[Vick]

A real cause for celebration - Cirque du Soleil turns 20 this month

Part One
The Birth of an Artistic Adventure

With the courage to dream, Guy Laliberté and partners in crime Gilles St-Croix, Guy Caron and René Dupéré conjured up a wild and crazy notion: to create a made-in-Quebec circus!

Uncertain of what the future might hold, the troupe forged ahead with their ideas and in 1984, as Quebec geared up to mark the 450th anniversary of explorer Jacques Cartier's first voyage to our shores, the perfect opportunity presented itself. As organizers from the event searched for a unique performance to anchor the festivities, Guy Laliberté came forth to pitch his idea and persuade organizers of Cirque du Soleil's™ amazing potential. Despite certain technical mishaps, including the collapse of Cirque du Soleil's first Grand Chapiteau during a highly anticipated press conference, plans went ahead.

Thanks to help from the Quebec government, Cirque du Soleil premiered for the first time in its history on the shores of Gaspé. Audiences reacted with sheer amazement and delight-including the then-premier of Quebec, René Lévesque. Following a hugely successful cross-Quebec tour, the government came through with a generous grant to help further the troupe's dream.

Artistically speaking, 1985 proved to be a pivotal year in Cirque du Soleil's evolution. Guy Caron, extremely well versed in European circus arts became the troupe's first artistic director. He and Guy Laliberté mapped out Cirque's artistic hopes: firstly, to create a magical realm under the Grand Chapiteau; secondly, to ensure a cohesive performance with flow from one act to the next; and finally, to have artists double as background performers or stage technicians for acts in which they did not have starring roles. Later in the same year, Guy Caron invited Franco Dragone aboard, marking the true beginning of Cirque's distinctive theatrical tradition.

Travelling outside Quebec, with tour stops in cities such as Ottawa, Toronto and Niagara Falls proved problematic. With advertising budgets and expenses soaring, Cirque's financial situation was disastrous! Thanks to careful planning by Daniel Gauthier in 1985, with cooperation from Quebec's employee credit union, a cure for Cirque's financial difficulties was found.

The year 1986, when La Magie continue™ was created, saw the beginnings of greater involvement by Franco Dragone as a director, though Guy Caron remained Cirque du Soleil's principal Director of Creation.

Also in 1986, Michel Crête joined the group as head of costume design while René Dupéré moved towards new musical traditions.

At long last, following several months of teamwork, La Magie continue premiered at Expo 86 in Vancouver. Thanks to outstanding reviews and public enthusiasm for the brand-new production, Cirque's popularity was on the rise… but a long and bumpy road was still ahead.