CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, BURNING BRIGHT : WITH `QUIDAM,' THE ARTFUL CIRCUS ADDS YET ANOTHER REALM TO ITS GLOBAL EMPIRE.

Byline: Janet Weeks Daily News Staff Writer

Add a French accent (OK, French-Canadian) to a guy explaining the difference between allegory and surrealism and the meaning of certain Latin phrases and - voila! - you've got the recipe for Instant Pretension.

Right?

Not really. In fact, despite his penchant for dead languages and deep discussions, Gilles Ste-Croix, artistic director of the phenomenally popular Cirque du Soleil, is not smug in the least.

After all, he's a former stilt-walking fire-eater from the streets of Montreal who never bothered to have the gap between his front teeth corrected.

He just sounds a little hoity-toity because he has a lot to boast about.

Since its founding in Quebec 12 years ago, Cirque has become one of the most successful performing arts franchises on the planet. The U.S. opening of Cirque's ninth and latest show, ``Quidam,'' takes place Wednesday at the Santa Monica Pier. A celebrity-studded premiere follows on Thursday.

A brief explanation for the uninitiated who may think Cirque du Soleil has something to do with suntan lotion: Translated as ``Sunshine Circus,'' Cirque du Soleil is an artfully staged, orchestrated and performed showcase of international acrobats, contortionists, clowns and high-flying aerialists.

And these days, it's more.

Cirque is also a global empire, with four shows running simultaneously on three continents and plans in the works for three permanent theaters, including an aquatic arena in Las Vegas. To keep up with its rapid growth, Cirque is also building a $30 million headquarters complex in Montreal to house its 350 permanent employees.

As its very first performer, Ste-Croix has been instrumental in Cirque's blossoming from a cultish art-crowd thing to a mainstream hit with a line of merchandising that would do Disney proud.

The key to the company's success, he says, is constant evolution. No two shows are alike, although each is based on acrobatics.

For instance, ``Quidam'' (a Latin word meaning ``stranger'') departs from its predecessors in that it's the first Cirque show set in reality, says Ste-Croix.

Other shows, which have been produced every two years since 1984, have been set in the world of allegory and fantasy.

`` `Quidam' is totally different from what we've presented up to now,'' he says. ``The show rests on acrobatics still, and our glitter is there. But the theatrical play and emotional setup is different. It's more based on the street.''

The idea came from a discussion of the coming end of the century, he says.

``We try to feel where the world is at and where we are at in the world,'' he says of Cirque's creative decisions. ``We are at the end of the millennium and have the possibility to communicate with anyone, but we are more individually isolated.

``We don't know our neighbors, but we can speak with people in Russia with our computers. That's the paradox we're living.''

More than 50 performers, ranging in age from 11 to 45, make up the cast of ``Quidam.'' Hailing from such far-flung places as the former Soviet Union, China, Europe and Indiana, the performers include experts in aerial hoops, skipping ropes, ``Spanish webs'' (overhead ropes), trapeze, hand balancing, juggling and spinning.

Original music has been composed by Benoit Jutras and will include singing by 12-year-old Audrey Brisson-Jutras, the composer's daughter.

And while Ste-Croix stresses the importance of each show's theme, the reality for Cirque is that it probably could pick any old motif and still sell seats. Tickets for the Santa Monica run - which is deliberately open-ended - are selling at a clip of about 2,000 a day.

Many of those ticket buyers are repeat customers, part of Cirque's enormously loyal following.

When asked what percentage of the Canadian-based circus' audience of 10 million worldwide are returnees to the big top, Ste-Croix says: ``There are probably 100 who don't come back.''

He's exaggerating, sure, but not by much. Cirque du Soleil could be called ``Club du Soleil,'' and its audience might just as well be members.

One such admirer is ``Jeopardy!'' host Alex Trebek, a Canada native who has seen several Cirque productions.

``The great thing about the Cirque is that they come up with a new concept every time, so you're not going back to see the same show.''

Trebek is co-hosting a one-hour live celebration of Cirque's star-studded premiere for KCOP (Channel 13). The show airs at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Clearly pleased with the success of his home-country fellows, Trebek says Cirque could not have originated in the United States because bottom-line financial concerns would have killed it.

``One of the advantages that Canada has is the duality of the culture - English and French with a great deal of European influence thrown in. As a result, they are capable of experimenting without worrying about attracting the monster audiences that Americans concern themselves with. In French Canada, they say `Hey, let's put together a good show and, hey, we might even make a buck.' ''

Ste-Croix agrees. He says he studied architecture in college, but decided he was ``missing the point of my life'' and turned down the high-money career to pursue the life of a street performer. He ended up a fire-breather, stilt-walker and slack-rope climber.

``You smell like an old engine for a couple of days,'' he says of fire-eating. ``Sure, it was not big money, but it was a very satisfying experience.''

In fact, the success of Cirque worries Ste-Croix. Can the company keep its artistic integrity while juggling four shows and building theaters in Berlin and Las Vegas?

``It's difficult,'' he says. ``I was a half-hour late because I was on the phone with Montreal dealing with problems. (Growth) might weaken our strength. When there was only one show, and we had two years to create a new one, it was easy. I don't have so much time now.''

But he says fears that the show has suffered are unfounded. For the most part, success has only attracted more interesting acts and pushed the quality level higher. Cirque auditions routinely attract 400 performers or more, from which the company chooses perhaps 10, he says.

It's that devotion to the truly talented that keeps legal secretary Rob Briner of Santa Monica coming back to Cirque. He's missed only two productions in the last 12 years.

``People return because they know it's going to be a great show,'' Briner says. ``Cirque succeeds in creating an intimate, unique environment. They incorporate everything into a theatrical theme. They use color and sounds and lights and movement. It's a combination of circus and theater.''

Briner says he also looks forward to Cirque's humor, an element of the show sometimes eclipsed by the flashier acrobatics.

``They have an ethos of creativity and spunk and attitude and sassiness. They incorporate a lot of personality into the show. They say `I'm going to tweak your nose and make fun of you,' and you find yourself laughing along.''

THE FACTS

What: Cirque du Soleil's ``Quidam.''

Where: Santa Monica Pier.

When: The show opens Wednesday and runs through Nov. 3, likely extending beyond that. 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 6 and 9:30 p.m. Fridays; 4:30 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; 1 and 5 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets: Adult tickets range from $45.50 to $16.50; children's seats range from $31.75 to $8.25. Available at all Admission Outlets (inside Tempo Music and Video stores) or by calling [phone].

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) Balancing act

Cirque du Soleil juggles success with a changing artistic vision in its new show, `Quidam'

(2) ``Quidam,'' Cirque du Soleil's ninth show, features the troupe's many acrobatic mainstays, including elevated hand balancing.

(3) Aerial acts - including this aerial hoop act - will return in Cirque's new show at the Santa Monica Pier.