"Cirque du Soleil changed the concept of traditional circus making it more spectacular and giving it a story"

 

When Filippo Di Stefano was barely 18, Cirque du Soleil came to his native Milan for a tour of its show and his life changed forever. He did not come from a circus family but that show spoke to him. He left his personal details on a promotional leaflet asking them to call him if there was a vacancy. It was a temporary job but the call came and Filippo joined this big family and worked with them until 2011. Paradoxically, in Cirque du Soleil he only had managerial responsibilities and it was when he left that he began his own career as an aerial acrobat. Today he travels around the world with his show and is about to complete the Bachelor's Degree in Communication at the UOC.

 

 

When Filippo Di Stefano was barely 18, Cirque du Soleil came to his native Milan for a tour of its show and his life changed forever. He did not come from a circus family but that show spoke to him. He left his personal details on a promotional leaflet asking them to call him if there was a vacancy. It was a temporary job but the call came and Filippo joined this big family and worked with them until 2011. Paradoxically, in Cirque du Soleil he only had managerial responsibilities and it was when he left that he began his own career as an aerial acrobat. Today he travels around the world with his show and is about to complete the Bachelor's Degree in Communication at the UOC.

 

From an early age I had loved circus shows but, curiously, I began in the world of circus by working in administration and management. In 2006 I left my personal details to see if an opportunity came up because I thought it would be an interesting experience. I began working as an usher and until 2011 I was only involved in organizational aspects: production, ticket sales, public relations, management of the VIP tent, stage manager, etc. In 2011 I completed a final tour and stayed in Spain. It is here where another period began: my work as an acrobat. Just for fun, I began a course in aerial acrobatics, which had always attracted me. I realized that I was good at it and I am still here with my own show.

I worked in Cirque du Soleil from 2006 to 2011. We were constantly touring Europe, and Spain was one of the main markets. Until 2011 I travelled a lot all over the country, and began to make friends here and adapt to the Spanish way of life. And I am still here. In any case, it is not necessarily definitive. I enrolled at the UOC because it offered me the opportunity to move around.

Through a temporary employment agency based in Milan. I was not looking for a job but I was registered on its website, in one of these clubs they use to create a database. At that time, Cirque du Soleil offered the possibility of working with them if they happened to be in the city. I was barely 18 and had not sat the university entrance exams but I got an offer and I thought it was a great job opportunity. I began as an usher and my supervisor, from the Canary Islands, soon offered me a position as his assistant. I accepted and began to work full time and spent years dealing with different aspects of the show.

It is a city. At that time the shows toured in tents and every 6 or 8 weeks we changed city, always in Europe and sleeping in hotels or flats. We had a fully equipped space to work in each city: offices, dining room, a school for the performers' children, changing rooms and tents to train in. They were big spaces but always well-organized so that from one city to another it was quite similar and we felt at home. The team comprised around 50 performers and another 100 or 120 people including technicians, production staff and performers' relatives.

It depended on the tour. On some tours, if there were lots of performers' relatives, we did not do so much together. You should also bear in mind that, although almost everybody spoke English, there might also be a language barrier with some people. On Sundays there were parties to relax before the rest day, which was usually Monday and Tuesday. It is a special job and life because you live with your work colleagues. It is tough and in many aspects life is complicated. You see lots of places but you are a long way from your home, family and friends, and in some places you ask yourself very basic questions: where can I buy a certain product, where can I go to the doctor, I need a dentist, things like that, although I must admit that the management was very helpful. I must say that traditional circus families cope better with this pace of life. For instance, people who came from the world of gymnastics would work for a while and then preferred to have a normal life.

I would say that it changed the concept of traditional circus making it more spectacular and giving it a story. They used many traditional acts but with lighting effects, make-up, costumes and a story. This made it a great success in the 1990s and 2000s. I remember coming to Spain for a tour and on many occasions it was sold out even before we set foot in the country. Today it is different. Cirque du Soleil itself saturated the market a little with its shows and they are working on creating something new, developing very different productions. It is interesting: in traditional circus there were only circus acts, now there is theatre, music, dance, art and entertainment.

I found out about it online. I was looking for something but I did not know if I wanted to continue living in Madrid. I was interested in starting a career, having a degree. I looked at options online, discovered the UOC and the enrolment process was very quick and simple. I must admit that this simplicity was a bonus when deciding. As for my job, it is something that I know is temporary and will not be forever. This is why I decided some time ago to study something, to continue in the sector but to acquire complete training to be able to move around and change. I had the chance to see the organizational aspects of a big show, I was able to manage teams of people and I saw how to move such a big city with all the logistics involved. And I was only 20. Now I am interested in complementing it with a more academic training. I see that people increasingly have more complete and multidisciplinary experience and this gives you an advantage for moving around within the sector. Current conditions mean that we must constantly retrain and change the tasks we perform, if not the job itself.