Young Orleans girl selected for lead in Cirque du Soleil production Terry Fleurie, Eganville Leader Published: Wednesday, February 7, 2007 A young Orleans girl with familial ties to the Eganville area has been selected for a lead role in a production by the internationally renowned theatrical company, Cirque du Soleil. Ella Bangs, the nine-year-old daughter of Robert and Lauree Bangs, has been chosen for the lead role in Cirque's production, Quidam. She is the granddaughter of the late Justice Lorne Foran and his wife, Dallas, of Lake Clear. Quidam has been part of Cirque du Soleil's repertoire since 1996 and the production focuses on a young girl named Zoë, the role Ella has been selected for. A talented young girl who has already made a name for herself in the fiddle and step-dancing circuit where she competes individually, and with her older sister, Tessa, Ella was recently in the Eganville area where she, Tessa and her father were performing at the annual Robbie Burns dinner. The trio sat down at the Lake Clear home where Mrs. Foran resides to share her remarkable story with the Leader. Mr. Bangs said Ella's involvement with Cirque du Soleil happened solely by coincidence as a result of her performance in a show in Ottawa. "The whole thing is really sort of happenstance," he explained. "Tessa and Ella did a fiddling and step-dancing show in May 2006 with the Cantata Singers of Ottawa and there happened to be a woman in the audience who later became a talent scout for Cirque du Soleil". "An opening came up in one of the company's productions, and she thought of Ella and thought she would be a good fit for the role," he added. Mr. Bangs said the woman, Julie Barron, called them in November, asking them if they might be interested in pursuing this opportunity with the company. After much thought, he and Mrs. Bangs decided it was the chance of a lifetime for their daughter, and agreed to pursue it. Ella participated in a three-stage audition process for Cirque du Soleil which culminated with a live audition in Montreal before the casting crew of the company. "As a result, she was offered the position," Mr. Bangs noted. Mr. Bangs said what makes the whole story extraordinary is the fact the role Ella has been selected for is a singing and acting role and Ms. Barron had only seen Ella fiddle and step-dance and knew nothing of her singing abilities when she first recommended her. "Ella apparently had the look they were looking for. She obviously had talent and stage experience but the real unknown question was, could she sing?" "That's why we went through the lengthy audition process to determine whether she could sing and how long it would take to get her ready for the show," he added. Ella has had no formal singing training but because she plays the violin she has a very good ear for music. "And she has a pleasant voice," he noted. Ella began playing the fiddle at age four, inspired by her sister playing the fiddle which she received from the late Mr. Foran who loved fiddle music."He gave my sister a fiddle for Christmas one year and she started playing," Ella explained. "I liked it and he got me a fiddle too." Mr. Bangs explained Tessa's interest in the fiddle originated at Mr. Foran's retirement party in 1998. "The Searsons performed and that caught Tessa's eye. She was facinated by their fiddling and step-dancing and that's where the interest was identified in Tessa. Lorne jumped on the opportunity and gave Tessa her fiddle." Ella said she was quite surprised to learn that the Cirque du Soleil was interested in her for a singing role. "When the called us to ask us to audition, my family thought it was for playing the violin," she said. "Then we found out it was for singing and we thought, 'Oh my gosh, what are we going to do?'." Three Stage Process The first thing Ella had to do was submit a video of herself singing to Ms. Barron at the company's office in Montreal last November. "I had to make a video of me singing three songs," she explained. Ella was allowed to select her own songs for this stage of the audition, choosing Paper Moon, I Am Weary and Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace). Mr. Bangs said his daughters had been singing I Am Weary throughout the summer so they selected two other pieces for the video. The people in Montreal liked what they saw and heard enough to ask Ella to submit a second video early in December. "Then I had to make another tape with five songs out of the show," Ella said. "It's kind of a made-up language they use, so I had to learn those songs and send them in." "We had a week and a half'" Mr. Bangs said. Ella learned the words quite quickly, which also impressed the casting people at the company. Again seeing and hearing what they liked, the company invited Ella to a recording studio in Montreal in mid-December for a live audition with approximately seven other candidates for the position. "I had to sing the five songs I had learned before and two other songs," Ella said. Mr. Bangs said the audition was conducted in front of the casting team for the production. "Before the audition, I felt kind of nervous, but once I got in there and started singing, I wasn't nervous at all," Ella noted. Mr. Bangs said the casting team did everything possible to make Ella and the other young candidates feel at ease. Decision Time Mr. Bangs said it was only during the final audition that company officials discussed what might be involved should Ella be successful in securing one of the two places available for the role. He said because children who are used in the production are minors, there are two of them selected to handle the schedule of performances. "We knew what show it was for," Mr. Bangs said. "We had seen it in Ottawa last May, but it was only at the last audition that we were given some of the scope as to what we had to consider because they were recommending her for the role to the director." That meant taking Ella out of school for one to two years and what implications that might have on both her and her family. Ella's grandmother said she recalled what her two young granddaughters said after seeing the show in Ottawa. "They both told their mother they'd have to move to Montreal because they wanted to be in Cirque du Soleil," she noted. Ella said never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she would be successful in landing a part in the production. A few days before Christmas the director called and said Ella had been chosen for one of the two spots for Zoë. "It was the best Christmas gift ever," she said. "Mom wasn't home when they called so they talked to dad." Mr. Bangs said he had told his wife that he did not want to have to accept the call when it came in fearing it might be disappointing for his daughter. "But I took the call and it was terribly exciting," he said. He said Cirque du Soleil then drew up a contract which was signed in January. "It is a yearly contract with an option to renew. We found out later there are girls up to the age of 14 doing the role, so Ella has the potential to do this for the next four years if both parties are interested in continuing." Ella will go to Montreal in March where she will spend the next five months training in voice, drama and doing home schooling. "She's got a whole support staff around her," Mr. Bangs explained. "She has a physical trainer, a nutritionist, a psychologist, a make-up person, wardrobe. We were very impressed with the organization and what capable hands she will be placed in for five months." "I wonder sometimes if it is really happening," said Ella. "It makes me feel very special." Mr, and Mrs. Bangs spoke with another family whose daughter had been in the role and they had nothing but good things to say about the experience. "They said Cirque du Soleil took very good care of them. Ella will be staying with family in Montreal and coming home to Orleans on weekends before joining the show in Shanghai later this year. "It will probably be about three weeks there and Lauree and I plan to go with her," Mr. Bangs said. "After that she goes to Mexico until the end of 2007 and I'll be going there with her." An employee of the federal government, Mr. Bangs said in 2008 the entire family hopes to travel with Ella on her tour. "So we've got a whole year to plan for that," he noted. "And with the five-month training in Montreal we didn't have to worry about anyone leaving a job or taking a leave of absence immediately. The fact Cirque requests that a parent or guardian accompany the performer, for which they are compensated, helped ease their mind at accepting the offer. "Realistically, it is the kind of opportunity that is difficult to deny anyone. It's such a terrific opportunity. And the fact that there is an option or the possibility to go as a family would take care of any problems being separated from Ella." "These are formative years for her and Tessa and it's good we have the opportunity to experience this as a family," he added. "And that's really the way we are looking at it and that's why we've done everything possible to make it work out for her at least in 2007 and 2008." Mr. Bangs added that when the company is on tour, it does schedule breaks to allow the performers to return home. "So it's not like you're gone for a solid year," he said. A grade four student at Henry Larsen School in Orleans, Ella said she has received lots of encouragement from her friends, fellow students and teachers. They said they'd miss me but are really happy for me," Ella said of her friends. "One of my teachers said he'd be happy to come along on the trip to help me with school." Tessa was very excited to hear the news about her sister. "But that was after she got over the idea that they hadn't picked her," her father said. Her grandmother, Mrs. Foran, siad she was originally hesitant to think her young granddaughter had to travel so far away but soon realized it was a great opportunity for her. "At first I didn't know about the whole idea but you can't stand in the way of progress," she said. As to what her late grandfather might think of the whole thing, Ella had this to say. "I think he'd be very proud of me," she said.