The Las Vegas concept of beauty relies on extremes.
Women at least 5-feet-8 tall with perfect legs, a tiny waist and ample, firm and gravity-defying breasts are ideal. While men should be at least 6-feet tall with cubed abs, a great tan, thick hair and a strong, chiseled jaw. Those are the kind of figures that grace the stages at most shows on the Strip.
Mystere and O, Cirque du Soleil's long-running Vegas productions, are far more interested in a different kind of spectacle, driven by opulent costumes, sets and performers' abilities to perform miraculous physical feats.
But Zumanity, the world-renowned company's third permanent Las Vegas show, which opens on August 14 at New York, New York Hotel, will be an experiment, both honoring and defying the Vegas (and American) perception of what is sexy.
Montreal-based casting director Murielle Cantin said the 50 cast members of Zumanity come from many countries around the globe and are as diverse in ethnicity and skill as they are in age and appearance.
"We have quite an eclectic cast," she said, "We wanted to show the beauty of the human body, any body. And that doesn't just come in a young, thin body. It comes in any age, color and size."
When the creators of Zumanity sat down to discuss casting, they decided that sensuality is too rooted in stereotypical, "mainstream, young creatures."
The youngest person in the cast is 20 and the oldest is 71. The shortest person is 3-feet-9-inches tall and the tallest is 6-feet-2-inches. The average age of the cast is 33, according to Cantin.
"We went out to find people very comfortable in their weight, whether they are young and thin or older and heavier. We wanted to get away from the stereotype of a young, super-thin cast that you would find in other erotic shows."
Cast members are dancers, fire manipulators, singers, musicians, contortionists, and hand-to-hand manipulators from at least 15 different countries, including the United States, France, Spain, Mongolia, Brazil, Venezuela, Russia, and Senegal, Cantin said.
If it sounds like a typical Cirque du Soleil show, Cantin said it's a whole different experience.
"The hand-to-hand manipulation is performed by a very young couple and a very mature couple," she said, referring to the two-person act where people balance, lift and move to make shapes in slow, sustained movements.
She isn't exaggerating. The mature couple, who call themselves the Pacemakers, consists of 64-year-old Danish woman named Bridgette and her 71-year-old husband, Flemming. They haven't been to Vegas since they met Elvis (the real one) in Sin City 42 years ago.
Zumanity will be hosted/narrated by drag queen Joey Arias (Joe Ignacio Arias), an American with a very full background in entertainment.
"He's a gorgeous animator, drag queen, a sheik creature... We weren"t used to that kind of personality, but he's a beautiful character to have around," Cantin said.
Although Cirque shows are usually infused with good humor, Cantin said it was especially important to bring laughter to an adults-only show like Zumanity.
"We feel the sexuality will bring a certain tension to some spectators so we have used the humor to make people laugh about it and to make people realize that they can be comfortable with the most natural thing in the world."
To achieve this, they are using a group called the Spy Monkeys. The British troupe has four members from all over Europe.
"They are very comic. They push you to the edge of your seat," Cantin said.
The troupe is working with Cal McCrystal, writing all-new material expressly for Zumanity.
"This is what we wanted to do. We don't want people to be stuffed up and rigid," Cantin said. "You can have lots of fun without being vulgar about it. It's a place to laugh and relax and feel good about ourselves," she said.
Love and sexuality in both hetero and homosexual environments will be shown, Cantin said. Patrick King, a dancer from the British West Indies and his husband, Johan King Silverhult will perform together in Zumanity.
Because of the nature of the show, which will only allow audiences ages 18 and up, the artistic crew visited strip clubs in Montreal to seek out talent.
"I've been casting director of Cirque since 1996, and I never thought we'd go to strip joints to do casting," Cantin laughed.
The research paid off and they hired Alex Castro, a 33-year-old Cuban dancer/stripper. "He's like a gentle giant. You Americans have a world for it: 'hunk'," she said.
The nicest thing about auditioning for a Cirque du Soleil show is even though you may not be cast right away, Cirque does remember you and they will keep you on file and call you if an opening comes up, Cantin said.
Case in point, the woman in the younger hand-to-hand couple, 33-year-old Sara Joel, auditioned for Cantin and the Cirque artistic team at least three times before she was given a job in the new show. Her partner, 35-year-old Stephan Choiniere from New York had auditioned for Cirque in 1999 in San Francisco.
"You can come and audition and we may not have a place for you, but finally, we may find a place for you for another show. That's what's so great about the way we're branching out," Cantin said.
Zumanity is Cirque du Soleil's ninth original production worldwide.
"I'm very passionate about casting. It's extraordinary to come into contact with all of those artists. I have a lot of respect for artists," she said.
Some artists may have more than one talent and they can do more than once thing, Cantin said. Dancer and former Ms. Paris Larunce Jardin, a French dancer who was featured at the Follies Bergere and the Lido in Paris, will also perform on solo aerial chains.
Other performers will break the boundaries of what is traditionally considered sexy. The Botero sisters are full figured women who will dance in the show, who Cantin described as "very comfortable in their own bodies and move beautifully and very sensually also. They prove that beauty isn't necessarily being 5-feet-7 and 117 pounds. It is essential to break those stereotypes."
Some cast members come to Zumanity from other Cirque productions like Alegria and La Nouba, but Zumanity will have other differences because of the nature of the show.
"Zumanity is not as acrobatic as some of our other shows. There are lots of dancers in Zumanity. It's a whole different performance, with a lot of precision, and smaller, more intimate audience proximity than our other shows."
The show will also feature top-level, live musicians, including drummer Larry Aberman, who has played with Lisa Marie Presley, guitarist Melanie Vasquez, who has played with Pink, and singer Lonnie Gordon, who Cantin called "a provocative bombshell."
With another new Cirque du Soleil show being planned for the MGM Grand Hotel (projected opening is in July 2004), they are always looking for talent.
"We are always trying to recruit. We are always looking for talent," Cantin said.
In fact, she stated that they continuously take submissions and they will invite artists to auditions, based on their submission and current casting needs.
Sometimes artists show up at the last minute, without submitting materials and sometimes the creative team discovers them in various places. For example, they may see a performer in a subway station and have him audition for them, Cantin said.
It's not just for new shows. Artists in current shows make changes and move onto other things in their lives, like starting families, Cantin explained.
"We're always accepting submissions for performers. We always need new people," she said. "You never know what will happen."
If you are interested in auditioning for Cirque du Soleil, you can send your resume, picture and a video tape of your performance to:
Cirque du Soleil
Casting Department
International Headquarters
8400 Second Avenue
Montreal Quebec H1Z4M6
Canada
For more information, go to www.cirquedusoleil.com