Space Odyssey: Clown’s first performance

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cdxpZHYc6I

A Soyuz spacecraft has brought Canadian circus tycoon and space tourist Guy Laliberte to the International Space Station.

The current ISS team welcomed the unusual passenger along with Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and American astronaut Jeffrey Williams.
Laliberte says he is going to create a festive mood in orbit and amuse his crew mates – he even brought along red noses for them.

Guy LaLiberte Clowns Before Space Trip

guy-laliberte-092909

Canadian billionaire Quebec-born philanthropist Guy Laliberte, jokes as he puts on a clown nose as he speaks through the glass wall with his family and friends at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

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Cirque du Soleil founder steals space show

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aW7IYgpXIE

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — A former stiltwalker and fire-eater stole NASA’s show Thursday, saying he’ll be “like a kid in a candy store” experimenting with zero-gravity tricks on his upcoming tourist trip to the international space station.

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Cirque du Soleil founder going into space

Guy LaLiberte

The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — A website that covers NASA is reporting that Guy Laliberte, the founder of the Cirque du soleil, will visit the International Space Station this September.

“NASA Watch,” which has no official links with the American space agency, says it has learned from multiple sources that Laliberte will fly into orbit aboard a Soyuz spacecraft .

Also see: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090604/sc_space/acrobattobenextspacetourist

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Zaia Music Soundtrack CD

The soundtrack for the Cirque Du Soleil ZAIA show is completed and will be printed to CD soon and available to the public. I don’t know a specific release date, but somewhere around early Summer 2009.

My part in the project was to play keyboards and arrange string parts recorded by members of the Hong Kong Symphony. Most of the recording was done on location in Macau (SAR) China, and the string parts with the HK Philharmonic players was completed at a recording studio in Hong Kong.

Rumor mill on the street is that Guy LaLiberte (founder of Cirque Du Soleil) has heard the soundtrack and loved it. I’ve even been told he asked to hear a second time the next morning.

Members of the ZAIA band got to hear a preview of the finished soundtrack with composer Violaine Corradi at the end of February. I won’t give you any spoilers, except to say that I was very pleased with the project and enjoyed the creativity in the mixes.

Violaine Corradi (ZAIA composer) told me one of her goals of the finished soundtrack was to have it be like looking at a prism held in your hand, then rotating it to look at the prism from different perspectives. I definately got that feeling from the soundtrack.

To my knowledge, this is also the first Cirque Du Soleil soundtrack CD recorded by the actual performing musicians in the show. The other soundtracks are recorded with studio musicians in Montreal I’ve heard. (With the exception of some subsequent live releases from shows like Mystere).

So I hope you all enjoy our work on the ZAIA CD when it’s released. Of course I’ll post on my blog when I know the official release date.

Guy Laliberte 2008 Artist Christmas Presents

Guy Laliberte

For Christmas 2008 Guy Laliberte had a fantastic gift for the artists of the Cirque Du Soleil ZAIA show (and other CDS artists worldwide): a handbag made from the tarp of a retired Cirque big top tent. The handbags are made of the recycled material and fit into Cirque “eco-friendly” attitude, as well as featuring the wonderful bright yellow and blue of the traveling Cirque big tops. Just like the tarp you see behind Guy in the photo above.

Thank you and Merry Christmas 2008 to Guy!

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Cirque Du Soleil – Venetian Macao

cirque-macau.jpg

Here is my personal “Conrad update” post that I’ll keep stickied on the top of my blog until our Cirque show opens. Click the “Read the rest of this entry” link to read current status, or the rest of the blog for tidbits on our new Cirque Du Soleil adventure in Macau, China. Sorry, no details posted about the show until after Grand Opening.

For my Cirque and Macau friends here is a link for Macau Real Time Typhoon Status:
http://www.smg.gov.mo/e_index.php

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