In 1987, Guy Laliberté and I met in Atlantic City. The young creator and director of Le Cirque du Soleil had heard about my show at the Sands Hotel. I was working with a group called Triple Vision – three very talented New York City performance artists: Alice Farley, Ted Shapiro and Skye Leith. Triple Vision was a combination of black light theater and stilt dancing with exotic costumes. We merged our talents together to create a unique type of performance that was unlike any in the world, perhaps comparable only to the Cirque du Soleil with its exotic flair, and music-driven variety arts celebration.
Our team got along really well, and we flew up to Montreal to see the first edition of the Cirque du Soleil. Guy and I quickly became friends and co-visionaries, and we began working to combine our talents to create a show that would play in the United States during the Cirque du Soleil’s winter season. The thought was to get the very best Le Cirque performers to join forces with us and to tour theaters during the winter season all over the USA. The show was fantastic! Everyone was excited; however, no theaters would roll the dice on an unknown little French Canadian circus…their loss!
The show was called ECLIPSE and combined magic, circus, and variety arts into a storybook fantasy magic spectacular. If the show went forward, it would be a monumental achievement. But it did not. My heart was broken and the opportunity vanished.
A few years later, Guy Laliberté took his vision to Santa Monica as part of the Olympic arts festival and became a sensation with the press and critics. His vision exploded and he and his team of talented designers, artists and circus performers took the world by storm, with the most spectacular and innovative circus shows in history.
Everyone wanted to see the Cirque du Soleil, and shows of the highest quality were produced to tour the world. An interesting fact is that there is only one unit of any show: there is only one “Alegria,” and there is only one new experience. There is only one. Each show is unique, so in order to see all of the shows, you must travel the world or wait patiently for them to come on tour to your city.
Paradise Lost, Paradise Found
In March of this year I got a letter from Guy Laliberté inviting me to his private island called Nukatepippi over a thousand miles away, near Tahiti. I immediately said yes and waited eagerly for months, thinking of what fabulous adventures lay ahead.
Guy has built an environmentally sustainable island paradise and invites his friends to join him for a few weeks a year. I am very fortunate to be one of those friends who was invited to share some of the beauty and magic of this incredible installation in paradise. There are about a dozen beautifully appointed cottages nestled in the Palm Forest, with views of pristine ocean paradise. Guy’s private estate is at one end of the beach.
What impresses me most is the balance of nature with a very powerful focus on environmental protection, and natural cultivation of this incredibly rare jewel in the middle of the ocean. Guy and his team of environmentalists and builders have been creating this magical space for over ten years, and just a little while ago it was opened to visitors at his invitation. The natural beauty is stunning!
Guy’s facilitation team guides nature walks and tours to inspire us to take care of our planet Earth – and each other. There are incredible activities each day, from every kind of imaginable ocean sports to yoga, archery, and even beekeeping. There are cutting-edge ecologically innovative programs that focus on conservation and self sustainability, with tours of the farm, the hydroponic gardens, the bird sanctuary, and many of the other eco-friendly ventures that Guy has innovated.
Yes, there are health spas and wellness centers with massage, but also game rooms, poker rooms, libraries, and places where people can study and exercise and deepen their relationship with health and nature. This rejuvenating experience is only open to his friends, individuals, or groups that are willing to pay the price tag of $1 million a week for this incredible experience.
I am feeling very blessed, and each night I shared my magic by the campfire with the guests, friends, employees, and workers here on the island. Magic is a rare treat, and rarely seen by these folks, and it is a pleasure and a joy to bring amazement and wonder in the ways I can.
As I am writing this, I am sitting in a cabana on the beach, overlooking pristine turquoise waters, surrounded by a coral atoll with a beautiful island in the middle of the lagoon. The accompanying photos can only capture a tiny bit of the splendor of this island’s natural beauty. Even though my dream of doing a show with Guy did not come true at that time, it has definitely been realized in this moment of perfect paradise.
Things I Learned from Guy Laliberté
Follow your passion and good things will come. Overcome fear with action.
If you have more good hours than bad hours in a day, then you have won the day. If you have more good days than bad days, then you have won the week. If you have more good weeks than bad weeks, then you have won the month. And if you have more good months than bad months, then you win the year. And finally, if you have lots of winning years, you win life. You are a winner!
Leave the planet in better condition then when you arrived by contributing to environmental and social missions that improve the quality of life for all living beings.
Storytelling and Magic
That’s just a small part of the wisdom that I have learned here on this tiny island in the South Pacific. I’ll have more stories to share with you soon. There are a few ways you can check into my storytelling and magic. Each Monday night, our Mystery School Monday team brings you the best magicians and inspirational messages from around the world. Please join us at 7 PM Pacific time on www.mcbridemagic.tv.
Blessings to all, and safe travels.
Your friend, storyteller, and world traveler,
Jeff