February 20, 1998
Electric circus on the Hill
Host Juliette Powell gearing up for tomorrow's party night
By RICK OVERALL

By RICK OVERALL -- There's too much music at MuchMusic.

So Electric Circus diva Juliette Powell ducks into a quiet office at the nation's music station to discuss her upcoming appearance as host of tomorrow night's broadcast of the Winterlude edition of EC from Parliament Hill.

"We've got a live performance going on here and the music is permeating every crevice of the building," Powell laughs after finally finding a little peace at the network's Toronto studios.

Electric Circus, the throbbing video dance hall show, returns as a regular Winterlude feature and Powell indicates the staff at Much have really gotten pretty revved about it all -- they're committed to making this a heart-stopper for fans of the show.

She'll be joined by MusiquePlus host Varda of Bouge de la at a party which last year attracted some 15,000 to the Hill.

"We've got a great lineup of performers -- including Uncle Sam, Love Inc, and DJs Bad Boy Bill (from Chicago) and local spinner DJ Balu.

"Apart from that, this will be Varda's first big event and I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with her because we were friends from Montreal."

Powell explains that getting ready for EC's Winterlude appearance is a long process.

"The preparations for Winterlude literally begin the day after the last show.

"There's a great deal of money invested and we want to make sure that everyone involved is comfortable with the EC production and at the same time we want to make the show better every year -- that's difficult."

It boils down to logistics.

"When you're combining the best in today's music with a crowd this size it's not always easy to get it all pulled together in time for the show," says Powell.

Although Powell is marking her fourth anniversary with this Winterlude broadcast, she's continually amazed at the hardiness of those who turn out to dance on Parliament Hill.

"You've got to remember these people aren't being paid to come out and dance, they do it out of pure enjoyment.

"The dancers could easily be heading out to warm clubs but here they are, dancing in the cold -- sometimes as cold as minus 30 -- they do it because they want to. They are the show!" This weekend's forecast calls for much warmer temperatures -- about minus five at showtime.

"I'd say what makes this edition of EC so special are the crowd shots.

"We see the dancers who are not even aware of the cameras, just letting go and having a great time and just releasing the stress."

Certainly as a former Miss Canada, and now a broadcast celebrity in her own right, Powell's star is continuing to rise. But the star buzz of TV really isn't the main focus of her life or career.

"Certainly EC is the highest profile show on MuchMusic/Citytv but I do many other things and it's the whole package that really offers me a lot of growth as an individual in the business.

"On of the most important innovations that we've brought to EC is the chat line because it goes far beyond the boundaries of a music show.

"The other day we had people on-line chatting about things like Black History Month and a lot of what they were chatting about was not what you'd normally think of as material young people would be getting into.

"It's even more satisfying when you know that the free form aspect of a chat line means they could be talking about anything.

"When I throw certain subjects out there and the kids pick up on them then I'm really encouraged. I love to see that the kids are having fun but it's even better to know that they care about issues and care about what's going on in the world."

Electric Circus hits Parliament Hill tomorrow at 9:30 p.m.