Cirque du Soleil

The Stephen C. O'Connell center was abuzz with media this afternoon (5/7) as performers from Cirque Du Soleil's Saltimbanco prepared for opening night.
INsite went behind-the-scenes as performers did their makeup and rehearsed.Cirque du Soleil artist coach for the Russian Swing and house troupe member Zbigniew Zibi Bachor, of Poland, trains with performers before each Saltimbanco! show in full makeup. Zibi always does his makeup early, just to get it out of the way, says head coach of acrobatics Michael Ocampo, adding that makeup application can take up to two hours for some performers. During the Cirque du Soleil show, the acrobats on the Russian Swing make flying through the air look easy, but without the theatric lights and accompanying tunes, you can really see how difficult these feats are. Katsiaryna Kuziankova (pictured) yells hup to signal she will jump on the next swing forward.You can hear them yell it during the show, too, if you listen close enough, says head coach of acrobatics Michael Ocampo. The show runs May 7-11. See the full story in the April issue, page 65
Amelia Harnish PHOTOS: Sean Kelly