"It's been a great challenge, but it's also full of traps. You don't want to exaggerate or slip into creating a caricature when you're trying to capture a character."
-- Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt
For KOOZA Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt has drawn on a wide variety of sources of inspiration: everything from graphic novels, the painter Klimt, Mad Max movies, time-travel movies, India and Eastern Europe. She was also inspired by clock movements, tin soldiers, marching band uniforms and children's book illustrations. All this merges to create a look that alludes to Alice in Wonderland, Baron Munchaüsen and the Wizard of Oz.
There are many rapid costume changes during the show and Marie-Chantale researched magicians' quick-change techniques to create costume magic of her own.
- Marie-Chantale had percussion instruments made out of molded carbon for the Skeleton costume. They look and sound like bones when the performers hit them against each other to create a musical rhythm.
- The "Bad Dog" costume proved to be another huge challenge because the performer wearing it has to be able to move the dog's ears, stick its tongue in and out, dribble and wag its tail.
- The "Rat Cape" is a costume that creates the illusion that rats are running down a performer's body before disappearing into a trap. This would be relatively easy in a film, but it's a lot more difficult to achieve live on stage. Following a long period of trial and error, the final Rat Cape costume is made up of 150 fake fur rats with crystal eyes to catch the light. The running effect was inspired by the mechanism of vertical blinds and several of the rats are fitted with little wheels to make them seem even more alive.
- For the Juggler's costume Marie-Chantale found a fabric made of mirrored squares that reflect the light and make him look like a living disco ball. The effect is so dazzling she was actually afraid he might blind himself when he moves his arms.
- There are more than 175 costumes and 160 hats in the show – 1,080 items in all, including all the shoes, props, wigs and so on.
- One army costume features more than 400 individually-sewn metallic flaps to create the effect that it is armored.
I was inspired by Western pop music, from 70s funk to orchestral music. I also drew upon traditional Indian music and film scores from the 40s and 50s, a period I'm particularly fond of."
-- Jean-François Côté
THE MUSIC
The music of KOOZA beautifully demonstrates the spirit of the live show with its themes of human connection and fun in a world of duality. With a stream of uplifting songs with timeless influences where forms and styles intertwine seamlessly, the music of KOOZA is inspired by the sounds of western pop culture, from 1970s funk to full orchestral arrangements. It also draws heavily on traditional Indian music.
