Disney maintains fantasy 'Wild West' in Europe

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There were almost 1,000 people crowded into the Panee Memorial Agriplex in Hobbema by 10:00 a.m. last Monday morning in the hopes of landing a job with EuroDisney. Agents for The Walt Disney Company's Paris, France, theme park were in town offering auditions to prospective Indian riders, Buffalo Bills, Annie Oakleys and Sitting Bulls. More than 400 of those in attendance rode around the arena bareback, hoping to have their names added to the waiting list for positions in the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show.

"I was asked by my agent to come here, to try out for an Indian bareback rider," said 27-year-old hopeful Leroy "Starhawk" Dixon, originally from Morley, Alta. Dixon has been an actor since 1987, and since his first on-camera appearance in 21 Jump Street, he has had small parts in many movies and TV shows, including Dances With Wolves and War Party.

"I've taken every acting opportunity I've had in my life," he said. "If it's in front of me, I go for it, and this is no exception."

If Dixon was dismayed by the numbers trying out, he didn't show it, but then he's been in the biz for nearly 10 years. Others were visibly discouraged by the apparently long odds of making it.

"There are 40 to 60 Indian riders over three," explained Shawn Howard to the assembled group prior to the tryouts. One of the team leaders in the Wild West Show, Howard acted as judge as the parade of hopefuls circled the arena.

"It's good to be over there," he continued. "I like it. I'm going to stay till they run me off." Howard explained that the positions were part of a permanent feature show at Euro Disney, involving five days of working two dinner shows per day. Qualified people would have their names kept on file and would be called as positions became open over the next year.

"(The Europeans) think of you just like right out of TV," said Howard. "It's kind of fun, and it opens up all sorts of opportunities. Howard explained that, because of his work at the theme park, he has worked in a number of films in small parts and as a stunt double.

Many of those at the Panee tryouts expected more of a rodeo atmosphere to the auditions, but Howard explained that rodeo is not a big factor in the Wild West Show.

"We go to some rodeos over at some of the bases in Germany," he said, "but the humane society over there, they're kind of fruit loops. There's no calf roping, no bull dogging, and they're real particular about the horses over there."

"The show is all about showcasing highly skilled trick riders," said Gisele Danis, senior publicity representative for Walt Disney Attractions based out of Toronto. She denied that anybody had expressed concerns about the cultural propriety of a Wild West Show featuring cowboys and Indians in the 1990s.

"No one has approached us in regards to that," she said. "We do not ridicule First Nations' culture. The show was never set out to be history; it is loosely based on what happened in Paris between 1889 and 1913."

Danis was referring to Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, which performed beneath the Eiffel Tower from the time the famous structure was built until the start of the first World War. Sitting Bull was part of the show, as was trick shooter Annie Oakely.

"The hook is that the show was performed in Paris," Danis said. "Sitting Bull is part of the show today because he was a part of the original Wild West Show.

"For the Indians involved," she continued, "it's a great experience. They come out as stars; they come out as athletes. The public over there really wants to meet them and to touch them after the shows.

"Every show is different, and the shows represent the culture in its ongoing viability because the performers are able to adjust the show each time," she said. "They all follow the same script, though."

Several hopefuls at the Hobbema tryouts said that they were uncomfortable with the cultural implications of the show, but they didn't want their names used and refused the chance to be interviewedon camera by CBC television. They were still hopeful of getting a lucrative Eurojob in France.

"It's a cartoon of how they thought we were then," said one, as he waited for his name to be called in the bleachers. "It wasn't true then and it isn't true now."

"That's right," agreed another, but with unemployment at what is in some reserves now, who can turn down a chance at $2,000 a month and the chance to see Europe." Both agreed that they'd quit the job if they were asked to "go too far," as they put it.

EuroDisney had a rocky start, financially, but has recovered and is doing quite well, according to Danis.

"It's out of the red," she said. "More than two-million people have seen this show over there, but the success is a combination of the whole park, not just this show."

Disney operates three theme parks-in Anaheim, Calif.; Orlando, Fla.; and Paris-and licenses a fourth in Tokyo, Japan. Each of the parks has an attraction with a wild west theme.

"But the Paris show is the only one with the Wild West Show," Danis said. "We never want to recreate the major attractions in each park. We don't want people going to one park and thinking that they've seen all of them. It would destroy their individuality."