sing of and I'm not the lead for sure hi my name is Rafal uh I'm an acrobat as well this is my Broadway debut first contract with cir Dand I play uh little role of Sid little character and nobody really knows about
and there I found my way as a porter which I'm still performing as a porter in in acrobatic world I'm always a base and Porter Porter means base yes I'm usually like on the ground lifting uh tossing and throwing catching
whole show during obviously acrobatics but uh I will call my job as well beside acrobatics more like a character character work you know different different different different characters through the different scenes during the show then that's fun as well you know other than this uh I'm just singing one
been in Polish uh national team in sport acrobatics and I know like uh lee was Olympian on a on a trampoline we have like guys from like uh performers or I don't know how how to say it uh that
Um my name is Nicolo and I did the volume one, the first show with Acrobatic Conundrum, but um Jackie and I live in Portland, so it's we've been kind of in and out. And then more recently, we've been driving up to Seattle to um do this show with the acrobatic conundrum. Um and I specialize
been a specialty Acts put in the show it was just mix and match of of different different acrobatic skills and different different acts sorry also also like uh that's why like we have the so-called creation process you know then that's why the the the show is not set in stone right on the beginning you know you
this specific decade for for the show I know there was a lot of inspiration that came from a show that an acrobatic number the theater goers who are just expecting to see a Broadway show who all of a sudden are like seeing
So, can um can you guys just go down the line and and say who you are and and how you joined the company and what your your acrobatic specialty is? Yeah. Why don't we start that side? Um my name is Nicolo and I did the volume one, the first show with
And they basically just play his scores. Like all these like acrobat girls with eight packs.
there's uh there's more more of a being acrobat show your skills you have your own act you have to take care of it and after after your act you usually you just have like one little queue in the background here we like especially me and Tomic we like
feel this yeah that's that's a a nice hybrid I guess it's probably something unusual for for the traditional acrobat or or you know kind of circus performer for lack of a a better word um cu the show is split other than like basically the three leads really the show is split kind of down the middle between acrobats
Because when you get to see Cavalia, of course there is horses. Of course there is acrobat music, special effects, lighting, but most likely, you see happy horses. And you see a real bond between the trainer and the horse, and the artist and the horse.
Because sometimes, we hired acrobats who knew nothing about horses, because we have a cast of 45. Half of them are acrobat bases and the other half are horse riders, trainers based. So we have to teach the horse riders how to become acrobats and the opposite way around.
No juggler ever juggled with six balls without dropping them thousands of times. No flying acrobat ever did a triple back somersault without missing his catcher over and over again. And I can tell you that even with a net, it really sucks to fall from 30 meters.
She also-- Jessie Rob is our other choreographer. of the acrobatic actors, and conveying the emotions of the animals as well.
She also-- Jessie Rob is our other choreographer. It's an acrobatic act.
And you're going to help me. Something a little more acrobatic with the cards here.
If you're ever going to jump out of a plane, it's very handy. Everything from the acrobatic elements, costume, makeup.
fun and everything I do is is is always for fun you know then maybe that that's why it's so easy and and I enjoy it so much then except acrobatics I I I I will say I do more I'm featuring through the whole show during obviously acrobatics but uh I will call my job as well beside
much then except acrobatics I I I I will say I do more I'm featuring through the whole show during obviously acrobatics but uh I will call my job as well beside acrobatics more like a character character work you know different different different different characters
um I mean yes there are acrobats out there that can sing and dance and there are singers and dancers out there that can do acrobatics but when you're trying to I guess bring the the talent level that we have on stage up to Broadway and Circ standards you're really looking for high level acrobatics and high level singing and dancing and um I'm sure
So we have to teach the horse riders how to become acrobats and the opposite way around. Some of the acrobats have to learn how to be with horses. And we like to have multi-skilled humans,
I don't know how much we spend in carrots, but it's a big budget. And we do an acrobatic act on it.
I did a lot, but it was all going towards the food category. Forget the acrobats . That's done. Let's focus on food.
I do 30 shows. It was cooking and acrobatics. It was right around 2000.
Please welcome Acrobatic Conundrum. No balloon by Louise and only
specialty is clown. I also do some acrobatics myself. Um, this is my first show with the acrobatic conundrum and I live with Terry Crane. So, we spend a lot of time together and uh, yeah, really happy to be here in New York and touring with this great new company.
still uh you know, hoping to make money and break even and and and get our basic budget and uh and that can happen through our website acrobaticconundum.com and etc. plugging myself. Not my favorite thing to do, but we could definitely use your help. So, so well, okay, so we'll talk about money for a second. Um, so the the whole
You are contortionists of the possible. You are acrobats of invention. You are magicians. You are technological artists.
And when you get older and you get wiser, sometimes some of the simplest things in life are the greatest things. So I was known for this pizza acrobat , this guy that threw it around. And when people used to come in, kids thought it was the greatest thing in the world.
If you go to the circus, you’ll see acrobats balancing themselves on a ball while not dropping the plates on top. The plates may seem stable but underneath acrobats are constantly moving and balancing to show us the stable plates. And that applies to you Googlers as well as us that write those books. Is the explanation too long?
Got a lot of vibes on it. Just going to do this last acrobatics for y'all. This is my acoustic track.
decision uh I mean I'm sure it was definitely a conscious decision decision um I mean yes there are acrobats out there that can sing and dance and there are singers and dancers out there that can do acrobatics but when you're trying to I guess bring the the talent level that we have on stage up to Broadway and
very few and far between um so I think that it just naturally happened that way we found the number of acrobats that we needed to to support the acrobatics in the show and then we kept adding to that and adding to that and adding to that and you know the number of uh of Ensemble Broadway performers singers dancers that we needed then also you
a week before I broke a rib. I had a fracture in this rib here because I do the team acrobatics, and I fell. The one below had to lower my leg, but I didn't lower it; her foot got stuck here. So I fractured the rib. I had to get injections at the Barça like four times. Finally, I was
I got to toss pizzas at places from Fargo to Florida, to Belgium, to Thailand. I was traveling with Thai acrobats when I was 23 years old across Thailand. I got to see how pizza's made all over.
So, my name is Terry Crane and I founded the company in 2012. Um, I also specialize in aerial rope, uh, sear wheel and hand to hand acrobatics. So, yeah, that's my story. So, um, your background, you all kind of knew each other, some, um, for many years and some just joined the company. Like the for
So what our task has been with that of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the UNDP-- the United Nations Development Program-- But they really are more very acrobatic.
And that's really what I was looking for. And this guy was doing crazy acrobatics.
kinda of kept finding things to satisfy my sort of unyielding appetite to move. So I did like Chinese acrobatics with a group called the Pickle Family Circus and then I started doing tap and modern and jazz, and ultimately I found myself at a studio that was very focused on ballet. And I had a teacher who was really tough as nails and he kind of insisted that ballet was the backbone of all other movement, which in a historical
I'm a classical soprano as well as an acrobat and a pole dancer.
But the part that got me was the acrobat handshake.
We had the whole thing on the tower and the acrobat , we brought in this wonderful gymnast who came in and did that for us.
It was described by the press as an acrobatic act of architecture.
So you talked a bit about this, but to give everyone some context, when I said insane acrobatics, I mean, we're talking about acrobatic flips, aerial silks, with acrobats throwing each other across the stage, and performing these death drops that are sliding headfirst down the big top pole. So, I mean, I don't know if you all audibly gasped when you-- We don't call it a death drop, but-- I mean, that's what I--
Gab's drop. But notably, the acrobats aren't the only circus artists in the show. And all of you are participating in different ways.
And they basically just play his scores. You know? And the acrobats are looking at me, they're like working out all day.
And he said, acrobatics is also easier.
And I very fond of not just his acrobatics-- because obviously I'm not doing cartwheels every day, but I really love his giant handlebar mustache,
For instance, the second number of our show is an adagio number. There's three men and one woman doing this very acrobatic style of dance. The woman is literally tossed between these gentlemen.