ENERGETIC ENTERTAINER. Hideto Okuzawa (left) has been with Cirque du Soleil since December 2005. In the Corteo show, currently held at the Grand Chapiteau under Portland’s Marquam Bridge, he performs in an act called "Tournik" (above, photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil), in which as many as 10 acrobats simultaneously spin on a box of horizontal bars.

From The Asian Reporter, V18, #13 (March 25, 2008), page 13.

By Ian Blazina

Corteo, Cirque du Soleil’s current performance at the Grand Chapiteau under Portland’s Marquam Bridge, is a spectacle in the grandest sense. The show, which takes its name from the Italian word for a funeral procession, uses the mildly macabre story of a clown watching his own funeral as a vehicle to showcase the extraordinary talents of the performers, who dance, jump, bounce, fly, balance, swing, juggle, sing, and play music in the most unlikely ways. Couched in a story that emphasizes human fragility, imperfection, and tragedy, Corteo plays out like a humanist encomium — a celebration of us in all of our beauty and failings.

Favoring exhibitions of talent over illusion, the purpose of all this madness is to highlight the awe-inspiring feats we humans can accomplish with a little physics and a lot of physical training. The acrobats show their strength and agility while tethered high above the stage, dangling from chandeliers, teetering on rings, floating on enormous balloons, climbing ladders to nowhere, walking across diagonal high wires, or spinning around horizontal bars impossibly close to other performers spinning in opposite directions.

One of these performers is Hideto Okuzawa, an acrobat from Gumma, Japan who has been with Cirque du Soleil since December 2005. Okuzawa has been a gymnast since age nine and competed in Japan for 15 years. Two and a half years ago, he saw an audition posted online for Cirque du Soleil. Understandably, he had never thought of joining the circus before, but jumped at the opportunity to travel and work doing something he had been training for most of his life.

Okuzawa travelled to Montreal for seven months of intensive training in acrobatics as well as acting, makeup, dance, improvisation, and English. Being the only Japanese performer in the intensely multicultural Corteo cast, he was forced to learn quickly. Speaking fairly graceful English now, Okuzawa talked about the differences between competitive gymnastics and circus performance, and his experiences running headlong into such an unusual lifestyle.

"When I’m doing a show, I’m thinking always about the public," said Okuzawa, who found time between a physical exam and the day’s training to talk. "In gymnastics you are only focused on the point system and scoring, but this is a performance for the people."

Okuzawa performs in an act called "Tournik," in which as many as 10 acrobats simultaneously spin on a box of horizontal bars. Surprisingly, there is no set routine for the act, with the performers learning of the day’s set only an hour before the show.

"Every day is exciting because we find out what we will be doing," remarked Okuzawa. "I like [Cirque du Soleil] because it’s not normal. I like not normal."

Corteo takes place through April 13 at the Grand Chapiteau, the gigantic blue and yellow tent located on S.W. Moody Avenue south of the Marquam Bridge in Portland. For more information, or to buy tickets, call 1-800-678-5440 or visit <www.cirquedusoleil.com>. Corteo’s next stop is Seattle, beginning April 24.