I just saw the Cirque du Soleil performance called Kooza on the television over the weekend. There was a spectacular performance by a unicyclist who was working with a woman who was an acrobat/contortionist. I ended up in front of the screen jumping up and down, clapping and hooting like a demented chimp. The cirque website describes the act, but says nothing about the performers. I would love to know something about the unicyclist. Does anyone know who he is and how he got to be that good?
In addition to the amazing stuff where he twirled his assistant around and above him, the unicyclist did this really neat trick where he left the uni lying on the ground, then walked back to it and with a single step, either on the rim or the pedal, whipped it upright, stepped aboard, and pedaled away with clinical precision. It happened so fast I could not see exactly what he did. Does anyone have a good account of what he did and how to do it?
Thanks Catboy. I looked at the link to the kick up mount that you gave. The mount that this performer did was almost that, except that he had the uni lying on the ground with the seat pointing away from him, so it did not spring upright with the seat between his legs, but it sprung up directly in front of him. He then swung his leg over it and pedaled away in one smooth movement. Obviously a variant of the kick up. Really cool.
Wow, sounds like a much harder variant. Though it could have been a swing-up mount. That one’s listed in the Standard Skills List (IUF), and the guy it came from also happens to be one of the creative directors on that show, Luc Tremblay. But your description doesn’t sound like that mount either…
from the Cirque Tribune:
Kooza - Unicycle Duo - Current artists
Diana Aleschenko (Opening-present)
Yury Shavro (Opening-present)
Looking forward to seeing this. It’s coming to Denver this summer.
I am going to see Anthony (the juggler) mostly, but it’s great to know there is a unicycle act!!
Yes, I looked at the IUF list of mounts, and this one wasn’t there. He didn’t kick the seat up at all. I am not sure if he trod on the rim/tire to spring the uni up, or if he trod straight on the upper pedal. He may even have used the heel of his foot on the rim and the ball on the pedal. I am starting to wonder if he actually used magic.
Susan
With some trial, and much error, I have discovered that by treading on the tire of my prostrate uni with a slight backwards motion of my foot, I can make it spring up enough to catch the seat in my hands. I reckon it will only take about 10,000 hours of practice to be able to jump on and pedal away rather than just catch the seat.
