Burst of colours, riot of fun
C By Cassey Oliveira
irque du Soleil’s longest running touring show Saltimbanco wrapped up its Doha debut amidst much fanfare. While we gasped at the jaw dropping acrobats, laughed at the mime, and gawked at the juggling maestro, we also couldn’t help but notice the bright and playful costumes that the performers paraded on stage. GLAM talks to Saltimbanco’s Head of Wardrobe Tanya Jacobs who has been manning the show’s colourful wardrobe since 2002. What’s it like to be the Head of Wardrobe for the world’s most popular circus group, Cirque du Soleil?
26 / JULY - AUGUST 2012
Saltimbanco’s Head of Wardrobe Tanya Jacobs
To be the Head of Wardrobe for Saltimbanco is a great adventure, there is always a lot to learn and see and I feel very lucky to be in a position that enables me to do that. Working and touring with Cirque du Soleil is a unique experience, to be part of something that brings colour and happiness to people is very fulfilling. How did you go about creating a unique identity for each character of Saltimbanco? What’s the inspiration behind all those brightly coloured, eccentric and eclectic costumes? The costumes were designed by Dominique Lemieux (Costume Designer). For the Baroque characters she was asked to reflect the different personalities of people in the costumes. The identity comes from the original artists; Dominique used the already existing personalities of the performers and found
aspects to exaggerate and come up with the costumes. For example we have a character called Long Torse, which means “long torso”, and the costume is made to give the artist a longlooking torso. He has a long nose and with that of course comes the air of an aristocrat, so his costume is a decadent red suit with white collars and cuffs. His head piece as well as the nose, has a small yellow lace-covered top hat, so he is a very polite, well-educated show off. Another character is called Delinquent, she has lots of colour and an almost graffiti look with a torn t-shirt. She wears her frayed overall/shorts that are bright pink on the inside and denim on the outside with the top part hanging down and tied with a bright red sash. Her make-up includes high eyebrows and pouty lips almost daring us to watch her, giving her a perpetual