Q&A; with Deborah Colker, the director of Cirque du Soleil's 'Ovo'
"Ovo" is the new touring production by Cirque du Soleil.
In her native Brazil, Deborah Colker is a widely acclaimed choreographer with a long-established dance company, Companhia de Danca Deborah Colker. But Colker is also the director of Cirque du Soleil's touring tent show, “Ovo,” which opens Wednesday in Parking Lot K, next to the United Center on Chicago's Near West Side. It'll be in Chicago all summer.
Q: So you just arrived in Chicago from Brazil?
A: I love this city. This is my first time here and it's really a great surprise. Nobody knows how is Chicago. It's a little like New York, but nicer, cleaner. Really, I didn't know. I expected to see Don Corleone.
Q: Your show is about insects. Why insects?
A: At my first meeting with Guy Laliberte (Cirque's CEO), he told me he wanted to have a show about nature and biodiversity. I asked if it must be political and he said, “No, it's an artistic show.” So I had this idea to do a show about insects.
Q: They don't get much respect.
A: No. If we see an ant we stomp on it. Butterflies we respect. But insects are so small and so important. They are part of our world all the time.
Q: How do they translate into a show?
A: Well, for example, I wanted to find a relationship between acrobats and insects. How they fly. How they run. Insects have six legs or eight legs, and it's the same with the acrobats. They have more legs than usual people. And then, as well as the movement, there is the personality of the insects. Some can be nice and beautiful. Some can be horrible and dangerous. I wanted to put a lens in their small world.
Q: I suppose different insects have different personalities.
A: Yes. In the show, the ants are the workers, the spiders are more erotic, and the fleas are sexy but younger. You understand? The crickets are young and friendly with everyone, but a little … what's the word? Punky.
Q: Ah. Punky.
A: It's a community of insects. I wanted to bring love, obsession, sensuality. Sometimes I bring the sound of the insects. Brazilian sounds like bossa nova, samba, funk from Rio de Janiero. Some African rhythms.
Q: You're the first woman to direct a Cirque du Soleil show. The company has a bit of a reputation as a boys club.
A: I used to play with that question and say that I felt like a man! But I think they wanted to bring some new air, new sounds, new energy. When they came to me in 2006, I had never seen a live Cirque show. I thought to myself that I had to do something completely new. So I went to see all the shows in Las Vegas later that year and I found that they had already done everything, so I decided just to relax instead. Instead of doing something special, I decided to do something precise.
Q: Guess I won't now precisely squash the ant running over my desk.
A: Good. Remember the relationship between the insect and the flowers and the city. One of my aims here is to make the audience feel like insects.
“Ovo” runs through Aug. 27, United Center, 1901 W. Madison St.; $60-$130 at 800-678-5440 or cirquedusoleil.com.
This was a really great show! The performers were outstanding and, though the clown routines went on too long, the show was just stunning. This is not a show to miss.
Posted by: Jerry H | June 30, 2011 at 10:16 AM