Johannesburg – River Makings was on the verge of achieving his biggest dream.
The Joburg-born gymnast had just qualified for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
He had been working for the last 20 years to qualify for the major sporting event. “Any gymnast will tell you that the ultimate dream is to compete at an event such as the Olympics or Commonwealth Games," said Makings.
“So I was over the moon when I had qualified.” But Makings never made it to Scotland. Just weeks before he was set to compete, he broke his ankle during training, which ruled him out of the Games.
"It wasn’t the first time an injury had held me back from competing, but this really shattered me,” he said.
For the next six months, Makings struggled.
“I went on an emotional roller-coaster. I didn’t know whether my injury would hold me back from competing again,” said the former Krugersdorp High School pupil.
“I relied heavily on friends and family. They saw my potential where I couldn’t. They told me to get my life into gear, and fulfil my potential.”
Over the next year, he would gradually recover. “I thought if I can’t make it to the Olympics, I’d need to chase my other dream which was to become a performer.
“Aside from improving my gymnastics, I started learning tricking (a form of martial arts), Parkour and dance.”
Two years after his horrific injury, Makings sent an online audition to the largest theatrical producer in the world, the Cirque de Soleil. Three months later, he received a call, informing him that he had made the cut. “I was fortunate that at the time I was exactly what they were looking for.
“They contacted me about three months after I submitted my audition, and the rest is history."
Today Makings has performed in at least 200 shows for the company, which specialises in high-quality artistic spectacles.
He performs in Toruk – The First Flight, a large-scale production by Cirque du Soleil, which travels around the world.
The show is a synthesis of various circus disciplines with its own central theme and storyline inspired by James Cameron’s movie, Avatar.
Makings made his debut in September. Each show is a synthesis of circus styles from across the world, with its own central theme and storyline.
“It’s incredibly hard to describe what I had felt during my first performance,” said Makings this week while on a short break in South Africa.
“I was nervous. My adrenalin was pumping. If you had to combine all your emotions and all your dreams into one moment, that would be it for me.”
Makings, who spent the last months touring the US, is a generalist performer, which means he is tasked with doing a variety of circus acts.
“The dream is to live a life where I don’t feel like I’m working and that’s exactly how I feel with Cirque du Soleil. Don’t get me wrong, it’s plenty of hard work, and I’m only in the learning phase. But I’m having the time of my life performing with such a prestigious company.
I have had to learn how to marry movement and acting while on stage."
Makings' head coach on the show, Michael Ocampo was impressed. “River arrived on our show with great enthusiasm, charisma and a high-level of acrobatics skills.
"Immediately, it was evident that this was an artist who would give of himself, shine in his performances, and continue to push himself." Makings now hopes to fly his mother over for a show as she has never seen him perform live.