Cirque du soleil has a new show opening soon, called Kooza. I’ve noticed a unicyclist in the promo videos and photos. Anyone know who it is?
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/kooza/acts/unicycle.htm
It looks like they are doing a similar act to Sem & Teresa’s show.
I know Anthony Gatto is doing the juggling act, that alone will make the show worth seeing.
The unicyclists in KOOZA, the new show from Canada’s Cirque du Soleil are Diana Aleschenko and Yury Shavro from Russia.
It’s crazy how we consider everyone like Shaun J and Xavier and Kris to be the best unicyclists, but then we don’t even know about these people in the circus who are just like completely beyond greatness…
Also how these great people are always Russian. Isn’t that weird?
You expected Americans to be good at something? =P
Maybe American Football…
Anyway, I reallly want to see that show. I think it was in Spokaloo but I missed it…
I found a clip of them on youtube. I hope the link works:
looks like they are preparing to attempt level 11, and possibly 12 after that.
Well, you don’t see that everyday
Exactly on the day I met them 2 years ago:
Here’s 3 clips of them, including the gold medal performance at Cirque du Demain, and some other stuff:
http://www.unicyclist.org/blog/show.cfm?serial=00771
I saw the act in Kooza, very impressive. It’s interesting how the circus world is pretty much unknown to this corner of the unicycling world - but unicycling is much more than a performance skill, when you compare to something like aerials or juggling, there’s a lot more you can do with it outside of performance.
His unicycle is bizarre as well - the seat is about the shape and size of a banana, super thin and very curved and painful looking. The wheel has a huge amount of clearance in the frame and the hub flanges are also gigantic. The one he uses in Kooza is the same that’s in that solstrum clip.
You don’t often see unicycles in performance though, so far I know of a guy in Cirque Eloise and maybe one or two other big name one ring circuses that unicycle.
very nice
thats a regular for me to hear on my rides
ummm…first of all, not on that unicycle…
second, there are only 2 things they do that are totaly related to the unicycle, the rest is a dance with the simple addition of a uni…
'tis still impressive…
Wow, awesome performance! If anyone’s asking what Freestyle is, there’s a great example. Not just tricks, but a show. The audience is an integral part.
Leo, please check the link you posted, it didn’t work for me.
There are many other performers out there like Diana and Yury, but not lots. It’s still a pretty rare thing to see high-level unicycling in Circus or variety shows. In 1992 I saw a Spanish-language circus in Puerto Rico (Circus Tihany). That show had a pair from Switzerland who did a similar performance. Duo Scapacenceirri, something like that. He also had an artistic bike with an off-center rear wheel, which allowed him to stand on top of it and pump the rear wheel to keep going around and around while they did a head-to-head balance on it.
Remember folks, this forum is mostly a place for Trials unicyclists. Everything else seems to be in the minority. The vast majority of unicycle riders in the world (most of whom live in Japan) either don’t speak the right language, aren’t interested in talking here, or don’t know about it. Whenever people make calculations or assumptions about the unicycling “world” based on what they read here, it’s usually going to be way off.
I’m already planning to see Kooza when it comes to San Francisco. Now I hope I’ll get a chance to meet the performers! It might make a nice story for Uni Magazine…
I’ve seen the unicycle (with my hands) and discussed things. It’s very customized. One part is a very clever invention (custom made in Russia) that many other unicyclists may have benefit of. Unfortunely (I’ve asked multiple times) he does not like to have it revealed.
I understand you have an opinion based on how the unicycle looks. Just like I had before. But all parts are wisely chosen.
Obviously you have no idea what you’re talking about.
…made by the CIRCUS academy of Kiev! Yes, circus.
Please e-mail -or in this case maybe better- PM me your IP, so I can check what’s going on.
You may generated an IP ban in the past, or -very very unlikely- be on an IP that’s unroute’ble.
And the article contains links worth watching, it’s old material that shows how their perfomance was like before Soleil.
Yes, very close; Duo Scacciapensieri, Who’ve also competed on UNICON-VII, and didn’t get any medal.
I do have their show, but unfortunely only in Real-player, 27 static Mb’s that are not streaming.
…who are spending time online, in stead of performing day-in day-out, to make a living. So yes, don’t think everu unicyclist care about discussing what’s new on YouTube.
Peter - thanks for posting that youtube link - I LOVED watching that. Just awesome.
—Nathan
In the entertainment field I’ve seen a few uni acts and the stuff that gets applause is not technical tricks but things that are more visual, ie: a really tall unicycle. I saw a guy do this great jump and spin (I don’t know the terms for tricks, would that be a unispin or what?) which was one of the more technical tricks in his number and the crowd didn’t even blink… then he hopped up like 5 steps to the top of his table and they went nuts.
Here’s a clip of one of the best tricks I’ve seen in the circus ring:
It would be interesting to see someone like Kaori in a circus show, that style would probably work better in a show like Cirque rather than traditional circus. Alot of trad. circuses are touring/tenting and the grounds are often uneven so unicycling in the ring can be difficult. Many times you’ll see the act done on a platform or a table.
Yap, the same goes for juggling and diabolos. When they do complex tricks it’s boring for the crowd, but the high toss works every time:D
The unicycle on the rolling globe is pretty awesome. Note that the globe is being restricted to forward-backward movement; it’s in a notch of some kind so it won’t go to the sides. That just makes it super-hard, instead of impossible-hard.
Yes, when I’ve ridden in parades with groups of unicycles, usually the two biggest audience-response getters are the tallest ones, and jumping rope (on regular ones). My self-imposed challenge, in recent years’ parades, has been to get equal audience responses by messing about on my 45" wheel. I can do it, but not with tricks; just by riding in fun patterns and pretending to almost run over the audience, etc.
Great stuff.
Is it just me, or did Yury Shavro look remarkably like Simon Pegg in that video? I kept expecting hordes of zombies to emerge from the surrounding buildings, to be battered by a cricket bat that he’d produce from somewhere.
Am I sensing animosity here? Don’t get me wrong, I respect anyone who can make their own living, but I personally see unicycling as a fun hobby, similar to skateboarding. Do you not like people who just ride occasionally for fun, jumping on things and hopping stairsets?