Cirque du Soleil (French: [sɪʁk dzy sɔ.lɛj], "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian (Quebecois) entertainment company and the largest theatrical producer in the world.^[3] Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 7 July 1984, by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix.^[4]

Initially named Les Échassiers ([lez‿e.ʃa.sje], "The Waders"), they toured Quebec in 1980 as a performing troupe. Their initial financial hardship was relieved in 1983 by a government grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier's voyage to Canada.^[5] Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil was a success in 1984, and after securing a second year of funding, Laliberté hired Guy Caron from the National Circus School to recreate it as a "proper circus". Its theatrical, character-driven approach and the absence of performing animals helped define Cirque du Soleil as the contemporary circus ("nouveau cirque") that it remains today. (The only two instances of animals in Cirque du Soleil shows are the snakes of Zumanity and the doves of Believe.^[6])

Each show is a synthesis of circus styles from around the world, with its own central theme and storyline. Shows employ continuous live music, with performers rather than stagehands changing the props. After financial successes and failures in the late 1980s, Nouvelle Expérience was created – with the direction of Franco Dragone – which not only made Cirque du Soleil profitable by 1990, but allowed it to create new shows.^[7]

Cirque du Soleil expanded rapidly through the 1990s and 2000s, going from one show to 19 shows in over 271 cities on every continent except Antarctica. The shows employ approximately 4,000 people from over 40 countries and generate an estimated annual revenue exceeding US$810 million.^[8][9] The multiple permanent Las Vegas shows alone play to more than 9,000 people a night, 5% of the city's visitors, adding to the 90 million people who have experienced Cirque du Soleil worldwide.^[9]

In 2000, Laliberté bought out Gauthier, and with 95% ownership, has continued to expand the brand.^[10] In 2008, Laliberté split 20% of his share equally between two investment groups Istithmar World and Nakheel of Dubai, in order to further finance the company's goals. In partnership with these two groups, Cirque du Soleil had planned to build a residency show in the United Arab Emirates in 2012 directed by Guy Caron (Dralion) and Michael Curry.^[11] However, following Dubai's financial problems in 2010 caused by the 2008 recession, Laliberté stated that the project had been "put on ice";^[12] that he might be looking for another financial partner to bankroll the company's future plans; and that he might even consider giving up another 10% of his share in the company.^[12] Several more shows are in development around the world, as well as a television deal, a women's clothing line, and possible ventures into other mediums such as spas, restaurants and nightclubs.^[13] Cirque du Soleil also produces a small number of private and corporate events each year (past clients have included the royal family of Dubai and the 2007 Super Bowl).^[14]

The company's creations have received numerous prizes and distinctions, including a Bambi Award in 1997; a Rose d'Or in 1989; three Drama Desk Awards in 1991, 1998 and 2013; three Gemini Awards; four Primetime Emmy Awards;^[15][16] and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[17] In 2000, Cirque du Soleil was awarded the National Arts Centre Award, a companion award of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.;^[18] and in 2002 was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

In 2015, TPG Capital, Fosun Industrial Holdings^[19] and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec purchased 90% of Cirque du Soleil.^[20] The sale received regulatory approval from the Government of Canada on 30 June 2015.^[21]

At age 18, interested in pursuing some kind of performing career, Guy Laliberté quit college and left home. He toured Europe as a folk musician and busker. By the time he returned home to Canada in 1979, he had learned the art of fire breathing. Although he became "employed" at a hydroelectric power plant in James Bay, his job ended after only three days due to a labour strike. He decided not to look for another job, instead supporting himself on his unemployment insurance. He helped organize a summer fair in Baie-Saint-Paul with the help of a pair of friends named Daniel Gauthier and Gilles Ste-Croix.^[7][10]

Gauthier and Ste-Croix were managing a youth hostel for performing artists named Le Balcon Vert at that time. By the summer of 1979, Ste-Croix had been developing the idea of turning the Balcon Vert and the talented performers who lived there into an organized performing troupe. As part of a publicity stunt to convince the Quebec government to help fund his production, Ste-Croix walked the 56 miles (90 km) from Baie-Saint-Paul to Quebec City on stilts. The ploy worked, giving the three men the money to create Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul. Employing many of the people who would later make up Cirque du Soleil, Les Échassiers toured Quebec during the summer of 1980.^[22][23]

Although well received by audiences and critics alike, Les Échassiers was a financial failure. Laliberté spent that winter in Hawaii plying his trade while Ste-Croix stayed in Quebec to set up a nonprofit holding company named "The High-Heeled Club" to mitigate the losses of the previous summer. In 1981, they met with better results. By that fall, Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul had broken even. The success inspired Laliberté and Ste-Croix to organize a summer fair in their hometown of Baie-Saint-Paul.^[22]

This touring festival, called "La Fête Foraine", first took place in July 1982. La Fête Foraine featured workshops to teach the circus arts to the public, after which those who participated could take part in a performance. Ironically, the festival was barred from its own hosting town after complaints from local citizens.^[24] Laliberté managed and produced the fair over the next couple of years, nurturing it into a moderate financial success. But it was in 1983 that the government of Quebec gave him a $1.5 million grant to host a production the following year as part of Quebec's 450th anniversary celebration of the French explorer Jacques Cartier's discovery of Canada. Laliberté named his creation "Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil".^[7][25]

The duration of each touring show was traditionally split into two acts of an hour each separated by a 30-minute interval; however, as of 2014, due to cost cutting issues, the shows have now been reduced to a shorter 60-minute first act followed by a 50-minute second act, still including a 30-minute interval. Permanent shows are usually 90 minutes in length without any intermission. This excludes Joyà (the permanent show in Riviera Maya, Mexico), which is only 70 minutes in length. Typically touring shows as well as resident shows perform a standard 10 shows a week. Touring shows usually have one 'dark day' (with no performances) while resident shows have two.

Originally intended to only be a one-year project, Cirque du Soleil was scheduled to perform in 11 towns in Quebec over the course of 13 weeks running concurrent with the third La Fête Foraine. The first shows were riddled with difficulty, starting with the collapse of the big top after the increased weight of rainwater caused the central mast to snap. Working with a borrowed tent, Laliberté then had to contend with difficulties with the European performers. They were so unhappy with the Quebec circus's inexperience that they had, at one point, sent a letter to the media complaining about how they were being treated.^[7]

The problems were only transient, however, and by the time 1984 had come to a close, Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil was a success. Having only $60,000 left in the bank, Laliberté went back to the Canadian government to secure funding for a second year. While the Canadian federal government was enthusiastic, the Quebec provincial government was resistant to the idea. It was not until Quebec's premier, René Lévesque, intervened on their behalf that the provincial government relented.^[7] The original big top tent that was used during the 1984 Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil tour can now be seen at Carnivàle Lune Bleue, a 1930s-style carnival that is home to the Cirque Maroc acrobats.^[26]

After securing funding from the Canadian government for a second year, Laliberté took steps to renovate Cirque du Soleil from a group of street performers into a "proper circus". To accomplish this he hired the head of the National Circus School, Guy Caron, as Cirque du Soleil's artistic director. The influences that Laliberté and Caron had in reshaping their circus were extensive. They wanted strong emotional music that was played from beginning to end by musicians. They wanted to emulate the Moscow Circus' method of having the acts tell a story. Performers, rather than a technical crew, move equipment and props on and off stage so that it did not disrupt the momentum of the "storyline". Most importantly, their vision was to create a circus with neither a ring nor animals. The rationale was that the lack of both of these things draws the audience more into the performance.^[7][27]

To help design the next major show, Laliberté and Caron hired Franco Dragone, another instructor from the National Circus School who had been working in Belgium. When he joined the troupe in 1985, he brought with him his experience in commedia dell'arte techniques, which he imparted to the performers. Although his experience would be limited in the next show due to budget restraints, he would go on to direct every show up to, but not including Dralion.^[7]

By 1986, the company was once again in serious financial trouble. During 1985 they had taken the show outside Quebec to a lukewarm response. In Toronto they performed in front of a 25% capacity crowd after not having enough money to properly market the show. Gilles Ste-Croix walked through downtown Toronto dressed in a monkey suit as a desperate publicity stunt. A later stop in Niagara Falls turned out to be equally problematic.

Several factors prevented the company from going bankrupt that year. The Desjardins Group, which was Cirque du Soleil's financial institution at the time, covered about $200,000 of bad checks. Also, a financier named Daniel Lamarre, who worked for one of the largest public relations firms in Quebec, represented the company for free, knowing that they didn't have the money to pay his fee. The Quebec government itself also came through again, granting Laliberté enough money to stay solvent for another year.^[7]

In 1987, after Laliberté re-privatized Cirque du Soleil, it was invited to perform at the Los Angeles Arts Festival. Although the company continued to be plagued by financial difficulties, Normand Latourelle took the gamble and went to Los Angeles, despite only having enough money to make a one-way trip. Had the show been a failure, the company would not have had enough money to get their performers and equipment back to Montreal.^[7][28]

The company's 1987 show, titled Le Cirque Réinventé, presented a simple storyline about normal people accidentally stumbling into a magic circus where each of them is transformed into a performer or acrobat. The show featured returning characters like Michel Barrette's "Chef du Piste" from Le Grand Tour and La Magie Continue, Denis Lacombe's "Mad Conductor" from Le Grand Tour and La Magie Continue, Wayne Hronek's "Benny le Grand" from Le Grand Tour, and Gerardo Avila's "Catitan Cactus" from Le Grand Tour, along with new characters like "Panchito T. Morales" and Balthazar, who would later be in Fascination, the 1997-1998 tour of Alegría and La Nouba.

Cirque du Soleil's participation in the Los Angeles festival turned out to be a huge success, both critically and financially, and the show would go on to tour North America and England for over three years before ending its run in Paris in December 1990. The show attracted the attention of entertainment executives, including Columbia Pictures, which met with Laliberté and Gauthier under the pretense of wanting to make a movie about Cirque du Soleil. Laliberté was unhappy with the deal, claiming that it gave too many rights to Columbia, which was attempting to secure all rights to the production. Laliberté pulled out of the deal before it could be concluded, and that experience stands out as a key reason why Cirque du Soleil remained independent and privately owned for 28 years, until Laliberté announced in April 2015 that he was selling his majority stake to a group headed by a U.S. private equity firm, and its Chinese partners.^[29][30]

In 1988, Guy Caron left the company due to artistic differences over what to do with the money generated by Cirque du Soleil's first financially successful tour. Laliberté wanted to use it to expand and start a second show while Caron wanted the money to be saved, with a portion going back to the National Circus School. An agreement was never met and Caron, along with a large number of artists loyal to him, departed. This stalled plans that year to start a new touring show.^[7]

Laliberté sought out Gilles Ste-Croix as a replacement for the artistic director position. Ste-Croix, who had been away from the company since 1985, agreed to return. The company went through more internal troubles, including a failed attempt to add Normand Latourelle as a third man to the partnership. This triumvirate lasted only six months before internal disagreements prompted Gauthier and Laliberté to buy out Latourelle. By the end of 1989, Cirque du Soleil was once again in a deficit.^[7]

With Saltimbanco finished and touring in the United States and Canada, Cirque du Soleil toured Japan in the summer of 1992 at the behest of the Fuji Television Network. Taking acts from Nouvelle Expérience and Cirque Réinventé, they created a show for this tour, titled Fascination. Although Fascination was never seen outside Japan, it represented the first time that Cirque du Soleil had produced a show that took place in an arena rather than a big top. It was also the first time Cirque du Soleil performed outside of North America.^[7] The narrative of Fascination was mostly the same as Cirque Réinventé but with different acts and characters. The Ringmaster character was now played by Brian Dewhurst in the same vein as his character from Nouvelle Expérience, and there were four new clowns: Francois Dupuis, who played a giant baby (later a main character in Mystère) and a banjo-playing Pierrot; Daniel le Bateleur, a man who dresses up like bugs, and previously performed in the 1988 tour of Cirque Réinventé; Michel "Balthazar" Deschamps, who had appeared in Cirque Réinventé and performed the same comic antics as before; and Miss Steak, a drag queen-like character. Acts recycled from Cirque Réinventé included the Pingouins performing on the Korean plank, and Eric Varelas and Amelie Demay performing a handbalancing tango. Acts borrowed from Nouvelle Expérience included the Contortion act (with two new performers, expanding its cast to six) and the Trapeze act.

Also in 1992, Cirque du Soleil made its first collaboration with Switzerland's Circus Knie in a production named Knie Presents Cirque du Soleil that toured for nine months from 20 March to 29 November 1992 through 60 cities in Switzerland, opening in Rapperswil and closing in Bellinzona. The production merged Circus Knie's animal acts with Cirque du Soleil's acrobatic acts. The stage resembled that of Cirque du Soleil's previous shows La Magie Continue and Le Cirque Reinventé, but was modified to accommodate Circus Knie's animals. The show also featured acts seen previously in Le Cirque Reinventé, including:

In April 2015, Cirque du Soleil's Special Events division, which had been responsible for coordinating various public and private events, formed a subsidiary company called 45 Degrees. Led by Yasmine Khalil, the new company continued to produce special events for Cirque du Soleil while expanding to offer creative content outside Cirque du Soleil as well.^[57] 45 Degrees later merged with the C-Lab (creative laboratory) division of the main Cirque company, continuing to produce special event performances while also designing shows with new concepts (such as the dinner-show concept in Joya and the ice concept in Crystal).^[58] In April 2019, Cirque du Soleil announced that the events and special projects subsidiary formerly known as 45 Degrees had become a division with the name "Cirque du Soleil Events + Experiences". The division's focus is the creation of "private events, tourist attractions, [...]large-scale productions" and other "bespoke live entertainment for an international clientele".^[59]

As of October 2015, Cirque du Soleil renounced its intention to be involved in Las Vegas nightclubs and has since dissociated itself from all lounges and clubs listed below.^[78] These lounges are no longer affiliated with Cirque du Soleil.

Revolution is a 5,000-square-foot (500 m2) lounge concept designed for The Mirage resort in Las Vegas, in which cast members perform to the music of The Beatles.^[79] Cirque du Soleil drew inspiration from the Beatles' lyrics to design some of the lounge's features. For instance, the ceiling is decorated with 30,000 dichroic crystals, representing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The VIP tables use infrared technology that allows guests to create artwork, which is then projected onto amorphic columns.^[80]

Cirque du Soleil's second lounge was the Gold Lounge, which is located in the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and is 3,756 square feet (349 m2).^[81] The design is reminiscent of Elvis' mansion, Graceland, and black and gold are utilized extensively throughout the décor. The bar has the same shape as the bar in the Elvis mansion as well.^[82] The music played here changes throughout the night, including upbeat classic rock, commercial house music, upbeat Elvis remixes, minimal hip hop, Top 40, and pop.^[83]

In May 2013 The Light Group opened the Light nightclub in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil^[84] at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, costing $25 million. Light was the first time Cirque du Soleil worked as part of a nightclub.^[85] Among other features the club has a large wall of LED screens, and the room is illuminated with fog, lasers and strobes.^[84] DJs at the events include charting artists such as Kaskade and Tiesto, with prices ranging from $30 to $10,000 for certain table placements.^[84]

It was announced on 11 October 2014 that in partnership with Saban Brands, Cirque du Soleil Media would produce an animated series for preschool-aged children called Luna Petunia and the showrunner was announced as children's TV writer Bradley Zweig. The plot revolves around a little girl who plays in a dreamland where she learns how to make the impossible possible. It began airing on Netflix in September 2016.^[86] On 1 May 2018, Saban Brands sold Luna Petunia to Hasbro.^[87]

In a collaboration with Universal Television and Sony Pictures Television, Cirque du Soleil co-produced the television broadcast of The Wiz Live! (based on the musical of the same name) which aired in December 2015 on NBC. Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon directed the show along with Broadway writer/actor Harvey Fierstein, who contributed new material to the original Broadway script. Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Stephanie Mills, Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Common, Elijah Kelley, Amber Riley, and Uzo Aduba and newcomer Shanice Williams are set to star. It was speculated that a live version of the show would play on Broadway during the 2016-2017 season, however this plan fell through.^[88]

Cirque du Soleil shows normally tour under a grand chapiteau (i.e. big top) for an extended period of time until they are modified, if necessary, for touring in arenas and other venues. The infrastructure that tours with each show could easily be called a mobile village; it includes the Grand Chapiteau, a large entrance tent, artistic tent, kitchen, school, and other items necessary to support the cast and crew.^[89]

The company's tours have significant financial impacts on the cities they visit by renting lots for shows, parking spaces, selling and buying promotions, and contributing to the local economy with hotel stays, purchasing food, and hiring local help. For example, during its stay in Santa Monica, California, Koozå brought an estimated US$16,700,000 (equivalent to $19,502,761 in 2018) to the city government and local businesses.^[90]

Cirque du Soleil Images creates original products for television, video and DVD and distributes its productions worldwide.

Its creations have been awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, including two Gemini Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award for Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within (in 2003) and three Primetime Emmy Awards for Dralion (in 2001).

In November 2003, gymnast Matthew Cusick (represented by the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund) filed a discrimination complaint against Cirque du Soleil in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.^[104][105] Cusick (a trainee performer who was scheduled to begin working at Mystère) alleged that in April 2002, Cirque du Soleil fired him because he tested HIV-positive, even though company doctors had already cleared him as healthy enough to perform. Cirque du Soleil alleged that due to the nature of Cusick's disease coupled with his job's high risk of injury, there was a significant risk of his infecting other performers, crew or audience members.^[106] Cirque du Soleil said that they had several HIV-positive employees, but in the case of Cusick, the risk of him spreading his infection while performing was too high to take the risk. A boycott ensued and Just Out ran a story on it with the headline "Flipping off the Cirque".^[107] Cirque du Soleil settled with Cusick in April 2004. Under the settlement, the company began a company-wide anti-discrimination training program; changed its employment practices pertaining to HIV-positive applicants; paid Cusick $60,000 in lost wages, $200,000 in front pay, and $300,000 in compensatory damages; and paid $40,000 in attorney fees to Lambda Legal.^{[104][107][105]}

An additional complaint was filed on Cusick's behalf by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. Their complaint stemmed from the City of San Francisco's ban on city contracting with employers that discriminate based on HIV status; the circus leases property owned by the city-owned Port of San Francisco.^[108]

Cirque du Soleil opposed Neil Goldberg and his company Cirque Productions over its use of the word "Cirque" in the late 1990s. Goldberg's company was awarded a trademark on its name "Cirque Dreams" in 2005.^[109][110]

In August 1999, Fremonster Theatrical filed an application for the trademark Cirque de Flambé. This application was opposed by the owners of the Cirque du Soleil trademark in August 2002, on the grounds that it would cause confusion and "[dilute] the distinctive quality" of Cirque du Soleil's trademarks. A judge dismissed the opposition and the Cirque de Flambé trademark application was approved in 2005.^[111][112]

In April 2016, Cirque du Soleil filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, and Sony Music Entertainment in federal court in New York, alleging that Timberlake's song "Don't Hold the Wall" (co-written with Timbaland) from his third studio album The 20/20 Experience (2013) infringed the copyright of Cirque du Soleil's song "Steel Dream" from its 1997 album Quidam.^[113]

In 2016, Cirque du Soleil announced the cancellation of all its 2016 touring shows to North Carolina, citing the recent signing of the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (commonly known as "HB2") by North Carolina governor Pat McCrory. This cancelations affected Ovo in both Greensboro and Charlotte, and Toruk in Raleigh. The company announced in a press release that "Cirque du Soleil strongly believes in diversity and equality for every individual and is opposed to discrimination in any form. The new HB2 legislation passed in North Carolina is an important regression to ensuring human rights for all."^[114] Cirque du Soleil was criticized for this decision and accused of taking a double standard, for cancelling the shows in North Carolina while many times they have performed their shows in countries like the United Arab Emirates which violates a number of fundamental human rights.^[115]

In 2009, 24-year-old performer Oleksandr "Sacha" Zhurov, of Ukraine, died at a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from head injuries he had sustained during a training session.^[116] He had been with the company only a few months at the time of the accident.^[117] An initial report of the incident said Zhurov had fallen off a trampoline^[118] but, in 2010, it was reported he had fallen while doing training exercises on a Russian swing. An investigation by Quebec's occupational-safety board decided that while Zhurov made the error that ultimately resulted in his death, the company should be fined $1,915 for failing to adequately determine the risks associated with equipment.^[116]

In 2013, 31-year-old performer Sarah "Sasoun" Guyard-Guillot, of France, died in an ambulance en route to hospital as the result of blunt force trauma she had sustained from a fall during a performance of Kà in Las Vegas, Nevada.^{[119][120][121]} She'd been with the company since 2006.^[122] It was originally thought that Guyard-Guillot's safety harness had failed her and that was what resulted in her fall but, in actuality, a cable responsible for keeping her in the air had been cut after accidentally being knocked loose by movement during the performance.^[123][124] Reports as to how far Guyard-Guillot fell differ from source to source, with some saying she fell as little as 50 feet and others as much as 94 feet.^[119][123] The show was cancelled but returned to the stage in December 2014, after an 18-month hiatus.^[123] The company was fined as a result.^[125]

In 2016, 42-year-old set technician Olivier Rochette, of Canada, died in San Francisco, California, from head injuries he had sustained after accidentally being hit in the head by an aerial lift while preparing for a production of Luzia.^[126][127] Rochette was the son of Cirque du Soleil co-founder Gilles Ste-Croix.^[126]

In 2018, 38-year-old aerial straps performer Yann Arnaud, of France, died at a hospital in Tampa, Florida, after falling during a performance of Volta.^[128][129] He had been with the company for 15 years.^[130][131]