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Cirque De Soleil




Cirque du Soleil ( French for "Circus of the Sun") is an entertainment company founded by Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier , both former street performers, in 1984 and is based in Montreal , Quebec , Canada . Gauthier left the company in 2001 (he now owns the ski area Le Massif, on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec), and the troupe is now led by Laliberté.

It has been described as the modern circus, and focuses upon a storyline as well as amazing performances. It has several resident and touring troupes and draws heavily from the Circus tradition. Emphasizing the use of humans as performers, Cirque du Soleil does not make use of Animal s. Instead, its performances combine elements of street performances, Circus , Opera , Ballet , and Rock Music . Acts include Contortion ists, Jugglers , feats of strength, Clown ing, and Trapeze Artists . Their Costume s are very colorful and creative, setting a festive and lively atmosphere. Also, Cirque shows do not use pre-recorded music; all music is played live.

Cirque shows begin as a creative concept, usually with elements of a central story line, a design concept and the selection of a composer for the music. These elements remain relatively constant throughout the production run of a given show.

However, the shows also include both "house" and "guest" acts. House acts are performed by the full-time cast members, some whom may be involved in several routines. Not all prepared routines are presented in every performance. Guest acts rotate in and out over the run of the show (clowns are typically guest acts). As a result, Cirque shows can vary somewhat performance to performance, and shows tend to evolve over time.

Cirque creators borrow from some of circus's earliest forms (for example, and Teeterboard acts) but also regularly introduce new apparatus. For example, Cirque introduced the use of bungie cords to aerial acts and created a modified tumbling trampoline called a Power Track, both of which have since been adopted by other circuses.

Cirque du Soleil recruits acts from different world circuses, including from China and Russia , blending them into their own style.

Among veteran circus performers, Cirque is regarded as one of the world's best circuses, due to higher than normal pay scales and benefits.

Cirque du Soleil has produced a number of performance DVD s and soundtrack CDs.

The troupe was inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame .


Touring troupes



Arena tour

  • '' for one or two nights at a time before moving to the next location.



Resident shows

The resident shows have established homes in two of the entertainment centers of the , and Orlando, Florida .








Future shows


  • April 2007: A new touring show is in development at Cirque du Soleil International Headquarters and is scheduled to premiere in Montréal. The name has yet to be announced.



  • Date unknown: Cirque du Soleil has proposed a show in a renovated Jackie Gleason Theatre in Miami. ref



Other productions


  • ''A Taste of Cirque du Soleil'', a special 30-minute performance on the ''Constellation'' and ''Summit'' Celebrity Cruises cruise ships. Included on these ships is ''The Bar of the Edge of the Earth'' a dream-like bar/lounge/disco.


  • ''Midnight Sun'', a one-night-only show performed live at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on July 11th, 2004.




Film projects


  • Film: ''Alegría'' (1998) - Not a performance film, but has a plot loosely based around the touring production of the same name.


  • Film: ''Journey of Man'' (2000) - An all-star team on acts from various Cirque shows including Mystère and Quidam.



Television projects


  • Television show: ''Fire Within'' (2003) - A 13-episode inside look into the creation and production of Varekai.


  • Television show: ''Solstrom'' (2004) - A 13-episode series using various acts from Cirque du Soleil and other productions. Each episode has a different theme.



CIRQUE DU SOLEIL IN POPULAR CULTURE


  • In an episode of The Simpsons , Cirque du Soleil was parodied with the name "Cirque du Purée".

  • In an episode of South Park , entitled "Quintuplets 2000", Cirque de Soleil was parodied with the name ''Cirque De Cheville.''

  • In the TV special It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, Cirque du Soleil was parodied with the name "Cirque du So Lamé"



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