Believe it or not, I started working on cruise ships by mistake. I attended a dance audition in Paris just because a friend of mine wanted to apply for the position and needed a ride to Paris. At the time I thought, if I’m in Paris already, why not take a free class? Long story short, I got the job as an acrobat a few weeks later.
To say I’ve done a bit of travelling throughout my career may be considered an understatement. I started working on cruise ships back in 2005. I toured the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Asia. I’ve been an official resident in three countries other than my beloved Scotland and taken almost every type of transportation to get to these places.
Fashion is not the world I thought I would end up in. As a twenty-year-old-something, I had worked at a hip fashion company in Sydney, Australia and while my personal experience with that company was extremely positive, I never considered myself fashionable and I most certainly was not on trend.
Like theatre, in Fashion Week, there is no second take. If a model stumbles, or I miss my shot, it’s not good. But then you have to shake off your mistake and move onto the next one cause there are many shows in a day.
Prop making has evolved like many things in the new age of industry and manufacturing but are we evolving away from the true artisans with machines taking over this creative outlet?
The human eye is an amazing thing that many of us take for granted and most of us don’t fully understand. I was lucky enough in my career to have the opportunity to work on so many different projects that challenge people to question whether they are really seeing what they are looking at.
Mold making is a necessity in the prop makers world and having a variety of abilities to make different types will help in choosing which application will fit the particular needs the best.
I recently saw a post from an acquaintance on Facebook which implied that he believed that the number of his friends in the application indicated how important he was.
Arguably one of the greatest sporting managers of all time, Alex Ferguson (ex-manager of Manchester United Football Club), said that the three main factors to good coaching are control, communication, and consistency.
The Barani is one of the most misunderstood skills in sport found in, but not limited to, gymnastics, diving, trampolining, dancing, cheerleading, inline skating, snowboarding and many more.
In many shows that are centred around physical performance such as dance, circus and concerts, the people performing will be referred to as “Performers”. I hadn’t really heard the cast being referred to as “Artists” until I worked for Cirque du Soleil. And perhaps rightly so. Cirque, when they started out, probably had many people in their shows that could be considered artists. These people were developing and expressing their craft onstage. This term “artist” has been carried on in many other productions I have been involved with and this could do with some clarification. The performer versus artist debate should be explored.
Authors Note: In the entertainment industry, there are so many different paths you can take. From working on cruise ships to classical theatre, to performing with Cirque du Soleil, and Xander Taylor has done it all. It took Xander longer than most to find his way into the circus but that is where he has found his true calling. Blending his diverse athletic background with his acting background, he found a perfect balance with the circus. He has trained in many aerial arts but has become known for his work in the Duo Trapeze with his acrobatic partner, Mélanie Dupuis. They recently performed in the smash hit Broadway show “Paramour” by Cirque du Soleil. With his diverse background and a full steam of momentum, it’s easy to see big things in the future for Xander. This is his story, in his own words…
Authors note: During the summer of 2015 I met David Girard while he was performing in the Cirque du Soleil show Le Monde Est Fou in Trois-Rivières. He performed in several acts including Trampowall (trampoline wall) and air track but that does not begin to tell of the talents of this incredible performer. He is a world class gymnast in many disciplines and has transferred those skills into the circus arts. Now a Cirque du Soleil veteran, having worked for shows like Zaia in Macau and La Nouba in Florida, He has now moved into developing an act on his personally designed apparatus cirQle (think of a human-sized hamster wheel.) David is an inspiring person relentlessly pushing what is possible for himself but also in the world of circus arts. This is his story… in his own words.
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