Cirque Du Soleil’s Corteo: A behind-the-scenes look at the Saskatoon show

Cirque Du Soleil’s show Corteo is being performed in Saskatoon from Thursday until Sunday, and Global News’ Mackenzie Mazankowski got a behind the scenes look at all the moving parts involved in putting on the show.

Alison Crawford, artistic director of Corteo said their next stop is in Edmonton, saying they’ve been to a couple Canadian cities so far and have toured through the U.S and Europe.

Crawford described this production as a story about a clown, following him through his life and celebrating it.

“Of course he came from the circus, so we meet all different kinds of jugglers, artists flying in the air and jumping on teeter boards,” Crawford said.

She said they move every week. Loading a show takes about three to four hours, and set-up takes 10 hours.

“It’s quite a machine.”

The show is set in the past and the costumes reflect that – made of silks, velvet and lace.

Crawford said there are many people involved in the show. On the road there are 53 artists, 27 technicians and a touring management department that follows along.

“We have our own kitchen. I have an artistic team, a coach, physiotherapist, wardrobe and stage management.”

With so many moving parts things don’t always work as planned, but Crawford said improvisation is key in those scenarios.

“So for example, if someone drops something while juggling, they will vamp and they will improvise. So their eyes are so focused on the show.”