Acrobats, jugglers and hand balancers are about to share the stage with a full symphony orchestra in Ventura County this weekend, as Troupe Vertigo joins New West Symphony for two performances of Symphony Goes to Cirque. The Los Angeles-based circus-inspired dance ensemble will perform Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center in Thousand Oaks and Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. at the Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center in Camarillo.
This is a first performance for Troupe Vertigo with New West Symphony, rather than a return engagement for the troupe. VC Reporter says Michael Christie, the symphony’s music and artistic director, will conduct a program featuring Bizet’s Carmen, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship from Scheherazade, with the troupe’s routines woven into the orchestral program. The orchestra’s season materials describe cirque performers as “returning by popular request.” The Los Angeles-based ensemble will perform Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center in Thousand Oaks and Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. at the Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center in Camarillo, according to VC Reporter and New West Symphony.
What Audiences Will See Onstage
The six performers will work at ground level: VC Reporter describes the lineup as acrobats, jugglers and hand balancers, with no aerial acts. The Carmen and Night on Bald Mountain routines come from the troupe’s existing repertoire, while its work for Scheherazade is a premiere, the report says.
The concert's broader program also includes Sibelius's Finlandia, Gould's American Symphonette No. 2, Buck's Festival Overture on The Star-Spangled Banner, and the national anthem, according to the VC Reporter account. Tickets and information are available by calling 866-776-8400 or through newwestsymphony.org.
A Company Built From Circus Roots
Troupe Vertigo was founded in 2009 by Artistic Director Aloysia Gavre and Technical Director Rex Camphuis, according to New West Symphony's company profile. The troupe premiered its first offering, Big Top for a New Generation, at the Ford Amphitheatre in 2010, and VC Reporter notes the company has now operated for 17 years. Gavre, who was born in San Francisco, discovered the circus at age 14 and went on to join Cirque du Soleil in Montreal at age 23, training under Lu-Yi of the Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe before performing in Cirque du Soleil's Quidam and O productions in Las Vegas, per VC Reporter's reporting.
Gavre told VC Reporter that sharing the stage with musicians of that caliber is an honor for circus arts, and said the interpretation creates something unique for the audience. The company also runs Cirque School, a circus arts and training space associated with Troupe Vertigo, and partners with concert halls, stages, festivals and urban spaces beyond its orchestra collaborations, according to the same profile.
A Growing List of Orchestra Partnerships
New West Symphony's own materials describe Troupe Vertigo as having performed with major orchestras across North America, while VC Reporter's account puts the number at more than 40 symphony orchestras the company has worked with over the years. The troupe's 2024-2025 season alone included performances with nine named orchestras — among them the Utah Symphony, Seattle Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic — according to New West Symphony's profile.
Other documented partnerships stretch beyond the current tour. The company's ongoing collaboration with Maestro Jack Everly has produced multiple concerts, including Cirque Carmen, according to Troupe Vertigo's own website. Through a partnership with the Phoenix Symphony, the troupe developed an original Cirque Ballet Series featuring reimagined productions of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Cinderella, while its Cirque Noir production premiered with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has since toured nationwide, per the same source. The Phoenix Symphony has described its own Cirque Carmen staging as evoking the spirit of a traveling circus, capturing the essence of Bizet's European and American circus traditions, with the orchestra performing music from Carmen while the acrobats perform alongside.
Past Collaborations and Community Reach
Troupe Vertigo’s orchestra partnerships have included productions distinct from the current program of routines interspersed with symphonic works. In a separate collaboration, The Phoenix Symphony presented Cirque Swan Lake at Mesa Arts Center from January 18 through January 20, describing it as a circus reinterpretation of the ballet’s story. The orchestra also has an educational role across the region: a California Arts Council grantee listing says New West Symphony provides educational opportunities to more than 16,000 students in Ventura County each year and reaches 16 school districts in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The listing describes 80% of those districts as underserved and low income.
