The Assembly Hall was pitch black and silent when I walked in, except for an illuminated stage and Alexander Dobrynin, who plays the flying man in Cirque du Soleil's “Alegria.”

The show opens tonight at the University of Illinois Assembly Hall in Champaign and continues with shows tomorrow nght at 7:30, Friday at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

I had the chance to walk backstage, and observed contortionist warming up on a soft mat behind the billowing curtain that separates the arena from the long tunnel to the innards of the Assembly Hall. I also almost smacked into one of the flexible Russian bars that performers balance and jump on. Their rehearsal onstage reminded me of people on balance beams that move and bend in the middle.

Further down that hallway, other performers warmed up — some in regular gym clothes, others in parts of their sparkling costumes. A costumer hung costumes on racks (they're washed between every performance, and the show tours with washers and dryers).

I saw huge trunks full of medical tape and athletic equipment.

After observing the backstage area and watching the members of the Russian Bars cast leap and balance, I talked with Alexander Andreasen, who's 23 and from Denmark. He's been with the show since January 2009 but has yet to see “Alegria” in its entirety — if there's a performance, he's on stage for Power Track. That's when the part of the stage retracts to reveal trampolines in the shape of a huge X. About 15 gymnasts flip and twirl, practically flying down the runways during their rehearsal.

Power Track's characters are known as Bronx, he told me, which means they get to have lots of attitude and challenge the older generations represented in the show.

Andreasen said he performed with a show group for about 10 years and competed with what's called TeamGym for seven years before joining Cirque and training intensively for months.

He learned plenty of techincal stuff during training, he said, but also focused on something else: “To get the artist up in you,” he said, because many athletes who start at Cirque don't aren't used to performing for audiences. Performing is a totally different experience than what he's used to, Andreasen said, because he always used to have to pay for gym time.

Now, it's more like he's getting paid to do something he loves.

He's learned to Skype with his family and doesn't miss home much.

He bought an iPhone so he could get online while traveling, and enjoys the atmosphere backstage. The show is organized down to the second, he said, with someone operating red and green lights telling performers when to hit the stage.

When the light goes green, “you just start running,” Andreasen said “and you land perfectly on stage.”

He did have to get used to living out of a suitcase while on tour.

“I don't unpack,” he said, and he's in a routine of folding his suitcase up Saturday nights and leaving it at the door of his hotel room. After Sunday's performances, he gets straight on the bus or charter plane.

Because the show goes to so many cities, the performers have become like a family, Andreasen said.

The cast includes people from 15 countries, so he's learned about other cultures and about himself.

“You learn about how much you can do yourself,” Andreasen said, and how to pull yourself together when you're tired, but you know the audience has paid to see you perform.

His favorite thing about the show: getting on stage and watching the audience's reaction.

“We're a meter from the edge” of the stage, he said, which can make audience members feel like a tumbler could come crashing toward them.

I sat in a chair directly off the edge of one Power Track runway during rehearsal, and I definitely could see why they'd feel that way.

The tumblers seemed to gain intensity as they rehearsed, starting with simple hops down the trampolines and then segueing into more flips, mid-air spins and other breathtaking acrobatics.

Performers listened to hip-hop music while practicing, and their street clothes will be a far cry from the costumes they'll show off tonight and in subsequent shows at the Assembly Hall.

Andreasen said he thinks the show has plenty of variety — and even he still has a “whoa” reaction to the Russian bars and high bars.

I can't wait to compare what I saw today with the show I'm attending tonight. I'll update tomorrow with my thoughts.

— Meg Thilmony

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