Cirque Star



Juggling Buff: Kee performs in Dralion.

Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion features more than 55 artists from nine countries. And while all of these performers excel in their crafts, Viktor Kee rates a rare solo spotlight. His act, which combines juggling, dance and gymnastic feats with theatrical glitz, is one of a kind. The 30-year-old Kee has been honing his skills since joining a children’s circus in Priluki, a town in Ukraine, at age 6. Prior to the stint with Cirque, Kee wowed audiences at such places as Le Moulin Rouge in Paris and Friedrichstadt Palast in Berlin. A brash showman onstage, Kee’s otherwise a down-to-earth guy.

Q: How did you get into juggling?

A: I was an acrobat till age 9, and I was also parallel, a clown. When I was 10, I became a magician. Then I decided as an acrobat, I would go to circus school. We had a professional university in Kiev. It was hard to get in. There were 80 or 90 people of acrobatic skill trying to get into one place. My teacher said for the jugglers there’s only 12 people. So I thought I might go in as a juggler and change to acrobatics. I practiced as a juggler. I got in, but I never switched to acrobatics.

Q: Why not?

A: At age 13 I won a state gold medal as a juggler. So I said I’d like to be a solo performer. I didn’t want to be an acrobat and just be part of the people in the group.

Q: You began developing a special style early on. What were you trying to do back then?

A: In the former Soviet Union, a circus act that was untraditional was not acceptable. So I grew up with the idea of being able to juggle nine or 10 balls. When I went to work with my wife — I was married then — to Switzerland, I found out that’s not what people like, in general. They get bored. You have to be such a talented genius to take the attention away from the objects. So I tried to do something with dance. I did breakdance juggling. That’s the act I did in the ’80s.… I performed for the army for free with that act. The generals and the bigwigs all stood up. I figured I should continue in this direction.

Q: Your costume for Dralion is unusual. What’s the concept?

A: It starts from 1994, when I wore only a black bodysuit. Then when I went to Le Lido de Paris, it’s all about pretty girls. The black didn’t fit. So my wife at the time, she was a designer, and she said, "Let’s design something more erotic." She made it up and tried to do the nude look. Just a simple bodysuit. But it was too much. So we added some lines along the muscle. It looks like a body. It’s like skin.

Q: A lot of reviews mention of how sexy you are up there.

A: I’ve been called the sexiest juggler in the world. It’s a joke. But it’s also true. There is no sexier juggler. Because no one wears nothing on stage like me [laughs].

Q: Do you like to be known that way?

A: Well, I’m pretty sure the majority of people that are important to me, they would think artistically. But there are people who will have a dirty mind and use their imagination. I don’t really care. Because they’re always there. But what counts to me are the people that leave feedback on my website, who say how I touched them.

Q: Your whole act is pretty incredible. And there are certain moves, like when you line up balls on your back, or have a ball on your nose and spin around and the ball stays still, that are really special. Did you make them up?

A: There are about eight tricks that I have in my act that I developed myself. That you won’t see anywhere else, unless somebody copied me. The rest is a pretty basic routine, but it’s more interesting, because it’s not just juggling, but also with choreography and acrobatics, and that puts a completely different perspective on juggling.

Q: How would you describe your character for Dralion?

A: A newborn creature. It’s like anybody that wants to come out and express themself and be enabled to be naked in front of thousands of people and not worry what people think.

Q: You have an agent. Can someone book you for an event?

A: Yes. But it has to fit in between shows.

Q: So if someone wants you for a special occasion, you might be available?

A: People send me a lot of invitations by e-mail for private parties, but I only do commercial work. Big-top events.