to the tennis court.
“I am all right. I am not Federer or Nadal yet, but I can play,” he says. “But it is a good way of relaxing mentally.”
After more than ten years with Cirque, Anna and Jerome are planning to step down from daily performances after this tour.
“We will go to Montreal and see how we get on,” says Anna. “Cirque do a lot of special events where they call on the artists to take part maybe once a month. I think we will still be involved.”
Ticket Info
Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam plays Birmingham NIA on March 18-22. For tickets call
0844 847 2530 or visit www.cirquedusoleil.com
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