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Title: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL?? THE SPARK: Igniting the Creative Fire That Lives Within Us All
ISBN: 0385516517
Author:
John U. Bacon
Publicate Date: 2006-04-11
Publish: 2006-04-11
List Price: $19.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $5.69
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.37
Amazon Merchant Price: $13.57
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Get motivated and get creative with the help of this little book
Talk about inspiring. Open up this slim, easy to read little book, and the first 25 pages or so really pull you in. Who can't relate to the very real story of someone that starts work full of passion and creativity and over time the work becomes a chore, a task to be done as quickly as possible with little or no joy. Sound familiar? It did to me.
I really enjoyed the first half of the book, it was certainly motivating for me and from this perspective alone, I would recommend it to you. But as the work progresses the story becomes too predictable and somewhat trite. A bit like 'The Alchemist' but without the mystical charm. The meetings with the folks from Cirque Du Soliel too contrived, each with a moral to fit the occassion. But don't let that put you off!
It did make me book to see a Cirque Du Soliel show and I am looking inside to find that creative spark that has somewhat dwindled with the passing of time....Go ahead and buy it!
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2: Not What You Might Expect... How Typical of Cirque!
A book that I thought would be about the history and business of Cirque du Soleil, The Spark is surprisingly a book more about self-help and insights on how to be a better person, be more motivated at work, and how to reach a higher potential. It is very rare that I say this - but this book was too short and could have actually been longer. It would have been nice to learn more about the Cirque operation, background and history. As well, there are likely more of life's lessons that could have been woven into this well written book.
I've been lucky enough to have seen at least five of the Cirque shows in various cities around the globe though even if you have never been to a Cirque production you will likely enjoy this book and should get some good points/reminders out of it.
Overall, a whimsical and well-written book that might surprise, educate, and entertain you. I look forward to a sequel or the next in what could easily become a series.
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3: Worth the time but not the money
I, too, fell for the "fake" story, and then couldn't figure out what was going on because the narrator didn't appear in the credits. OK. I went to the Cirque store in DowntownDisney, hoping for a bit more "reality" rather than the same stuff they sell at the road shows, and this was as close as I got. Had to make a buying decision before I could get here and check out the reviews and, well, if you've been to Disney, you know how the wallet opens and money just flows out...
Wish I'd read a copy from the library.
If you have a day job and that's the height of your creative output, you might find something inspirational is this little book. If you already know you are creative and were hoping to take away a bit of specific energy that differentiates Cirque from any other day job, you might find more in Gordon MacKenzie's Orbiting the Giant Hairball.
It's hard to write usefully about creativity. Good thing for Cirque's bottom line that they make their money in performance art, and not expository writing.
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4: Finding my Spark...
I am a profesional magician. Let's get that out right now. As such, I am always looking for things which inspire creativity in my art.
And like all artistic types, I go through slumps. I get distracted or weighed down with mundane things like paying bills, cleaning the house, fixing the car or any of a hundred other things which take up time and mental effort and leave you nothing left for your art.
I had been experiencing just such a slump for several months. The annual slump I get working my way through the Thanksgiving to New Years time span which is always filled with tones of work, family and life. I know this slump comes up every year and when New Years is over I start looking for things to get me out of it.
Well, this book didn't get me out of it, but only because I had managed to pull myself out on my own. However, for Valentines Day my wife took me to see "Kooza" and this book was being sold there. I looked at it before the show and thought it looked interesting. At intermission I went back out and picked up a copy.
I read it in just a couple of hours the following day and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. If I had still been in my creative slump this would have certainly taken me out of it.
The dedication to creativity, the inspiration, the words that point to methods of artistic integrity (and by integrity I mean "integrated into the whole") are worth every cent and every moment it took to read.
Yes, the story is somewhat simplistic, but the story isn't the point. The message under the story is the point and a very valuable point it is. If you are an artist of any stripe you will find something useful in this book. If you are a performing artist of any type, you will be even more inspired.
There are lessons here that any artist can apply to their art and to their efforts to make themselves better at their art.
I highly recommend this book.
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5: Great on Creativity
A great book on understanding Cirque Du Soleil and the creativity that exists within the culture. A very interesting read and would recommend it. A great size to read while traveling.
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