Filipinos are quite familiar with Cirque du Soleil. The theatrical production company has staged two shows in Manila: “Varekai” in 2011 and “Saltimbaco” in 2012.
It returns for yet another one-of-a-kind show this month, with no less than two Filipinos as part of the Asian tour for Cirque du Soleil’s production of “Toruk – The First Flight,” a show inspired by James Cameron’s phenomenal science-fantasy film, “Avatar.”
Michael Ocampo is a first generation Filipino-Canadian whose maternal side of the family hails from Biñan, Laguna. He has been working with Cirque since 1993 and was a performer when he decided to pursue a coaching career. Michael plays an integral role as the head coach for “Toruk – The First Flight.”
Prior to “Toruk,” Michael has been to the Philippines four times; twice as a very young child and the third time 20 years ago.
“I spent most of my time with my relatives in Biñan, and we did a little road trip up North,” he recalls. His last visit was for a week-long trip to Palawan.
“The Philippines is really beautiful,” he muses.
Despite having been born and raised in Canada, Michael still feels that a huge part of him is Filipino.
“I’ve always felt really close to my Flipino side. And the fact that I changed my last name to my mother’s maiden last name –I was actually born Michael Rosenberger— and yet I officially changed it to Michael Ocampo. Because like I said, I always did feel close to my Filipino side. And yeah, I felt that it was something that I wanted to do.”
Rob Laqui was born and raised in Minnesota, but has traveled to countless places in the U.S. and even the UK as a puppeteer and dancer. He joined the Cirque only in 2014, and was one of only six puppeteers invited specifically for “Toruk.”
“Toruk” will showcase 16 puppets that represent six different creatures. Four of these creatures were derived from “Avatar” while the remaining two were introduced only in the new show, but not without the approval of James Cameron himself.
“I think this is a relatively new venture for Cirque in terms of the scale of puppetry that was used and this is why they hired us as puppeteers, as experts for this show,” Rob shares.
“In the past they’ve used acrobats to handle puppets in previous Cirque shows. But they decided to use professional puppeteers for this one.”
“One of the challenges is that, as professional puppeteers, we want to show them the scope and the scale of what is possible with puppeteering. And I think this show is the first step to doing that. I also think that Cirque sees the potential in using puppeteers and perhaps, hopefully grow puppeteering as a department.”
Puppetry may seem like a lot of fun, but it is also physically and mentally demanding, according to Rob.
He explains, “One of the things about puppetry that isn’t necessarily widely understood is that there’s no set way to make a puppet. Every puppet is a new experience for the puppeteer. With that comes a very specific set of challenges which include physical challenges.
“As you get stronger and sort of able to do more with the puppet, you are constantly exploring sort of what that is and how you can achieve more expression and action with the puppet. On the flipside one of the challenges, you have to get stronger to be able to do it.”
Unlike Michael who can only understand and barely mumble a few phrases in Filipino, Rob is very much in touch with his Filipino heritage and can communicate in his fare share of Tagalog. He is also a fan of Filipino food— from crispy pata and dinuguan to kare-kare and paksiw.
He gushes over local cuisine, but more so over his first ever project with Cirque du Soleil.
“I am absolutely beyond thrilled and excited to be able to share such a huge part of I am culturally. Coming to Manila countless times before, this is such a different aspect of coming to Manila to do what I do and what I love, and to share it with thousands of people,” Rob said.
Michael shares the same sentiments. “I’m excited because my relatives are here. I’m excited to see them. Just because the Philippines is so much a part of my roots and my mom’s from here; I’m excited to be here with the show. I’ve been here but only for a very short while in the past, but this time it’s gonna be two weeks in Manila. I’m really excited,” he said.
“Toruk – The First Flight” will be presented at the Mall of Asia Arena starting June 23. Tickets are available from www.smtickets.com and https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/toruk.
