Cirque Mechanics' 'Pedal Punk' combines steampunk, acrobatics

Cirque Mechanics returns to Popejoy on Sunday, April 13, with “Pedal Punk,” a steampunk-flavored circus where death-defying feats are performed on elaborate, industrial-inspired apparatuses.

“That idea of mixing these mechanical contraptions with the acrobatics is really what makes our shows unique,” said Cirque Mechanics founder Chris Lashua, who co-directs “Pedal Punk” with Aloysia Gavre.

Lashua has a background in freestyle BMX stunt biking, and Gavre is an internationally known aerial hoop artist. Both are also Cirque du Soleil veterans.

“Pedal Punk” incorporates the look of steampunk, the lifestyle and fashion subculture, which mixes post-Victorian aesthetics — including corsets, knee-high boots and aviator goggles — with futuristic cyberpunk elements. Lashua describes steampunk as a thought experiment in “what would’ve happened if instead of going down the path of internal combustion, we went down the path of steam power.”

“The funny thing is, we were doing all this stuff — using gears and pulleys and levers. But we didn’t know what steampunk was,” he said. “We were just doing our thing. But when we created ‘Pedal Punk’ 10 years ago, we decided to really go all in, since our shows already had that vibe.”

Lashua’s contraptions are not steam-powered. Everything is operated by human hands and feet, with only pulleys and pedals to assist them — hence the “Pedal Punk” name.

Lashua said the ideas for Cirque Mechanics’ shows are born from a lot of creative brainstorming.

“It starts with saying, ‘OK, we’re going to build a big device. It’s going to spin an area around a central pedestal on stage.’ And then we decide what it looks like. It could be a lighthouse or a guard tower. It could be a swing from Coney Island, or it could be a pedestal for a windmill. Then, we create a narrative.”

The results, he said, are “magic.”

“For ‘Pedal Punk,’ we knew we were going to do a show in a kind of steampunk bike shop. We decided that after we had built the central element, a big 20-foot tall pedal-driven contraption that rolls around the stage and supports the aerial act platform,” he said. “I wanted the aerial act to be performed on some kind of bicycle, so I keyed in right away on what’s called a penny-farthing, which is the old-timey bicycle with the really big front wheel and the really tiny back wheel. So, we thought, ‘Wow, we should build an aerial hoop apparatus as a penny-farthing bicycle.’ The acrobat spins and does all kinds of contortions inside the hoop, which is the front wheel of the penny-farthing.”

Lashua said the most dangerous act in the show is the gantry trampoline act, which involves acrobats leaping back and forth on trampolines from 20 feet in the air.

“That’s a big ‘wow’ act and the finale of the show,” he said. “Of course, nobody wants to see anybody get hurt. So, we’re always looking for that balance between managing risk and creating something that’s spectacular to watch.”

“Pedal Punk” is family friendly but thrilling for adults, as well.

“We’ve always built shows for everybody,” Lashua said. “And this is something that sometimes people don’t believe, because they think if something’s gonna be appropriate for a 10-year-old, they’re not gonna like it.”

“But honestly, that’s one of the unique things about circus and acrobatics. That stuff is inherently interesting to all of us,” he said. “Anybody who’s ever ridden a bicycle can see this BMX spinning around and think, ‘Wow, I rode a bicycle and I could barely do a wheelie.’”

“Then, when you mix storytelling and acrobatics and theater, you can create content that really does work for everybody,” he said. “We’ll have a hipster couple who’s going there on a date, and then we’ll have a family with 10- and 14-year-olds, and then maybe granddad sitting next to them. We’re proud of that.”

Cirque Mechanics' 'Pedal Punk' combines steampunk, acrobatics