Kooza-palooza: Cirque du Soleil’s Adam Miller Has Northwest Roots
MILLER TIME:There are those who one day dream of running away with the circus. And then there those who don’t, but still end up under the big top. Or, in the case of Adam Miller, under Cirque du Soleil’s “Grand Chapiteau.”
Miller is the artistic director for Kooza, the latest creation to rotate through Portland from the circus-themed entertainment factory currently touring 18 shows all over the world.
Not long after April Fools Day, Miller and his cast and crew of nearly a hundred will stake out a large patch of land under the Southwest end of the Marquam Bridge with their distinctive yellow and blue enclave. It’s always a sight to behold, as surely will be the show, which opens April 9.
Kooza is a return to the origins of the Montreal-based company that has taken the world (and particularly) Las Vegas by storm and showcases a combination two circus/Cirque traditions: acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show’s writer and director David Shiner, says, “Kooza is about human connection and the world of duality, good and bad…the tone is fun and funny, light and open. The show doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it’s very much about ideas, too."
As is Miller, who admits he landed a gig with Cirque almost by accident.
“I know (working for Cirque) is a dream for many,” Miller said from San Diego where the show played prior to its Portland stay. “But I never ever thought about it.”
Perhaps that because Miller’s dance card was full, literally.
(Click on "read more" below to hear more about Miller's dreams)
Adam Miller is a ballet dancer. And a good one.
As a child, he had the opportunity to perform with The Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet and Joffrey Ballet. He began his professional career at Pennsylvania Ballet, and has been a principal dancer with Hartford Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens as well as Pacific Northwest Ballet.
At PNB he danced major roles in many full-length classical ballets, including the original production of The Nutcracker; Kent Stowell’s collaboration with famed children’s author, Maurice Sendak.
“I even shared the same role—Whirling Dervish—in the Nutcracker with Christopher Stowell,” says Miller referring to Kent’s son who was a teenager and now is the artistic director for Oregon Ballet Theatre.
“I've known him since I was kid and he was a dancer in PNB,” confirms Christopher. “He's a real character funny, wry and self deprecating and has very pretty feet. That means high arches and good for ballet!”
Pretty feet or not, Miller has always been entrenched in the world of dance. As Director of the Ballet Project, he spent two years at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. He has also served as Associate Artistic Director for Garden State Ballet and Artistic Director of Ballet South in Savannah, Georgia. In 1999, Adam was appointed ballet master, and later, associate artistic director of Dance Connecticut. After founding Adam Miller Dance Project in 2003, his work was one of eight chosen for the Connecticut Dance Alliance’s Choreographic Preludes Project and he was a recipient of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts 2003 Artist Fellowship Award.
“I had a full life,” Miller says. “I was teaching and running a school in Hartford, Conn., as well as a dance festival in Provincetown. The last thing on my mind was running away with the circus.”
That was until the circus ran into him.
“I was asked to teach ballet classes to the cast of Delirium (a Cirque show playing in Hartford) and then they asked me to do some extra ones.”
While he watched Cirque’s rigorous training and rehearsal schedule, a few Cirque folks watched him, eventually asking him to submit materials to their website, which he did, not really expecting anything to come of it. 18 months later Miller took one day off of work from his company and flew to New Mexico for a meeting with Cirque. Not too long after that he was hired to be the artistic director of one of Cirque’s biggest shows: Saltimbanco.
“You only have so many adventures that fall in your lap and only so many choices when you reach middle age,” said Miller who disbanded his company and joined the Cirque show in July of 2008.
Unlike most touring shows who just have a stage manager, Cirque employs a full time artistic director for each show.
So how different is working with Cirque compared to his own dance company?
“It’s like being an astronaut and landing on a different planet,” says Miller.
But he wasn’t alone.
When Cirque held an artistic summit of all the artistic directors of the 18 shows that are currently in production Miller found out that nearly half of them either had a background in dance, or like him, were dancers themselves.
Miller believes being a dancer prepared him to help the cast do their very best at each and every performance.
“It’s more than just warming up your body,” says Miller about preparing for each show. “You are helping them to warm up their head. You can never forget the level of vulnerability each performer has. You must use their strengths to their best advantage. It’s up to me to help put clothes on those who feel naked.”
Miller believes his dance background is also a good fit for Cirque’s unique combination of athletes and artists.
“There’s a huge amount of teamwork and an even bigger risk factor to what we do,” says Miller. “Dance more than any other understands the needs of lighting and staging as well the relationship to other theatrical elements such as music, makeup and costumes.”
Miller says he also finds himself playing the role of father, mother, psychiatrist and friend: “We are running a factory with 80 employees and are confronted with issues of casting, injuries, illness and everything else that comes with running a company.”
But he wouldn’t have his life any other way, at least for now. “I no longer have to worry about raising money for my dance company. I get to travel and focus on the show, which is not only a tribute to clowning but also to traditional circus. Where else can you see the top-level best acts in the world at the same time?”
Tickets for KOOZA are available at 1-800-450-1480 or online atwww.cirquedusoleil.com/kooza.
-
|76.28.45.xxx |2011-03-12 16:15:47 Jillian Ley - Eastern Connecticut BalletI'm guessing in this interview that Mr. Miller didn't recognize the fact that he was the artistic director at the ballet school, "Eastern Connecticut Ballet." Right after "ECB's" annual Spring Showcase in 2008, Miller left this ballet school and company to work for Cirque Du Soleil. He then left ECB in the hands of Lise Rearden to look for a new artistic director to take his place. Lucky enough for this ballet school, they found Mrs. Gloria Govrin, a former protegee of George Balanchine. Although ECB is very lucky to have such a wonderful teacher to improve the way young dancers dance, we also miss the wonderful and creative Adam Miller. He was the one who choreographed The Nutcracker for our company to showcase at The Garde Arts Center in New London, CT. Though Miss Gloria has changed Miller's version of The Nutcracker, we love Mr. Miller and wish him more luck towards his new career as the choreographer for Cirque Du Soleil.
!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Last Updated (Tuesday, 23 March 2010 15:26)
