From Siberia to Cirque du Soleil
An interview with Olga Sidorova
Read more about Olga’s life and philosophy in Dreams of the Solo Trapeze: Offstage with the Cirque du Soliel, by Mark Schreiber. This is the only book ever written about the lives of Cirque du Soleil performers.
Interviewer: When you moved from your home in Ishim, Siberia to Yekaterinburg, how did you fund your classes and school? Did you have to get a job, or did your parents pay for Most of it?
Sidorova: In Russia, circus is part of everyday people’s lives and every big city has a permanent circus and circus school, and tuition is free for those who pass the audition. I realized I didn’t have much time as I never did gymnastics and I was already a teenager, so I decided to fully dedicate my body, mind and time to training.I found about 4-6 circus studios in Yekaterinburg and went to all of them. If I learnt everything at one studio I moved to another. I remember the studios were very competitive with each other, so if they found out I visited another studio they asked me to leave. So I probably trained 3 times per day but all in different studios. But I didn’t specialize in trapeze until much later.
Interviewer: How did you balance your time? Did you have much homework?
Sidorova: I went to regular school every day and all homework for school I had to do in the morning before classes. I woke up at about 5 am. When I walked to school I passed the children’s playground and so I would do several chin-ups, pull-ups, leg ups and hold myself from heels and neck. When I travelled on public transport I read circus books. I wanted to be 100% in that world. It helped me focus and push my potential further, to stretch the limits of what a human has to do for themselves. The dream is just so beautiful, I really believed if I could learn how to fly I would live in heaven.
Interviewer: When you first started, how many hours of practice did you have to put in as opposed to later on? (Did you have to train more, or could you be more relaxed?
Sidorova: I just know that I didn’t have time. I felt that I already started late. Most people at circus come from circus families or gymnastics and start from the age of five. But nothing could stop me. I felt that a dream was inside me.
Interviewer: Did you have discouraging thoughts or felt like giving up? If you did, how did you over come them?
Sidorova: No, it wasn’t even a question to give up. Every day I saw people on stage flying, so if they could do it, why couldn’t I?
Interviewer: What level of skill and fitness did you have to achieve before getting to the trapeze? How long did it take you to get there?
Sidorova:I just remember I always would create my own training. I lived on the third floor, so to go there I must go by my hands! Every step up I have to do a handstand and hold for 5 seconds. It is funny because I had been training with my dog as a partner. I did a handstand on one step then my dog did a handstand on another. If we fell we had to start all over again from the first floor. Sometimes it took us hours to get home, we would just get stuck between floors, and people passed us all the time wondering why would we need to walk home upside down?
Interviewer: Did you ever get impatient with yourself? If yes, then how did you deal with it?
Sidorova: I think trapeze is perfect for my personality. I define everything above trapeze and everything below like in life. The bar is the link because it is in space and that is what holds me there. I found in life we have the same: ying and yang, day and night, man and woman; it is these links and connections that keeps us alive. Trapeze is all about attraction to heaven and earth but it also can create conflict between two of them, like in a real life. I feel untouchable when I am there. It is like a perfect world. Trapeze gives you focus, control and a sense of freedom. Every second on trapeze is a challenge and when you are there you feel strength and grace.
Interviewer: What did it feel like when you finally got to practice on the trapeze?
Sidorova: I really followed my dream. Now I look back at myself and my journey and wow, I can’t believe it is me! I went all the way from a very small town in Siberia just under the age of 13 to Moscow on my own, where I found my coach at the famous Moscow Circus School When I saw him I understood he is the one who will teach me how to fly. But I had to prove myself. I followed him for almost two years before he realized nothing could stop me and the air is my place to be. Since that moment we became inseparable. I felt that I never wanted anything else in life, only the three of us.
Interviewer: What was trapeze like? Was the trapeze harder or easier than you imagined?
Sidorova: Yes and no. All I know is that trapeze was never for me just a bar or piece of metal. I talk to her like I would talk to the person who would hold me in life, who gives me breath. I wrote a diary. I wrote every time before my show started and after. Trapeze was my world
and space where I wanted to exist. I am Trapeze.
Interviewer: How did you go about training Dasha Vintilova, who became a trapeze artist in Cirque du Soleil?
Sidorova: I thought everyone who is up in the air must feel the same as me, as we share this magic world where there is so much space, a freedom that people on the ground could never experience. But everyone has their own reason to put themselves up in the air and I realized that only after I met Dasha. Some people want to travel, so circus is the perfect place. Some people can earn better money than in their home country, so circus is the perfect place. And some people fly because they cannot but fly and they belong in the air. So circus provides that too. Dasha originally was from Ukraine where there was no future for her, and also she grew out of her position in Saltimbanco, the Cirque du Soleil show, because it was for a small child. So she was looking for a new challenge. I saw potential in her and we started training. I did that for free while I performed 10 shows a week. She was young and ambitious but one thing she did not realize is that trapeze is hard and it takes years to be at that level. Dor some it may take all their life. I would be happy to give everything and pass my knowledge to my students, but they have to understand my vision and philosophy. I believe this philosophy applies not just for people who want to be aerial artists but also for everyone who wants to see things above the bar and succeed in any business.
Interviewer: Can you tell us about your relationship with Shana Carroll, who was the original solo trapezist in Saltimbanco?
Sidorova: I was very strong with athletic performance and doing tricks, but Shana taught me how to be a complete artist in the air, using choreography and emotion. This was hard to learn from traditional male coach, and working with Shana at the other end of my stage career really opened me up and inspired me to start my own aerial company, Dancing in the Air.
Interviewer: What was it like performing in front of an audience for the first time?
Sidorova: The first swinging trapeze performance I did was in Russia. Most artists love to perform in front of an audience, but not me. It took me years to fully share myself with the audience. I just could never understand why do I have to show myself to 2000 people. Only by the end of my career, when I was performing in Saltimbanco was I ready to share my wings with the audience. I think that is when I let go and became a real artist and felt free to share my gift with everyone around.
Interviewer: What about performing in Saltimbanco for the first time? Were you nervous?
Sidorova: No. Cirque du Soleil creates most acts specifically for their shows. But my coach and I had created a new technique on trapeze that had never been performed before, so I felt comfortable joining a new show.