Latest news with #JamiesonLindenberg
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Coming full circle for the artistic director of Cirque du Soleil's Kooza
I WAS BORN IN St Petersburg, Florida, in 1984. My mum called me Mr Sparkles or Mr Showman. I was always putting on a show. I was always entertaining whoever was around. I definitely had something. That's why I think they encouraged me to go into theatre. There was just something a little different. They recognised something special. Advertisement NO ONE KNEW I could sing until I was probably nine or 10. When they heard me sing in the school choir, that was when it turned into 'put him in lessons and let's help facilitate that as much as we can'. Jamieson Lindenberg in his youth. Photo: courtesy Jamieson Lindenberg I STUDIED AT A performing-arts high school for theatre and dance. My core education and training vocally as an artist was in this conservatory as a young adult. That is where A performing-arts high school for theatre and dance. My core education and training vocally as an artist was in this conservatory as a young adult. That is where Cirque du Soleil came to recruit ushers. We did an interview and they offered me a position as an usher for a show called Quidam that was playing at the Tropicana Field (in St Petersburg). That was my first job. I was 15. I'D NEVER HEARD OF Cirque du Soleil, but I was absolutely blown away by what I was seeing. I was studying theatre, so it was quite a contrast to Broadway, which is what I went on to do. Jamieson Lindenberg (right) at a singing competition in Florida when he was 14. Photo: courtesy Jamieson Lindenberg I BROKE SOME OF the rules – I was very late to work as a 15-year-old high-school student is – and I was let go. I was disappointed, but didn't even think about Cirque or that I could ever perform or be involved in that capacity because I finished school for theatre.
South China Morning Post
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong first stop on Cirque do Soleil's Kooza Asia tour
Seven years since it last came to town, Cirque du Soleil's Kooza is returning to Hong Kong from May 21 to June 22. This marks the first stop of the troupe's Asia tour, bringing its signature Big Top tent to the Central Harbourfront Event Space with a 54-strong cast from around the world. Advertisement Premiered in 2007, Kooza was written and directed by American clown David Shiner. Unlike Cirque's more abstract shows, the show leans into the traditions of classic circus, with plenty of slapstick humour. There are clowns, acrobats and a live six-piece band playing an original score by Jean-François Côté drawing on jazz, funk and Western pop alongside traditional Indian music. At Kooza's core is a story about the Innocent, a naive dreamer in search of meaning who stumbles into a surreal world populated by comedic characters including the King, the Trickster, the Clowns and the playful Mad Dog. It's a world brought to life through elaborate costumes created by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt and a fantastical set designed by Stéphane Roy. Cirque du Soleil performers on a high wire during the Kooza show. Photo: Jocelyn Tam 'Kooza is about the human experience,' says artistic director Jamieson Lindenberg. 'It's about duality, the good, the bad, yin yang, the things that make us all complete. It explores all kinds of tones, from innocence to death, scary, exciting. 'It's meant to evoke the senses. It's meant to provoke ideas. It's got a huge heart.' But in many ways, the narrative is secondary. It's the physical feats, from the twin high-wire act, contortionists and gravity-defying teeterboard artists to the fearless duo on the Wheel of Death, that are the main attraction. You'll find yourself holding your breath as an artist climbs a seven-metre tower of chairs only to balance one-handed on top, or acrobats propel each other through the air with their feet in the Icarian Games. A circular stage with 260-degree sight lines means it's hard to find a bad seat in the house. Advertisement 'My job as an artistic director is to continue to evolve the shows, and not just artistically, but with how society evolves as well,' says Lindenberg. Still, he assures us there will be 'the sparkle and the incredible acrobatics that we are known for. That is still the same and at the heart of Kooza'.
