Adrienn Banhegyi (right) brings 20 years of professional rope jumping artistry to Cirque du Soleil's "Quidam," performing June 6 to 9, 2013, at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids. (Cirque du Soleil website photo)
CEDAR RAPIDS — The aerialists will spin and float among the rafters. Other artists will have their feet on the ground — sort of.
Adrienn Banhegyi (pronounced “bahn/edgy”) stands on the cutting edge of rope jumping. She gave area media reps and VIPS a sneak peek today (5/21/13) at the fancy footwork that raises her athletic artistry light-years above the playground and into the realm of Cirque du Soleil’s elite performers.
She and her super troupe will bring Cirque’s “Quidam” extravaganza from June 6 to 9 at the renovated U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids.
The details
- Cirque du Soleil presents “Quidam”
- June 6 to 9, 2013; various times
- U.S. Cellular Center, 370 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids
- Tickets: $40 to $90 adults; $36 to $81 military, seniors and students; $32 to $72 ages 12 and under
- Tickets available at the U.S. Cellular Center Box Office, Cedar Rapids Ice Arena Box Office, 1-(800) 745-3000 or Ticketmaster.com
- Information: Uscellularcenter.com
- Artist’s website: Cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/quidam/default.aspx
We’ve been dazzled by Cirque’s shows before: “Alegria” in March 2010 and “Saltimbanco” in April 2008.
“Saltimbanco” — my first Cirque experience — left me breathless: “If you enter this world … be prepared to buy a pop and hold your breath,” I wrote in my 2008 review. “You’ll need the pop to soothe your throat from all the cheering and gasping, and you won’t be able to breathe through all of Act 2. … This is the best circus you’ll ever see. And perhaps the most spectacular show of any kind you’ll ever see.”
I also called it “the hottest ticket that’s ever been in town.” I was right. That show remains the highest grossing ticket-sales event in the Cell Center’s history.
I was equally dazzled by “Alegria” in 2010: “All of the feats are amazing, from the sheer power of the hand balancing and the fluid finesse of the contortionists to the dizzying whirl of the performer spinning around the stage in a giant silver wheel. But it’s the death-defying acts that stir you to the very core,” I wrote in my review. “… Behind all this action are magnificent musicians and singers, joining forces with all the other elements to create a circus to the maximus.”
I have high expectations for “Quidam,” as well. The producers say it “pays tribute to individuality; to the uniqueness of each human being. It relates the story of a young girl who feels ignored by her parents. To escape her reality, she slides into an imaginary world where she meets characters who help her discover her true personality.”
Those characters include aerialists, acrobats, trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, world-class street performers and niche skill artists like Banhegyi, 29, who has been skipping rope at a high level since age 9.
Her father, a physical education teacher and professional soccer player in her native Hungary, saw a film featuring double-dutch jumping and thought it would be a good way to build balance and muscle control for his students with special needs. He encouraged both of his daughters to get involved, as well.
“First, it was just a family activity to work on our coordination and conditioning a little bit, then we found out that there is a federation not only in Hungary, but also internationally, for jump rope, and then we started to attend competitions,” she says.
When federation officials found out Cirque was looking for professional jump rope artists, they emailed Banhegyi, encouraging her to hop onboard. So about 8 years ago, she sent in an audition video to Cirque’s headquarters in Montreal. She and her sister were invited to a formal audition in France, to demonstrate their flexibility, strength and skipping routine.
About 3 1/2 years ago, Banhegyi was offered a performance contract and joined a Cirque show in New York, then moved to the “Quidam” cast in April 2011. She is one of two solo jumpers, who also join forces with other artists to create the group rope jumping segments of the show.
“We have the pleasure to work with the acrobats and incorporate them into our jump rope act,” she says. “You can see all sorts of variations, combined with acrobatics, speed manipulation, long rope, double-dutch, single rope, so it’s a whole different level. It’s just playground — what you can actually see in the real life, but at a very professional level.”
And in a colorful velvety costume and stylized makeup that takes her 45 minutes to apply.
She and the “Quidam” troupe tour year-round, taking two-week breaks every 10 to 12 weeks. She’s now based in Prague, and is looking forward to checking out Czech Village during her Cedar Rapids stay.
Being part of a traveling troupe is “an interesting life,” she says. “There are challenges, but most of the time, it is fun.”
She enjoys her fellow artists and is hoping to stay with Cirque as long as her body allows. She also enjoys sharing her artistry with the children she meets along the way.
“It’s a nice inspiration for them to see how much more you can get out of it,” she says. “Probably they go home and grab a jump rope and try a couple of the tricks that they saw.”
Related: Cirque Du Soliel coming to Cedar Rapids
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