DORÉ

Anne Weissbecker

Where are you from?
I’m from France

How long have you been with Cirque and what is your role?
I’ve been with Cirque for 8 years. In Kurios I’m the Telegramist, I fly on a bicycle. Before that I worked in another show in Las Vegas, the Beatles Love for 5 years.

At what point in your life did you realize this is what you wanted to do?
When I was a kid. I started doing this when I was 11 and have always enjoyed it. I did some shows and performances when I was very young, so I knew I would be a performer, but I didn’t know if I could do just that.

What has been the biggest challenge of getting to where you are now?
I think it’s hard to get to a certain level, and once you get there you still have to work because nothing is guaranteed. If you really want to have a long career as a performer you cannot be lazy, you have to continue to push, train, and be consistent. I think that’s hard sometimes.

What were you doing before you joined the cast?
I was performing with another circus, the National Circus in Montreal, one of the top circus schools in the world. I had my own act that I was performing in Europe, mostly in Germany, Switzerland…and Canada.

What has been the most surprising thing about being in the show?
The family and being with people from so many different countries and backgrounds. In this show there are probably more than 15 different nationalities. Sometimes it can be hard because we all have different backgrounds but it’s so rich and nice and we can really share our experiences.

What would you be doing if you weren’t part of cirque?
I don’t know, I think I would be performing for another company. Before [Cirque] I was studying geography, so maybe something like that.

Ekaterina Pirogovskaya

Where are you from?
I was born in the Ukraine and moved to Russia – to Siberia where it is so cold, and then I went to St. Petersburg for acting school.

How long have you been with cirque and what is your role?
In February it will be 6 years. This is my second show with Cirque du Soleil. My first was in LA, Iris. I am an actress, originally in theater. But I love Cirque du Soleil because it is a mix of circus and theater arts. I pantomime. Miming and physical theatre allow me to be on stage without words, because I came here not knowing English!

What has been the biggest challenge of getting to where you are now?
Hardest part is being so far from my family. But they support me, they say “You’re far, but it’s still one planet.” Also I didn’t know the language and couldn’t connect with people with simple conversation. This motivated me to learn English.

Biggest challenge of the show?
Its hard and important for each artist on stage to do their work every night like it’s the first time – with pleasure, good energy, and fun. A new audience every night helps. Imagine somebody came for the first time in their life to Cirque, what this person will feel and see and go home with, what feelings? To do this job like it’s the first time every night is a pleasure. Everyday you feel stronger and stronger. Yes, your body can be tired, but your soul and fire inside is always there.

If you wanted people to know one thing about what you do, what would it be?
The usual idea of a mime is one with white gloves and stripes, but it’s much deeper than that and it really touches your soul. You can understand that you have hard work inside of you, that you’ve spent soul and energy on your performance, and the audience can feel what you do. Every night people can come to the circus to see something new and special. They cannot feel what has happened, but they feel something good and that’s why they come back to the show, the theater, or the circus. Pushing yourself every day is an inspiration and forces you to be brave.