CIRQUE DU SOLEIL PRESENTS VOLTA - A CAPTIVATING STORY ABOUT THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE
By Alfredo Barrios | Photos provided by Cirque du Soleil
P.T. Barnum was once known as the greatest showman on Earth, but for the last three decades that torch has been carried around the world by the thousands of artists, performers, directors and crew members who bring Cirque du Soleil to life. This year, the legendary circus company will premiere their latest creation, VOLTA, right here in Miami. The name VOLTA refers to a sudden change of emotion, which is at the core of this incredible new production, not to mention the electrifying energy that drives it from start to finish.
In addition to the jaw-dropping acrobatics, costumes and stunts that Cirque shows are famous for, VOLTA will be featuring a few firsts this time around. For starters, international electronic musician and producer Anthony Gonzalez (aka M83) brings his signature space-age sound to the show for the first time as its composer and musical director. This is also the first time a Cirque show has incorporated a storyline into the production. The story is an adventurous and inspiring tale about the freedom to choose your own path and blaze your own trail. Last – but certainly not least – VOLTA features aerialist, dancer and choreographer Joey Arrigo in his first lead role with the company. In Cirque’s 41st production, Joey plays a very charismatic character with a big secret. Our mysterious performer took a moment out of his grueling rehearsal schedule to chat with Wire Magazine for a bit about the show, his new role and what other surprises we can expect from VOLTA this December.
Alfredo
Barrios: In your own words describe what VOLTA is about?
Joey
Arrigo: VOLTA is a story with a really strong message
underlining self-acceptance and freedom of one’s own spirit. The story follows
a character named Waz, which is the character I play. Waz is the host of a
television show called “Quid Pro Quo,” and what he does is classify
these people who are competing on the show – The Greys. The Greys compete to
become the super elite. He’s basically bringing everyone to a higher status by
taking away their individuality to make everyone the same, but Waz has a
secret.
AB:
What’s his secret?
JA:
Waz’s secret is that he was born with blue feathers as hair. It was something
that he was always ridiculed for and was never accepted as a child because of
it. That’s why he became who he is, but he realizes what he is doing is wrong
and all he wants is to be accepted for who he is. So he decides to leave
“Quid Pro Quo” and this world of the super-elite to go find his own
free spirit. In the process he finds groups of free spirits who teach him about
self- acceptance and self-love and to accept himself for the blue hair that he
has and who he is.
AB:
How did you prepare for your role as Waz?
JA:
Because this is a character who goes through so many different emotions,
feelings and reactions to so many things around him, I had to go find some of
those things within myself. Basically, this character goes through – for lack
of a better word – a mid-life crisis. He realizes that he’s not the person that
he was supposed to become, so I had to go and find that within myself. When we
were doing our character analysis on Waz and how I should feel and portray
this, I had to dig deep inside to find those things within myself. And as
cleansing and as amazing as that can be for one’s soul, it was difficult to do
because you have to tap into those sides of yourself that you kind of want to
suppress when you come to work every day. I feel like within the process of
creating Waz, I did a lot of soul healing as well, and it felt great. It was
definitely a roller coaster preparing for the role, but it helped me to become
not only a stronger artist, but a stronger human being as well.
AB:
How many Cirque shows have you performed in?
JA:
This is my second show with Cirque. I was originally part of KOOZA.
After being on that show for two and a half years, I was given the opportunity
to be the main character in VOLTA. Definitely, one of the things on my
personal bucket list was to create a character within one of Cirque du Soleil’s
amazing shows and put my name down in their history books.
AB:
How does VOLTA differ from previous Cirque productions?
JA:
The fact that VOLTA is centered on a storyline. The show is
experimenting with contemporary versions of circus and taking it to a new level
by adding a storyline, and we’re using the elements of circus and acrobatics to
tell the story. The adrenaline, the energy, the suspense and the high level of
acrobatics – we’re using all of those to tell this amazing story and to get our
message across. It’s a huge step that Cirque has taken in the process of
creating this show. With VOLTA being new, we’re having such a great time
experimenting with how we can tell the story even better and boost the level of
acrobatics even more. It’s no secret to anyone in the arts world, or especially
in the circus world, that creating a show like this takes time and I think as
we’ve performed this show – over 225 performances now – we’re getting a feel
for what it is and what it still means, and I’m excited that by the time we get
to Miami we’ll have made some more leaps and bounds within it. It’s only going
to get better!
AB:
What is your favorite aspect of the VOLTA storyline?
JA:
The really extraordinary thing about VOLTA is that people come to this
show to see the incredible acrobatics and the amazing acts that Cirque has put
on in the past 34 years, but this time they also are given a story and a
message that they can take with them and leave the show feeling inspired.
AB:
What is your favorite act in VOLTA and why?
JA:
There is an incredible act in our show, and it wows me every time I see it. We
have an artist in our show that does the very traditional circus art of hair
hanging. And I know it sounds like one of the strangest things you’ve ever
heard of, but hair hanging is a very traditional circus art and its being
brought back. Basically, it is exactly as it sounds. We pick this artist up,
wrap her hair around a carabiner and she does this amazing flying acrobatic
act, all while being suspended by her hair. It really is something to see. On
top of the amazing aspect of being hung by her hair, her body movements and the
way she has trained to do what she does is absolutely incredible. She’s one of
the hardest workers in our tent and it shows on stage.
AB:
What is the most challenging part of being a performer in VOLTA?
JA: I
would say it’s the day-to-day task of being the main character on this show,
trying to achieve my goal of bringing the audience into VOLTA every
single day, so that they can receive the message of the show, be pulled into
this world and leave with the overall message of acceptance. As the main
character, I feel it’s my responsibility to do that and, of course, I can’t do
that alone. There are so many other factors involved, but for me it’s telling
the story how I’d like it to be told. Also, we do 8-10 shows every week. That’s
a lot. We ask a lot from our bodies and our minds. When I first started with
Cirque, it took me a little while to find that rhythm of what I needed to do to
stay healthy in mind, body and spirit; but after four years of being with the
company, I really feel as though I’ve found my rhythm of keeping my body in
shape and keeping my mind as healthy as possible to be able to perform every
single day. I don’t really want to call it a challenge anymore because I truly
enjoy my routine now. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world.
AB:
What do you hope Wire Magazine readers take away from VOLTA?
JA:
That it’s a high adrenaline show with a strong message about acceptance and
loving who you are, flaws and all.
VOLTA takes to the stage under the Big Top, next to Hard Rock Stadium Miami, December 15 - January 14. For information and to purchase your tickets visit cirquedusoleil.com/volta or call 1.877.9CIRQUE.
This was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 46.2017
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