IN Saltimbanco

by Ara Jansen

With a timeless story to tell and majestic acrobatics to amaze all ages, Cirque du Soleil returns to Perth with an arena season of Saltimbanco.

Cirque du Soleil’s Zbigniew “Zibi” Bachor says no matter how long he has been with Saltimbanco, he never tires of the show’s colour, performances which celebrate the joy of life and the flying acts using every possible bit of space.

Born in Poland the 46-year-old performs with the Chinese Poles and Russian Swing act of Cirque du Soleil’s Saltimbanco. He’s been doing it for more than 14 years and is the oldest acrobat in the house troupe and probably one of the toughest.

Zibi has travelled the planet with Saltimbanco under the Big Top. Now with the arena show set-up, he returns to Perth this month for the first time in more than 10 years.

Saltimbanco, translated loosely from Italian, means to “jump on a bench”. It’s one of Cirque du Soleil’s signature shows exploring the idea that diversity offers hope in an urban metropolis with costumes to delight and amazing acrobatics.

As a result of performing the same jumps each show, retaining the same character and being very meticulous, Zibi is now also the Russian Swing coach for this Saltimbanco troupe. He says a combination of age, experience and training have made him tough.

“There are many more things too,” Zibi says. “Taking care of yourself is very important, not only physically but also mentally. Nutrition is also key; too many people neglect this aspect. I think what is tough about me is that I prepare the same way for every single show.”

The performer says he continues to bring fire and enthusiasm to his role because each show is different and performing in different countries keeps things fresh. “We have some room for improvisation in our show and we always have to adapt to our audience.”

Even after playing the same character in Saltimbanco for years Zibi knows it is possible to keep getting better. After every show the artists watch their performances to see ways in which they can improve. “Every single Cirque show is recorded and we also constantly receive notes about our performance from the artistic director on tour.

“You cannot be bored performing for Cirque du Soleil. If you are, you shouldn’t be there and it wouldn’t be a good sign. I don’t act like it was my first show every night because I have much more experience and I have learned a lot through the years. While it’s the same sort of routine, I’m still learning every week performing in the show.”

The father of two, who used to have his family on tour, sees himself as a mentor and motivator to those who want to last in the industry. He answers a lot of questions from younger artists, though he laughingly says they are not only about the show!

While he’s in town, Zibi says he’ll be enjoying Perth’s restaurants again and hopes to find sushi as memorable as he ate on his last visit.
Saltimbanco is at Challenge Stadium from April 21 to May 8.