Jayda Noyes, Daily Herald
Members of Cirque Éloize were practicing one-armed handstands and swinging off ropes Tuesday afternoon for their rehearsal of that night’s show.
The E.A. Rawlinson Centre was the only Saskatchewan stop for the Montreal-based company for their tour with ‘Saloon.’
And while they appeared to move effortlessly on the intimate stage, marketing and events coordinator for the centre, Cara Stelmaschuk, couldn’t believe her eyes.
“It’s one of those things that’s well beyond what you think people can do. When you see it on TV or you see it in a movie or whatever is one thing, but to actually see it live in front of you is just, wow,” she said. “That’s skill. That’s a lifetime of dedication to learning this stuff and it’s just something to be appreciated.”
The lights shawn on two members who were catapulting each other into the air off of a plank, almost touching the roof.
After a couple of practice runs, they starting doing a variety of flips at the height of their jumps.
Sneak peek at the Cirque Èloize rehearsal this afternoon, before their show ‘Saloon’ is at the @EARawlinsonCent in #ypa at 7:30 tonight! Tickets still available at the box office. #Sask #SK pic.twitter.com/LmdtBvNxh2
— Jayda Noyes (@jaynoyesSK) October 9, 2018
It wasn’t in front of a bare auditorium for long.
They would be in costume with a full set Tuesday evening at 7:30.
“It’s kind of amazing that something so big gets set up in five hours and then it’ll probably all come down in about two (hours) and then they’ll be on their way again,” said Stelmaschuk.
She added it all happened so fast, from finalizing Cirque Éloize’s stop at the end of summer to watching them prepare to take the stage.
“Making sure you get it done, sell tickets, get the crew in place, have the volunteers here and ready to go, make sure we have the technical requirements in place to host a show like this,” she said about the work the centre has put into providing the show to Prince Albert.
As of Tuesday afternoon, almost the entire main floor was sold out, which holds about 400 seats.
Stelmaschuk hoped the auditorium would fill its entire capacity of 606 seats.
She said if anyone is interested in having a back stage view for the centre’s shows, they can see what it’s all about at their volunteer BBQ on Friday from 4 to 6 p.m.
“Anyone can stop by, if you want to be an usher, take tickets, stuff like that, find out what kind of volunteer opportunities are here, but we really need technical volunteers and it’s a cool way to see these things that come in and how it all comes together,” she said.
