Peter Boulanger isnt sure whether his circus companys 34-foot tall marionette will make it to the In the House Festival.
But the Underground Circuss 23-foot-tall freestanding tower will definitely dominate a backyard near Commercial Drive for the grand finale of the 10th anniversary festival that will animate homes and yards June 7 to 9.
Its a very fun festival. Weve done it a few times and its always been a great time, said Boulanger, co-founder and co-director of Underground Circus.
For us [the best part is] being with the public and being part of such a wonderfully iconic Vancouver organization. Theyve created all sorts of weird little quirky things over the years and we love being part of that kind of stuff, Boulanger said. We are pretty much the top corporate circus company in town, which means most of time people dont see our work. So it is fun to be able to say, Hey look. We exist.
Much of the aerial acrobatics in the grand finale show are set to music from B.C., including the crooning of Michael Buble, the folk music of Pied Pumkin and 1980s pop hits of Doug and the Slugs.
Well be showcasing a lot of our unique [acrobatic] apparatuses and its kind of fun to be doing that with the work of B.C. musicians, Boulanger said.
Underground Circus celebrated its own 10th anniversary this year. Boulanger and his wife, Ninon Parent, studied at the National Circus School in Montreal, toured with Cirque du Soleil for a couple of years and then decided to settle near Burnaby, where Boulanger grew up.
Underground Circuss shows include acrobatic feats, contortionists and often comedy, but its work differs from Cirque du Soleil in that it doesnt employ fantasy characters like those that populated most of Cirques early shows, according to Boulanger.
Were almost always just people, he said.
And I always tell people Cirque du Soleil is our competition, he quipped. So far theyre winning.
Boulangers speciality at the moment is his chair-balancing act. He likes to stack chairs atop a table and stand on his hands up to 15 feet in the air.
Ive adapted my chairs so they actually can get stacked up in weirder ways, he said.
Boulanger loves forms and shapes, and everyday sights such as a tangled wire on his desk often inspire the unique apparatuses used by Underground Circuss acrobats.
He taught himself to weld and then started fashioning different shapes such as the Triceau, three rings welded together, upon which two acrobats, stand, extend from and hang from one another.
Festivalgoers who like making their own shapes will be able to do so at other In the House events. Tenth anniversary festivities include a Shadow Jam on Saturday where audience members craft shadow puppets with the Vancouver-based shadow puppet duo Mind of a Snail, improvise a story and pick up instruments to accompany the show. The milestone festival also includes a free community potluck on Lily Street Sunday morning complete with roving performers, square dancing and street hockey. Music, dance, magic, comedy and burlesque performances fill the festival weekend across 13 homes and yards.
I cant really think of a better way to have a finale than with an amazing circus with a 20-foot tower that they can do aerials on, said the festivals artistic director Myriam Steinberg, who is excited the performances accompanying music will be B.C. themed.
They performed last year for the finale and were one of the biggest hits that weve had at the festival, she added. Theres a magic thats attached to circus that you dont really have in the same way with other acts. Its kind of life the big fireworks at the end of the festival.
For more information, see inthehousefestival.com.
twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi
