Imagine a dazzling world dominated by frolicking insects that accomplish marvelous feats to infectious Brazilian music. This is “OVO,” the Cirque du Soleil story of a mysterious egg that fosters a romance between a ladybug and a grasshopper.
Once inside the Grand Chapiteau (Big Top), the audience is refreshed by the aroma of grass sprinkled with dewdrops. Before them is an energetic society of colorful insects displaying astonishing agility. Fleas, ants, butterflies, fireflies, scarab beetles, dragonflies, crickets, spiders and caterpillars vie for attention as they flit, soar, crawl, balance and defy gravity.
The insect colonies comprise 54 athletes and gymnasts from 16 countries, several of them Olympians, all champions in their individual disciplines. They are supervised by artistic director Marjon Van Grunsven and trained by head coach Alexandre Sacha Pikhienko.
Van Grunsven developed the movements representative of an ecosystem. A professional dancer, teacher, choreographer, Pilates instructor and founder of her own dance troupe, she has worked in this country and abroad. Before joining the OVO team, she was artistic director of “Delirium,” which closed in 2008.
“The first time I met the chosen artists, there was a lot of talking, sharing and exchanging thoughts,” she said. “After we decided how each insect would operate, my job was to delegate tasks to the gymnasts, contortionists, and trapeze and trampoline artists to learn how their ideas could be accomplished. Although the show is about movement, not dance, their insectlike movements are very much a fusion of the bossa nova, samba and other Brazilian music styles. To develop each routine, the composer (Berna Ceppas) would work with the performers and create music to support a particular trick. Along with him, we had a lot of Brazilian contractors doing set design and lighting. All of them are very passionate about love and life.”
The insects owe their vigor to coach Pikhienko. His illustrious career as a gymnast began when he joined the Moscow Circus at 17, the pride of his father, an engineer, and his accountant mother. His love of sports and the circus was inherited by his daughter Olga, his partner in “Clown and Girl,” a 1992 gold-medal winning act at Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris. Olga is now a member of “Quidam,” the Cirque du Soleil show currently touring South America.
After winning a silver medal at Beijing’s World Festival of 1993, Pikhienko toured with Ringling Brothers before retiring and opening a gym in New Orleans. But he could not resist returning to a circus environment in 2000 when Cirque du Soleil named him head coach of “Varekai,” followed by “Mystere” and now “OVO.”
Van Grunsven emphasizes that the nonstop show thrills all ages, from the very young to great-grandparents. The show that started as the creative team’s baby has matured to a masterpiece in body movement by artists who have grown technically and remain fresh through rigorous training.
“By the time the smell of flowers fills the big top, everyone is thrilled and amazed by what they have seen,” she said. “As the big finale begins and the artists ascend the vertical wall with only team coordination and personal power to lift them, the music makes the audience want to get up and dance.”
