John Maxson, Cirque du Soleil performer, on coaching new team members:
“The process can change based on the individual. Really, you break [an act] down to its absolute basics of what we do, and build on it and build on it. Depending on how they react, you either go a little faster or a little slower, but we always base it on the artist coming in and how they feel and their safety, and keep progressing until we’re ready for the show.”
“I perform along with [performers I’ve coached] every day. I’m coaching, but I’m also performing… I train with them on training days and perform every show with them.”
“We have them fill out a goal sheet. ‘What skills would you like to learn?’ Then, I take that and I add what I think they should learn or could learn, and we share that. As they learn different tricks and different skills, we check it off the list. Sometime you check one off and say, ‘Oh! That made me think of another.’ So you add another and another and you just keep growing.”
On whether he prefers coaching or performing:
“They both have their rewards. I like helping other people succeed, and the coaching side of that is where I can get that from. And then, I like to play and have fun and try things myself. One is more helping someone else succeed in their own life, and one is more for me.”
On how his seasoned mindset might compare or differ from that of a new performer:
“When you’re first learning, you’re thinking, ‘Where’s my knee, my hips, my ankles, my shoulders’ [as you’re] finding that balance. When I do something and it doesn’t feel right, I know where it is because I’ve repeated it for so long. That’s the hard thing about getting someone that’s new, they’re overthinking every piece of where their body is until it becomes a natural state and a normal movement for them.”
“Even to this day, I’m still thinking of where I need to feel my body to take off the swing, and then I just enjoy the flight.”
