2019. Cirque decides to sponsor a project to develop a new acrobatic apparatus initiated by Alexis Karulin. With a financial support from Cirque, Alexis worked and developed a few Karubar prototypes in Russia. After sending us videos of the first trials, which were quite convincing, we were ready to go ahead and bring artists to Montreal, but unfortunately the pandemic kicked...
During the pandemic, Alexis Karulin and Alexander Kashlev continue to work with a team, still in Russia. At Cirque, upon returning from the pandemic, Pierre Masse's team worked on engineering prototypes based on plans provided by Alexis and Sasha. After a first week's workshop in Montreal with local artists and feedback from the teams, we were back to work on the equipment... we're talking about a process lasting over a year, with 6 prototypes built, and counting!
ECHO was interested in using a Karubar combined with a Korean teeterboard, and 3 porters and a flyer were signed up to work on the project, which in the end was replaced by the Finnish boards you can see in the show.
But the Karubar team had not said its last word! The project for Djedda in Spring 2023 had just been announced, and Jérôme convinced the team to add this number to the show! 5 artists and a bar then set off: three porters and two flyers. Within 5 weeks, the number was up, and they were flying to Jedda. Meanwhile, other artists arrived and a second Karubar was added, then a third to push the concept even further and it was supposed to premiere it in Saudi Arabia in September 2023. Unfortunately, the event was cancelled... But since everything always moves at a fast pace at Cirque du Soleil, another opportunity presented itself: a festival in Wuqiao, China in October invited Cirque to present an act. This time, 9 artists took part: 3 flyers, 6 porters, 3 bars... They even won bronze at the festival! In early 2024, the act was performed again at a wedding in India. And there's more to come!
So, what is Karubar?
It's two Russian bars (actually pole-vaulting bars) connected by a canvas in the middle that propel a performer through the air. In developing the equipment and the acrobatic language, we had to be careful not to make it too close to the Russian bar, like an “easier” version. The result is some interesting stuff, since you can do seated, prone or even backfalls, a bit like on a trampoline. The possibility of combining it with another discipline, such as the Banquine or teeterboard, produces acrobatically dynamic and striking results.