Recently I was reminded of my time auditioning for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, circa 2011. This was a big audition that happened for me a couple months after I had moved to Vegas from Ohio.
I went into it with no expectations, just doing my best and having a good experience. A documentary about the process was actually being filmed at the time, so they ended up catching a few clips of me.
At the time I was training in multiple disciplines including hand balancing, tumbling, tricking, capoeira, bodyweight strength, rings, and weight training.
I actually auditioned twice in the same weekend. The first day was the acrobat/gymnastics audition, where over 100 people signed up. Many of the participants were elite gymnasts who had competed on a national level or even higher! I was definitely towards the bottom of the list regarding overall skill level.
The first part of the audition was showcasing 4 different tumbling passes on the floor: 3 running passes and one standing. This was done one pass at a time with everyone else watching you go. After performing your pass, you had to wait for 100 or so people to do theirs before getting to go again.
That's quite a bit of pressure! The atmosphere felt tense, like a competition.
Personally, I kept things pretty basic and only threw tricks I knew were consistent for me. I was satisfied with my overall performance even though I didn't do anything fancy.
The first part of the audition took several hours, and up next was work with the different gymnastics apparatus. I didn't participate in this portion of the audition since they were specifically looking for national level routines. Luckily the atmosphere was much more relaxed, so this was a great opportunity to meet some people, talk, observe the additional auditions, and do some light training.
Once everything was over, the judges announced those who made it to callbacks the next day, This is where the physical conditioning, dance, and character portion of the audition would take place. The skills portion was a screening to get there.
I did not make it past the first phase, however I was invited to the martial arts and specialty audition the following day. I had one day of rest to prepare a two-minute routine showcasing my skills. This was stressful in its own way with such a short notice, but it allowed me the chance to get two auditions in one weekend.

The martial arts audition was much more laid back than the gymnastics one. There were around 20 people, and the environment was less tense and much more supportive. This audition felt more like a training session where everyone encourages each other rather than a competition.
The audition was a similar process: everyone got the chance to show their routine. Afterwards, the judges decided who would advance to the next portion.
Once again I did not make it past this first stage, but I did receive some feedback. I was told my level of acrobatics was not high enough for the roles I could fit. The solution: keep training.

I was a little disappointed that I never got to do the rope climb test requirement that I had specifically been working on. Being able to climb a rope with no legs is generally a standard level of strength required in many circus auditions.
To this day I still try to include rope climb in my training.
Also, knowing what I know now I'm almost 100% sure I would have failed the dance portion of the audition, had I gotten a chance at it.

All in all, it's a great experience to look back on. I never quite got that illusive cirque contract, but maybe it was for the best that life took me on a different path.

I hope you enjoyed this post reminiscing on some good times and pondering what could have been.

You can watch the documentary below. There are a few clips of me from the Martial Arts and specialty audition from about 35:00-38:00