Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within

Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within
The main series title as seen in the opening sequence.
Also known as	Fire Within The Fire Within
Genre	Television documentary
Written by	Lewis Cohen Cleo Paskal
Directed by	Lewis Cohen Bachir Bensaddek Jason Breckenridge
Starring	Kevin Atherton Andrew Atherton Ashley Beaver Gareth Hopkins Raquel Karro Oliveira Oleg Ouchakov Olga Pikhienko Stella Umeh
Narrated by	Christopher Dyson
Opening theme	"Icare" by René Dupéré from Alegría
Ending theme	"Varekai" by Hélène Dorion and Violaine Corradi from Varekai (episodes 1-4, 6-13) "Ussa Sa" by Acquaragia Drom (episode 5)
Composer(s)	Anthony Rozankovic Daniel Toussaint
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer(s)	Arnie Gelbart Marie Côté Vincent Gagné
Producer(s)	Sylvia Wilson Martin Bolduc
Editor(s)	Jean-Marie Drot Maxime Chalifoux Vidal Beïque
Cinematography	Yoan Cart Peter Krieger Andrei Khabad
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	23 minutes
Production company(s)	Cirque du Soleil Images (Créations Musca) Galafilm
Distributor	Bravo
Broadcast
Original channel	Bravo (United States) Global Television Network (Canada) Ici ARTV (Québec)
Picture format	1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Audio format	Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Dolby Digital 5.1
Original run	September 16 – December 9, 2002^[1] November 2, 2004 (special)^[2]
Chronology
Related shows	Solstrom Varekai

Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within is a 2002 Canadian reality television mini-series. The series follows eight Cirque du Soleil performers during the creation and production of the Cirque's newest touring production, Varekai. Stress ensues as several newcomers try to learn new acrobatic acts for the show, while the subplot also follows the crew behind the show trying to cast new performers, advertise the production, create the stage set, costumes, and make-up, and manage the show under the direction of newcomer Dominic Champagne.

Fire Within originally aired in thirteen 23-minute episodes weekly between the course of September 16 and December 9, 2002 on Bravo. The miniseries was filmed in Montréal, mainly at the Cirque du Soleil headquarters and the Old Port of Montréal where Varekai's Grand Chapiteau was first located, with other cities around the world being featured occasionally in the show.

Cast

Fire Within maintained an ensemble cast of performers chosen to be a part of the original cast of Varekai. The camera crew documented not only these performers' work during production of the show, but also their personal lives which often got in the way of their work. The performers came from a variety of different sources, some being experienced Cirque du Soleil performers, and others not, as well as coming from several countries, including Britain, Canada, Russia, and Brazil.

Oleg Ouchakov – a Russian acrobat previously working on Cirque du Soleil's Quidam who joins the cast of Varekai to dance, which he has never done before, in an acrobatic pas de deux performance with his partner Tatiana.
Stella Umeh – a Canadian Olympic gymnast who joins the cast to perform in a body-skating act and a four-person triple-trapeze act, which she was not expecting as she had never learned trapeze before.
Olga Pikhienko – a Russian contortionist who leaves Cirque du Soleil's production of Quidam to take on the lead female role in Varekai.
Raquel Karro Oliveira – a skilled Brazilian trapeze artist who is part of the triple-trapeze act with Stella.
Ashley Beaver – a British acrobat who arrives to Cirque as a newcomer with his acrobatic partner Gareth, who together are assigned to be a part of the icarian games act, as well as Ashley being a part of the Russian swings act. At the end of the series, he and Gareth are laid off after being unable to learn to perform icarian games in time for the show.
Gareth Hopkins – a British acrobat and Cirque du Soleil newcomer who arrives along with his acrobatic partner Ashley. Together they are assigned to participate in the icarian games act, as well as Gareth portraying one of the more prominent characters in Varekai, The Lizard. Gareth often struggles with homesickness throughout the mini-series, much of it attributed to his mother being recently diagnosed with cancer. At the end of the series, he and Ashley are laid off after being unable to learn to perform the icarian games in time for the show.
Andrew Atherton and Kevin Atherton – Identical twin brothers from Britain, performing an aerial straps duo act together in the show. The twins are often subject of promotional photos for Cirque du Soleil for both Varekai-related and general Cirque-related publication.

Recurring cast

Much of the crew behind Varekai are featured in recurring parts throughout the mini-series, as well as some of the cast (often those who did not stay in the cast the entire time).

Adrian Berinde — a Romanian singer who is flown in by Cirque du Soleil to be Varekai's primary singer. Ten days before the premiere, after having difficulty trying to character-act for the show, he is laid off.
Dominic Champagne — Varekai‘s Canadian director and Cirque du Soleil newcomer.
Tatiana Gousarova — Oleg's acrobatic pas de deux partner in Varekai. It is later revealed in "Reunion" that Tatiana injured herself and had to take a break from the show.
Rampin Brothers (Ramon, Pedro, and Javier) — world-renowned Spanish acrobats who specialize in icarian games. They help Gareth and Ashley while they are trying to learn how to perform the icarian games.
Adrian Porter — Gareth and Ashley's acrobatic coach.
Boris Verkhovsky — the cast of Varekai‘s main acrobatic coach.
Michel Laprise — a talent scout who spends much of the mini-series searching for singers for Varekai, as well as looking for new acts to bring in. This brings him to several different countries and cities whilst searching.
Laur Fugére — a singing coach who helps Michel chose singers for the show.
Pedro Santos Leal — Gareth and Ashley's coach specializing in icarian games.
Louise Mercier — the head of the Cirque du Soleil marketing department, who spends much of the time trying to figure out the name for the show and making the promotional poster.
Guy Laliberté — the creator of Cirque du Soleil. He makes the largest choices impacting Varekai during its production.

Broadcast history

Fire Within consists of thirteen half-hour episodes (with commercials) as well as a 23-minute special. The series originally premiered in the United States on Bravo in September 2002. The episodes were aired in the intended order weekly until December 2002 with the conclusion of the mini-series. A cast reunion special was released two years later along with the DVD on November 2, 2004.

Episode No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"New Arrivals"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	September 16, 2002^[1]
New artists join Cirque du Soleil at the company's headquarters in Montréal to plan a new show.
2	"Behind Closed Studio Doors"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	September 23, 2002^[1]
Attention turns to the artists' personal lives; one artist is headed home, but no one is sure he will return.
3	"The Rise and Fall of the Trapeze"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	September 30, 2002^[1]
Guy Laliberté, creative guide for the show, reviews the planned trapeze act.
4	"Shooting Stars"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	October 7, 2002^[1]
New members of the troupe sign their contracts; the show's name is chosen.
5	"Christmas"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	October 14, 2002^[1]
The artists reflect on their lives outside the Cirque du Soleil as the holiday season approaches.
6	"New Blood"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	October 21, 2002^[1]
The entire cast assembles for the first time; rehearsals begin; the triple trapeze act performs for Guy.
7	"Pushing Acrobatics"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	October 28, 2002^[1]
The approaching world premiere heightens the pressure on and intensity of the artists; insecurities are revealed.
8	"Moving On"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	November 4, 2002^[1]
Costume-fittings and mounting sets coincide with plans for dress rehearsals.
9	"The Grand Chapiteau"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	November 11, 2002^[1]
The first rehearsal under the blue and yellow Grand Chapiteau; two artists must deal with a harsh blow.
10	"The Lion's Den"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	November 18, 2002^[1]
Tensions are high as the artists prepare to perform before Guy and a selected audience of 500.
11	"Countdown to Premiere"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	November 25, 2002^[1]
Guy and the director try to calm tensions as the world premiere approaches.
12	"Opening Night"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	December 2, 2002^[1]
A focus on the premiere features highlights.
13	"The Aftermath and Departure"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	December 9, 2002^[1]
Casting adjustments are made as the three-year world tour begins.

Special

Title Card	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
	"Reunion"	Lewis Cohen	Lewis Cohen	November 2, 2004^[2]
The main cast from the mini-series get together to reminisce, bring each other up to date on their lives, and have a day of fun.

Reception

Fire Within received positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave an audience approval rating average of 93%.^[3] The website IMDb (Internet Movie Database) gave the mini-series an average score of 7.8 out of 10.^[4]

Accolades

The mini-series won the 55th Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Program (Alternative), as well as two Gemini Awards.

Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
55th Primetime Emmy Awards^[5]^[6]	Outstanding Nonfiction Program (Alternative)	Christian Barcellos, Martin Bolduc, Marie Côté, Vincent Gagné, Arnie Gelbart, Amy Introcaso-Davis, and Sylvia Wilson	Won
18th Gemini Awards^[7]^[8]	Best Direction in a Documentary Series	Lewis Cohen	Won
18th Gemini Awards^[7]^[8]	Best Reality Based Entertainment Program or Series	Marie Côté, Vincent Gagné, and Arnie Gelbart	Won