{"id":107964,"date":"2026-02-03T19:07:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T03:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/?p=107964"},"modified":"2026-02-03T20:15:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:15:04","slug":"home-is-where-the-big-top-is-raising-a-family-on-tour-with-cirque-du-soleil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/home-is-where-the-big-top-is-raising-a-family-on-tour-with-cirque-du-soleil\/","title":{"rendered":"Home is Where the Big Top Is: Raising a family on tour with Cirque du Soleil"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lou Malin is 1\u00bd years old and she\u2019s already lived in 11 cities. More, if you count her time in utero. This week, she adds another city to her list: Seattle.<\/p>\n

Both Lou\u2019s parents work for Cirque du Soleil Echo<\/a>, and she was born on tour in 2024. Her dad, Cl\u00e9ment Malin, is one of two clowns in the Double Trouble act. Her mom, Mylie Maury, is a wardrobe technician. The family moves every two months with the circus. Lou has spent her entire life on the road.<\/p>\n

Next stop is Redmond, where Cirque du Soleil Echo runs Jan. 30 to March 22 in Marymoor Park. Echo is Cirque du Soleil\u2019s new touring production that debuted in 2023, and this year will be its first staging in the Seattle area.<\/p>\n

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Cle\u0301ment Malin, Mylie Maury, and their daughter, Lou Malin. (Image courtesy Cle\u0301ment Malin and Mylie Maury)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Cirque du Soleil is essentially a mobile village with a blue-and-white big top. The 158 people traveling with the show include professional acrobats, musicians, clowns \u2014 plus nine kids, ranging from 3 months old to age 11, growing up surrounded by this circus family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most stable thing [Lou] knows is a tent. Home is a tent,\u201d Malin said. \u201cWhen she comes back here, it\u2019s the only thing that hasn\u2019t moved inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lou was born during Cirque du Soleil\u2019s Miami stopover. Two weeks later, her family hopped in the car and drove to their next show, in Toronto. The biggest challenge? Taking a passport photo of a newborn with her eyes open.<\/p>\n

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Mylie Maury with her daughter, Lou Malin. (Image courtesy Cle\u0301ment Malin and Mylie Maury)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cEverything was so quick, we didn\u2019t have time to think that much,\u201d Maury said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have time to question ourselves.\u201d
\n(Two weeks post-partum, and a cross-continental road trip with a newborn? I don\u2019t know about you, but when I was a new mom, going to the mailbox was the big adventure of my day.)<\/p>\n

Bianca Kalvesmaki, Olli Torkkel and their 5-year-old daughter, Lumi Torkkel, also tour with Cirque du Soleil Echo. Kalvesmaki is the guest experience director; Torkkel is a swing technician and a former artist. Between the three of them, they own 10 suitcases, two bikes and a bed for Lumi. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

At the end of each city, Lumi tries on her clothes, and anything that doesn\u2019t fit gets donated. Santa came, of course, and they made room for the new toys. One bag is filled with books in English and Finnish; Lumi was born in Finland, her dad\u2019s home country.<\/p>\n

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Bianca Kalvesmaki and Olli Torkkel with their daughter Lumi Torkkel. (Photo courtesy Bianca Kalvesmaki Olli Torkkel)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe often think kids need stability and a routine,\u201d Torkkel said. \u201cI think kids need parents. That\u2019s the only thing they need. That\u2019s what we\u2019re able to offer her, nonstop. There\u2019s no time we would be away from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s like a big family\u2019<\/h4>\n

It was in Montreal, at the start of the Cirque du Soleil Echo tour, when Maury, who is French, found out she was pregnant. The first doctor she saw said, \u201cOh no, you can\u2019t go on tour. What are you going to do? Are you going back to France or are you staying in Canada?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I got quite afraid at the beginning,\u201d Maury said. \u201cHaving a baby is a huge change in your life. Even if I was at home, I would have gotten stressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Malin is one of two clowns in the Double Trouble act. (Image courtesy Cle\u0301ment Malin and Mylie Maury)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fortunately, Maury had an easy pregnancy. With each new city, she brought a pile of documents from the previous doctor. She wrestled with morning sickness while cleaning costumes at work. Then Lou was born, and Lou slept backstage with baby headphones, and Maury would come nurse her between shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody is understanding and helped us out,\u201d Maury said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a big family,\u201d Malin added. \u201cWe feel really supported.\u201d<\/p>\n

With their 5-year-old, the challenge now for Kalvesmaki and Torkkel is getting Lumi into activities and hobbies. It\u2019ll take planning and carving out the time, then restarting with every new city.<\/p>\n

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Guest experience director Bianca Kalvesmaki with her daughter Lumi Torkkel. (Image courtesy Bianca Kalvesmaki and Olli Torkkel)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Torkkel, after all, started gymnastics when he was 5 or 6. He was a professional gymnast before being scouted by Cirque du Soleil, and performed as an acrobat on a previous tour. (Yes, he does get some funny looks from moms when he and Lumi are at the gym.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s all kinds of different people of different backgrounds, 150 people on tour who we are friends with,\u201d Torkkel said. \u201cThat makes the community really different. The opportunity to learn from all those people. We really wanted to give that experience to our child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe sees the creative world constantly,\u201d Kalvesmaki added. \u201cIt\u2019ll be interesting to see what she lands on as she gets older. I don\u2019t know if she wants to be an acrobat. But she\u2019s definitely dramatic.\u201d<\/p>\n

If You Go<\/h4>\n

See Lou Malin and Lumi Torkkel\u2019s parents at work!<\/p>\n