Cirque Bijou Circus performance

Cirque Bijou are an innovative performance arts company who specialise and street and circue performance.

 

SXS  have had the pleasure of working with the Cirque Team on various events proving complete technical production solutions including sound, staging, rigging, custom set build and power.

SXS were invited to assist with an exciting new project that required a big leap forward in technical innovation.  Exciting challenges emerged in various areas:

 

 

Parkour Rig

Parkour is a form of performance art where the participant uses urban features to jump, leap, climb and fly.  The athleticism of the talented performers is incredible and enough to make anyone feel un-fit and inflexible!

So that the art could be demonstrated in a performance environment, SXS were required to build a totally custom, safe and aesthically acceptable “rig” for the performers to use. 

The brief was given in a c onceptual drawing and it was up to the SXS team to create a rig that could handle massive dynamic loads of performers jumping from up to eight meters!

The end design was based around standard 50mm steel scaffold tube (brand new and shiny) using “key clamps” to join the system.  While normal scaffold adapters would have worked, they looked unsightly and have potentially dangerous sharp edges.

 

 

Performance Tower

By far the most challenging rigging concept that the SXS have ever approached.  The platform was for various performances to take place on, as well as stuntmen to jump from.

The top of the platform was to stand 6m higher than the main performance stage, which itself was 2m high – making a total structure height of 8m.

In addition to this, another 2.6m high ground support had to stand on top of this.  While large platforms are not normally challenging, this one was only 3m x 3m square and had to take significant loads for performance. 

Such a tall and thin tower could be unstable and difficult to construct.  After many hours of debate in pre-production, it was agreed that a large telehandler was to be used as a crane. 

This meant that the entire top section of the platform could be build and lifted so that legs can be placed underneath – a technique used to construct large building-site cranes.

 

 

The photos here show the scale of this.

The biggest challenge was to secure the system.  With the guidance and assistance of the Cirque Bijou riggers, the structure was ballasted, cross-braced and guyed in such a way that it became very rigid and asuitable area for performance.

 

Other Items

SXS also provided steeldeck staging, a Thunder Ridge Sound System and lighting including moving head wash lights, LED battens and generic fixtures.

 

Show Producer: Julian Bracey
Rigging Designer: Seth
Lighting Designer: James Louden
SXS Sound Engineer: Naiem Khan
SXS Rigger: Lawerence Everett
Account Manager: Johnny Palmer

 

 

 

Event Case Studies

Case Studies
AEC Ball
Millenium Stadium New Year Event 2006-07
Magdalen College Oxford 2009
Wadstock Festival
Bond Themed Charity Ball
Bristol Beach
King's Affair @ Kings College
Apple Solution Expert Product Demo
Cabot Circus Launch
Cirque Bijou Event
Mohanlil's Daily Delight European Tour
Music Week Awards
Connaught Rooms NY 2007-08
Simon Lee Dicker Art Event
Widescreen Event for Stihl
St Catherines College Ball 2008
WS2008 Scouts Festival
UWE College Fashion shows 2008
ICICI Bank Summer Ball