LITTLE ROCK — Adrienn Banhegyi is going to skip all five performances of Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam, Thursday through March 3 at North Little Rock’s Verizon Arena.
In fact, Banhegyi skips every performance of Quidam.
She’s one of two soloists in the show’s “Skipping Rope” segment, which features a cast of 20 skippers and (mostly Russian) acrobats doing amazing things with ropes.
Quidam is a Latin word meaning a certain person, or someone unknown; in legal parlance, it is used to describe an unknown person, or one who cannot be named.
The show premiered as a big-top act in Montreal, where Cirque du Soleil makes its home, in April 1996 and, after touring five continents, in December 2010 it became an arena show, with an international cast of 52 acrobats, musicians, singers and characters.
The rope-skipping segment is one of several acts - many of which focus on children’s games, including Diabolos (a Chinese top) and Hoops - stitched together with a loose plot line: Young Zoe trades her meaningless life for an imaginary world where she meets characters who encourage her to free her soul and, by proclaiming her individuality, finally emerge from anonymity.
Zoe and her mother join the skippers in Banhegyi’s portion of the show.
“It is a very joyful and happy act,” Banhegyi says. “It’s like a playground. We get to introduce some fun into Zoe’s act.”
Rope-skipping is a relatively new entry into cirque performance, Banhegyi says. “It’s not in too many other shows.”
It’s also easier for more audience members to connect to than, say, hanging from on high on strips of silk or balancing precariously on one hand. “It’s inspiration for the kids, nostalgia for adults,” she says.
Banhegyi, 29, started skipping ropes as a child 20 years ago in her native Hungary. Her father, who taught physical education for special-needs children, came up with the idea - the equipment was cheap and “it didn’t need too much space,” she says.
It has reached sport status - there are national and international rope-jumping federations (Hungary has national men’s and women’s teams; with the latter, Banhegyi won five European championships and three world titles) and competitions objectively judged on the speed and number of jumps.
After seeing her first Cirque du Soleil show on television, in early 2005 she sent a video demo to the company’s casting department (the online job description: “We’re looking for experienced, dynamic rope skippers with excellent stage presence, strong technique, a grounding in floor acrobatics and an extensive repertoire. If you’ve created your own original routine, we’d love to hear about it!”). It took a while, but she eventually joined the company and made her Cirque du Soleil debut in Wintuk in November 2010.
Banhegyi joined this show in April 2011 and the act has continued to evolve.She has added a couple of her own tricks and the cast meets weekly, especially if a new performer joins “or the act needs to be made more fresh,” she says.
“It’s constantly changing; it never gets boring,” she adds. “You have to have fun.”
It takes Banhegyi about an hour to apply her white face makeup (if you see her without a rope in her hand it’s easy to mistake her for a mime). The act involves solo skipping (the first 30 seconds is her own creation); moments with the other soloist, Norihisa Taguchi; a double Dutch segment; and eventually one with six ropes put together, “all of us jumping in sequence,” Banhegyi says.Apparently it’s particularly impressive when viewed from above, one bonus for sitting in Verizon Arena’s upper bowl.
And if it looks like you’re seeing double some night, Banhegyi says, it may be because “I share this character with my sister, Kata.”
Quidam
7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. March 3, Verizon Arena, Interstate 30 and East Broadway, North Little Rock
Tickets: $37.50-$97.50 plus handling fees
(800) 745-3000
ticketmaster.com
cirquedusoleil.com/quidam
Style, Pages 49 on 02/24/2013