Varekai is Nol van Genuchten's baptism of fire as lighting designer for a Cirque du Soleil show. It is also the fulfilment of a dream he has pursued since the age of 14, when he followed a neighbourhood theatre troupe on its tour of the Netherlands . "I am a child of the circus," he says jokingly. Nol van Genuchten has been a member of the Cirque du Soleil family for over twelve years, working in French, English, Dutch and German.
Initially hired in 1994 as a lighting technician for the European tour of Saltimbanco, he subsequently joined the team as lighting co-ordinator, a position he held until the end of the tour. In 1996, he became the assistant to lighting designer Luc Lafortune. "Luc has been my mentor, my enabler, and my guru. It is to him that I owe the privilege of being a full participant in the Cirque du Soleil creative process." Nol van Genuchten collaborated on the creation of "O", La Nouba and Dralion . In 1999, he also had a hand in the renewal of the lighting concepts for Saltimbanco, Alegría and Quidam.
Since 1999, Nol van Genuchten has designed the lighting for several special events organized by Cirque du Soleil. But he views his participation in Varekai as a precious gift. "It's a fascinating journey, in that the designers on the team come from a variety of backgrounds, including circus, theatre, visual arts, and music. But it also gives me the jitters at times, because I've had to discover the designer within me and make my own way."
In order to stretch the possibilities of light, Nol van Genuchten strives to develop a close relationship with the artists. Their universe is one he already knows well, having studied acting and directing at Rijkshogeschool Maastricht, a prestigious theatre school in the Netherlands . After a year of training, he went back to his first love: lighting for live shows, notably those of Dutch humorist Paul Haenen.
Nol van Genuchten was born in 1973, in the Netherlands.