Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Ste-Croix, Gilles
Vice President and co-founder of Cirque du Soleil with Guy Laliberté. Gilles Ste-Croix was born in Abitibi, Québec in 1949. His mother was a teacher, and his father a farmer. He began stilt-walking as a way to pick apples in high branches, but after encountering the Bread and Puppet troupe in Vermont, he was attracted to the world of the theatre. Ste-Croix was Artistic Director for the troupe Échassiers de Baie St-Paul at the beginning of the 1980s before he became stilt-act co-ordinator for the Cirque. In 1988 he became the Cirque's AD and co-ordinator for world-wide talent-search.
Until 2014, he co-ordinated both the global creative process as well as the individual artistic teams. Under him, the company's expansion exploded, and franchises of the Cirque exist around the world.
In 2001, Ste-Croix founded Cheval Théâtre, the first equestrian spectacle in North America. In 2011, he founded Circo de Los Ninos, a circus school for children in Mexico.
His son, Olivier Rochette, a technician with Cirque du Soleil, was killed in an on-set accident in November 2016.
In 2016, he was inducted into L’Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec. His biography, Ma place au soleil (Les Editions La Presse, 2016), recounts his strong desire to turn dreams into reality.
Profile by Gaetan Charlebois. Updated by Anne Nothof.
Last updated 2021-11-03
Since October 2002, Athabasca University has hosted the web site, with an editorial board of theatre scholars from across Canada.
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The Encyclopedia collects and disseminates information on plays, playwrights and theatre practitioners. It does not respond to requests for information, auditions, bookings, or tickets.
The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia web site was originally conceived and developed in 1996 by Gaetan Charlebois—theatre critic, playwright, and actor.
