Talent under the big tent

Since launching Cirque du Boheme's annual holiday season of shows under the big top at Cornerstone Sonoma, founder Michel Michelis has been the smiling, exuberant public face of the eclectic ensemble. His story – learning the art of circus clowning in Paris, and eventually bringing his love of the circus arts to Sonoma – is part of the appeal of Cirque du Boheme, which launches its latest spectacle-packed show, titled 'Somewhere,' this weekend.

Per tradition, the show will feature an assortment of acts by professional theater and circus performers from around the world, hand-picked by Michelis to represent the best of the art form.

These are the ever-shifting faces that one sees only after entering Cirque du Boheme's slightly-mysterious tent.

This year's cast is well worth meeting in advance.

Abigail Baird, who combines artful acrobatics with imaginative clowning, is best known for her mind-blowing multi-media performances on Season 9 of 'America's Got Talent,' in 2014. She started out as a student of mime and costume design, blending those skills with a knack for gymnastics. With a bachelor's degree in 'tech theater and puppetry,' Baird has performed with Circomedia in England and Wise Fool New Mexico.

After founding the Oakland-based vaudevillian production company Aerial Animation – which combines jaw-dropping routines on circus silks with actual projected animation – she made her appearances on the aforementioned television talent show, where she made it all the way to the semi-finals.

Often called 'a one-man circus,' Colin Creveling trained at the Chicago Conservatory for Performing Arts, then took a stint performing with Chicago's Lookingglass Theater Company. He later founded Inappropriate Theatre Company, blending circus arts with traditional theater to create what Creveling calls 'large-scale spectacle performances and character-driven circus acts.'

Creveling performs regularly with San Francisco's Vespertine Circus, and the youth-oriented Circus Smirkus.

For the last few years, Creveling has been stilt-walking, juggling, tight-wire walking, fire swallowing and unicycling his way around the world, including 150 shows at the largest beach resort in India. According to Michelis, as a newcomer to the Cirque du Boheme tent, Creveling will be performing a dazzling act showcasing some of his most mesmerizingly magical skills.

Amelia Van Brunt, founder of the Bad, Bad Bunny theater company, is an award-winning clown artist and fire-spinner. She calls her style of performance 'ferocious play,' and she's taken her eclectic approach to clowning and physical theater around the world, becoming a regular at fringe-theater festivals from San Francisco to Vancouver. Her astonish one-woman-show 'In the Blue of Evening,' has won acclaim around the country.

The remaining performers in 'Somewhere' – in which Michelis himself will, of course, be making an appearance – are Cola Claret, who dances in the air on-and-around a high dangling hoop, and juggler Jeremy Vik, whose act involves balancing on stacks of chairs. The annual circus showcase is a partial fundraiser for the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance and the Living Room.

Email David at david.templeton@sonomanews.com