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 kinds 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 Aug. 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, an adults-only show, come from many countries and are as diverse in ethnicity and skills as they are in age and appearance.
"We have quite an eclectic cast," she said Cantin. "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 their 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.
"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.
"The hand-to-hand manipulation is performed by a very young couple and a very mature couple," said Cantin, referring to the two-person act in which 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 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.
Although Cirque shows are usually infused with good humor, Cantin said it is 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."
They hope a four-member British troupe called the Spy Monkeys will break the ice. "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.
Love and sexuality in both hetero- and homosexual contexts will be shown, Cantin said. Patrick King, a dancer from the British West Indies, and his life partner, Johan King Silverhult, will perform together in Zumanity. Also joining the cast are talents culled from the artistic crew's visits to Montreal strip clubs. "I've been casting director of Cirque since 1996, and I never thought we'd go to strip joints to do casting," Cantin said. 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 that its artistic crew has a good memory—and lots of shows around the world, new and ongoing, that require fresh talent. 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.
Some cast members come to Zumanity from other Cirque productions, like Alegria and La Nouba.
With another new show planned for the MGM Grand Hotel (projected opening is in July 2004), Cirque du Soleil is always looking for talent. Cantin said she continuously takes submissions and invites artists to auditions, based on the show's current casting needs. If you are interested in auditioning for Cirque du Soleil, you can send your resumé, picture, and a video of your performance to:
Cirque du Soleil
Casting Department
International Headquarters
8400 Second Avenue
Montreal Quebec H1Z4M6
Canada