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Circus acrobats dressed like lumberjacks and juggling axes headlined the Arlene Schnitzer concert hall last night. "It was like a Timbers match, mixed with a trendy bar and a loud Mumford concert," said a smitten 23-year-old on her way out.
This is the last chance for Portlander's to see the show. Timber is the penultimate wild card show from Portland's top dance importer, White Bird, and it's the final tour of Cirque Alfonse's lumberjack-themed spectacle from Canada. The crew has been touring for 5 years now.
"It started at my parents' barn in the middle of the woods," Antoine Carabinier says. He and his sister started Cirque Alfonse at their family home in Quebec, and this highly-stylized show was inspired by the woods surrounding them.
"We're circus performers, not lumberjacks," says Carabinier, "but my dad would cut wood for the fire and our uncles were all going camping up north."
Family members perform in Timber, too. Carabinier's dad, sister, nephew and brother-in-law all perform. In fact, everyone on stage performs for a solid hour and a half, including the live band.
"Our percussionist juggles axes with us," Carabinier says.
Acrobats in scuffed leather vests and flannels balance on a massive log, jump over saws and juggle axes, soundtracked by a banjo, violin and guitar playing folk tunes with a punk-rock edge.
"It's real axes on stage," Carabinier says. "It's dangerous and sharp, but that's part of circus. Without danger, it's not circus."
Only one performer bowed out after the challenging rehearsals.
"We're juggling the axes," he says. "We're not, like, cutting wood."
GO: Timber is at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335. 7:30 pm Wednesday, April 20. $26-$72.
Willamette Week
