A spectacular show on ice
Ahead of Cirque Du Soleil’s CRYSTAL arrival in Christchurch, Metropol’s Nina Tucker caught up with acrobat and artistic coach Nathan Boyle, who will help bring the ice spectacular to life.
“Let me run away and join the circus,” was the plea from Nathan to his mother, after watching his first Cirque Du Soleil show as a child.
That show proved life-changing for him. Nathan immediately started his journey as a gymnast, competing and winning titles in sports acrobatics, before tailoring his studies to graduate with a Bachelor in Circus Arts. A childhood dream, and years of dedication and hard work, have resulted in Nathan taking to the Cirque Du Soleil CRYSTAL stage as a full-time performer, a job that he considers to be a pinnacle of his career.
Nathan says that being a professional acrobat is not as glamorous as it looks, with multiple trainings a day, and shows most nights. Working as a ‘porter’ (an acrobat who lifts, throws, and catches others), he wakes with a bruise-covered body, and callus-covered hands most mornings. “It’s like being the human equivalent of a walking crashmat, and
I have the scrapes and bruises to prove it,” he notes.
The ice flooring of CRYSTAL adds even more danger, but Nathan admits he loves the challenge. Constantly on the move, he lives out of suitcases as the team travels to each performing city, often just for one to two weeks. The constant travel is hard mentally, but he says it’s the “camaraderie” on tour that gets him through the lonely moments. “We’re like one big international family.”
A professional acrobat for more than 10 years, Nathan’s success in the circus industry didn’t come easy. He lives his life regret-free, and adds he’s grateful for everything that has happened to him, but (if he could) would tell his younger self to stretch more.
Now, he ensures that he stays in tune with his body by with dedicated rest days, down-time, and by finding the best coffee in each city on the vigorous tour schedule of his life.
Through CRYSTAL, Nathan only wants to transport his audience away from the stressors of everyday life to the magical reality of the show. He says that using his body to tell stories is a gift he’ll never take for granted, that the emotion and passion on display is repaid in cheers and applause from the audience at the end of each show.
“I am so grateful that I get to do this in front of sold-out arenas. I put my heart and soul into every performance.”
Crystal invites you to suspend reality, and glide with gymnasts and skaters into a world of colourful life, astounding visual projections, and an original music score.
