Maxime Charron: Flying High in Cirque du Soleil's 'OVO'

But the National Circus School sits across the street from Montreal's Cirque headquarters, and proximity is everything. "People from Cirque sometimes come across and do a little scouting. I think they're called 'scout outings," said Maxime. They saw us perform and were so lucky to get hired so soon after graduating from such a historic school. And that made us really happy."

How Maxime and Corentin became a team occurred early on in their National Circus School training. "During our high school program, I needed to choose my discipline. I felt very comfortable with Corentin. I wanted to be a flyer, and he was tall and strong, while I was small, so we made a match. But our fear was that Cirque would pass on us because we were two men. Trapeze duos are usually a man and a woman. So, okay, we thought, it wasn't going to happen, and we started thinking of other circuses in the world. Then we got the call. It really felt it came out of nowhere. A big surprise. It was amazing and we were happy. So happy."

That was in 2022. Maxime has been traveling with the show since and loves it. "Traveling is one of the reasons we do this job," he explains. "It can be challenging, because we go to so many places; but it has been great for me to visit all these places in Europe and the Middle East. It has given me a bigger picture of the world."

In the show Maxime and Corentin are fleas. "Very colorful fleas," Maxime adds. Their body suits are bold yellow and red accented with geometric lines and shapes, wings, and skull cap. "It's so much fun jumping around. You may think a bug is a bug is a bug, but every character in the show is different and has their own unique story. With us, it is fun and being joyful. I quite like it. Though when we started rehearsing with the costumes, we weren't used to the hats, so working with them was a big adaptation."

Once part of the Cirque team, the pair had to build a routine, which was, as Maxine puts it, "adapt our trapeze vocabulary to the world of OVO, which is all about bugs, and tell our own story. And to do so we worked with a team that included an artistic coach, and, of course, an acrobatic coach."

One of the most important aspects of being part of a trapeze duo is trust, which Maxine has built over his long relationship with Corentin. "You must build that connection with the partner to feel comfortable when doing the number. Of course, that takes practice, practice, and more practice. And you really need to trust our partner. Some people think that because two people do the same discipline, it is super easy to work with anyone. But that's not the case."

While Maxine is professionally paired with Corentin, in real-life his romantic partner is named Sacha Robillard and lives in Montreal. "We've been together for four years," Maxine explains. "We met through a friend, and chatted a lot on social media, then we went out for a drink. And that was it. It's great to have him on tour with me when it's possible, but we do spend long times separated, and that can be challenging as well.

"OVO" runs through July 28 at Agganis Arena, 925 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA. For more information. Follow this link."