Once upon a time, a door opened and two worlds colided. Dreams clashed with reality. The mundane mixed with the marvelous. It was no longer possible to tell where one world began and the other ended. This new place was called La Nouba.

Enter the magical world of La Nouba. Here anything is possible: dreams become reality and talent turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. Filmed live in high definition at its permanent location at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, La Nouba is a dream come true from Cirque du Soleil.

Amid this waking dream, you'll find clowns, ballerinas, trapeze artists and so much more. From the incredible BMX bicycle act to displays of precision and balance on high- wire, Cirque du Soleil performers continue to thril and awe fans of all ages. Let the magic and festive spirit of La Nouba carry you away.

cirque du soleil presents la nouba, a cirque du soleil images production in association with pjm productions and serpent films production ltd. Executive Producers: martin bolduc, vincent gagné, rocky oldham. Director: david mallet. Producers: dorthy dickie, yolande riccioli

• Promos { Read }

  Cirque poses the question "can amazing be a souvenir?" within a new 45-second "psychedelic" made-for-television commercial featuring the cast and crew of La Nouba. There’s also a 30-second Fire Within DVD preview, a 30-second Solstrom DVD preview, a short blurb about joining Cirque Club (Cirque du Soleil's in-house fan club) and a montage of the many Cirque productions available on DVD.



• Photo Gallery { Read }

  Music from Solarium ("A Tale," Chilluminati Mix) plays in time with this non-static array featuring dozens of still-shots from across La Nouba’s five-year existence. The images, which cannot be controlled by your DVD player's remote control showcase the stunning pictorial work of Al Seib, Cirque du Soleil's one-time photographer, as well as other candid shots of cast in performance.



• Les Cons { Read }

  Did you know that the only direction the Les Cons were provided by director Franco Dragone and Guide Guy Laliberte was simply to be stupid all the time? It's true! You learn this and more in the featurette, a behind-the-scenes look at the four men who become the wackiest, zaniest characters Cirque du Soleil has ever let roam their stage. Highlighted here are some of the moments of mischief that did and did not make the film cut, and a much better understanding about the men who play them: David Lebel, Pawel Biegaj, Witek Biegaj, and Justin Osborne.



• Meet the Musicians { Read }

  It's 30 minutes before show-time and people are being let into the lobby of the Cirque du Soleil theater, Doug White (bicycles) is checking out his gear, Krystian Sawicki ("Le Titan") is receiving a massage to his hamstrings in an unusual way - someone is standing on his legs, Isabeau Proulx Lemire (singer) is practicing in the theater's stairwell, and the Les Cons are finishing up their makeup. It's almost show-time... what's going on behind the scenes?

  We are introduced to Isbeau (the male singer), Benoit Glazer (Conductor, Trumpet Player, Keyboards), Cliff Schwartz, Benoit Lajeunesse (Violin, Mandolin) and Benoit Jutras (Composer). You get to know more about the musicians and their on-stage lives after watching this featurette. For example, did you know that Benoit Jutras was still writing and re-writing the score to La Nouba two weeks before its premiere? "I am a bit of a control freak," Jutras admits, writing all the arrangements himself. Or that one of the musicians was caught by Guy Laliberte resting during the show when he was not called upon to play? The interviews were intriguing, open, honest and fun.



• In-Depth Interviews — Dive behind-the-scenes with select La Nouba characters, cast and crew reliving some of their most cherished moments of the production:
  
  
  • Elena Day (Green Bird) { Read }

    We first meet Elena Day, who plays the Green Bird. "My character is a watcher," she says. "She watches the action of others, wishing she could be part of it." Throughout most of the production the Green Bird is an observer, hoping to become one of the "amazing, beautiful, flying beings" that she sees around her. Unfortunately for her, she's a flightless bird who may or may not understand her own special qualities. "I think what's so special about her," Elena says, "is that she's just beautiful in her own way." Elena enlightens us on how she found the character's motivation and how she's able to showcase that persona twice a night, five times a week.

    Fans might be interested to know how she came up with the "death scene" that is now a famed part of the Balancing on Chairs performance — "I had just bought my car that day," she says, "and I was real angry about the process... I just took [the moment] over the top, and just started screaming and freaking out. The audience loved it [so] we kept it!" Sadly, Elena Day is no longer with La Nouba, but she will always be part of that which we all sometimes strive: to be more than what we are. — "I think she's hysterical when she gets really angry."

  • Chrissy Van Fleet (Power Track) { Read }

    Next we hear from Power Track artist Chrissy Van Fleet who spent 13 years in gymnastics to prepare her for this position; she speaks about doing the same thing each and every day. "Sometimes it's easy to lose focus... but the way that we try and keep that motivation is to remember the experience I had first [watching] the show and to give that back to the audience." She speaks of that first viewing completely wowing her.

    Chrissy speaks of some her fellow mates adhere to just prior to going onstage: "there are small things that we do, little handshakes, hi-fives, [and] claps. [There is] a little special thing probably with everybody as we're going into the building... before we start our act." And has she fallen victim to any embarrassing moments? "I walked right off the stage one time," she says, speaking about her role as an urbanite during the production's opening number. How do you recover from such a blunder? "You blush, get up and walk back," she exclaimed. What about her mates? Oh yeah... "[Our] biggest tumbler doing a triple [flip] actually went flying into the audience, and his catchers, who went to hold him back... they went into the audience too!"

  • Doug White (Bicycles) { Read }

    "You name it [and I'll] ride [my bike] over it," says Doug White, Extreme Mountain Bike Rider. He's ridden over dump trucks, barns, all kinds of small buildings, busses and "all kinds of cool stuff," or so he declares. Doug likes to have fun with his performance and tends to look around at the audience, he admits, though no one has attempted to grab him while in the audience. He's very serious when it comes to the Bicycle Jump, however.

    "Pavel is my hero," he says of the Les Con who lies down with the unknowing spectator during the Bicycle Jump. "He lays there and doesn't flinch 10 times a week." To Doug, this is the most serious and most important part of his performance, and thankfully there hasn't yet been an accident during the jump. "It's in my contract that I'm not allowed to hit Pavel," he says candidly. "So far I've kept my job!" There have been touchy situations, however. One time Doug peeked over the lifts as the stagehands waved up at him not to jump down, as he always does to end his act. The lift, which would normally be about 7 feet down, was down 11 feet. What did daredevil Doug White do? He jumped in anyway... "The show must go on!"

  • Andrei Roublev (Flying Trapeze) { Read }

    "The danger is always there," says Andrei Roublev, flyer in the Flying Trapeze number. He speaks about his experiences with La Nouba, including an accident that almost put him out of the show permanently: he dismounted with another flyer but landed atop him, knocking him out for 1 minute and was out of action for two weeks! He was also asked what went through his mind as he performed. His response? "It's hard to describe... but the [feeling] of flying is the most important for me."

  • Carlos Marcio Moreira (The Walker) { Read }

    Carlos Marcio Moreira, from Brazil, fills the uncanny shoes of The Walker — the man in the green bowler hat with a unique strut. He's the next member of the La Nouba cast we hear from and he shares with us some candid insights into his character. "He comes from nowhere. He feels so much what he sees in front of him. He has sensitivity; enjoys so much. [He's] surprised by what he sees. [He's] happy." And just like his alter ego, Carlos needs the response from the audience to perform in top form; he loves to see the smiles of the audience. And how does he get his audience to smile? By his walk of course... inspired by none other than the king of the silent era, Charlie Chapman.

  • Wellington Lima (Pierrot Rouge) { Read }

    The man behind Pierrot Rouge, the character in red, is Wellington Lima. Also from Brazil, Wellington became an acrobat at the age of 11, doing martial arts and dreaming of going to the World Championships of Trampoline someday. His inspiration came from another artist in Brazil, strangely enough, who was jumping onto buildings. Instead of jumping onto buildings, Wellington somersaulted into coconut trees! The PowerTrack/Trampoline number is where Wellington gets to shine, bringing a burst of energy unmatched anywhere. During his interview he speaks candidly about the creation of the number, which he performs with Krystian Sawicky's "Le Titan" character. He says the idea of the wall was to have a fight between him and Le Titan, a kind of duel between two powerful foes. Which would be better? During the first part of the act we see this duel, a sort of competition between them; but as the number continues, the two come to a mutual understanding and even salute one another.

    And what they do together seems to defy logic. Those who have seen La Nouba know that the performers tumble into the building's windows... has Wellington ever missed one? "In the five years," he says, "four or five times!" then smiles. I guess it is all part of the show.

  • Michel Deschamps (Balthazar the Clown) { Read }

    "Laughter is all that motivates us," says Michel Deschamps. "It's a direct link with the public." Deschamps, who speaks only French, had this to say about his character: "Balto is a naive clown. He can get angry too depending on the situation, but it's always a childish anger. He's like an 8-year old kid. My partner Sergei is maybe 5-years old [and they're] roaming through the show together and experiencing all sorts of things." He is asked whether being paired with Sergui (who is from Russia and also deaf) cultivated any problems? His response, "At first our interactions were minimal. We put on our costumes, went to a studio and dreamed up situations. We just improvised and improvised. Soon, after rehearsing maybe a week, we could see it working out. We were going to be a team." And a team they are, performing twice a night, five nights a week. "Clowning might be hard work," Michel says, "but to me it's pure relaxation."

{ Columbia/TriStar Cover }

Columbia/Tri-Star (2001-2007)

	• R01 (USA/Canada)    Release Date — Nov.02.2004    Catalog — #09054 (UPC 0-43396-09054-5)    ISBN — 1-4049-6954-3
	• Other Regions    Release Date — Feb.09.2005 (R2-JPN)    Catalog — TSDD-39171 (R2-JPN)    Release Date — Apr.13.2005 (R4-AUS)