From Nebraska to the Cirque du Soleil stage – meet artist Ethan Lottman

By SA Tripi ––

I watched an old movie years ago with Eddie Cantor, an entertainer from the twenties and thirties. He sang a song “The Man on the Flying Trapeze”. It was a fun song but I never gave it much thought. Years later I saw my first Cirque du Soleil. All I could think of was that this was so much bigger than a ditty about a trapeze.

I watched men and women do magic with their bodies flying and twisting and climbing. They defy gravity and are as graceful as butterflies. It was exciting to see them again in Houston and a lovely experience to have a conversation with the very talented Ethan Lottman.

May I say that it was a pleasure to interview Ethan and when I saw him last week, in performance, I wanted to live vicariously through him, but I’m a feet-on-the floor kind of person.

Years ago, I saw Cirque du Soleil in Santa Monica, CA and I was so mesmerized by the movement and everything else that I had seen, that it almost didn’t seem real; that it was something that mere mortals would not be able to do.

When was your first experience with Cirque? How old were you when you first saw a performance?

Funny enough, it was not until I was in a Cirque du Soleil show that I had the opportunity to see a show live. I grew up in a small town outside of Omaha, Nebraska. At the time, Omaha was not a large enough city to host Cirque du Soleil. My parents, recognizing my love and appreciation for gymnastics, bought a DVD of the Cirque du Soleil show Dralion when I was 7 years old. It’s safe to say after watching that DVD hundreds of times, it sparked a desire in me to join the stage.

I know you are a gymnast, but did you have any formal dance training as a child? How long were you a gymnast? At what age did you start?

I don’t have any formal dance training. Gymnastics took center stage in my life, therefore I didn’t have time for practically anything else. I started the sport when I was three years old. I began competing at the age of 5 and eventually earned an athletic scholarship to compete for the University of Nebraska Lincoln. I competed at the NCAA level for 4 years before retiring at the age of 22. Nineteen years and countless hours of training have prepared me quite well for this career.

Ethan Lottman / Justin.Veenema

When did your gymnastics training start and not to sound too corny, how did you jump from gymnastics and fine arts to Cirque? And it’s always interesting to see what our families have to say about our career choices. How does your family feel about your choice?

I was creative from childhood, so it was not a surprise when I announced my desire to study fine arts at university. My father was always weary of his son pursuing a career in the arts, so it took a lot of reassurance from my mother, my high school art teacher, and myself. In the end, my parents are one of my biggest moral supports and my biggest fans.

As for my jump from sport and fine art to circus, I found it to be a very natural progression. The sports aspect is very obvious. You need a certain level of technique, strength, and flexibility as well as an understanding of how to withstand daily wear and tear. NCAA gymnastics was one of the most physically and mentally demanding schedules I have experienced, and everything else feels manageable because of that.

On the other hand, Circus is an art. While I may not be painting on stage each night, the general concepts I learned in art school can be translated directly to the circus. Building a successful act is similar to building a successful composition. The medium is different, but the question remains the same: how do I get a concept or emotion across to a viewer? Also, being able to present your art, receive criticism from a viewer, an audience, a teacher, or an artistic director, and take that criticism and apply it to your work without losing your integrity is something that takes practice.

What was your audition like? Is this your first Cirque du Soleil show?

My audition process was very simple. I was approached by Cirque du Soleil casting at the NCAA championships during my senior year of college. They said I had a quality they look for in their performers. They asked if I would be interested in joining the circus. I was thrilled and immediately submitted a video audition into the casting profile. I waited about a year and a half before I was contacted for my first contract, Toruk, the First Flight.

Watching the company on stage, I always wonder what the process that you all might have to go through to shake those nerves before you go on stage. You are so much more physical than a stage actor, but I wonder if you have any specific way of coping with the time before you step out there. All of you on that stage seem to be extremely cohesive and you all work so well together.

Is there ever a case of someone not feeling quite well that goes out on stage? Maybe they are not at the top of their game physically. I would think that you are all there as a great back up or do your sore throats get put on a shelf and you all give what you gave the other night….100%?

When it comes to nerves, I would say I have a healthy dose of excitement before I step on stage each night. We’ve done this show over 650 times, so the challenge actually becomes staying sharp and energetic on stage and not letting yourself go into auto-pilot.

When an artist is sick or injured, we are encouraged to stay home and rest. We have an intricate system of backup plans to keep the show quality high. This ranges from cross-training artists from other acts to step in when needed to changing choreography to account for one less artist on stage. The show must go on, but never at the expense of the safety and health of the artists. Plus, because of the sheer talent of our cast, it’s nearly impossible for an audience to tell the difference between a back- up and the original plan.

Ethan Lottman / Justin.Veenema

You are all an absolutely beautiful physical unit. I’m curious what you do for relaxation. There is a lot to see and do here.

My days off are all about resetting mentally and physically. Finding an excellent coffee shop to read a good book is my ultimate relaxation. I also find it incredibly important to have a creative project outside of the show. Tour life can be very challenging, and I find that working on a series of drawings allows me to step outside the Echo bubble for a couple of hours. I’m also very excited to go to the Houston Rodeo this month.

Looking at your bio, I wonder if you see yourself directing one of the next Cirque Shows? Any plans on working up to that? If so, we’ll be there!

Creative director of a new show by Cirque du Soleil is a very coveted spot, and I would be lying if I said I’ve never dreamed about it. It would be an incredible honor, to say the least. I have many steps in my career before that becomes a possibility, and hopefully I have a long and successful performance career left before I have to start thinking about what happens when I leave the stage.

What advice do you have for young LGBTQ+ people getting into this line of work? Especially now, in the US and with the changing way that people are looking at our youth?

I have so many things I would like to say to young LGBTQ people in the US, but I will narrow it down to one lesson: the part of you that is different is the part that makes you powerful.

I once found myself apologizing to an acting coach for taking the “easy” way out and doing a scene excessively flamboyant. I used to stifle my flamboyance on stage and in life because I thought it was predictable and negative. The instructor, a well-known clown at that time, responded with “Ethan, you can play gay better than any person here. The character you pulled out was real and nuanced, and I would never be able to play it as well as you did.”

Something clicked with me that day. Why waste my time fitting myself, poorly, into a box I thought people wanted me to be? Being a recognizably gay man on stage makes me different, and I have been able to create memorable and fabulous characters because of it. Being gay is a superpower; use it.

Related Posts

About author

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Do not miss