STILL FLYING HIGH NEW ACROBATICS AND NEW FACES IN THE WORLD OF CIRQUE DU SOLEIL.

Byline: Alessandra Djurklou Staff Writer

In a society where each entertainment is expected to be louder, more eye-popping and envelope-pushing than the next, it can be difficult for even the most lavish spectacle not to fade with age.

That is the biggest obstacle that faces Cirque du Soleil's "Quidam," which has been touring for 10 years. The show, which opened Thursday, is at the Queen Mary for a monthlong stay. For the artists involved, though, that is a welcome challenge.

"We've seen it grow and evolve," artistic coordinator Marie-Helene Gagnon said of the show, which she has overseen for three years. "We know we need to move it, we know we need to make it more exciting."

And that's not just because of all the other entertainment out there, but because "Quidam" is competing with 10 other Cirque shows, including five touring shows and five resident shows (four of which are on the Strip in Las Vegas).

Cirque du Soleil (Circus of the Sun) was founded in Quebec 22 years ago by an accordionist, stilt-walker and fire-eater named Guy LaLiberte. Unlike other circuses, LaLiberte's troupe had no animal acts, relying entirely on acrobatics and other physical feats blended with original music, singing, characters and usually a wisp of a plot line.

"Quidam" was the company's fourth touring show, and has been a hit nationally and internationally. The conceit for the show is that a "quidam" (pronounced key-dam) is the anonymous Everyman, the lost person in the crowd, disconnected from the rest. A little girl named Zoe feels like such a lost person, disconnected from her family and her world. With the help of a magical ringmaster, though, she gets a glimpse of how wondrous the world can be, whether it is good or bad.

The circus acts are part of her journey, and include swings, aerial hoops, balancing acts, contortions with silk, skipping ropes and spools with strings.

Those who saw the show when it last came to Southern California in 1997 shouldn't notice any jarring changes, Gagnon said, adding however that she feels that, as the show ages, it gets tighter and more professional. And while there are a few performers who have been with "Quidam" since its inception, the show gets constant transfusions of new talent.

Circus performers, she said, often have a longer career than, say, Olympians. But some of the acts require artists of a certain age. The most obvious is the Diabolo act, where four young girls balance spools on ropes while doing acrobatics.

The act is Chinese in origin, and Cirque has a contract with a circus in China for four performers a year, Gagnon said. The girls, who are Chinese citizens between 10 and 13 years old, get a one-year work visa to travel with Cirque, accompanied by chaperones and tutors. Once the year is up, they go home.

Other acts are more stable, though artists often rotate from one to another.

One such artist is Anne Venizelos, who started her career in "Quidam's" aerial hoops number, which has three young women doing trapeze-style exercises on hoops.

Recently, Venizelos, 27, took over the aerial contortion in silk, where she does various exercises high above the ground, with no net, supported only by two long strips of silky fabric that she has to twine around herself just right, or risk falling.

"I was afraid of heights," said Venizelos. "But I was able to overcome it."

Venizelos grew up in Greece, but then moved with her family to New York. She first encountered Cirque du Soleil when watching "Quidam" on HBO. For someone who had always had an interest in acrobatics and contortion (Venizelos has studied gymnastics and taught yoga), it was the impetus to run away to the circus.

Four years of circus training later, she was hired by Cirque, where she has been for two years. Her initial decision was a bit of a shock to her family.

"It was a totally insane idea," she said. "My family is by no means a circus family. They're bankers."

And there were still shocks to come.

"My younger sister does the exact same thing I do; she's an aerial contortionist (though not with Cirque)," Venizelos said, adding that the sisters have been considering developing an act together in the future.

Family acts, whether siblings or couples, aren't unusual in the Cirque du Soleil community, Gagnon said.

"Last year, we had a double wedding," she said. "It stabilizes the show." After its Long Beach run, "Quidam" returns to Canada for further refurbishment before going back on tour in the U.S.

Without constant polishing, even the brightest gem may lose its luster.

QUIDAM

Where: The Big Top next to the Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 4 and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday; through April 9.

Tickets: $45 to $80. Information: [phone], www.cirquedusoleil.com.

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Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- color) no caption (Quidam)

Stephen Carr/Staff Photographer