A show that sells out theaters, cultural centers and concert halls. It is not just the name of the popular moderator Leoš Mareš (47), but an integrated complex of teamwork, which seems coordinated down to the last detail.
But how does Leoš Mareš himself perceive his First Tour? “I was worried that people might not like it. You never know in advance. The preparations were big. And we weren’t sure. But when I see feedback and wonderful responses, I am of course happy about it,” Leoš Mareš elaborates on his feelings and adds: “I feel great gratitude towards the fans and I try to give it back to them on stage. It is not a matter of course that people will come and pay a high entrance fee to see a show. They deserve to experience it.”
And months of hard work paid off. “When you’re training a theater number that’s not based on improvisation, it’s obviously challenging. Lots of people around, you have to do everything the choreography requires. It’s more of an acting event. And that’s a challenge for me,” continues the main protagonist of the First Tour. “It was difficult for me. But I enjoy it even more now. Before, I didn’t know the feeling that you know the number and drive according to it,” he admits, among other things.
He gets a reaction not only from the audience directly at the concert, but also afterwards. “Among the reports are incredible stories. One fan wrote that she was at an event with her husband after 40 years, and her husband, who never had fun, completely fell in love with my show and even danced,” smiled Leoš Mareš.
Nothing was spared
The shape of the scene, the number of costumes that Leoš Mareš and the dancers change many times during the concert, the overall choreography. It would appear that this is a costly affair. “We have a big expedition. We wanted to make it great. So nothing was really spared,” claims the well-known presenter.
Leoš Mareš collaborated with his court fashion stylist Filip Vaňek to prepare the tour. “It’s maybe hundreds of costumes. Trucks go around the tour with our wardrobe.”
“We started figuring everything out in December. And then we’ve been preparing since January. We sewed some things ourselves, such as jackets. We also produced the fabric, because we also work with a special print and logo. We have things from Czech designers here. We went to the shows in the fall and thought about what we could use. So that it’s a bit about fashion, and not just about costumes,” adds Filip Vaněk, who focuses a lot on details. “For example, we have red bowls here. And we made masks with spikes for them. Which was very problematic for the dancers to see at the same time. Because it is often dark even behind the scenes and it complicates their performance on stage a bit. But on the other hand, the effect is worth it,” says Mareš’s fashion stylist.
Five concerts in Prague
But back to the tour itself. After Zlín, Leoš Mareš goes to other Czech cities and the tour culminates at the end of April in Prague, where fans have been pushing him to add more concert dates in recent days. And this has now been achieved, even in the much sought-after afternoon time slot. Leoš Mareš will play his show repeatedly in Prague from April 24 to 28. The last time he added a pair of Sunday concerts to the schedule of the Congress Center was on April 28. During four days, he will perform five times in front of the Prague audience.
Plzeň will also see an encore, here too Mareš listened to the wishes of the fans, who will be able to watch the show in the afternoon as well. Tickets for the Pilsen concerts went on sale today – Wednesday, April 17.
“We decided to continue. Pilsen, which the fans have been calling for since the beginning, is also ready. So after Prague we are adding two more concerts in Pilsen on May 1st. And we’ll see if we don’t go any further. Because we really enjoy it. We trained for it, so it would be a shame to stop,” says Leoš Mareš.
As he himself says, he is now experiencing a miraculous period. “Actually, I never had a concert years ago. Rather, it used to be twenty- to thirty-minute performances. And I had the feeling that I would never do concerts. That it is impossible to have a ninety-minute concert. And now we are experiencing it. It is unbelievable. I have concerts, I have tours. It’s a miracle.”