Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Cirque du Soleil
See photos from their productions in Cirque du Soleil Photo Album
Internationally celebrated circus/theatre company based in Montreal, Quebec , and founded in 1984.
It was formed by Guy Laliberté with a group of street performers who performed 50 shows on tour in eleven cities in Quebec as part of the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier's landing. Their symbol, a large tent with a blue and yellow top, is still part of the Cirque's image.
There are no animal acts in Cirque performances, which exhibit a heightened aesthetic quality in costumes and staging, and an extraordinary athleticism demonstrating the beauty and strength of the human body.
In 1986 the Cirque performed at Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia , before crossing the border into the US and California in 1987 with the Cirque Réinventé show which became the hot ticket for the LA jet-set. The company was on its way to becoming a world-wide phenomenon.
In 1988 tours took in America's two coasts. By 1990 the company visited Europe, by 1992 Japan, and also in 1992 it established a permanent circus in Las Vegas. In 1998, it opened another mega-production in a specially conceived house at the Belagio Hotel, entitled O, a pun on the French word for "water". It is played out against, over and in a gigantic pool of water and featured Olympic synchronised swimming champion Sylvie Frechette. The Cirque also established a location in Disney World, Florida.
Most of the company's productions have been directed by Franco Dragone . Works include Alegrià, Saltimbanco, Quidam, Nouvelle Expérience, Mystère and the 1999 production, Dralion. The soundtracks composed by René Dupéré ) have become hit records. Each work has a specific theme and the performers are recruited world-wide. Because of the huge demands of both the touring and the high aesthetic standards expected from the company, Cirque du Soleil has brought into the fold some of the country's greatest designers including Michel Crête and Dominique Lemieux , who have guided the work of the company towards new levels of beauty and innovation.
In 1999, a dramatic movie featuring the Cirque's Alegria opened, directed by Dragone and featuring one of the company's finest performers, René Bazinet . Several of their productions have been filmed for television.
In 2002, the company launched Varekai, directed by Dominic Champagne . In 2009, it launched OVO in Montreal's Old Port, under its trademark yellow and blue Big Top. OVO has an environmental theme, displaying the biodiversity of the planet through sound, acrobatics, and costumes of insects in the Brazilian rainforest. It is directed by Brazilian choreographer, Deborah Colker.
By 2009, the Cirque had six permanent shows in Los Vegas. Approximately ninety million spectators worldwide have seen a Cirque show since its inception.
The Cirque's education arm, Cirque du Monde, teaches circus skills to children at risk in fifty countries.
Last updated 2009-06-08
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