FLYING LEAP OF FAITH CIRQUE DU SOLEIL SPRINGS INTO 'CORTEO'.

Byline: JIM FARBER

>LA.COM 

It's unlikely that two decades ago anyone passing by the big, bold blue-and-yellow tent set up in a downtown Los Angeles parking lot realized they were witnessing an empire in the making.

They may have guessed, correctly, that the circus was in town. But there wasn't a lion, a tiger, a bear or an elephant anywhere to be seen. And what was that odd name on the gaily fluttering streamers? Cirque du Soleil?

Today, of course, Cirque du Soleil is as familiar a name to circus-goers as Barnum and Bailey was to former generations, both for the fantastical touring productions presented under "the Grand Chapiteau" and its permanent spectaculars that dominate the Las Vegas Strip.

But prior to its arrival in Los Angeles in 1987, Cirque du Soleil was virtually unknown outside of Canada.

That's why, according to senior vice president Gilles Ste-Croix -- employing an apt circus metaphor -- the company decided it was time to take a flying leap of faith.

"Guy Laliberte (Cirque's founding director) was convinced if we could play in L.A., where there was so much more media coverage, it could open a market for Cirque du Soleil in the U.S.," said Ste-Croix, speaking from the company's headquarters in Montreal.

"Tom Schumacher (then artistic director of the L.A. Festival) told us, 'I can put you in the festival, but I won't give you any money.' And Guy believed in it so much, he said, 'OK. We will put all our money behind it and we'll get down there and we'll play.'

"The only thing he asked was that we be the opening act," Ste-Croix continued. "I think that made a big difference because opening the festival with a circus was a big surprise. After that we came every two years (to the Santa Monica Pier). And that gave us the opportunity to play Las Vegas."

Today, Cirque du Soleil's empire has grown from an initial staff of 73 (in 1984) to more than 3,000 employees worldwide, including almost 900 performers, representing 40 nationalities and speaking 25 different languages.

The company maintains six resident shows: "O," "Ka," "Mystere," "Zumanity" and "Love" in Las Vegas; and "La Nouba" in Orlando, Fla. At the same time, Cirque's international presence includes six touring productions: "Varekai," "Dralion," "Quidam," "Alegria," "Kooza" (yet to play Los Angeles) and "Corteo," which debuted in April 2005 and will celebrate its local premiere Thursday under the big top at the Forum in Inglewood.

As Ste-Croix recalled, when "Corteo's" principal creator/director Daniele Finzi Pasca and designer Jean Rabasse first presented their proposal, his response was, "You guys are crazy!" Their response: "You gave us the mandate to think different, outside the box."

"They had created this big apparatus that I thought we could possibly do in a theater, but not in the big top," Ste-Croix said. "It's a very theatrical presentation because you are facing the stage, but it's no longer round. It's a flat surface with passageways running left and right that split the big top in half, so half the audience is on one side of the stage and the other half is on the other. It's really not like any other Cirque du Soleil show."

According to Finzi Pasca (a 43-year-old former gymnast, clown, and director of Cirque Eloize and Teatro Sunil), "'Corteo' is inspired by the death and funeral of a clown. But, Finzi Pasca points out, "This is a clown from a time when clowns were not the stereotypes we know now, but were far more complex characters, as in the plays of Shakespeare.

"When Gilles asked me to create 'Corteo,' I tried to create a simple line to tell a complex story through movement instead of words," said Finzi Pasca, speaking from his home in Lugano, Switzerland.

"My idea was to present a circus, but from a new perspective with at least one new act that would make the audience say, 'Oh, I've never seen anything like that before!' "

Jim Farber [phone], Ext. 416;

[e-mail]

CORTEO

>When: Opens at 8 p.m. Thursday and plays at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 4 and 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 1 and 5 p.m. Sundays, through Sept. 23. Moves to Orange County on Nov. 8.

>Where: The Forum parking lot, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood. Orange County Fair Grounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.

>Tickets: $55 to $90 general; $38.50 to $63 children 2-12; $49 to $81 students and seniors (Tuesday through Thursday and 4 p.m. Friday). VIP package (includes access to the VIP suite before the show and during intermission): $210, $147 for children.

>Information: [phone] or www.cirquedusoleil.com.

CAPTION(S):

7 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) flight of fancy

Cirque du Soleil's 'Corteo' arrives

Photo illustration

(2 -- 7) Cirque du Soleil's new production, "Corteo," represents the dying reflections of an old circus clown, with dreamlike experiences; delightful recollections of his circus colleagues, including jugglers and clowns; and fond memories of his lovers. "Corteo" -- Italian for cortege -- includes several aerial acts, a dancing marionette, a playful trampoline routine on brass beds and a dazzling high-bar act involving a team of gymnasts.