Going back to NYC for:

I rarely get excited about new contemporary circus these days.

It seems everyone's either an aerialist or a clown (or both). They would then proceed to pool all  their resources together, rent a theater, put on a dark , brooding track, wear some decidedly non-traditional circus wardrobe and call themselves NEW CIRCUS.

It's almost becoming traditional to become NON traditional. For example, certain  shows are now called CIRQUE-ish shows and even Cirque Du Soleil gets bloated up in it's own Cirque-ishness.

That's why I get all giddy when I see that James Thierrree is producing new work.

James is the grandson of Charlie Chaplin and comes from a circus family in France.

I've heard good things about his work for the past decade but finally managed to catch a show in NYC 2-3 years ago.

It was this one:


Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBAL__X7lqY

At first glance, I thought this would be another Cirque knock off but after the first few minutes, I was hooked. This was accessible and not pretentious at all.

So they all called me crazy...

Clown College? Yep

Seriously, you're gonna put on some floppy shoes, big red nose, and parade around in some goofy ass costume? Yep

17 years old with nothing but a smile and a pocketful of dreams



In Public? Yep



But what people don't realize is that dressing up in some goofy ass costume is an art form.

It takes time and patience to design and pick out the right costume and look.
Because if you're not careful, you may end up looking like some carnival nightmare


Though I probably own one of these as well

Over the years, I've either designed and built a dozen costume pieces or collected different pieces from all over the world.

When I moved to Hong Kong, I sort of retired all of them inside my steamer trunk and vintage suitcases back in NYC. Then I realized I couldn't live without them so I shipped all of them out to Asia. So my tiny little studio has about 9 vintage cases full of props and costumes PLUS a full size Titanic Steamer Trunk chocked full of fashion goodness.

And now my costumes are being used on a whole different level!

PRODUCTION WARDROBE!

Most recently for Ryan Hui's new MV "TRANSFORMER"


I don't have a photo of the rack completely full of costumes but you get the idea

The goal was to transform Ryan into a super Canto Pop singer with the craziest costume we can put together without looking TOO clown like

For example,

This is an outfit I picked up in Miami from a Go Go dance company that was clearing out their warehouse. There's a bottom piece that goes with this. It's form fitting complete with enhanced codpiece.

Finally we ended up with just two top pieces.



For all you game trivia buffs, the red vest that Ryan is stylin' first debuted in the New York City Chinese New Year parade back in 2008.



So check out the world premiere of Rob's costumes in Ryan Hui's new single "TRANSFORM"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4yQQSDtGRI

Oh, and Ryan is pretty bad ass as well!

CHINA FRIENDLY HERE
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTI0ODQwMjQ4.html


Oh, and I also had a nice little cameo... Can you find me?

Growing up, I was a huge fan of the World Wrestling Federation or WWF. Many a school recess did I don my Ultimate Warrior elbow straps, you know...the ones that resembled those bike pom poms you find on the handlebars?....and recreate a free-for-all scene from a Wrestlemania battle I've stayed up to watch the night before



So you can imagine the joy that I felt when my buddy and fellow AnD'er, Richard, invited me to a wrestling event by the fine folks at the Hong Kong Wrestling Federation



I'm not too sure on the history of the HKWF but from what I can gather, it was started by this one wrestler that also loved the WWF and decided to bring it to Hong Kong.

He gathered a bunch a other guys that loved wrestling and scored a little industrial space out in Fo Tan, New Territories.

They built a wrestling ring, threw in a few chairs, put up a curtain or two and now they hold shows every month.

The coolest thing? None of these guys looked like they were over twenty one! Seriously, one of the wrestlers was about 14 years old!

His name? CAKE BOY!!

Yep, they all have their own personas! Some are villains, others heroes.. Some wear masks, make up, costumes while others would just wear a pair of shorts and tshirt



You walk into the place and you'll see posters of all the different wrestlers from the HKWF.

It's a bit raw but these guys can FLY! Seriously, DDTs, Suplexes, Pile Drivers, Flying Head Kicks, you name it...they were trying it!



One wrestler's jump kick had so much momentum and height that he literally bounced off the back of another wrestler and FLEW out of the ring!

It was INSANE!



The DIY aspect of it was pretty cool as well. During the main event, the laser light show was brought to us by the wonderful suppliers of Bike LED lights and the final win was highlighted by an onslaught of party store confetti poppers.

I was half expecting someone to light up a cigarette and start blowing it around the ring to achieve that mysterious smoke machine look.





Okay..Okay...so it doesn't quite have the production level of your typical WWF main event but what they lack in resources, they COMPLETELY make up for sheer passion, creativity and a screw it all attitude that kicked my ass.



And what wrestling event would be complete without their huge cache of raving fans!?!

Screaming and yelling? Check
Booing and Hissing? Check
Homemade Fan Posters? Check Check CHECK!



Richard was also wrestling under the guise of Woo Soe Loi or literally translated Mustache Girl.

He added a nice bit of theatrics with his love of HOTCHA and fighting(and losing) to his ex best friend..The Heavy Metal Dude

Call me a bit naive but I felt that his fight was fixed since his opponent weighed all of 110 pounds while he was maxing out at about 160-170



It was a hot and sweaty evening but I enjoyed the hell out of it!

Definitely count me in for the next one..and the one after that...and the one after that

As a matter of fact, a possible new career path for this aging clown?!?!

I studied this man religiously when I first started clowning.