AD 2016 Q2

RESEARCH, EDUCATION & MEDICINE
ADVANCED DIVING
Empowering a Spectacle
By Robert Soncini
Cirque du Soleil’s O is a
performance like no other.
Its stage is a 25-foot-deep
pool, and its artists require
carefully choreographed
assistance from a team of 14
divers throughout the show.
It is 6:30 p.m. in Las Vegas, Nev. In a small
office at the Bellagio Resort and Casino, the
dive plan is called into action: “… Jorge as
Philemon, Anja as Aurora, Benedict as Le
Vieux … duo trapeze with the Alimovas … 15
artists in Barge ….” This is not a typical dive
plan. At this briefing, members of the aquatics team are
discussing the lineup for tonight’s performances of O
by Cirque du Soleil. Meanwhile, 1,800 guests are filing
into the theatre to witness the spectacle.
For more than 8,000 shows, the team of divers,
known as artist handlers, has functioned as the show’s
safety divers, trained its staff
and given support behind the
scenes and beneath the surface
of “the stage” The stage is a
1.5-million-gallon, 25-foot-deep
pool that is heated to 87°F and
equipped with seven hydraulic
lifts that allow the performance
to take place anywhere from 18
inches above the surface to 17
feet below.
During each show 14 divers
work in perfect synchronization
— according to their own
choreography — with what is
happening on stage. They rely
on guidance from “the crow’s nest,” a console 45 feet
above the stage, in which a member of the aquatics team
monitors six carpenter divers and two rigger divers.
These divers are responsible for prop manipulation and
scene set up and teardown, all of which they do while on
scuba. Four other members of the aquatics team focus
on supporting the artists by providing them air and
swimming them to and from various places in the pool,
which is integral to the theatre magic.
Two aquatics team members wear full-face masks
and function as “divecomms.” These divers are in
direct contact with the crow’s nest via hardwired
communications — they observe firsthand what
is occurring underwater and report any delays or
maintenance needs to the crow’s nest. In the crow’s
nest, the operator monitors seven closed-circuit
television screens that show different views of the
stage both above and below the water. The crow’s nest
monitors the status of the pool and communicates with
stage management about when it is safe to take the
next cue to keep the show moving forward. Between
artists and technicians, it takes nearly 200 people to
put on the production that is O.
Though the name of the show is simple (O is the
phonetic pronunciation of the French word for water,
eau), the production is anything but. Before the show’s
creation in 1997, there was no precedent for such a
performance. The creators literally wrote the book that
laid the foundation for this sort of production, and other
shows around the world have since been modeled after
O. The technical team is well
versed in stagecraft, having
worked on other shows in Las
Vegas and around the world, but
the aquatics team is unique to O.
The aquatics team, which
is made up of divemasters
and instructors with diverse
experiences and backgrounds,
includes recreational scuba
professionals, engineers,
commercial divers, search and
rescue divers, boat captains and
cruise ship workers.
The artist handlers’ job is
quite different from that of a
traditional stagehand. First and foremost, these divers
focus on safety. The entire production team is proud
of the show’s safety record. Aquatics team members
frequently rehearse rescue procedures, emergency
responses and contingency plans. Each team member
completes a custom lifeguard training program as
well as an American Red Cross Emergency Medical
Response course. Aquatics team members also provide
scuba training for their colleagues when the show
requires it, training technicians as rescue divers and
artists as basic confined-water divers. They also train
the technicians in DAN’s Emergency Oxygen for Scuba
Diving Injuries course.
The artist handlers’ diving rig is truly unique. Each
diver has four second stages attached to the first stage:
one for him or her and three to hand to artists as needed.
In the pool, an additional 35 regulators are connected to a
hookah system that artists can swim to and breathe from
COURTESY CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
44 | SPRING 2016