All language subtitles for Toruk-Takes Flight-2015

- I never would have dreamed
when I was writing Avatar

that it would someday be a
Cirque Du Soleil arena show.

It's exciting.

- It's taking something
we did on the screen

and bringing it to Cirque.

You know, being transported
back to Pandora.

-Well, the inception
of this new show, Toruk,

was when Cirque Du Soleil came to us

and said we loved your
film, we love that world.

Let's work together to
create that world on stage,

using our performers and our techniques.

You know, of course, that
was a dream come true because

I've been a huge fan of the
Cirque Du Soleil projects.

-It began through
a series of conversations

between Jim Cameron and Guy Laliberte

with Victor and Michel.

And they presented us this
idea of going back in time.

- We said, how can we have
human, small human and tall Navi

in the same show?

And Guy Laliberte told us,
"Why don't you put your story

thousands of year before the human came?"

- So of course, that got a
smile on James Cameron's face

when we come up with that story.

He said, "Oh, I never thought
of that, that's a good idea."

We have to make sure that we're

following the right step, though.

It's always linked with something
that you saw in the movie.

- This show is really story-driven.

This is the first time, it's
an experiment with a story

to bring people on a journey.

We're not totally in a circus world,

we're not totally at the theater,

we're not totally in cinema.

It's a hybrid of all of that.

- The story I am about to tell you

happened more than
three thousand years ago

on the moon Pandora.

- We're making a show,

so we need not to be
afraid of showmanship.

We're not doing a movie.

We're doing a show inspired by a movie,

but it's still a show.

- The main concept we all
have is the expectation

from our company, Cirque Du Soleil,

and from James Cameron's
company, Lightstorm,

and the audience.

So, I mean, I have the
three of them all together,

the expectations are huge.

- We don't want people to
be in front of the show,

we want people to be inside the show.

We want to try to create an immersion,

so that's why, in the arena,
we project on the floor,

we project on the black,

and we project on a part of the audience.

- The way that the show builds and lights,

and there's a puff of smoke
and I'm standing there

in front of 15,000 people.

I'll be wearing a diaper.

I mean, that's a new experience for me.

We're playing big arenas.

- Catching up, because
the camera is quite low.

That's it, that's it.

-In front of me, not out here.

-No, no, in front of you,

because the shadow will
be in the middle of you.

-Oh, of course,
because it's projecting

the shadow behind you.

- Yeah, yeah, it's the play to cover.

-This story
begins in a troubled time,

an unstable time filled with danger.

- The conflict in the show

is that there is a volcanic eruption

that is threatening the
Navi's Tree of Souls,

which is their connection
to their ancestors.

And these two young Navi
boys are set out on a quest

that turns from a quest to warn people

to taking over the mantle

and saying we're not
just gonna warn people,

we're gonna save people.

- During that quest they will slowly,

progressively become adult.

So, it's the story of a transformation.

-Day one, they say, okay,

so you're going to
improvise for three minutes

on what you think the character is.

And you know that feeling
where your stomach

just seizes up?

And I was like, "This is it."

"I'm gonna be back on a
plane at the end of the day."

- Even through the Navi movement,

I'm sure we're gonna
feel their personality.

- Absolutely.

We should have, we should.

- You know why there's two team?

Because it's gonna be very demanding,

you're gonna be there from
minute one to at the end

of the show, so you're always there.

It's gonna be exhausting.

- It's really demanding physically so,

kind of to protect us they
decided like to have a double.

- We actually were really
lucky because we work

so well together.

So we could go away and
plan and work on all these

things together and have great discussions

and openly and comfortably
say, "That looks bad."

"Don't do that."

- We do it a lot.

- We really had to be
very close to each other

in terms of a performance
because there was not only us,

there's other people involved to our work,

other people that take their cues from us.

So it's very important
that every time we play it

we play it the same because
we rotate, the other's don't.

- Be careful with this.

Help them on.

- They have to make very specific goal

for every short rehearsal time

for the artist with us
on the stage, you know,

to make it most effectively
because we are very

in short of time.

-So we have only
15 new minutes more.

We have to go in this way,
and then you go this way.

Then go all the way
down there, under this.

Two minutes.

- It is really fast.

- You go in like, boom.

- So this is the potential
color we think, maybe?

It could be.

It works.

- Most of our costumes have to
look like they were made by,

you know, Navi hands,
so they have to have an

organic hand-made look.

So we're using a lot
of weaving and macrame,

and we're using a lot of
materials that could potentially

look like they grew on a
tree or came from the forest.

I think somewhere here on your belt,

so you're not taking all the weight.

- You just made this last night?

- Yes.

-We work for at
least two years in the show,

thinking about the show,
making some drawings,

the costume, the staging.

All the time we prepare ourself a lot.

- We have no choice because, you know,

we're creating in a very fast track mode.

- I don't want to see
you on stage being human.

I want to see Navi on you.

You should start to get it a
little bit more on your body.

Being cast,

if you have a chance, if you
go and watch the movie again

I'm sure that will help you in some ways,

just so see how they move,
just to see how they laugh,

just to see how they talk,
just to see how they react.

- She's like 50 percent human
being and 50 percent animal,

feline, so to find really the
balance of that was amazing

and I'm still working on it.

We had Julene, his
choreographer that she was part

of the movie.

She came to spread the Navi philosophy.

I would say it more than movement.

I would say philosophy.

- There's that element of always moving,

something curious and new.

Right?

Looking.

What is that?

-was so impressed
that Cirque would see the

power of connecting us with
someone who really was there

to get the whole kind of

the value system of this
aboriginal culture to make it

an authentic experience for people.

One must
earn his place on Pandora.

Ralu will come to learn
that Eywa is everywhere

and that she maintains
harmony by forging links

between all living things.

- I think we get excited
when we look into indigenous

cultures and other cultures
and see their world view.

How they relate to the natural world.

How they relate to their own history

and where they came from

and they create myths,
and that's what Toruk is,

a mythic story from the past of the Navi.

These are the stories that they hand down

in their verbal history of themselves.

- One of our first day's rehearsals,

Michel and Victor came
down to our group of trio

and they said,

"Actually, you guys are
gonna have microphones on."

-And you're gonna speak Navi.

-You're gonna speak Navi.

-And we're
like, "What is next?"

- Part of why I think Avatar
resonates so believably

is because the culture is real.

And at the heart of that
culture is this language

that Paul Frommer created.

- The sounds that have
gotten the most attention

are these things called ejectives,

which are sort of popping consonants,

which sound kind of like.

-The language
is continuing to grow.

We must have at least a
couple thousand words.

The interesting thing is
that the language is now

really been adopted and people
have really plunged into it

and it has become natural for them.

I don't think I could have
predicted the way things

have turned out.

I mean, I'm absolutely delighted.

- I can't think of a film
that's like bigger than this,

so when you're representing
something like that you wanna

make sure you do it to the
very best of your ability.

-Continue, guys.

Continue, continue.

Look around on the floor, as well.

The flowers.

All new land that you
discover for the first time.

- Now we started this
week the integration.

It's where we put projections,

artists in the projections, the lighting.

So, first thing, they have to walk in it.

- Because for the last 10 weeks
the artists and performers

have been performing in a gray set.

-Turn yourself,
look at the tree.

Wow, it's totally.

No, the tree, the tree.

Some artists told me this week,

"You know, we were listening to you."

"You're the stage director,
you know what you're doing,

but you were saying there
will be a river coming."

Waterfall is filling a
river slowly, quite slowly.

And there will be lava, and
so you jump over the lava.

Lava, oh yeah, oh yeah.

On the 50 Shades of Grey set, you know?

And now I see the river.

- The projections make the
environment completely immersive,

so you believe you are
actually in the forest

seeing all these things happening.

And birds, and things
flying, and monsters.

It's incredible.

- We have complete set changes happen

with a click of a mouse.

- Well, oftentimes people go
to arena shows and it's sort

of one environment.

Here, scene after scene after scene,

you're traveling across Pandora.

You're traveling to
different exotic locations

and that's really exciting.

-Puppets are like
one of my favorite things

of the show.

I'm incredibly scared
by those wolf chasing me

with those green eyes and teeth.

I forget that there's
someone that is moving them.

- It's the first time that
a Cirque du Soleil show

has puppets to that extent.

It's not just about having
a puppet that moves.

It's also about having these
puppeteers and their bodies

really blend in with the movement.

- Well, our challenge right now
is since we have some delays

with the tree and the skin,
which I call the skin.

It's what you see right now.

There's one skin on the stage right tree,

but there's none on the stage left tree.

The projection was not hitting
the tree the right way,

so we have to remove the whole tree,

which is huge as you can see.

So we've done one.

Takes two weeks and a
half to undo and redo,

and we removed the second one

to do the same operation again.

For the artist's main set,

we didn't have the chance
to build that act yet.

We had rehearsal kind of
equipment in Montreal,

but now that we have the new
skin we find out it doesn't

work the way it was
working with the old one,

and we have to adapt.

So the construction of that
act just basically just starts

in three days.

- The size of the physical
world that we're in,

it's bigger than anything I've ever done

and I often wonder like how
the heck are we gonna get

this problem solved?

- I'm sorry if we have to
take you on many directions

all the time.

- Is there any sure grip on that fabric,

which we could ask him for?

Is there any sure grip on
the fabric on the stage?

To get onto that step without
the possibility of falling

and we're going and if
like, Raymond's let's me.

I mean, it's terrifying.

That's a very stressful way
for an actor to get onstage.

- The Toruk is the biggest
puppet I've worked on.

It's like a reverse string marionette.

So the puppet is in the air.

It's hung by a 3D flight system.

The character comes at
the end of the show.

To me it was like we work
with different puppets

individually and, at the end,
we take all the puppeteers,

we bring them together, and
they give life to the character

that is the title of the show.

- We've been rehearsing
only with the prototype,

which we manage unfortunately
to just about destroy

so now it's holding by gaffer tape,

but the new one is
coming and it's gorgeous.

- You know it's like you're
doing an opera and you're star

is arriving three months into the process,

which is usually what divas do.

We're all waiting for Toruk.

It really informs our world
and it makes it real to us.

In my journey at the moment,
I feel really authentic.

I feel like I'm a Navi elder,

I have a story to tell.

Like the world we're creating

is a very three-dimensional one.

- We're not just characters performing.

We are Navi living in those moments

and that's a really beautiful feeling.

- As I'm in there,
everything else fades away.

All I see is Pandora.

- The audience has to come
and I'm expecting them

to smell the flowers
even if there is no smell

to the flowers, but it's
so clear what we are trying

to share and to spread, this
beautiful Pandora world.

- It's huge, I mean it's
27 trucks at the moment.

We have over 40 projectors
and it has to be very precise.

Cannot move.

A lot of video projection.

We're doing the sound for every venue.

It's specific for every
venue so we're redesigning

as we go.

Yeah, we're pushing the envelope.

People will sit down and say,

"Wow, I never saw that before."

- We're here, it's December 21st.

It's the first day of winter,
it's the Winter Solstice.

It's a merry and bright
day for the Toruk cast.

We're really, really, really pumped.

- How are you doing?

Good?

- So tonight it will be the
world, world, world premiere.

You know, it's not a small thing.

Yeah, you have to be ready, so I'm ready.

- Someone once told me,
when you stop being nervous

it means you stop caring,

and I'm nervous only in
the sense that I care.

If you don't go in a little bit nervous,

that's when you let your guard down.

- If you would see the drawings,

the first drawings and
first words that we wrote

about this show it's
exactly what we have here.

It's exactly what we dreamt.

Tonight is special because it's home.

We're very nervous and very fragile

when we play home.

- This is the night because
our contract is finished.

- This is over.

- I don't take any notes tonight.

You're already so incredibly good.

All you guys, thank you very much.

- Thank you.

We'll miss you!

Have fun tonight.

-I will.

- It's fun to go to a
premiere where somebody else

did all the work and I
get to just enjoy it.

To me it's already creatively successful.

- We start the show set under
a veil so it's kinda cool.

It feels like we're in a
little tent looking around

and everyone's excited.

You can't see anyone and
all of the sudden the veil's

pulled back and you've got
all these faces looking at you

and it's pretty magical.

-I've always said
that Cirque du Soleil is

about a celebration of human physicality

and human excellence.

Part of the Navi culture
is about being alive

in your own body and being
alive as part of a community,

part of a group of people.

And when you see the
Cirque performers working

with perfect synchronization
in these amazing kind of

group acrobatics, that's
a very Navi concept.

- I think what I was really
surprised at is the scale

to which the show evolved.

The result is something
that is visually stunning

but in a more balletic
way than an acrobatic way.

And people are just
transported into the story

of these young people as they
journey for self discovery.

The stamp that Victor and
Michel have put on the show

is artistry above all else,

and, again, it's one of the things

that I think helps make
Toruk such a transportive

experience for an audience.

- I think people should
leave the Toruk experience

with the sense of the wonder
and mystery of Pandora,

which in a way translates
into a kind of respect

for indigenous culture and a
respect for the natural world,

and maybe a connection to
the harmony and the balance

of life that we need to get
back to as human beings.

That's what the Avatar films are about.

That's what Toruk is about.

- Toruk!