
Many young artists have a dream of working for Cirque du Soleil. Irina Naumenko, who comes from Russia and is now a Canadian by choice, has fulfilled it in two different ways. Not only was she in the spotlight for 16 years as an artist for "the Cirque", but she also returned in a new role after her career as an artist. Since 2022 she has been working as a casting advisor from her home base in Montreal.
However, Irinas international career in show business was anything but predetermined. She grew up in a village in southwest Russia - the deepest province, where there was hardly anything to entertain herself with. It seems like a coincidence that just when the always extremely active Irina turned 12, a circus studio for children opened in her hometown.
At first her interest was in aerial acrobatics, but her trainer quickly discovered Irina's talent for handstands and contortion. "It's a discipline that you have to fully dedicate yourself to," she says looking back. "Progress from day to day is very slow, so you always have to keep the big picture in mind." This was difficult for her as a 12-year-old. But after she finally fell in love with this type of acrobatics and seven years of hard work with the renowned handstand trainer Lyudmila Soloveva later, she was discovered by the Russian state circus company Rosgoscirk and signed to a contract.
Once there, the next stroke of luck didn't take long to arrive. In a show, Irina worked with Natalia Goncharova, who performed her famous ballet routine on horseback. "She wanted to try her hand at choreography, so she asked me if we could create a new act for me together," Irina remembers. From then on, they worked on it every night after the show. And at some point, Natalia Goncharova passed the video of the work on to Cirque du Soleil, which was looking for a replacement for the solo handstand performance in their show Varekai. Nine years followed for Irina in this touring production and seven more as an artist for Cirque du Soleil in other projects.
Irina's life path is a mixture of influences from East and West - the strict school in her Russian homeland, which aimed at technical perfection, and the experimental, avant-garde world that she immersed herself into at Cirque du Soleil. Throughout her career, Irina learned different ways of creating an act. In a circus studio, the young artist typically suggests a piece of music that she likes and the trainer develops a number that best shows all the technical skills. What Irina appreciates about working later with Natialia Goncharova is how she responded to the individual requirements of her body - "not forced, very organic."

At Cirque du Soleil, she learned for the first time how an act not only fits in with music, but also portrays a character: "It was a butterfly. You have to be feminine, you have to be gentle and a bit slower, play with the rhythm in some moments," she describes the experience, "it was a tough learning curve, but I really welcomed it." It was a cooperative process in which she relied on the expertise of her choreographer, and she relied on Irina's knowledge of her physical capabilities.
Today, from the perspective of a casting advisor, Irina advises young artists not to neglect the technical side. The technical level is very important for Cirque du Soleil, then comes creativity. Irina really appreciates it when she talks to young artists who have a concept, perhaps related to something they went through themselves. But she always recommends having a commercial version of the act in which the pure technical skills are visible. "If the concept of an act does not fit into our show and you don't want to change anything, then nothing can be done. But if you are very creative, think conceptually, but also have a strong technical basis, then we can work with that."
In her work in casting, Irina benefits from her rich experience as an artist. In the casting department of Cirque du Soleil there are experts in each disciplines, with her focus on solo and duo acts. The transition from her active career as an artist to casting was not smooth, but again a mixture of luck and determination that seems typical of Irina. After her last show for Cirque du Soleil, Irina worked as a freelancer for a few more years, settled in Montreal and used her contacts in the region's rich circus landscape. An engagement with the Canadian Cirque Eloize, in the show "Serge Fiori, Seul Ensemble" in 2019 was to be her last appearance. She had planned that in advance. However, no one could have known that shortly afterwards the pandemic would lead the entire industry into an existential crisis. So, it turned out to be the best possible time to reorient herself. She took French courses, worked in the fashion industry for two years - until she noticed a job advertisement from Cirque du Soleil during one of her shifts in 2022. She wanted to give it a try and after two rounds of interviews she ended up being part of the casting department in Montreal.
Casting at Cirque du Soleil has a different dimension than anywhere else in the industry. The Cirque machinery runs 16 shows and organizes various events, with more than 1,400 artists currently under contract. Organized like an industrial company, the casting department works with various company divisions: the Touring Show Division, the Residential Show Division, Special Events and New Creations. At the heart of the casting process is an extensive database. Each artist has a file in which all information and correspondence is recorded. "When we speak to artists, we always emphasize how important it is to keep this file up to date," explains Irina.

So what does the path into performing at Cirque du Soleil look like? When a creative team is looking for artists, they submit a request to casting. There, a list is compiled based on the database. The artists on it are contacted, the project is explained, and interest and availability are asked. This shortens the list. The casting advisor now creates a presentation that contains all the relevant information about the potential candidates and their videos. This should enable the creative team to get an idea of what kind of person they are dealing with. Based on the feedback, they either move on or the casting team has to adjust the search criteria. It also happens that the search starts all over again. Once an artist has been finally selected, they are forwarded to the contract team, where all the conditions are discussed and a contract is negotiated.
All of this sounds quite abstract, but it can also happen that Irina sees someone at a festival who exactly fits the requirements of a production. "When we travel to festivals, we know what the company's current needs are. If someone is a good fit, I either make a note and talk to them, or I recommend them directly within the casting team," she explains. Irina's festival visits therefore require good preparation: "We always do our homework, double-check all the festival participants with our database. Every evening after the show, I go through the files; I check whether they have made progress since the last festival. It doesn't have to be new tricks, sometimes a new dynamic or choreography takes the act to another level."
Despite all the strict requirements, Cirque du Soleil is always looking for something new and innovative that isn't yet in the database. It happens that an idea is new and interesting, but the artist still needs time to develop it further. "Sometimes, if we have the opportunity, we take the person and help them develop it," says Irina. The idea then remains independent of a show until it fits into a production. This could be a new creation two years later, for example.
After every festival, there is a meeting in Montreal with all the creative teams, where the casting findings are presented. If there is interest, the candidates are then contacted to talk about a potential collaboration. This can range from a week-long workshop to get to know each other and do research together up to a direct placement in an ongoing show creation.
It must be exciting for Irina to experience this process from the perspective of Cirque du Soleil, after having been on the other side herself as a young artist. When she had her first discussions with Cirque, a four-month training period followed to see if they were a good fit. "I had the mindset that I would give it all. And if it didn't work out, I would at least have tried everything that was possible," Irina remembers. It worked. And you can see how much joy she gets from giving young artists the opportunities that she once experienced herself. What advice would she give to young talents at the start of their careers? "Be bold, be creative and don't forget to enjoy it too."
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