The making of expert performers at Cirque du Soleil and the National Circus School: A performance enhancement outlook

Filho, Edson; Aubertin, Patrice; Petiot, Bernard

doi:10.1080/21520704.2016.1138266

Cited by 14 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Informed by empirical work and applied intervention done within the circus context (e.g., Ménard and Hallé, 2014 ; Burtt and Lavers, 2017 ), CfD presents a continuum of competencies to be developed through and for circus artists’ optimal growth from novice to expert. Namely, it integrates four key attributes that have been shown to contribute to artists’ performance and wellbeing, including physical attributes ( Decker et al, 2019 ; Kriellaars et al, 2019 ; Barker et al, 2020 ), psychological attributes ( Shrier and Hallé, 2011 ; Filho et al, 2016 ; Ross and Shapiro, 2017 ; Donohue et al, 2018 ; van Rens and Filho, 2019 ), interpersonal and social attributes ( Filho et al, 2017 ; Filho and Rettig, 2018 ), and creative attributes ( Leroux and Batson, 2016 ). These four attributes will inform the learning domains of the intervention delivered to students to ensure that their holistic development and wellness are addressed.…”

Section: Methods and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since circus arts exemplifies a truly embodied cognition context, a holistic approach is required to simultaneously address cognitive, affective and performance demands ( Rokotnitz, 2018 ). There is currently no research examining holistic health interventions in circus students and limited evidence in performance artists in general; however, leaders in the field argue that integrating interventions supporting coping, resilience, and creativity as part of the circus school curriculum is key to optimize artists’ wellbeing ( Ménard and Hallé, 2014 ; Filho et al, 2016 ; Burtt and Lavers, 2017 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supporting Holistic Wellbeing for Performing Artists During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Recovery: Study Protocol

et al. 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the abrupt closure of circus schools, venues, and companies, introducing a myriad of novel stressors. Performers and students must now attempt to maintain their technical, physical, artistic, creative, and cognitive abilities without in-person support from their coaches and must manage the isolation from their training and performing spaces. For circus artists, the transposition of the work space to a home environment is not possible, which creates novel stressors that could lead to the exacerbation and escalation of mental health issues. The purpose of this study is to develop, implement and evaluate a holistic interventional program based on the socio-ecological model of resilience and operationalized through physical literacy. This will be a prospective longitudinal study with a retrospective comparison to data from a similar student cohort pre-pandemic. Interventions were designed using a population-specific, participant-based developmental model within a knowledge translation framework. The interventional program includes group webinars, small group information sessions, and one-on-one Zoom meetings, in addition to the distribution of electronic educational materials. The interventions will holistically provide psychological, physical, social, technical, artistic, and creative supports. Resources will be deployed throughout the closure period and through recovery, as transitions to return to training after prolonged hiatus will magnify known psychological and physical difficulties. Repeated, longitudinal assessment of students will be utilized to track changes over time at key transitions in the pandemic and school year and will be compared to a pre-pandemic school year. The framework for this program will be translatable to other performing arts and high-performance contexts. The program has implications for the mental health and overall wellbeing of artists and for cultural and economic recovery of the industry.

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Section: Methods and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting Holistic Wellbeing for Performing Artists During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Recovery: Study Protocol

et al. 2021

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“…21 Hence, providing an emotionally safe environment is paramount in supporting the creative growth and performance of the performers. 22 In this regard, researchers have found that emotional regulation is integral to performing artist success and that it can reduce the occurrence of accidents and near misses in contemporary circus arts. 22,23 It is thus essential for practitioners to address the emotional experiences of a significant event to help artists recognize, understand, label, express, and regulate emotional content attached to the experience.…”

Section: Psychological Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…22 In this regard, researchers have found that emotional regulation is integral to performing artist success and that it can reduce the occurrence of accidents and near misses in contemporary circus arts. 22,23 It is thus essential for practitioners to address the emotional experiences of a significant event to help artists recognize, understand, label, express, and regulate emotional content attached to the experience. Active listening where the practitioner expresses curiosity by asking questions rather than making judgements can be a powerful tool.…”

Section: Psychological Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considerations for the Medical Management of the Circus Performance Artist and Acrobat

Faltus

Richard

2022

International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy

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Medical management of the circus performer encompasses a wide variety of multicultural, transdisciplinary and multifaceted decision-making considerations. There is a paucity of research evidence investigating both the unique diversity of skill sets and cultural considerations in addition to injury patterns of performers within the circus environment. Since a previously established framework for supporting the health and well-being of the circus performer across various aspects of medical management does not exist in the literature, most recommendations in this regard must come from practical experience working with this highly specialized performance athlete population. The purpose of this clinical commentary is to provide the reader with a greater understanding of the unique challenges associated with the medical management of performance artists and acrobats as well as recommendations for developing an integrated approach for mitigating injury risk within a highly specialized, diverse athlete population. Level of Evidence 5

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“…The school is geared towards high-performing circus artists in their later stages of development (see Bloom, 1985). Performers come to the school from around the world and the school is renowned for developing world-class circus artists who desire jobs in premier circus companies, such as Cirque du Soleil (Filho, Aubertin, & Petiot, 2016). This sampling strategy is consistent with the importance of targeting "informationrich cases" in qualitative inquiry (see Patton, 2002).…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Team coordination in high-risk circus acrobatics

Filho¹,

Rettig

2018

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To advance understanding of the mechanisms allowing for team coordination (TC) in complex motor actions, we conducted a qualitative study with eight elite hand-to-hand circus acrobats. Data collection consisted of field observations, an open-ended interview with the participants’ head coach, and focus group interviews with all acrobats. Data analysis yielded three higher order themes: TC, collective efficacy (CE), and TC-CE linkage. Teammates’ shared and complementary mental models, as well as implicit and explicit communication dynamics, emerged as formative sub-themes of TC; self-efficacy and other’s-efficacy emerged as reflective sub-themes of CE. Our findings also suggest that TC is likely inter-related to CE in a systemic fashion. Practitioners should encourage the development of both shared and complementary models of thinking, while promoting verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Finally, increasing teammates’ confidence in themselves and in their teammates can help in the development of CE as well as the enhancement of TC.

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The making of expert performers at Cirque du Soleil and the National Circus School: A performance enhancement outlook

Abstract: 32In this paper, an applied analysis of the psychological processes and skills necessary for

Cited by 14 publications

References 24 publications

Supporting Holistic Wellbeing for Performing Artists During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Recovery: Study Protocol

Supporting Holistic Wellbeing for Performing Artists During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Recovery: Study Protocol

Considerations for the Medical Management of the Circus Performance Artist and Acrobat

Team coordination in high-risk circus acrobatics

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