CONGRATULATIONS to The Cast and Crew of Milton High School on their Outstanding Cirque du Soleil Performances

Of a hundred people you survey on the street, I have to be among the few who had not been to, or seen in its entirety, a Cirque du Soleil performance. Until, that is, I saw Cirque Avontuur, a production of Milton High School -- a school known for its theater programs, and one from which my granddaughter will graduate this year. Milton High School is in Alpharetta, Georgia. The high school's plays and musicals have won "first in state" for the last four years. My granddaughter, Tori, has four rings to show for her work on stage lighting the shows.

About Cirque du Soleil.

Cirque du Soleil is the largest theatrical producer in the world. Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix.

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They toured Quebec as a performing troupe, but encountered financial problems until they received a government grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. Laliberté hired Guy Caron from the National Circus School to re-create it as a proper circus. Its character-driven approach and the absence of performing animals define Cirque du Soleil as a contemporary circus.

Each show has its own theme and storyline. Shows have continuous live music, with performers rather than stagehands changing the props.

Milton High School's Cirque Avontuur.

Cirque Avontuur at Milton High School

 

Cirque Avontuur, is an upbeat adventure based on the decisions, or lack of decisions, that we make in life and how those moments render our outcomes. Doorways of all shapes and sizes will serve as a symbol of the entrances and exits that we make as we take departures along our individual journeys.




Milton High School's Cirque Ravstava.

 

The Milton Cirque shows are unique pieces of theatre, and have proven popular with audiences like the sold-out Cirque Ravstava.

Milton is the only public high school in the country with a cirque program as a part of the regular theater curriculum. The audition-only class of over 60 students attracts students with various athletic and specialized skills like tumbling and dance. Cast members also train on various apparatus including the Cyr wheel and silks, and often train with some cirque professionals that travel to the school to work with them on mastering specific skills.

 The young men and women in the Milton Theatrical Program work tirelessly to perfect their art, and I congratulate them for improving on their talents. May they go on to whatever success they dream for themselves.

Gerrie Ferris Finger
Running with Wild Blood