Ryan McCarthy: From National Champion to Cirque de Soleil
8/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Aug. 11, 2010
From National Champion to Cirque de Soleil
By Joanne C. Gerstner
Ryan McCarthy, a recently graduated University of Michigan star men's gymnast, believes the throbbing pains in his legs and shoulders will ease with time.
Every day this summer, McCarthy has been undergoing grueling training to become an elite artistic and theatric gymnastic performer. McCarthy, who was part of Michigan's 2010 NCAA title-winning team and the national high bar champion, now works for the renowned Cirque du Soleil performing company.
He started training in June, at Cirque's campus headquarters in Montreal, to learn the many aspects of becoming a professional performer.
McCarthy, who specialized in bars, is working to perfect his technique in hopes of being part of Cirque du Soleil's "Mystère" show in Las Vegas. He hangs from his arms on a swinging high bar during multiple daily practices, working on catching other performers with his legs and hitting his dramatic marks.
If he successfully completes the rigorous Cirque du Soleil training (called general formation), McCarthy could be called up at any time to join one of the company's 21 shows around the world. Seven shows, such as long-running Mystère, are in permanent residence in hotel-casinos in Las Vegas, while the other 14 travel the world.
"It's really awesome here to train, but it's very demanding," McCarthy, a 2010 All-American in parallel and high bar, said. "I do three trainings per day, plus the artistic classes where I work on voice, acting, theater type things. Each class works to transform you into an artist.
"It's been pretty painful the past two months on my legs. And my shoulders too. Every day you do it. It's part of the job, it's okay. I just have to ice a lot, deal with the pain. They tell me it goes away as I get used to doing it over and over. I hope they're right."
McCarthy, a native of Zionsville, Ind., is surviving a whirlwind spring and summer: winning the NCAA titles, graduating, moving from Ann Arbor to Montreal, and now working long hours. He lives with other general formation performers in a dorm, re-creating a college-like atmosphere.
A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, he earned a master's degree in kinesiology and a bachelor's in biomedical engineering during his time at Michigan.
All seemed on track for medical school, until a chance meeting with a Cirque talent scout two years ago at the NCAA Championship produced a quirky career detour.
McCarthy had been a fan of Cirque du Soleil shows since he was a kid, even lucky to attend a few. He intently watched the performers with the curiosity and vision of a gymnast.
"I always wondered how they did what they were doing on-stage. Could I do the same thing too?" McCarthy, 23, said. "I never knew if I was good enough, or even how to get involved. And then they found me. I wanted to do it. I can't even tell you how different it is now that I am inside of it.
"You can't even begin to understand all that goes into a show until you're in it. It's pretty amazing how it all comes together."
Cirque du Soleil has a team of roving talent scouts, globally on the hunt for various types of gymnasts, actors and unusual performers for its highly creative and technical shows.
McCarthy was intrigued by the scout's interest. He followed up, applying on the Cirque du Soleil website for a tryout. He successfully completed the audition process, and joined the program after his time at Michigan was done.
He never saw himself as a theatric performer though. McCarthy knew how to perform as a gymnast, playing to the judges and nobody else. Now, he's learning how to express himself as a character, such as an insect, animal or a mythical creature, to judging strangers in an audience.
McCarthy is the second known Michigan gymnast to make the jump to Cirque du Soleil. Elise Ray, who won a bronze team medal with the U.S. at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics and multiple NCAA titles with the Wolverines, has performed as part of the "Love" and "O" resident casts in Las Vegas.
"It's an incredible line of work," Ray told the Michigan Daily in 2008. "We work hard for sure, but being out on that stage every night, it's just crazy ... I love my work, it's amazing. We do 10 shows a week. It's tough, but being out on that stage is incredible. It really is."
McCarthy hopes to reach Ray's success level, becoming a contract elite performer with a Cirque du Soleil show. He knows he has to become more expressive, creative and push his body to its limits: a huge leap of faith.
"I've been training at a high level for the last five years, so I am in good physical condition," McCarthy said. "This a very demanding job, you have to be able to push yourself when it hurts.
"The biggest difference is you know how to get up for the NCAAs and Big Tens, but Cirque is different because you have to be at a peak performance 10 shows per week, 300 shows per year. You can't have an off-night, because that may be the only night somebody comes to see the show. It requires a different type of sports psychology, and they're working with us on that.
"You have to give it your all out there, in every way, but then you have to learn how to recover quickly and be ready to do it all over again. You can't rest on one good performance. I think that's going to be a really exciting challenge. I'm really feeling at home here."
